The Unusual Week 8 in the NFL
The typical Sunday in the NFL is known for its exciting games, with tight contests, lead changes, and dramatic comebacks. This is a result of the league's structure, including a salary cap, a draft that rewards teams that lose, and a scheduling system designed to challenge the best teams. However, Week 8 was anything but typical. It turned out to be one of the most lopsided weeks in NFL history since the merger with the AFL in 1970.
In the 13 games played during this week, only one game was decided by single digits — a 39-38 victory for the New York Jets against Cincinnati. This marked the first time since the final week of the 1970 season that only one game was decided by fewer than 10 points. This is a significant drop from the average of 8.7 games per week decided by single digits in the first seven weeks and 8.3 per week over the last 10 seasons.
Blowouts and High Scoring Margins
Nine of the games were decided by at least 18 points, which is just the sixth time this has happened in a single week in NFL history and the first since Week 12 of the 2008 season. Some of these blowouts were expected based on pregame betting lines, such as Indianapolis defeating one-win Tennessee 38-14 and Tampa Bay beating one-win New Orleans 23-3.
However, even matchups that were expected to be close turned into blowouts. For example, Minnesota lost 37-10 to the Chargers, Miami upset Atlanta 34-10, and Denver beat Dallas 44-24. These results contributed to an average scoring margin of 18.5 points per game, the highest since Week 15 of the 2012 season (18.7) and the seventh highest of any week since the merger.
Dramatic Comebacks
Only three games saw the winning team taking the lead in the second half. The Jets rallied from 15 points down to beat the Bengals, Green Bay came back from nine points down at the half to beat Pittsburgh 35-25, and Kansas City turned a 7-7 game at the half against Washington into a 28-7 blowout.
The most shocking comeback came from the Jets, who were trailing the Bengals 31-16 at the start of the fourth quarter. Two touchdown runs by Breece Hall and another touchdown pass helped the Jets pull off a 39-38 win, ending an 112-game streak of losses when they trailed by at least 15 points. The last win in such a scenario came in 2003 against Miami.
A Record-Breaking Season for Jonathan Taylor
Indianapolis' Jonathan Taylor is having a historic season, with a touchdown scoring stretch that hasn't been seen in over 75 years. Taylor ran for two scores and caught a TD pass on Sunday, giving him four games this season with at least three touchdowns. The last time any player did this in an entire season was in 2006 when LaDainian Tomlinson achieved it six times in his MVP season. The only other time a player did this in the first eight games of a season was in 1949 when Gene Roberts pulled it off for the New York Giants.
Taylor's 14 touchdowns this season are tied for the fifth-most through eight games, with Jim Brown holding the record with 17 in 1958 for Cleveland.
A Big Week for Running Backs
This week was also notable for the performance of running backs. Three teams rushed for at least 245 yards — the highest outputs this season. Philadelphia had 276 yards rushing against the Giants, the Jets had 254 against the Bengals, and Buffalo had 245 against Carolina. This was the first time three teams ran for at least 240 yards in the same week since the final week of the 2020 season.
James Cook had 216 of the yards on the ground for the Bills, joining his brother, Dalvin, as the only siblings to each record a 200-yard rushing game. Dalvin did it twice for Minnesota. James Cook's 153 yards rushing in the first half were the most by any player since Dalvin had 153 against Pittsburgh on Dec. 9, 2021.
A Rising Star: Drake Maye
New England's second-year quarterback Drake Maye has moved into the top three in MVP odds from BetMGM, and for good reason. Since a poor performance in a loss to Las Vegas in the opener, Maye has thrown for at least 200 yards and had a passer rating of 100 or better in seven straight games.
Only some of the best quarterbacks ever have put together such streaks, with it happening five other times in a single season. All of those seasons ended with MVPs. Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, and Patrick Mahomes have all achieved similar feats in their respective careers.