NFL - Week Eight Review

The big match up game of the week in the NFL was New England and Pittsburgh and the game was pretty much dominated by the host Steelers as they won 25-17 to improve to 6-2 and the top spot in the AFC.
The Steelers outgained the Patriots by a two-to-one margin and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for 365 yards and a pair of touchdowns while the defense limited Pats' QB Tom Brady to just 198 yards passing in the win.
The Baltimore Ravens won the game 30-27 but were really being spooked at home by the Arizona Cardinals, falling behind 24-3 at one point in the second quarter when rookie return man Patrick Peterson took back a punt 82 yards for a touchdown.
But then the Baltimore defense took over the rest of the way and the Ravens' offense put up 24 second half points behind three rushing touchdowns by running back Ray Rice. Kicker Billy Cundiff drilled a game wining 25-yard field goal as time expired.
Houston topped the visiting Jacksonville Jaguars, 24-14 to improve to 5-3 and first place in the AFC South division behind solid defense that held the Jags to just 174 total yards offense and a 112 yard rushing effort (including a touchdown run) from Arian Foster.
The St. Louis Rams stunned the New Orleans Saints, 31-21 at home behind a huge game from the Heftyinfo NFL Player of the Week Steven Jackson.

Rams' running back Steven Jackson

The Rams won their first game of the season as Jackson ran wild for 159 yards and two touchdowns in addition to making four catches for 32 yards.
The St. Louis defense intercepted Saints' QB Drew Brees twice and took one back for a score late in the game to seal the win.
The Detroit Lions shut up the fans of "Tebow Time" as they pounded the host Denver Broncos 45-10 to improve to 6-2.
The Lions' defense sacked Denver QB Tim Tebow seven times and scored twice. Lions' defensive back Chris Houston took an interception back 100 yards for a touchdown in the rout.
Meanwhile, Detroit QB Matthew Stafford threw for three touchdowns and wide receiver Calvin Johnson (six catches for 125 yards) made his 11th touchdown catch of the season.
Buffalo shut out the Washington Redskins, 23-0 as the defense limited the Redskins to 178 yards in offense and Bills' QB Ryan Fitzpatrick hit tight end Scott Chandler for two touchdown passes.
Tennessee knocked off winless Indianapolis 27-10 as Nate Washington scored twice for the Titans (4-3) to keep them within a game of the Houston Texans in the AFC South.
The New York Giants also had to stage a comeback win as they rallied for a 20-17 home victory over the Miami Dolphins. Quarterback Eli Manning hit Victor Cruz for a 25-yard touchdown pass to make the difference.
The Minnesota Vikings beat Carolina, 24-21 as Panthers' kicker Olindo Mare missed a 31-yard field goal in the closing seconds.
Vikings' running back Adrian Peterson rushed for 86 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns, including a 19-yard scoring pass from QB Christian Ponder and Percy Harvin also scored in the win. Panthers' QB Cam Newton threw for three touchdowns in the loss.

49ers' running back Frank Gore

The San Francisco 49ers improved to 6-1 with an impressive 20-10 home win over the Cleveland Browns behind Frank Gore's 134 rushing yards and two turnovers from the defense, which included limiting the Browns to 66 yards rushing for the game.
The Cincinnati Bengals kept pace in the rugged AFC North division with a 34-12 beat down of the host Seattle Seahawks.
Rookie QB Andy Dalton hooked up with fellow rookie wide receiver A.J. Green for a score as Dalton threw two scoring passes and the Cincy D and special teams added touchdowns as well.
The Sunday Night Football game was no contest at all as the host Philadelphia Eagles thoroughly crushed the Dallas Cowboys, 34-7 to move into a three-way tie for second place in the NFC East division.
 Eagles' QB Michael Vick threw a pair of touchdown passes to go with 279 yards and running back LeSean McCoy had 185 yards rushing and also scored twice in the rout.
 The Monday Night Football game fittingly had a bizarre conclusion on Halloween night as the Kansas City Chiefs managed to win at home in overtime against the San Diego Chargers, 23-20 on a Ryan Succop 30-yard field goal.
The only reason Kansas City was able to do this was because of a fumbled snap exchange by the Chargers QB Philip Rivers (three turnovers in this game) and center Nick Hardwick.
San Diego was at the Chiefs' 15-yard line with one minute remaining in regulation looking to just run the clock down and set up for a game winning field goal.
The AFC West is now in a three-way tie for the top spot between the Chargers, Chiefs and Oakland Raiders, which all have 4-3 records.