NFL - Week Eight Recap

Eagles QB Jalen Hurts (right) and A.J. Brown celebrate big efforts in  win.

The Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles continue to dominate as the NFL season reaches the halfway point. The Eagles won at home, 35-13 against the Pittsburgh Steelers (2-6) to remain unbeaten (7-0 record) this year. Quarterback Jalen Hurts had four touchdown passes, with three of them going to wide receiver A.J. Brown (six receptions for 156 yards) while the Eagles defense had six sacks and forced two turnovers in the rout. 

 

 

The Bills (6-1) blasted the Green Bay Packers, 27-17 on the Sunday night game with QB Josh Allen passing for two scores and running back Isaiah McKenzie scoring on a seven-yard run to lead the way. The Packers (3-5) dropped their fourth straight game even with QB Aaron Rodgers throwing two TD passes. 

Last Thursday night, the Baltimore Ravens (5-3) knocked off the host Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 27-22 as QB Lamar Jackson had a pair of scoring passes while racking up 453 yards in total offense with a balanced attack (231 rushing, 222 passing yards) to remain atop the AFC North divison. The Bucs (3-5) had a scoring run from Leonard Fournette and a TD pass from Tom Brady, but dropped their third straight game. 

In an exciting game in Atlanta, the Falcons (4-4) won 37-34 in overtime against the Carolina Panthers (2-6) to take over first place in the NFC South. The Panthers got a miracle 62-yard TD pass from QB P.J. Walker to WR D.J. Moore with 12 seconds left in regulation to tie the game, 34-34. However, Moore removed his helmet in celebration and the Panthers were penalized 15 yards for that and the extra point (from 48 yards) was no good, forcing the OT session. Panthers kicker Eddy Pineiro missed a 32-yard field goal in the OT, but Falcons kicker Younghoe Koo made a 41-yarder to win it. Falcons QB Marcus Mariota had three TD passes in the win while Panthers RB D'Onta Foreman had three rushing scores and 118 rushing yards in defeat. 

The Seattle Seahawks (5-3) won at home, 27-13 to cool off the New York Giants (6-2), who saw their four-game winning streak snapped. Seattle QB Geno Smith had a pair of scoring passes and RB Kenneth Walker scored on a 16-yard run with 5:22 left to ice the game. Giants RB Saquon Barkley scored the lone New York touchdown (one-yard run) as his team was held to just 225 yards in total offense. The Seahawks defense had five sacks and two fumble recoveries to help out in the win. 

The Minnesota Vikings improved to 6-1 with a 34-26 win at home against the Arizona Cardinals (3-5) with QB Kirk Cousins throwing two TD passes and running for another score to go with rushing touchdowns by Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison. The Cardinals had three TD passes from QB Kyler Murray in the loss. 

In Detroit, the Miami Dolphins (5-3) won, 31-27 as QB Tua Tagovailoa had three TD passes and 382 passing yards to pace the offense, which accumulated 476 yards. The Lions (1-6) jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter on the first of two rushing scores by RB Jamaal Williams and a TD pass from QB Jared Goff to RB D'Andre Swift. Dolphins wide receivers Jaylen Waddle (eight receptions for 106 yards, two TD) and Tyreek Hill (12 for 188 yards) torched the weak Lions defense, sending the hosts to their fifth consecutive loss. 

Tennessee (5-2) won again, 17-10 on the road against the Houston Texans (1-5-1) with RB Derrick Henry scoring twice on the ground while amassing 219 rushing yards on 32 carries. The Texans were limited to a paltry 161 yards in total offense. The Titans have a three-game cushion in the AFC South division race. 

Over in London, England, the Denver Broncos (3-5) beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 21-17, handing the Jags (2-6) their fifth consecutive defeat. Trailing 10-0, the Broncos got a TD pass from QB Russell Wilson and a one-yard scoring run from RB Melvin Gordon to go ahead, 14-10. Jags RBTravis Etienne (156 rushing yards) scored on a one-yard run with 3:54 remaining in the fourth quarter for a 17-14 lead, but then Latavius Murray scored a two-yard rushing touchdown with 1:43 to go to clinch the win for the Broncos. 

The New Orleans Saints defense snapped out of a three-game funk and dominated in a 24-0 shutout win against the visiting Las Vegas Raiders (2-5) as they improved to 3-5 this year. Saints RB Alvin Kamara scored three touchdowns (one rushing, two receiving) while accounting for 154 total yards. The Saints sacked Raiders QB Derek Carr four times and the Raiders were shut out for the first time since the 2014 season. 

The San Francisco 49ers (4-4) dominated the host Los Angeles Rams, 31-14 (their eighth straight regular season win against the Rams) with a stiff defense that held L.A. to only 223 yards in total offense. The hero on offense was 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey, (pictured right) who scored a rushing TD, caught a touchdown pass and also threw a 34-yard TD pass to WR Brandon Aiyuk. Los Angeles QB Matthew Stafford had a scoring pass and a rushing score in the loss, which dropped the Rams to 3-4 this season. 

The Dallas Cowboys (6-2) blasted the visiting Chicago Bears, 49-29 behind a big game from RB Tony Pollard, who scored three rushing touchdowns and gained 131 yards (on just 14 carries) while QB Dak Prescott had a running TD and also threw for two more scores. Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons scored on a 36-yard fumble return to blow it open at 42-23 late in the third quarter. Chicago QB Justin Fields had a TD run and two TD passes in the loss, which dropped the Bears to 3-5 this season. 

The Washington Commanders (4-4) won their third game in a row in dramatic fashion, 17-16 as backup QB Taylor Heinecke scored on a one-yard run with 22 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter after he completed a 33-yard pass to WR Terry McLaurin to set up the winning score. The Commanders engineered a nine play, 89-yard drive to get the win. The Colts (3-4-1) had a 16-7 lead early in the fourth quarter when RB Nyheim Hines scored on a six-yard run, but the defense couldn't hold the lead as Washington scored the final ten points. 

The New England Patriots bounced the host New York Jets, 22-17 to improve to 4-4 this season while the Jets (5-3) saw their four-game win streak end. Pats kicker Nick Folk made five field goals to go with a TD pass by QB Mac Jones while the Jets got a pair of TD passes from QB Zach Wilson (355 passing yards), who also threw three interceptions in the loss. 

The Cleveland Browns dominated the Cincinnati Bengals (4-4) at home on Monday Night Football, getting two rushing touchdowns and 101 yards from RB Nick Chubb and a big defensive effort that included sacking Cincy QB Joe Burrow five times in a 32-13 blowout win. Browns QB Jacoby Brissett added a TD pass and a scoring run to the mix to help them improve to 3-5 this season. 

WEEK EIGHT RESULTS 

Baltimore 27, Tampa Bay 22

Denver 21, Jacksonville 17

New Orleans 24, Las Vegas 0 

Philadelphia 35, Pittsburgh 13 

New England 22, N.Y. Jets 17

Dallas 49, Chicago 29 

Minnesota 34, Arizona 26

Miami 31, Detroit 27

Atlanta 37, Carolina 34 (OT)

Tennessee 17, Houston 10

Washington 17, Indianapolis 16

San Francisco 31, L.A. Rams 14

Seattle 27, N.Y. Giants 13

Buffalo 27, Green Bay 17 

Cleveland 32, Cincinnati 13