Welcome to another installment of my weekly NFL Column. My goal is to watch everything so that you don’t have to. I will present to you the best games to watch back; the craziest moments; the best individual performances and the season-long stat leaders and records. I will also be previewing the upcoming gameweek, too.
If that sounds like something you’re interested in, check in each week.
Not everybody in the UK has the ability to watch almost 20 hours of live NFL every week, but I’ll make sure you don’t miss anything you’d wish you didn’t. Without further delay…
This is what happened This Week in the NFL.
Game of the Week
If you can only watch one full game in its entirety, watch this one:
Cleveland Browns @ Seattle Seahawks
I have to admit that I might be biased because I think that the Seahawks alternative jerseys made me enjoy watching this game a disproportionate amount. However, this game was a blast! A Seattle offense with countless weapons facing off against a top 3 defense in the league, it was a real battle.
I won’t spoil anything, but this game came down to the wire. It was a fun watch, and I recommend it!
Other games to watch back
New Orleans Saints @ Indianapolis Colts
Philadelphia Eagles @ Washington Commanders
Upset of the Week
Kansas City Chiefs @ Denver Broncos
Now that was unexpected… The AFC West’s best and worst teams faced off this week and the result was not what I was anticipating. Kansas City didn’t show up, and the previously struggling Broncos showed up in a big way.
Kansas City Chiefs 9 – 24 Denver Broncos
Mahomes and co were unable to muster up a touchdown, which is a truly rare occurrence. They intercepted Mahomes twice and were able to keep their running game to just 62 yards on 16 carries. They shut down one of the most prolific offenses and had 3 sacks, too. Their own offense didn’t even have to do much themselves. Russell Wilson only threw 114 passing yards (although in is defense, the 114 yards and 3 TD’s came on just 19 pass attempts).
I don’t necessarily think this game is indicative of how the rest of the season will go for these two teams, but it was fun to see the dynasty wobble a little bit.
Winless Watch! (AKA the race for Caleb)
It’s over!! The Carolina Panthers won a game of football, ladies and gentlemen.
The 0-6 lads managed to put in a hearty performance. They defended their home turf against the Houston Texans, who entered the game at .500 with a record of 3-3. If I was a Carolina fan I wouldn’t be particularly enthused by them winning, but as an enjoyer of Winless watch I am even more disappointed. The end of an era.
Winners and Losers
Winners
Buffalo Bills (5-3)
Dallas Cowboys (5-2)
Minnesota Vikings (4-4)
Tennessee Titans (3-4)
New Orleans Saints (4-4)
Miami Dolphins (6-2)
New York Jets (4-3)
Jacksonville Jaguars (6-2)
Philadelphia Eagles (7-1)
Carolina Panthers (1-6)
Seattle Seahawks (5-2)
Denver Broncos (3-5)
Baltimore Ravens (6-2)
Cincinnati Bengals (4-3)
Los Angeles Chargers (3-4)
Detroit Lions (6-2)
Losers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-4)
Los Angeles Rams (3-5)
Green Bay Packers (2-5)
Atlanta Falcons (4-4)
Indianapolis Colts (3-5)
New England Patriots (2-6)
New York Giants (2-6)
Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3)
Washington Commanders (3-5)
Houston Texans (3-4)
Cleveland Browns (4-3)
Kansas City Chiefs (6-2)
Arizona Cardinals (1-7)
San Francisco 49ers (5-3)
Chicago Bears (2-6)
Las Vegas Raiders (3-5)
Standout Individual Performers
Jalen Hurts, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
76.3% completion rate, 319 passing yards and 4 TD’s. 135.7 quarterback rating.
The Eagles are a dominant force, but the Commanders gave them a challenge this week. This forced Jalen Hurts to step up and put in a great performance, throwing 319 passing yards and 4 TD’s. He did have a fumble on the usually perfect ‘Brotherly Shove’, but his passing more than made up for it. He earned a 135.7 quarterback rating in the one-score win.
Will Levis, QB, Tennessee Titans
65.5% completion rate, 238 passing yards and 4 TD’s.
On my Week 8 bingo card, I didn’t have Will Levis balling out in his debut, I’ll be honest. In the incredibly nice Oilers throwback uniforms, he showed out and threw four touchdowns in his first ever start. With just a five-point win, they needed every touchdown to outlast the Atlanta Falcons. He made some good throws and led his team to just their third win of the year.
Sam Howell, QB, Washington Commanders
75% completion rate, 397 passing yards and 4 TD’s, with just 1 INT.
As I said, the Commanders pushed Philly to the limit this week, and while Hurts walked away with the win, it’d be disrespectful to ignore the impressive performance from Sam Howell on the other side of this hard-fought matchup. The Washington signal-caller was able to complete 75% of his passes for a career-high 397 passing yards. Howell threw 4 touchdowns, all four of which went to different receivers. He threw one interception, too, but it was a very impressive performance for the second-year QB who has – by my estimation – earned himself the starting role for this team.
DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Tennessee Titans
4 receptions on 6 targets for 128 receiving yards and 3 TD’s.
As I mentioned earlier, the Titans alternative uniforms this week were something special. The Houston Oilers throwbacks also had the positive side-effect that they brought back the DeAndre Hopkins that used to play in Houston himself. He balled out, pulling in 4 receptions for 128 receiving yards and 3 TD’s. Surprisingly, this was just the second hat-trick of his career, and the first since he left the Texans.
CeeDee Lamb, WR, Dallas Cowboys
12 receptions on 14 targets for 158 receiving yards and 2 TD’s.
If you watched Redzone this week, this will have seen this coming, I have no doubt. The Dallas superstar wideout, CeeDee Lamb, absolutely balled out this week. He saw 14 targets and caught 12 of them. He converted those receptions into 158 receiving yards and a pair of touchdowns in the Cowboys runaway win over the Rams.
A.J. Brown, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
8 receptions on 8 targets for 130 receiving yards and 2 TD’s.
Another elite NFC East WR, A.J. Brown, also dominated Redzone’s highlights. As Hurts connected with him on a perfect 8/8, for an impressive 130 receiving yards and a brace of his own. One of his two TD’s came on a very impressive catch, as he showed his ability to attack the football in the air, over a less athletic defender.
Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Detroit Lions
26 carries for 152 rushing yards and a TD, plus 5 receptions for 37 receiving yards.
If you watched Monday Night Football, you will know that rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs looked absolutely electric. Every time he touches the football, there is a recognisable and evident chance that he will break away for a touchdown. He had a career-high 31 touches, and turned them into 189 scrimmage yards and a TD in an impressive showing against Las Vegas. I really think the more touches you give this kid, the better your offense will be. He’s so exciting to watch.
Rashid Shaheed, WR, New Orleans Saints
3 receptions on 3 targets for 153 receiving yards and a TD.
One of the best deep threats in the NFL, Rashid Shaheed averages 20.8 yards per reception throughout his young career. His connection with quarterback Derek Carr – who has an underrated deep ball, in my opinion – continues to grow, and this week they were firing on all cylinders. He was only targeted three times this week, but what targets they were… He caught all three of them and he was able to turn those into a whopping 153 receiving yards, and a TD as the cherry on top.
George Kittle, TE, San Francisco 49ers
9 receptions on 11 targets for 149 receiving yards.
It’s not National TE Day anymore, but I’ll still show love to them if they’re going to ball out like George Kittle did this week! Despite Brock Purdy struggling in a loss against the resurgent Bengals, he was able to hit his tight end 9 times on 11 targets, which turned into 149 receiving yards.
Kayvon Thibodeaux, DE, New York Giants
6 solo tackles and 3 assists including 3.0 Sacks and a forced fumble.
The Giants and Jets had what it would be fair to say was a pretty quiet game offensively this week. Okay, that may be an understatement. But, the defensive players who dominated deserve some credit for that. The star of the show was young edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux. The Giants DE amassed 6 solo tackles and 3 assists, while recording 3.0 Sacks, including a strip sack on the first drive of the game.
George Karlaftis, DE, Kansas City Chiefs
4 solo tackles and 3 assists including 2.5 Sacks and a forced fumble.
The Chiefs may have lost this week, but their defense did a pretty good job at least. Russell Wilson was sacked 6 times and they only gave up 24 points, so it’s pretty much a miracle that the result was a loss. The star of Kansas City’s defensive efforts was George Karlaftis. Their young edge rushers had 7 combined tackles, 4 of which were solo tackles, and had 2.5 Sacks on the ex-Seahawks QB.
DaRon Bland, CB, Dallas Cowboys
6 solo tackles and 1 assist, plus a 30-yard pick-six.
The Dallas Cowboys defense has a new cornerback making a splash, this season. With their Interception machine Trevon Diggs out injured, someone else had to step up, and DaRon Bland has done just that! On Sunday, in addition to 7 combined tackles, Bland secured his fourth interception of the year (second in the NFL) and his third pick-six of the year! At this rate he could break the record for the most INT return TD’s ever, which is currently a three-way tie on 4. That’s definitely something to watch as the year goes on.
Alex Anzalone, LB, Detroit Lions
5 solo tackles and 2 assists including 2.0 Sacks.
When I put a defensive player in this segment, I am usually crowning them as someone who turned the tide, or just spent the entire game disrupting the opposing offense. Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone did both of those things on MNF, proving to be a massive thorn in the side of both Josh Jacobs and Jimmy Garoppolo. He had 5 solo tackles and 2 assists in Detroit’s prime time win, and had 2.0 Sacks, which is impressive for an off-ball Linebacker. Admittedly, one of the sacks was just absolutely gifted to him by horrendous blocking, but you can only play against the offense that’s in front of you, so it’s not his fault!
Jonathan Greenard, DE, Houston Texans
3 solo tackles and 3 assists including 2.5 Sacks.
The Houston Texans didn’t have a very good week this week. As you discovered earlier, they lost to the previously winless 0-6 Panthers. Not their best performance, it goes without saying. Although, if there’s any consolation for one of their players, it’s that Jonathan Greenard had a damn good performance. He made 3 solo tackles and had 3 assists, including 2.5 Sacks on the rookie QB Bryce Young. I imagine he’d rather have done nothing personally and won, but I’ll show him some love anyway.
Stat Leaders Through Week 8
Passing Yards – Tua Tagovailoa MIA, 2416
Passing TD’s – Kirk Cousins MIN and Tua Tagovailoa MIA, 18
Rushing Yards – Christian McCaffrey SF, 652
Rushing TD’s – Raheem Mostert MIA, 10
Receiving Yards – Tyreek Hill MIA, 1014
Receiving TD’s – Tyreek Hill MIA, 8
Total TD’s – Christian McCaffrey SF, 13
Tackles (combined) – Zaire Franklin IND, 102
Sacks – Danielle Hunter MIN, 10.0
Interceptions – Geno Stone BAL, 5
Week 9 Preview – What to watch
Teams on Bye
Denver Broncos (3-5)
Detroit Lions (5-2)
San Francisco 49ers (5-3)
Jacksonville Jaguars (6-2)
Week 9 Best Games – Special Edition!
Saddle up for an epic Sunday, ladies and gentlemen. This is going to be fun… 14 hours straight of awesome NFL matchups!
Miami Dolphins @ Kansas City Chiefs in Frankfurt! 2:30pm
Seattle Seahawks @ Baltimore Ravens, 6pm
Dallas Cowboys @ Philadelphia Eagles, 9:25pm
Buffalo Bills @ Cincinnati Bengals, SNF
Tyler’s Bold Week 9 Prediction
Every single game I listed above will have 50+ points scored.
Week 9 Storylines
One of the best Sunday schedules of the entire season is here. Great games from 2:30pm through SNF.
Two of the best offenses in the NFL battling it out on German soil! Dolphins @ Chiefs, 2:30pm
Will Minnesota make Josh Dobbs start after being traded just 5 days prior? Vikings @ Falcons, 6pm
Will Kyler Murray make his return as the starting QB in Arizona? Cardinals @ Browns, 6pm
A tough matchup as the NFC and AFC face off with two strong teams. Seahawks @ Ravens, 6pm
Can Carolina get two wins on the trot after their rough start? Colts @ Panthers, 9:05pm
A “battle” between two teams who are struggling massively. One of them has to win, right? Giants @ Raiders, 9:25pm
One of the biggest divisional rivalries in the league. Cowboys @ Eagles, 9:25pm
A potential AFC Championship matchup, on prime time in November. Bills @ Bengals, SNF
