Going into Week 8, there were a lot of questions surrounding some of the contenders in the NFL. Was Seattle’s defense good enough to stop New Orleans’ offense? Was Tom Brady going to make that much of a difference in New England’s rematch with the only team that beat them so far this season? See below for our Week 8 recap of all NFL action!
Editor’s Note: Check out our NFL Week 8 Picks by Matt Ross and the Week 8 Betting Preview DS Williamson
NFL Betting – Regular Season Week 8 Recap
Jacksonville Jaguars 22, Tennessee Titans 36
Marcus Mariota has been unbelievable in Tennessee’s last 4 games. He’s thrown 10 TD passes to only a single interception. Against Jacksonville this past Thursday, Marcus threw for 270 yards and 1 TD. He dominated Jacksonville.
Jaguars’ QB Blake Bortles ended up throwing for 337 yards and 3 TD passes. But, his throwing motion was terrible in the first half. I’m not sure what the deal is with Bortles. If he can’t get it together, this was supposed to be the season where he becomes an upper echelon QB, Jacksonville might have to move on.
New England Patriots 41, Buffalo Bills 25
I thought New England was going to spank Buffalo. Man, did they ever! Terrific Tom Brady once again proved that Father Time has nothing on him when throwing for 315 yards and 4 TDs. Brady even rushed for 15 yards on a carry. The Pats allowed Buffalo to rush for 167 yards via their bend but don’t break defense.
What’s interesting is that just yesterday, the Patriots traded LB Jamie Collins to Cleveland for a third-round draft pick. Collins had been missing assignments and the Patriots had been playing tough defense.
Buffalo is a solid football team. They never quit in this game. They just aren’t as good as New England. The Bills could have a strong game in Week 9 versus Seattle.
Washington Redskins 27, Cincinnati Bengals 27
Neither one of these teams impressed me too much. Both offenses went nuts, which is a sign that both teams showed up with a less than stellar defense. I think that Cincinnati’s defense is worse than Washington’s. The Bengals allowed Kirk Cousins to throw for 458 yards and 2 touchdowns. Cousins did throw an interception. But, 458 yards is ridiculous. Washington also rushed for 100 yards.
Washington’s defense played well until it got tired in the fourth quarter. Cincinnati rushed for 152 yards while QB Andy Dalton threw for 284.
Detroit Lions 13, Houston Texans 20
It surprised me that Houston’s secondary could keep Detroit QB Matthew Stafford from going crazy in this battle in Week 8. I thought for sure that if any QB could break down the Texans’ secondary it was going to be Stafford. Matt only threw for 240 yards and a TD.
What’s crazy is that Brock Osweiler only threw for 186 yards. But the Texans did rush for 105 yards while Detroit rushed for 58 yards. This had to have been the ugliest played game of Week 8. I have nothing more to write since no real positives came out of this snorer for either team.
New York Jets 31, Cleveland Browns 28
At one point during this battle, I thought that the Browns had it. I truly believed that Cleveland was going to win its first game of the season. The Browns were up 20 to 7 at halftime.
But just to prove how bad Cleveland is, the Jets outscored the Browns 24 to 8 in the second half. RB Matt Forte rushed for 85 yards and 2 TDs. QB Ryan Fitzpatrick didn’t throw an interception. That’s the good news for Jets’ fans.
Seattle Seahawks 20, New Orleans Saints 25
Don’t look now, but New Orleans is only 1.5 games behind Atlanta for the NFC South. The Saints have won 3 out of their last 4 games. They’ve covered the spread in 5 out of their last 6 games. As a home dog, New Orleans dominated the Seattle Seahawks at the line of scrimmage. They only sacked Russell Wilson once. They did pressure him all day, though.
Russell didn’t throw a TD in this game. He threw a pick. More importantly, the Saints’ D held Seattle to 74 rushing yards. New Orleans’ defense is starting to play well. That’s bad news for opponents since the Saints average close to 29 points and 415 total yards of offense per game.
Seattle’s issue is the offensive line. It’s not good enough to handle blitzing teams like the Saints. If the Seahawks don’t get the offensive line together, they’re toast in the second half of the season.
Kansas City Chiefs 30, Indianapolis Colts 14
Okay. It’s time for me to believe in the Kansas City Chiefs. For the third straight game in a row, the Chiefs’ defense has found a way to handle one of the best passing attacks in the NFL.
The Chiefs dominated Oakland QB Derek Carr on Oct. 16, holding Carr to 225 yards, 1 TD and a pick. They beat Drew Brees and the Saints 27 to 21 on Oct. 23. Then, this past Sunday, they kept QB Andrew Luck, on the road no less, to a paltry 210 passing yards. That’s impressive.Kansas City is now the favorite to win the NFC West in my estimation even if QB Alex Smith misses some time due to injury.
Arizona Cardinals 20, Carolina Panthers 30
Wow, that Carolina defense isn’t very good. After the offense gave the Panthers’ defense a 24-point lead, Arizona got back into the game. The Cardinals ended up making the game much closer than it should have been. Arizona QB Carson Palmer threw for 3 TDs and 363 yards.
Carolina outscored Arizona to win this game in Week 8. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing since the Panthers aren’t going to outscore a lot of the other teams left on their schedule.
Oakland Raiders 30, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24
One of the reasons that I like Kansas City to win the AFC West is because Oakland must rely on Derek Carr to continually bring them back from the brink of a loss. Carr did it again in Week 8 when throwing for 513 yards and 4 TD passes. The problem is that the Raiders’ defense practically handed this game over to Tampa Bay. Carr led Oakland to a win in overtime after the Bucs had built a 24 to 7 lead. Relying on Carr to get the job done each game isn’t going to cut it.
Tampa’s defense didn’t play much better, obviously. The Buccaneers’ offense is okay. QB Jameis Winston is being more careful with the football. But the defense just isn’t where it needs to be for Tampa to contend in the NFC South.
Green Bay Packers 32, Atlanta Falcons 33
What a game in Atlanta in Week 8! The Packers almost pulled off the upset. Atlanta, with Matty Ice under center, downed Green Bay in this game with a hurt Julio Jones. That’s how good of a matchup it was. The 2 quarterbacks went back and forth through this entire contest.
Aaron Rodgers ended up throwing for 246 yards. He threw 4 TD passes. Matt Ryan threw for 288 yards. He threw 3 TD passes. Both teams played extremely well in Week 8. Don’t be surprised if we end up seeing these 2 butt heads in the NFC Playoffs.
San Diego Chargers 19, Denver Broncos 27
Don’t let the score fool you. The Chargers’ offense lost this game. San Diego’s defense played well. It only allowed 57 rushing yards. It gave up 276 passing yards but no passing TDs. The Chargers’ D was terrific. But you can’t beat a team like Denver on the road if you give the ball up 3 times.
So, even though QB Phillip Rivers threw for 267 yards and 2 TDs, and even though the Chargers rushed for 123 total yards, including Melvin Gordon rushing for 111, the Chargers lost 19 to 27. Why? They lost because Rivers threw 3 picks. That’s not good, Phil. Not good at all.
Philadelphia Eagles 23, Dallas Cowboys 29
Both teams played too good to lose this major rivalry game on Sunday night. Philadelphia QB Caron Wentz managed the game well, like he always does. But, that’s the difference between rookie Wentz and rookie QB Dak Prescott at Dallas. Wentz plays not to lose. He’s a game manager. Prescott plays to win.
Sure, Dak threw a pick. But he also threw 2 TD passes and for 287 yards in this matchup. Wentz threw 1 TD pass and for only 202 yards in this one.
The best news for Dallas in this game was how Dez Bryant returned to catch 4 passes for 113 yards and a TD. If Dez is back and at 100%, Dallas becomes that much more dangerous in the NFC.
Minnesota Vikings 10, Chicago Bears 20
Minnesota has fallen way down to earth after starting out the season going 5-0 both straight up and ATS. The Vikings don’t appear to know what to do on offense while the defense, although still great, had trouble stopping Jay Cutler and Chicago’s offense.Like Seattle, Minnesota must find a rushing attack in order to get back on track. I’m not sure if that’s possible.
Chicago has slowly gotten better week to week. The defense has truly improved. Expect the Bears to continue to upset teams ATS and SU during the second half of the season.