Steelers win heavyweight showdown. Cam Newton isn't Superman anymore. Here's our Week 8 NFL breakdown.
Jim Reineking
The Pittsburgh Steelers have emerged as a favorite to unseat the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. With their win over division rival Baltimore, the Steelers remain the league's lone undefeated team.
Up next for the Steelers? The Cowboys. LOL!
Football fans outside of New England are pointing and laughing at the Patriots. That's because a dynasty appears dead. The Patriots are on the fast track toward missing the playoffs for just the third time in the past two decades. Sunday's defeat in Orchard Park, N.Y. was particularly disturbing, as Cam Newton coughed up the football at the worst time.
Week 8 also featured its share of upsets, as the Vikings knocked off the Packers at Lambeau, the Bengals defeated the Titans and Tua Time sparked the Dolphins' win over the Rams. Hope those results didn't ruin your survivor pool chances.
Quick hits: Sunday's biggest moments
- Bears WR Javon Wims was ejected from Sunday's game against the Saints for sucker punching Saints DB Chauncey Gardner-Johnson.
- Powerful winds at Cleveland's FirstEnergy Stadium made a Raiders field goal attempt quite an adventure.
- Former Auburn teammates Daniel Carlson and Cody Parkey discussed strategies for kicking in windy Cleveland.
- NFL fans roasted Cam Newton after his fumble cost the Patriots at least a chance at tying the game late against the Bills.
- There was a reasonable explanation for Bills head coach Sean McDermott talking on a cellphone at halftime.
- NFL fans had fun with the great photo of Aaron Rodgers getting hit on the final play of the Vikings' upset of the Packers.
- Avery Williamson has to feel like the luckiest man on earth ... the linebacker was traded by the 0-8 Jets to the 7-0 Steelers.
- The referees botched two easy calls on a strip sack that turned into an Eagles touchdown.
- Jerry Jones became a meme during the Cowboys-Eagles "Sunday Night Football" game.
- Did Seahawks QB Russell Wilson bait the 49ers into a key 15-yard penalty?
Key Week 8 story lines
- 32 things we learned in Week 8: While the Patriots are borderline unwatchable, the Seahawks are letting Russell Wilson cook to the tune of a league-best 26 TD passes.
- Winners and losers: Mike Tomlin has Steelers looking like legitimate Super Bowl contender while the 49ers just can't stay healthy.
- Steelers show their creativity and mettle: Pittsburgh has proven it can persevere, despite showing a series of vulnerabilities this season, Mike Jones writes.
- Cam Newton's mistakes are a huge problem: Newton's missteps are a disturbing trend for a Patriots team that finds itself in unfamiliar territory at 2-5, Jarrett Bell writes.
- How close wins are priming Saints for rest of season: "Battle-tested" Saints are building confidence with nerve-racking wins such as Sunday's vs. the Bears, Nancy Armour writes.
- Packers must repair huge hole to keep title hopes alive: If Mike Pettine or Brian Gutekunst don’t do something to solve their run defense, the Packers are getting nowhere near the promised land this season.
- Ravens' All-Pro lineman suffers season-ending injury: Left tackle Ronnie Stanley suffered a season-ending ankle injury just two days after signing a massive contract extension.
- Lions' hope dries up: Detroit had a chance to position itself for a playoff push. Instead, the Lions came up empty against the Colts.
Week 8 rundown
- Eagles 23, Cowboys 9: This nationally televised game was not a great advertisement for the league.
- Seahawks 37, 49ers 27: As the Seahawks piled up points, the 49ers' injury issues compounded.
- Saints 26, Bears 23 (OT): The Saints are riding a four-game winning streak heading into next week's big showdown with the Buccaneers.
- Broncos 31, Chargers 30: The Chargers squandered another late-game lead in their latest heartbreaking defeat.
- Raiders 16, Browns 6: This hard-fought win in the wintry cold in Cleveland could prove valuable down the line for the Raiders as a potential playoff tiebreaker.
- Bills 24, Patriots 21: Just when it seemed destiny was on New England's side (it had won 35 of the last 40 against Buffalo), Cam Newton fumbled the ball.
- Dolphins 28, Rams 17: Tua Tagovailoa won his first NFL start, thanks in large part to an opportunistic defense.
- Steelers 28, Ravens 24: The Steelers denied Lamar Jackson and the Ravens in crunch time to improve to 7-0.
- Colts 41, Lions 21: This was a big win for the Colts, who face a tough schedule moving forward (vs. Ravens, at Titans, vs. Packers, vs. Titans).
- Chiefs 35, Jets 9: After this pummeling in KC, the Jets are 0-8 for the first time since 1996, when they finished 1-15 for the worst record in franchise history.
- Bengals 31, Titans 20: With rookie QB Joe Burrow playing well, the Bengals can be sneaky-good. The Titans learned that the hard way.
- Vikings 28, Packers 22: The Packers defense had an open-door policy whenever Dalvin Cook touched the ball.
- Falcons 25, Panthers 17 (Thurs.): There was no epic fourth-quarter collapse this time for the Falcons.
Eyes on the (fantasy) prize
The surprise performance of Week 8 was turned in by rookie RB DeeJay Dallas of the Seahawks. With Chris Carson and Carlos Hyde both out, Dallas wasn’t terribly efficient (18 carries, 41 yards and five receptions for 17 yards) but he had a nose for the end zone with a rushing and a receiving touchdown. Dallas is worth picking up as insurance for Carson — or on his own if both backs look like they’ll be less than 100% for Week 9.
Colts RB Jordan Wilkins got his most extensive work of the season, rushing 20 times for 89 yards and a score. Although teammate Nyheim Hines had a pair of TD receptions, Wilkins was the go-to back down the stretch and should be more valuable going forward.
The Patriots have been struggling on offense, but WR Jakobi Meyers figures to get a larger target share with Julian Edelman sidelined. Meyers caught six of his 10 targets for 58 yards in less-than-optimal conditions at Buffalo.
A hip injury to Lions WR Kenny Golladay opened the door for a Marvin Jones resurgence with two TD receptions. If Golladay has to miss time, Marvin Hall (four catches, 113 yards) could be worth adding.
And the Eagles activated WR Jalen Reagor after he spent the last five weeks on injured reserve. The rookie made an impact right away, catching a first-quarter touchdown pass and snagging a two-point conversion. Philadelphia has a bye coming up, but keep an eye on Reagor.
Coming this week
Monday: Week 8 wraps up with Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers visiting the New York Giants (8:15 p.m. ET, ESPN).
Tuesday: USA TODAY Sports offers its power rankings for all 32 NFL teams after Week 8.
Thursday: Week 9 kicks off with a rematch of last season's NFC title game between the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers (8:20 p.m. ET, NFL Network). Before the game, make sure to check out our expert picks for every Week 9 game.
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