The Unusual Week 8 in the NFL
The typical Sunday in the NFL is known for its exciting and unpredictable nature, with games often featuring tight contests, back-and-forth lead changes, and multiple comeback attempts. This is a result of the league's structure, which includes a salary cap, a draft system that rewards teams that lose, and a scheduling formula designed to challenge the best teams. However, Week 8 was an exception, as it turned out to be one of the most lopsided weeks in NFL history since the merger with the AFL in 1970.
In this week, out of the 13 games played, only one game was decided by single digits — a 39-38 win 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, 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.
Lopsided Results and High Scoring Margins
Nine of the games were decided by at least 18 points, making it just the sixth time this has happened in a single week in NFL history and the first since Week 12 of the 2008 season. While some blowouts were expected based on pregame betting lines, such as Indianapolis beating one-win Tennessee 38-14 and Tampa Bay defeating one-win New Orleans 23-3, other matchups that were anticipated to be closer ended up being blowouts as well. For example, Minnesota lost 37-10 to the Chargers, Miami upset Atlanta 34-10, and Denver beat Dallas 44-24.
This trend contributed to the average scoring margin for the week being 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.
Comebacks and Surprises
Only three games had the winning team taking the lead in the second half. The Jets' dramatic comeback was the most notable, as they trailed the Bengals 31-16 at the start of the fourth quarter and seemed headed for their eighth straight loss to open the season. However, two TD runs by Breece Hall and another TD pass by Hall helped New York pull out a 39-38 win, ending a streak of 112 straight losses in games where the Jets trailed by at least 15 points. The last win came in 2003 against Miami.
This also marked the first time quarterback Justin Fields won a game when his team allowed at least 21 points. Fields had previously lost his first 26 starts in that scenario. Now, Colt McCoy holds the record for most losses without a win when his team allows at least 21 points at 0-19.
Jonathan Taylor's Touchdown Streak
Indianapolis' Jonathan Taylor is having 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 for the Colts, marking his fourth game this season with at least three touchdowns. The last time any player achieved this in an entire season was in 2006 when LaDainian Tomlinson did it six times in his MVP season. The only other time a player did it 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.
Running Backs Shine
This was a big week for running backs in the NFL, with three teams rushing for at least 245 yards — the three 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.
Drake Maye's Rise
New England second-year QB Drake Maye has moved into the top three in MVP odds from BetMGM, and for good reason. Since putting up a clunker 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 QBs ever have put together streaks like that, with it happening five other times in a single season. All of those seasons ended with MVPs. Aaron Rodgers has the longest streak by doing it in the first 12 games of the 2011 season when he won his first AP NFL MVP. Rodgers did it again in eight straight games in 2020 when he won his third of four career MVPs.
Tom Brady did it in the first eight games of his record-setting 2007 season when he also won his first MVP. Peyton Manning also did it eight straight games in 2004 when he won the second of his five MVPs and Patrick Mahomes did it in 2018 when he won his first MVP.