NFL Today, Week 8
SCOREBOARD
Monday, Nov. 2
Tampa Bay at New York Giants, 8:15 p.m. EST, ESPN — Tom Brady and the NFC South-leading Buccaneers (5-2) look for their sixth win in seven games when they face the New York Giants (1-6). Tampa Bay's only loss during that stretch was a one-point defeat to Chicago. The game will mark the return of Tampa Bay linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul to MetLife Stadium after he was the Giants’ first-round draft pick in 2010 and played on their Super Bowl championship team in 2011. Brady will also see a familiar face on the other sideline in Giants coach Joe Judge, who was an assistant under Bill Belichick on three Super Bowl winners in New England.
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STARS
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Passing
— Patrick Mahomes, Chiefs, threw for 416 yards and five touchdowns to lead Kansas City to a 35-9 victory over the winless New York Jets.
— Russell Wilson, Seahawks, had four more touchdown passes, two to DK Metcalf, and Seattle rebounded from its first loss of the season with a 37-27 win over San Francisco.
— Philip Rivers, Colts, threw three touchdown passes in the second quarter to help Indianapolis surge past Detroit for a 41-21 victory.
— Joe Burrow, Bengals, was 26 of 37 for 249 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns to lead Cincinnati to a 31-20 victory over Tennessee.
— Drew Lock, Broncos, hit rookie KJ Hamler from 1 yard and no time on the clock, helping lift Denver to a stunning 31-30 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
— Aaron Rodgers, Packers, went 27 of 41 for 291 yards and three TD passes to Davante Adams in a losing cause as Green Bay fell 28-22 to Minnesota.
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Rushing
— Dalvin Cook, Vikings, gained 226 yards from scrimmage, including 163 rushing, in a 28-22 win over Green Bay and became the first Minnesota player in over four decades to score four touchdowns — three on runs and one receiving — in a single game.
— Josh Jacobs, Raiders, finished with a career-high 128 yards — 80 in the second half — on 31 carries in Las Vegas’ 16-6 win at Cleveland.
— Derrick Henry, Titans, ran for 112 yards and a score on 18 carries in Tennessee's 31-20 loss to Cincinnati.
— Zack Moss, Bills, rushed for two TDs and finished with 81 yards on 14 attempts in Buffalo’s 24-21 win over New England.
— J.K. Dobbins, Ravens, ran for 113 yards on 15 carries in Baltimore's 28-24 loss to Pittsburgh.
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Receiving
— DK Metcalf, Seahawks, set career highs with 12 catches and 161 yards receiving and finished with two TD grabs in Seattle's 37-27 win over San Francisco.
— Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce, Chiefs. Hill had 98 yards receiving and two touchdowns, and Kelce finished with 109 yards and another score in Kansas City’s 35-9 rout of the New York Jets.
— Keenan Allen, Chargers, caught nine passes for 68 yards and a TD in Los Angeles' 31-30 loss at Denver.
— Davante Adams, Packers, had three touchdown catches and finished with seven receptions for 53 yards in Green Bay's 28-22 loss to Minnesota.
— Marvin Jones Jr., Lions, caught two TD passes in Detroit's 41-21 loss to Indianapolis.
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Special Teams
— Jakeem Grant, Dolphins, had a team-record 88-yard punt return — his fifth career return for a score, and third on a punt, which are both franchise records — in Miami's 28-17 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
— Tommy Townsend and Armani Watts, Chiefs. Townsend, the punter, threw a pass to Byron Pringle on a faked fourth-down punt to keep their second TD drive alive in Kansas City's 35-9 victory over the New York Jets. Watts blocked a 47-yard field-goal attempt by Sergio Castillo to end the first half.
— Wil Lutz, Saints, nailed a 35-yard field goal in overtime to kick New Orleans past Chicago 26-23.
— Daniel Carlson, Raiders, kicked three field goals in windy, wintry conditions along Lake Erie as Las Vegas topped Cleveland 16-6.
— Brandon McManus, Broncos, nailed the extra point with no time left on the clock to give Denver the 31-30 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
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Defense
— Justin Zimmer and Dean Marlowe, Bills. Zimmer punched the ball out of Cam Newton’s arms and the fumble was recovered by Marlowe at the Buffalo 13 with 31 seconds remaining to secure the Bills’ 24-21 win over New England.
— Robert Spillane, Steelers, took an interception back 33 yards for a score to end Baltimore’s first possession in Pittsburgh's 28-24 victory.
— Kenny Moore, Colts, returned an interception 29 yards for a TD in Indianapolis' 41-21 win at Detroit.
— Andrew Van Ginkel, Dolphins, returned a fumble 78 yards for a touchdown to help Miami top the Los Angeles Rams 28-17.
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MILESTONES
Drew Brees threw two touchdowns in New Orleans' 26-23 win over Chicago to regain the NFL’s all-time lead from Tom Brady. Brees now has 560 TDs in his career, with Brady at 559 entering Tampa Bay's road game Monday night against the New York Giants. ... Kansas City's 35-9 victory over the New York Jets gave coach Andy Reid his 229th win to move into a tie with Hall of Fame coach Curly Lambeau for fifth most in NFL history. ... New Orleans' Alvin Kamara joined Matt Forte and LaDainian Tomlinson as the only running backs in NFL history with 50 or more receptions in each of his first four seasons. The three-time Pro Bowl pick had nine catches — giving him 55 on the year — for 96 yards in the Saints' win over the Bears. ... Kansas City's Patrick Mahomes has 10 career games with at least four touchdown passes, joining Dan Marino (12 games) as the only players with 10 such games in their first four seasons. Mahomes has 11,727 yards passing and 97 TD throws in 39 career games, both the most in a player's first 40 games.
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STREAKS & STATS
Minnesota snapped Green Bay’s eight-game divisional winning streak with a 28-22 victory as the Packers lost an NFC North game for the first time since coach Matt LaFleur arrived last season. The Packers also lost at home for the first time since falling 34-27 to the Eagles on Sept. 26, 2019. The Packers had won eight straight at home, including a playoff victory over the Seattle Seahawks last season. ... The New York Jets have dropped their first eight games and remained the NFL's only winless team after a 35-9 defeat at Kansas City. Patrick Mahomes had five TD passes in the game, while New York has only four touchdown throws all season. The Jets are 0-8 for the first time since the 1996 team, which finished 1-15 under Rich Kotite. ... The Las Vegas Raiders had allowed 10-plus points in an NFL-record 116 straight games, but that came to an end with a 16-6 win at Cleveland. ... Buffalo beat New England 24-21 and is off to consecutive 6-2 starts for the first time since a six-year run from 1988-93. The Bills snapped a seven-game skid against the AFC East-rival Patriots, and beat a Bill Belichick-coaches New England team for just the sixth time in 41 meetings, going back to 2000. The Patriots have lost four in a row, matching their worst skid since 2002.
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STEEL UNBEATEN
The Pittsburgh Steelers rallied behind Ben Roethlisberger to remain the lone unbeaten team in the NFL, beating error-prone Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens 28-24 in a duel for first place in the AFC North. The only other time the Steelers started 7-0, in 1978, they went on to win their third Super Bowl in five years. Roethlisberger threw a pair of second-half touchdown passes in this one to bring Pittsburgh back from a 10-point halftime deficit. He completed only four passes for 24 yards in the first half, but finished 21 for 32 for 182 yards.
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TUA TIME
Tua Tagovailoa threw his first career touchdown pass in his first NFL start and then let his teammates take over with a succession of big plays as the Miami Dolphins won their third straight, 28-17 against the Los Angeles Rams. The Dolphins struck for scores 75 seconds apart on Andrew Van Ginkel’s 78-yard fumble return and Jakeem Grant’s team-record 88-yard punt return. The big plays helped Tagovailoa overcome a costly early turnover in his first NFL start. The first time the rookie tried to throw, the ball came loose when his arm was hit by Aaron Donald, and Tagovailoa was then driven to the turf by Michael Brockers as Leonard Floyd recovered the fumble. The No. 5 overall pick in this year’s draft finished 12 of 22 for 93 yards.
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COOK SIZZLES
Dalvin Cook became the first Vikings player in over four decades to score four touchdowns in a single game as Minnesota defeated the Green Bay Packers 28-22 on Sunday. Each of the Vikings’ first four possessions ended with TDs by Cook. He ran for 163 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries, and also had two catches for 63 yards, including a 50-yard score. The only other Vikings to score four touchdowns in a game were Ahmad Rashad in 1979 and Chuck Foreman in 1975. Cook missed Minnesota’s last game with a groin injury that had him listed as questionable for the meeting with Green Bay.
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GROUNDED RAVEN
Lamar Jackson went 13 for 28 for 208 yards and threw two interceptions and lost two fumbles in Baltimore, miscues that helped Pittsburgh stay within striking distance until its offense finally got on track in the Steelers' 28-24 comeback win over the Ravens. The two picks were the most Jackson had in a regular-season game since throwing three against Pittsburgh in October 2019.
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SILENT BELL
Kansas City running back Le’Veon Bell got a crack at the New York Jets just a few weeks after they released him, but wasn't much of a factor in the Chiefs' 35-9 romp. Bell was held to just 7 yards rushing with three catches for another 31 yards.
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FLIPPIN' OUT
Indianapolis running back Nyheim Hines had so much energy, he celebrated each of his two touchdowns in the second quarter of the Colts' 41-21 win at Detroit with moves that would make a gymnast proud. He pulled off roundoffs into full twists in the end zone. The first acrobatic feat was particularly impressive because Hines went in motion to the left, reversed field to make a short catch, sprinted up the sideline and spun to break a tackle to score. Hines said he learned how to do flips about 10 years ago, starting on a trampolines before defying gravity off the ground.
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LOST ANGELES
The hard-luck Los Angeles Chargers became the first NFL team to lose three games they led by 17 or more points in the same season since the Atlanta Falcons did it in 2003. This time, Drew Lock hit rookie KJ Hamler from 1 yard with no time on the clock and Brandon McManus nailed the extra point to give the Denver Broncos a shocking 31-30 win. The Chargers, who appeared primed to end their seven-game AFC West losing streak, led 24-3 in the third quarter.
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YOUNG GUNS
A pair of rookie quarterbacks are off to impressive starts: Cincinnati's Joe Burrow and the Los Angeles Chargers' Justin Herbert. Burrow, the No. 1 overall pick in April, has 221 completions —the most by a player in his first eight career games in NFL history. He has completed at least 25 passes in six games, tied with Arizona's Kyler Murray (2019) for the second-most such games by a rookie. Only Philadelphia's Carson Wentz had more, with seven in 2016. Meanwhile, Herbert — the No. 6 pick — had three touchdown passes in Los Angeles' 31-30 loss at Denver, tying him with Houston's Deshaun Watson (2017) as the only rookies with at least three TD tosses in four consecutive games.
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SIDELINED
Baltimore Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley is out for the season after injuring an ankle against Pittsburgh two days after the All-Pro signed a five-year extension worth a reported $99 million. Stanley had an air cast applied to his left ankle and was taken off the field on a cart after he was accidentally undercut by Pittsburgh’s T.J. Watt in the first quarter of Baltimore’s 28-24 loss. ... Cleveland star defensive end Myles Garrett injured a knee in the first quarter and played sparingly in the second half of a 16-6 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. The NFL sacks leader was scheduled to undergo an MRI on Monday. ... Raiders right tackle Trent Brown, who recently tested positive for COVID-19, was inactive because of an illness the team said was not related to the coronavirus. A person with knowledge of Brown’s status told The Associated Press that Brown was going to stay overnight in a Cleveland hospital. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no details about Brown were announced. The NFL Network reported that Brown was sent to the hospital after a pregame IV caused air to enter his bloodstream. ... Minnesota cornerback Cameron Dantzler was taken to a hospital for evaluation after being taken off the field on a stretcher in the first half of a 28-22 win at Green Bay. The team said the 22-year-old had full movement in his body. Dantzler, who was recently activated off the COVID-19 list, was being evaluated for a neck injury and concussion after his facemask collided with the leg of teammate Anthony Harris. ... Los Angeles Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa left in the fourth quarter of a 31-30 loss to Denver and was being evaluated for a concussion.
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SPEAKING
“It was ridiculous. It rained. It sleeted. It snowed. It was snowing sideways. The wind, who knows what it was?” — Las Vegas quarterback Derek Carr after the Raiders beat the Browns 16-6 in windy, wintry conditions along Lake Erie at Cleveland.
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“This definitely qualifies as one of those games where if you want to be a great team, you’ve got to handle business at home. Look, it’s not the same type of home environment (without fans). I get it. But it’s 2020 and we’re in a different NFL this year. It’s still a game we should win, a team with the trade deadline coming and questions about their coach during the week. Yeah. These are one of the games we need to win. Hopefully it’s just a reality check for us.” — Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers after the Packers fell to the 2-5 Minnesota Vikings 28-22.
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"Man, that was fun. It feels good, to be honest with you, to be on the other side of the spectrum, to be watching our offense hit that victory formation. It felt amazing.” — Buffalo defensive end Jerry Hughes after the Bills edged AFC East-rival New England 24-21. Hughes had been 2-12 in his first seven seasons against the Patriots.
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