2022 NFL Week 8 Review

The NFL trade deadline has officially passed and we are nearly at the midpoint of the season. Let’s take a look at action from across the league in Week 8.

Ravens 27, Bucs 22
Baltimore: The Ravens won consecutive games for the first time this season and it was probably the
team’s best performance given the circumstances. To go on the road to beat a desperate Tampa Bay
squad is nothing short of impressive. What’s more impressive, the Ravens finished the game with 231
yards on the ground after running the ball only seven times in the first half. Baltimore travels to New
Orleans on the 7th .

Tampa Bay: I wish I could say things will turn around for this team but with another lackluster
performance, the outlook gets only darker. The defense has now gone 4 straight games without a
takeaway and that’s not helping a sputtering offense. Leonard Fournette scored on a short TD run in the
first quarter, and that’s the first time that’s happened all season. Only a TD toss to Julio Jones in the final
minute prevented the score from looking uglier. The Bucs host the Rams on Sunday.

Broncos 21, Jaguars 17
Denver: The offense has been atrocious, but a big-time 98-yard drive early in the second half helped the
Broncos get off the snide and win a battle of struggling teams at Wembley Stadium. Wilson wasn’t great
but he led in typical Russ fashion in his return from a hamstring injury going 18 for 30 with over 250
yards through the air. And he seems to have a connection with rookie tight end Greg Dulcich who had
the big reception in that notable drive. Denver heads back to the states on a BYE but returns to play the
Titans in Tennessee.

Jacksonville: Mistakes and turnovers are a part of the game, but for the Jaguars the margin for error is
razor-thin. Travis Etienne fumbled into the end zone last week and this week Trevor Lawrence threw the
dreaded, soul-crushing interception at the 1. For his part, Etienne bounced back with a career day toting
the ball for 156 yards and a touchdown, but another Lawrence interception sealed their 5 th straight loss.
They host the Raiders next Sunday.

Cowboys 49, Bears 29
Dallas: I know Dallas is technically 2 games behind the Eagles but for my money, they look every bit as
good as Philadelphia after Sunday’s showing. They were dominant in the run game although that isn’t
saying much against this years Bear’s defense, Dak Prescott was responsible for 3 TDs, and defensive
stud Micah Parsons got his first TD in the league. Dallas enters the BYE on a great note and comes out of
it with a trip to Lambeau Field on the 13th.

Chicago: The only thing worth noting here is the fact that Fields has looked like an actual NFL
quarterback. He was able to rally the Bears to within 5 points before the game got away from them. The
run defense continues to be historically bad. They gave up over 9 yards a carry to Tony Pollard alone.
And with another significant trade, this storm is nowhere near blowing over. Chicago is at home to the
Dolphins next Sunday.

Falcons 37, Panthers 34
Atlanta: Well, someone has to win the NFC South, right? And right now, if the season ended today, it
would be the Falcons who won in one of the craziest fashions you’ll ever see. It looked as though a 60-
plus yard miracle TD by DJ Moore would be how this game ended but it wasn’t, after the catch, he took
off his helmet in celebration, and the penalty it drew caused a missed extra point. They also avoided
defeat a second time when Carolina kicker Eddie Pineiro missed a field goal in overtime. On the ensuing
possession QB, Marcus Mariota had a crucial 30-yard scramble to help set up a game-winning field goal.
They host the Chargers this Sunday.

Carolina: I’m not going to continue to berate Moore for his gaffe, social media has done that already,
but yikes, a chance to create more chaos in the division went flying by, as did the flag that he caused.
Other than that, the offense got career days from PJ Walker and D’Onta Foreman who continues to
make the best of his opportunities. The Panthers stay on the road to visit the Bengals next Sunday.

Dolphins 31, Lions 27
Miami: The Dolphins reach the midway point of the season at 5-3 with a road comeback. After being
down 10 at the break Tua found Mike Gesicki(minus the griddy thankfully) for the go-ahead TD. The
Miami QB was spectacular in his second game back from a concussion going 29 of 36 for 382 yards.
They’ll have to clean up the penalties to take the next step but as long as Tua is healthy, the sky’s the
limit for the offense and the team. They stay on the road to play Chicago next Sunday.

Detroit: Barry Sanders is finally getting a statue outside of Ford Field and it’s long overdue. In other
news, the Lions blow another lead in a loss. The Dan Campbell watch continues next week against Green
Bay.

Vikings 34, Cardinals 26
Minnesota: What a difference a season makes. All those close games the Vikings lost last year are
becoming wins and it’s got Minnesota sitting comfortably atop the NFC North. Last year the Vikings lost
8 games by 8 points or fewer but now it’s currently a 5-game win streak with all the games within that
margin. It’s been a slow start for Dalvin Cook in the run game but he may be ready to explode following
a season-high 111 yards on the ground. Next up is a trip to Washington in the first meeting for QB Kirk
Cousins against his former team since leaving in 2018.

Arizona: The Cardinals have a serious problem that I believe won’t get solved until major changes are
made. Yes, the offense has looked drastically different and more explosive with Deandre Hopkins back in
the fold but the mark of a good team is not to beat yourselves and they’ve been doing that way too
often this season. 2 second-half interceptions and a fumbled punt return were the plays that did Arizona
this time and they’ll try to clean up those crucial mistakes when they host Seattle next Sunday in the
first of 3 straight games against division opponents.

Saints 24, Raiders 0
New Orleans: An all-world running back can make a difference for any team, especially one that has
stepped in and stepped up in his first year as captain. Alvin Kamara led the way scoring his first 3 TDs of
the season and the defense did the rest in pitching the shutout over the reeling Raiders. Quarterback
Andy Dalton, at least for this week, proved the staff right by starting him over Jameis Winston, and was
solid. We’ll see if the staff stays with Dalton next Monday night when the Ravens come to town on the
7th .

Las Vegas: Unfortunately for rabid Raiders fans, this is just the norm for your franchise. For years the
team teetered on the brink of being really good, only to slide down the slope and go back to the
dungeon of non-relevance. This is their worse loss of the season in a first half full of them. Get this, with
all the names and potential on the offensive side, the Raiders didn’t get the ball across midfield until 2
minutes left in the game. As an outsider, it seems coach Josh McDaniels has lost the team even before
fully gaining it. The identity search continues next Sunday in Jacksonville.

Patriots 22, Jets 17
New England: The win may not have cooled the QB talk around the team but the defense certainly set
the tone as Bill Belichick surpassed George Halas in coaching wins. His 325 th victory was spurred by 3
interceptions of Zach Wilson and 5 field goals. Mac Jones looked better than he did last Monday night in
Chicago and that’s a step in the right direction, hopefully for him and the team. The Pats will try to get
above .500 when they host the Colts next Sunday.

New York: Wilson topped the 300-yard mark for the first time in his career, and that was the worst thing
that could’ve happened in this particular game. Obviously, the entire offense took a big hit when Breece
Hall went down, but at this stage of the young QBs career throwing the ball 40-plus times is not a recipe
for success. Defense and ball control was what won the Jets 4 in a row and they’ve got to find a way to
get that back quickly. It won’t be easy because the Bills come into town next Sunday.

Eagles 35, Steelers 13
Philadelphia: I start to get nervous about teams that get to the midway point of the year undefeated.
The more you win, the more thoughts of making history start to creep in. Personally, I don’t believe the
Eagles will go undefeated, but they look unstoppable at this point. A.J. Brown might be the best receiver
in the game currently and Jalen Hurts is playing at an MVP level. They’re cruising now but what happens
when adversity hits? They have a chance to make it 8 straight to open the year with a trip to Houston on
Thursday.

Pittsburgh: Let’s face it Steelers fans, the team will not compete this year as far as any postseason
aspirations go, but in my humble opinion it is not the beginning of the end for head coach Mike Tomlin.
At this point, there are not enough impact players on either side of the ball to make a difference. What
will matter the most is how the young core learns from it moving forward. I look for a much-improved
effort from them in 2 weeks when they host the Saints on November 13 th .

Titans 17, Texans 10
Tennessee: When it comes to this great game we love, it would be fair to say that as fans we tend to be
prisoners of the moment. But a familiar phrase comes to mind whenever I get a chance to watch Derrick
Henry run the football. Appreciate greatness while it’s here because it won’t last. He’s not the
quarterback in Green Bay but he owns the Texans. Don’t believe me? Well, I present into evidence his 4 th
straight 200-yard game against them, making him the first player in history with 150-plus and 2 rushing
TDs against the same opponent.’Nuff said. Tennessee visits Kansas City in a possible playoff preview
next Sunday night.

Houston: The Texans lead the race for the number one pick in the draft. That is all. They’ll likely remain
in first place after hosting the Eagles Thursday night.

Commanders 17, Colts 16
Washington: That’s now 2 close victories in a row to get back to .500 at the halfway point. Not bad
considering the Commanders looked like the season would spiral out of control just a few weeks ago.
They had to come back in this one as well with Taylor Heinicke orchestrating 2 drives down the stretch
that included the game-winning QB sneak with under 30 seconds to go. Washington welcomes the
Vikings and former QB Kirk Cousins to town looking for 3 in a row next Sunday.

Indianapolis: This is a bad loss for a team hoping to get above an even record at the halfway point. Sam
Ehlinger was OK at the helm but there was an evident lack of explosiveness from the offense, which as it
now occurs to me, has been a major issue all season. Still, allowing 10 unanswered to the Commanders
in the 4 th is something that can’t happen. They travel to New England next Sunday.

Niners 31, Rams 14
San Francisco: This streak against the Rams is one of the most unique things I’ve witnessed in all of
sports. At this point, I’m starting to reference the dominance in terms of presidents. It’s been 4 full years
since the Rams beat the Niners folks. And now coach Kyle Shanahan has the league’s most versatile
weapon at his disposal. In case you all forgot Christian McCaffrey is really good at football, becoming the
11 th player in league history to run, throw, and catch a TD. I look forward to watching the second half of
this team, they’re loaded.

Los Angeles: The Rams have one play on offense: throw the ball to Cooper Kupp. The run game is non-
existent and it’s been that way for the first part of the season. Also, Matthew Stafford has never been
the type to galvanize the guys around him. Sure, he has a big arm, but a true leader is desperately
needed in the locker room. In my opinion, it starts with the quarterback. In 3 home losses, the Rams
have been shut out in the second half, yikes. They travel cross country for a date with the Bucs next
Sunday.

Seahawks 27, Giants 13
Seattle: Boy was this game good. Seattle withstood all it could handle from the G-men and was finally
able to break through late in a battle of the only 2 teams to face each other with winning records. Tyler
Lockett overcame a fumble and a dropped TD to haul in the go-ahead TD with under 10 minutes
remaining and Kenneth Walker finished it off with a TD in the closing moments. It’s a battle of the birds
next week when they travel to Arizona to take on the Cardinals.

New York: This game proved one thing to me: the Giants are a good football team. They matched the
Seahawks blow for blow in the toughest place in the league to play, it’s just unfortunate the run game
couldn’t travel to the pacific northwest. Saquon Barkley was held to a season-low 53 yards and that’s
pretty much the story. The leader in yards from scrimmage was bottled up which took any big play
threat off the board. New York heads into the BYE week with 2 weeks to prepare for the Texans on the
13th .

Bills 27, Packers 17
Buffalo: Who cares which player started the talk in pre and postgame warmups, the point is Stefon Diggs
and the Bills had the last word in a game in which the home team never trailed. If you saw it, this game
was chippy but that didn’t seem to inspire the Packers. Diggs was great, hauling in 6 receptions for 108
yards and a TD off a perfect route. Allen was solid, but 2 interceptions in the 4 th are never a good thing,
and while they visit the suddenly grounded Jets, never underestimate a division opponent. This game
will be tough next Sunday.

Green Bay: There’s plenty of blame to go around, but I’ll start with the money that was invested in the
defense that has yet to gain any returns on the investment. While it’s been solid at best that side of the
ball hasn’t quite produced to its expected level. You pair that with inadequate receivers and a still great
but aging QB and this is what you get. If the Packers can’t beat Detroit to close out the road trip next
Sunday ill start shifting the blame toward the coaches.

Browns 32, Bengals 13
Cleveland: Simply put, the Browns put together a complete effort in dismantling the Bengals on
Halloween night, and that’s certainly a spooky thought. Cleveland’s defense frustrated Joe Burrow
basically from the opening kickoff and didn’t let up until the game was out of reach. Nick Chubb added 2
more TDs on the ground and Amari Cooper rose from the dead in a dominating win. The Deshaun
Watson watch still continues after the BYE when they visit Miami on the 13 th .

Cincinnati: I hope that I’m proven to be terribly wrong about this next statement, but the Bengals have
no chance to compete without a healthy Ja’Marr Chase. He’s that good. Also, please for the love of God
fix this O-line before your franchise quarterback pulls an Andrew Luck. They have a chance to get back
on track when they host the Panthers next Sunday.