NFL Game Recaps: Week 8, 2022

NFL Game Recaps of previous weeks and seasons can be found via links at the bottom of the page.

Ravens 27, Buccaneers 22

For a while, it seemed like the Tom Brady would snap out of his funk and win a game for the first time since he defeated the Falcons in Week 5. The Buccaneers overcame a muffed punt when two players ran into each other to set up a Baltimore field goal by scoring 10 quick points. Brady missed Mike Evans for a touchdown, but Leonard Fournette scored on the same drive. With the Ravens losing Mark Andrews and Rashod Bateman to injuries, it seemed as though Tampa Bay would cruise to an easy victory.

The Buccaneers, however, scored just six points after that until garbage time, as Brady continued to show frustration with his teammates. He continued to make some bad throws, but his wideouts weren’t in the right spots on occasion either. The defense, meanwhile, which stymied Lamar Jackson for most of the opening half, didn’t stand a chance as the game progressed. Jackson led scoring drives on every possession following halftime, as Tampa Bay’s defense showed a major problem tackling the opposition.

Brady’s final stat line looks good – he was 26-of-44 for 325 yards and a touchdown – but he was able to accumulate some significant yardage, as well as his lone touchdown, in garbage time when the Ravens were up two scores. Brady was woeful in the second and third quarters of this game, particularly in the red zone. The Buccaneers continued to make dumb mistakes while deep in enemy territory. The silver lining is that Tampa Bay has a mini-bye to get things right, but there is a lot of work to do.

Jackson outplayed Brady by a wide margin. He completed every single pass he attempted in the second half, scoring three touchdowns and a field goal on four possessions. Jackson finished 27-of-38 for 238 yards and two touchdowns to go along with nine scrambles for 43 rushing yards. The stats weren’t amazing, but consider that Jackson lost both Andrews and Bateman in the opening half. Jackson had previously struggled without Bateman and a hobbled Andrews last week, but he overcame the losses and ripped though Tampa’s anemic defense.

Three players stepped up in the wake of the Andrews and Bateman injuries. Isaiah Likely led the team in receiving with six catches for 77 yards and a touchdown. Demarcus Robinson also hauled in six passes for 64 yards. Devin Duvernay caught four balls for 31 yards, and he also scored a rushing touchdown.

Gus Edwards led the Ravens in rushing with 65 yards on 11 carries, but hurt his hamstring and was replaced by Kenyan Drake, who had a big role in the second half. Drake rushed for 62 yards on seven carries to go along with four catches for five receiving yards and a touchdown.

Surprisingly, Fournette didn’t catch passes until garbage time. He scored the early touchdown, but did nothing else until the very end. Fournette rushed for 24 yards and the score on nine carries, and he caught three passes for 34 yards. He made a huge blunder when he was guilty of a false start on a fourth-and-3 in the final quarter.

Fournette was third on Tampa’s receiving list. Evans led the way with six grabs for 123 yards. Chris Godwin also reeled in six passes, but for only 75 yards.

Broncos 21, Jaguars 17

The news entering this game was that Nathaniel Hackett’s job would be in jeopardy with a loss. Many coaches on the hot seat have traveled to London and never came back, and that appeared to be Hackett’s fate early in this game when the Jaguars established a quick 10-0 advantage, thanks to a Russell Wilson interception on an underthrown pass. Jacksonville’s lead could have been even larger, but Trevor Lawrence was guilty of his own interception at the Denver 1-yard line. Lawrence foolishly threw the ball late across his body into heavy traffic, and the ball was snatched by Justin Simmons.

The Jaguars still entered intermission with a 10-7 lead, but Denver’s offense finally awakened. The Broncos engineered a 98-yard touchdown drive to move in front, featuring three Greg Dulcich catches that went for 78 yards, including one deep pass where Dulcich was tackled at the 1-yard line. The Jaguars struggled to move the chains for most of the second half, save for one drive that culminated with a Travis Etienne touchdown. Denver struck back, thanks to a Wilson bomb to KJ Hamler. The Broncos ultimately scored via a rushing score, but Lawrence still had one more chance. Lawrence’s final possession ended quickly, however, as a very inaccurate pass of his was picked.

It looked like this would be another rough afternoon for Wilson with his early pick, as well as another potential interception that was dropped, and he was just 12-of-19 for 117 yards and the interception at the half. Wilson completed just six passes following intermission, but he made them count with deep strikes to Dulcich and Hamler. Wilson finished 18-of-30 for 252 yards, one touchdown and the pick. His numbers would’ve been better had Courtland Sutton not dropped a pass in the fourth quarter.

Thanks to Sutton’s drop, the usually reliable receiver was miserable with just one grab for 13 yards. Dulcich led the stat sheet with four catches for 87 yards, while Jerry Jeudy secured six of his seven targets for 63 yards and a touchdown.

The Broncos didn’t run the ball very well, but Latavius Murray (14-46) and Melvin Gordon (9-29) both scored touchdowns.

Etienne was the star of this game, as his rushing yardage more than doubled the combined production of Murray and Gordon. Etienne dashed for 156 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. He also caught three passes, but for only six receiving yards.

While Wilson finished strong, Lawrence worsened as the morning progressed. He was just 7-of-12 for 53 yards and an interception in the second half. Lawrence missed several throws he could make in his sleep. That has been a weekly occurrence for Lawrence lately, as he doesn’t seem to be developing under dreadful head coach Doug Pederson. Lawrence’s final numbers were 18-of-31 for 133 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He also fumbled on a strip-sack, but a teammate of his recovered.

Evan Engram led the Jaguars in receiving with four catches for 55 yards and a touchdown. Christian Kirk (3-40) and Zay Jones (3-28) were the only other Jaguars with double-digit receiving yardage.

Falcons 37, Panthers 34

Despite what the final score says, this was a defensive battle for most of regulation. The Falcons were up 21-13 entering the fourth quarter, thanks to a touchdown scored on a Phillip Walker pick-six, which occurred when Walker was trying to throw a screen. Marcus Mariota wasn’t clean either, as he was picked on a deep throw.

Despite the slow start, the fourth quarter was a scoring frenzy, with that frame seeing just as many points as the previous three quarters combined. The two teams hit a number of big plays. The Panthers were down three with less than two minutes remaining, but a sack on Walker gave the Falcons an easy field goal to increase their lead from three to six. Up 34-28 with 40 seconds on the clock, the Falcons appeared to be locked into a victory.

No one gave Walker the memo, however. After some quick completions, Walker launched a deep pass to D.J. Moore. The Falcons inexplicably allowed Moore to get behind them, and he was able to reel in the deep touchdown. All the Panthers needed was an extra point from Eddy Pineiro to win the game, but Moore was flagged for taunting because he took off his helmet. The longer kick was naturally missed, so the teams went into overtime.

The Falcons won the coin toss, but quickly gave the Panthers an opportunity to win when a Marcus Mariota pass was thrown up for grabs and picked. This set up Pineiro with a 33-yard try, yet that attempt sailed wide left. The Falcons took their next possession into Carolina territory, and they had no such kicking woes from the automatic Younghoe Koo, who drilled a 41-yard attempt to give the Falcons the win.

Mariota made two big mistakes, but did well otherwise, going 20-of-28 for 253 yards, three touchdowns and the two picks. Mariota was battling a solid pass defense, so this result was surprising. He also scrambled six times for 43 rushing yards.

Walker was able to eclipse Mariota’s passing yardage, thanks to his Hail Mary to Moore. That said, he barely completed half of his passes, going 19-of-36 for 317 yards, one touchdown and the aforementioned pick-six.

Moore was the best fantasy producer in this game, thanks to his 62-yard Hail Mary bomb that should have won the game. He caught six of his 11 targets for 152 yards and a touchdown, as he was the only Panther with more than 33 receiving yards, save for Terrace Marshall (4-87). Moore might get some blame for making Pineiro’s extra point more difficult, but there’s a good chance Pineiro would have missed the extra point regardless.

Atlanta’s leading receiver was Kyle Pitts, who finally snapped out of his funk. He caught five of his nine targets for 80 yards and a touchdown. Damiere Byrd (3-67) and Tyler Allgeier (3-46) also scored. Drake London, conversely, was limited to four catches for 31 yards.

D’Onta Foreman was the top rusher in this game. He bulldozed through the Falcons’ inept front, rumbling for 118 yards and three touchdowns on 26 carries. Caleb Huntley paced the Falcons with 91 yards on 16 tries. He outgained Allgeier (14-39) on the ground by a wide margin.

Cowboys 49, Bears 29

The Cowboys looked like they’d run away with an easy, blowout victory for more than half the game. They established a 28-7 lead in the second quarter, and the only reason why Chicago was within two touchdowns by halftime was because it scored a field goal when Dak Prescott threw an interception as a result of not seeing the safety.

The Bears, however, didn’t get the memo that they were supposed to be blown out. Justin Fields picked up where he left off Monday night with some great scrambles to keep drives alive. Then, in the third quarter, it appeared as though disaster struck when Khalil Herbert lost a fumble when down 28-17. The turnover was negated by replay review, however, and Herbert scored a touchdown later on that drive to draw to within five.

Now up just 28-23, the Cowboys were in danger of blowing a three-touchdown lead. However, Prescott hit Dalton Schultz for a deep completion, ultimately setting up a Tony Pollard touchdown. The defense then came up large, forcing a fumble from David Montgomery, who reached out for the first-down line. Micah Parsons scooped and scored, thanks to some help from Fields, who inexplicably jumped over Parsons rather than touch him down. Thanks to these two drives, the Cowboys were able to cruise to an easy victory after a brief scare.

Pollard finally had the workload all to himself, thanks to the absence of Ezekiel Elliott, and it wasn’t a surprise that Dallas’ offense was more explosive. Pollard dashed for 131 yards and three touchdowns on only 14 carries. It’s unclear why he touched the ball 15 times – he caught a 16-yard pass as well – but it’s clear that the Cowboys are so much better if Pollard is the lead back, rather than the sluggish Elliott.

Prescott looked much better this week than he did in his return versus Detroit. He misfired just six times, going 21-of-27 for 250 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

CeeDee Lamb had a strong performance, catching five of his seven targets for 77 yards and a touchdown. Schultz was close on the receiving list with six grabs for 74 yards.

The Bears didn’t get nearly as much from their aerial attack. Fields had just six incompletions, but despite the constant deficit, he attempted only 23 passes. He went 17-of-23 for just 151 yards and two touchdowns.

The only Chicago player with more than 24 receiving yards was Darnell Mooney, who hauled in all five of his targets for 70 yards. Fields’ touchdowns went to N’Keal Harry (2-24) and Cole Kmet (2-11).

Like the Cowboys, the Bears gave more carries to the superior backup running back, though the deficit had something to do with that. Montgomery was handed one fewer carry than Herbert (16-15), and Herbert outgained Montgomery by a wide margin, 99-53. Herbert also scored a touchdown, while Montgomery was held out of the end zone.

Vikings 34, Cardinals 26

It didn’t seem as though either team wanted to win this game in the second half. Both sides made major blunders to give the opponent some easy scores. The trouble began when Kyler Murray, down 21-17 in the third quarter, heaved the ball while under heavy pressure. The pass was picked, and Dalvin Cook turned that into a touchdown on a short field. The Vikings then paid back Arizona, as Kirk Cousins lost a fumble on a strip-sack deep in his own territory. The Cardinals could only muster a field goal to draw to within 28-26.

The Cardinals got a stop with 10:30 remaining, so they had a chance to take the lead on the next possession. We’ll never know if that would happen because Greg Dortch muffed a punt to once again set up the Vikings with a quick touchdown. Greg Joseph missed the extra point, keeping the margin to within one score. However, Murray threw another interception to ruin all hope for the Cardinals, as a pass of his was way behind Zach Ertz on a possible miscommunication.

Murray was able to out-pass Cousins, but only because of some drives late in the afternoon. Murray went 31-of-44 for 326 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. The numbers look great for the most part, but the two picks ruined Arizona’s chances of winning this game. Then again, it wasn’t all Murray’s fault, as he was missing four starting offensive linemen.

Cousins, meanwhile, finished 24-of-36 for 232 yards and two touchdowns. As mentioned, he also lost a fumble, but made up for it with 22 rushing yards and another touchdown on four scrambles. Cousins was sharp in the first half, but struggled as the afternoon progressed. He did surprisingly well against the blitz after coming into the game ranked 34th in Pro Football Focus’ metrics versus the blitz.

Dalvin Cook had a huge first half, nearly hitting the century mark before going into intermission. The Cardinals did a better job against him, forcing some punts when Minnesota was trying to run out the clock. Cook rumbled for 111 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. He was a big factor in the passing game with five catches for 30 receiving yards, drawing an interference flag in the process. Cook was vultured once by Alexander Mattison (5-40).

Only two Viking receivers outgained Cook: Justin Jefferson (6-98) and Adam Thielen (6-67). Thielen suffered an injury in the first half, but missed only one play.

DeAndre Hopkins was the leader in receiving yards by a wide margin. He reeled in 12 of his 13 targets for 159 yards and a touchdown. Rondale Moore (7-92) and Ertz (4-34) also found the end zone.

Eno Benjamin didn’t get a chance to run very much because of the constant deficit. He was limited to just 22 yards on nine carries.

Saints 24, Raiders 0

Charlie Campbell reported a couple of weeks ago that Mark Davis already regrets making a coaching change from last year’s staff to Josh McDaniels. Perhaps Davis felt better about things after the Raiders had prevailed in two of the previous three games entering Week 8, but this embarrassing result may have reaffirmed his beliefs that hiring McDaniels was a mistake.

Davis may now believe that Derek Carr should be jettisoned as well after the season is over. Carr had a miserable performance against the Saints, completing just 7-of-16 passes in the opening half for 43 yards and an interception. The pick, heaved recklessly into triple coverage, resulted in a New Orleans touchdown. These were seven of the 10 points New Orleans’ defense scored as a result of Raider mistakes. The other three came off a fake punt that failed miserably. Not only did the Raiders not achieve the line to gain; they were guilty of a chop block penalty that set up the Saints on the Vegas 27-yard line.

Amazingly, the Raiders scored no points the entire afternoon. Carr was awful, finishing 15-of-26 for only 101 yards and an interception. He missed several open receivers, including Mack Hollins and Keelan Cole on deep attempts in the opening quarter. Carr was ultimately benched in favor of Jarrett Stidham, as the Raiders accumulated just 183 net yards of offense and achieved only 13 first downs. The benching may have had to do with Carr being tackled fiercely, with him landing hard on his shoulder.

Davante Adams and Josh Jacobs were huge disappointments as well. Adams didn’t catch a single pass in the first half, and he finished with only one reception for three yards. He dropped a pass as well. Jacobs, meanwhile, was limited to 43 yards on just 10 carries, and he caught only two balls for 11 receiving yards. His best run, a 16-yarder, featured three broken tackles. It’s unclear why McDaniels thought that giving Jacobs only 12 touches was a good idea.

As for the Saints, Andy Dalton misfired on just eight occasions, going 22-of-30 for 229 yards and two touchdowns. Dalton was lucky he wasn’t picked on one occasion when a Raider defender was able to get only one foot inbounds. He otherwise made no mistakes, as he was able to play it safe with tons of short passes to Alvin Kamara.

Speaking of Kamara, the dynamic back had a huge fantasy performance. He rushed for 62 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, but did most of his work as a receiver out of the backfield. He hauled in nine of his 10 targets for 96 yards and two touchdowns. Chris Olave (5-52) was the only other receiver of note.

Patriots 22, Jets 17

The Jets were able to win several games recently in spite of Zach Wilson. The second-year quarterback didn’t have to do much, as his running game and defense dominated the opposition in victories over the Steelers, Dolphins, Packers, and Broncos. Given the injuries to Breece Hall and Alijah Vera-Tucker, however, Wilson would have to accomplish more, and he was certainly tested in this game. Wilson failed the test miserably.

Wilson was clearly confused in his latest matchup with Bill Belichick. The Patriots limited Wilson to just 10 points before garbage time, as Wilson threw three interceptions. The first occurred when he air-mailed a short pass. The second was a byproduct of Wilson tossing a lazy pass toward the sideline while attempting to throw the ball away. The third was the most puzzling of all, as Wilson heaved the ball right to Devin McCourty when there were no teammates in the area.

Wilson failed to complete half of his passes, going 20-of-41 for 355 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. The yardage and touchdowns look good, but much of this occurred in meaningless action. This result demonstrated why the Jets can’t be considered serious Super Bowl contenders. Wilson has potential, but there have been no signs that he’s a starting-caliber quarterback in the NFL.

Wilson’s poor play will make most people forget about Mac Jones’ struggles, but not anyone reading this Web site. Jones had a horrible performance after oddly being named the starter over Bailey Zappe. Jones took some bad sacks in field goal range, threw an interception on a ball tipped at the line of scrimmage, and heaved a bad pass on a fourth-and-1. He was also very fortunate not to throw three interceptions in total. He had a pick-six in which he stared down his receiver negated by a roughing-the-passer penalty, while another potential interception of his was dropped.

Jones finished 24-of-35 for an underwhelming 194 yards, one touchdown and an interception. This game could have been a disaster for Jones, who continues to make mistakes. It’s unclear why he drew the start over Zappe.

Rhamondre Stevenson was Jones’ top weapon. Stevenson led the Patriots in both rushing and receiving. He tallied 71 yards on the ground via 16 carries, and he also caught seven of his eight targets for 72 receiving yards.

Aside from Stevenson, only one Patriot player logged more than 22 receiving yards. That was Jakobi Meyers, who snatched nine of his 12 targets for 60 yards and a touchdown.

The leading receiver in this game was Garrett Wilson, who finally did something of note since his ridiculous Week 2 performance against the Browns, though most of his production came early on one big play. Wilson caught six passes for 115 yards. Tyler Conklin was next on the receiving chart with six grabs for 79 yards and two scores.

Michael Carter fantasy owners had to be disappointed by the James Robinson addition. They shared the workload almost evenly. Carter rushed for 26 yards on seven carries, while Robinson was limited to 17 yards on five attempts.

Eagles 35, Steelers 13

The Steelers have a miserable pass defense that hadn’t been exposed very much in some of the games leading up to this Keystone State battle. The Buccaneers and Dolphins averaged just 17 points per game versus a Pittsburgh defensive unit that has struggled ever since T.J. Watt went down with an injury. It was only a matter of time, however, that the Steelers’ secondary would be exposed, and it didn’t take very long for that to happen in this game.

Jalen Hurts torched the Steelers mercilessly in the second half. He misfired on just seven occasions in the opening half while throwing for nearly 200 yards and three touchdowns. All three scores went to A.J. Brown, who found things so easy that he pointed to two helpless Pittsburgh defensive backs and laughed upon reeling in his third score. He was whistled for a taunting penalty, but the Eagles had the last laugh, ultimately winning in a blowout that was never in doubt.

Hurts finished 19-of-28 for 285 yards and four touchdowns. Once again, he barely did anything in the second half because of a huge lead; he threw just six passes following intermission. His numbers would be ridiculous if Philadelphia’s opponents would be more competitive.

Speaking of ridiculous numbers, Brown caught six of his 11 passes for 156 yards and three touchdowns. He had more than double the yardage as the next player on the stat sheet, with that being Dallas Goedert (6-64). DeVonta Smith had a disappointing afternoon with five catches for 23 yards.

Miles Sanders also got into the end zone later in the game. He rushed just nine times because of the huge second-half lead, but registered 78 yards and a touchdown on his limited workload.

As for the Steelers, they were able to get a good drive from Kenny Pickett in the opening quarter, but the team struggled to do anything after that. Pickett was swarmed ceaselessly in the pocket, taking six sacks, one of which resulted in a lost fumble. Otherwise, Pickett finished 25-of-38 for only 191 yards and an interception, which occurred because of a deflection in overtime.

Pickett continued to pepper Pat Freiermuth with plenty of targets. Freiermuth led the team in receiving with four catches for 57 yards, followed by Chase Claypool (4-45) and Diontae Johnson (5-35). George Pickens failed to register a reception on three targets.

It should surprise no one that Najee Harris once again struggled to find any running lanes. He was limited to 32 yards on eight carries, with the majority of his production coming on an 18-yard burst. Jaylen Warren (6-50) was more productive in garbage time.

Dolphins 31, Lions 27
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Lions somehow come up with new ways to f**k me every single week. They were up multiple touchdowns, yet didn’t cover somehow. How did they not score a single point in the second half versus such a bad pass defense?

The first half made it look like there was no defense allowed in Detroit, with the home team racking up 27 points over the first two quarters. Miami’s defense made adjustments, however, and shut out the Lions in the second half while the Dolphins offense continued to put up points. In fact, the Dolphins did not punt until midway through the fourth quarter. Miami enjoyed a dominant day from Tua Tagovailoa, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle against Detroit’s weak pass defense.

The Lions offense started out the game hot, moving down the field with a 27-yard pass to Kalif Raymond, and Jamaal Williams finishing the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run. Miami responded by moving into Detroit territory, but rookie safety Kirby Joseph forced a fumble that was recovered by Malcolm Rodriguez. Jared Goff converted a third down with a laser to T.J. Hockenson (3-80) for a 52-yard gain, and to cap that drive, D’Andre Swift got open for a 7-yard touchdown catch.

Miami responded with two passes to Hill for 61 yards, and to cap the drive, Tagovailoa found Waddle open in the end zone. Detroit kept moving, with Amon-Ra St. Brown (7-69) grabbing a 21-yard gain before then Goff hit a deep ball to Raymond for 43 yards. Williams scored again from a few yards out to put Detroit up 21-7 early in the second quarter.

Within two minutes of that score, Tagovailoa lofted in a 29-yard touchdown to Waddle. Goff and the Lions continued to move the ball, but settled for a field goal. Miami then answered with one of their own. Inside of two minutes, the Lions perfectly executed a fake punt to get near midfield. Detroit came close to a touchdown, but Josh Reynolds dropped the ball. Michael Badgley then tacked on a field goal to give the Lions a 27-17 lead at halftime.

Miami opened the third quarter by moved down the field with Tagovailoa and his receivers. Fullback Alec Ingold scored from a yard out to cut Detroit’s lead to 27-24. The Miami defense finally forced a punt, but the Lions were not capable of stopping Miami, as a long run by Tagovailoa got the drive going. Mike Gesicki (3-38-1) got open in zone coverage from 10 yards out to put the Dolphins up 31-27. Late in the fourth quarter, Miami’s defense got a stop on a fourth-and-2 deep into Miami territory, and the Dolphins offense was able to generate a few first downs to run out the clock.

Tagovailoa completed 29-of-36 passes for 382 yards and three touchdowns.

Hill (12-188) and Waddle (8-106-2) were unstoppable.

Raheem Mostert (14-64) led Miami on the ground.

Goff completed 27-of-37 passes for 321 yards and a touchdown.

Jamaal Williams (10-53-2) led the Lions on the ground. While Swift returned, he only rushed for only six yards over five carries and caught five passes for 27 yards.

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Redskins 17, Colts 16
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: I can’t believe the Colts blew this game after establishing a 16-7 lead in the fourth quarter. It seemed like they had the win in the bag, but we can’t have good things this year.

Washington gutted out a last-second win in the fourth quarter despite a struggling offense. The third-straight win for the franchise formerly known as the Redskins puts the organization at .500 entering November. Indianapolis benched Matt Ryan for Sam Ehlinger coming into this game, but the results weren’t much different as the offense struggled again. However, the back-breaking plays for their offense came from their best players, as Jonathan Taylor had a huge fumble, Michael Pittman Jr. had a critical drop, and Jonathan Allen got the better of Quenton Nelson on a number of clutch plays.

After trading punts in the first quarter, the Colts got on the board first with a field goal drive that was keyed by a 27-yard run by Taylor. Washington responded by getting deep into Colts territory off a 43-yard pass to Terry McLaurin. To cap the drive, Taylor Heinicke tossed a short touchdown pass to Antonio Gibson. After more possessions that ended with punts, Parris Campbell took a run for 28 yards to get close to midfield and Taylor moved the ball to the 20. However, Ehlinger dropped the ball while scrambling and Washington recovered the fumble. The Colts then got a stop to keep the score 7-3 at halftime.

Early in the third quarter, E.J. Speed made a tackle for a loss on a fourth-and-1 around midfield to give Indianapolis great field position. Alec Pierce soon made a superb leaping grab, and that got the Colts in position for a field goal. After a Washington punt, Pierce roasted Benjamin St. Juste to get open deep down the field for a 47-yard gain. However, Taylor fumbled the ball away inside the 20, and that ended up being a huge play that took away at least three points from the Colts. The Indianapolis defense continued to shut down Washington, and the Colts got moving with a screen pass to Campbell that went for 40 yards.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Ehlinger lofted in a pass to Nyheim Hines, who made an incredible catch for 21 yards to set up a first-and-goal. A goal-line stand forced a field goal, leaving the Colts with a 9-7 lead. Promptly, Shaq Leonard intercepted Heinicke to set up Ehlinger at the Commanders 24. Campbell drew a pass interference to set up a first-and-goal, and Hines scored from six yards out to put the Colts up 16-7.

Washington finally got moving on offense with completions to Gibson and McLaurin. Heinicke converted a fourth down with an 18-yard completion to Samuel, but the drive stalled and settled for a field goal. Indianapolis held a 16-10 lead with just under five minutes remaining.

Late in the fourth quarter, Heinicke converted a fourth down with a pass to Samuel, ran for a first down, and hit Cam Sims for a big completion. Then Heinicke threw a ball up for grabs and McLaurin ripped it away from Stephon Gilmore to land at the one-yard line with 26 seconds left on a 33-yard gain. Heinicke dove into the end zone, and Joey Slye hit the extra point to go up 17-16. With just seconds remaining, the Colts had a big pass downfield, but Pittman dropped the ball, which essentially clinched the win for Washington. If Pittman had held onto the pass, he would have at least put the Colts in field goal range. He possibly could have gone the distance to the end zone because he had open field in front of him.

Heinicke completed 23-of-31 passes for 279 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He also was Washington’s leading rusher with 29 yards and a touchdown on six carries.

Antonio Gibson (7-19) did not do much on the ground, but he caught seven passes for 58 yards and a touchdown.

McLaurin caught six passes for 113 yards.

Ehlinger completed 17-of-23 passes for 201 yards. After a slow start, Ehlinger played well overall in the second half.

Taylor had 76 yards on 16 carries. He also lost a painful fumble.

Pittman had seven receptions for 53 yards.

Titans 17, Texans 10

Malik Willis drew his first start in the NFL, but Tennessee could have played anyone in the world at quarterback, and it wouldn’t have mattered. That’s because they had Derrick Henry in the backfield, and Henry was battling the Texans.

Henry always rushes for 200 yards against the Texans, and that continued to be the case. Henry bulldozed through Houston’s anemic front for 219 yards and two touchdowns on 32 carries. The Texans, as always, had no answer for him. They were even able to stack the box with Willis under center, and it didn’t matter because they didn’t have the personnel to stop the monstrous back.

As for Willis, he attempted just 10 passes, so it’s impossible to learn much from his performance. What we know is that he had one hideous interception on a very late throw. Otherwise, Willis went just 6-of-10 for 55 yards and the pick. He threw mostly checkdowns, but missed an open tight end. He also took two bad sacks to move his team out of field goal range.

The Texans’ offense, meanwhile, couldn’t get anything going. Their only points before the final minute of regulation came via a field goal following Willis’ interception. Houston registered just 35 net yards in the opening half, averaging just 1.4 yards per play. At that point, Davis Mills was just 5-of-11 for 17 yards and a pick on an inaccurate pass. Mills was able to finish 17-of-29 for 152 yards, one touchdown and an interception. His score came at the very end in complete garbage time. He had no time to throw in the pocket.

Houston had nothing from its rushing attack, with Dameon Pierce limited to 35 yards on 15 carries. Nearly half of his yards came on a 16-yard run in the opening half, so if you take that away, Pierce was limited to 19 yards on 14 attempts.

Brandin Cooks caught a 44-yard pass on Houston’s garbage-time touchdown drive, finishing with four receptions for 73 yards. He was the only player in this game with more than 26 receiving yards, with Robert Woods (2-26) “leading” Tennessee in receiving. Woods was guilty of a fumble on a punt return, but Tennessee was not penalized for this mistake.

One other receiver I’d like to highlight is Phillip Dorsett, who caught just one of his five targets for six yards. I want to mention him because he could have reached for the first down on one occasion, but didn’t bother doing so. His lethargy led to Pierce being stuffed on the next play, so Houston never ended up moving the chains.

49ers 31, Rams 14

The final score may not show it, but this game seemed in doubt for San Francisco for a while. The Rams entered the second half with a 14-10 advantage, as Jimmy Garoppolo struggled to move the chains with some dubious passes. Meanwhile, the 49ers seemed to commit a billion penalties in the red zone during one drive, ultimately setting up a Rams touchdown.

The 49ers dominated the second half, outscoring the Rams 21-0. Garoppolo suddenly improved, as only one of his passes hit the turf. Christian McCaffrey, meanwhile, made some amazing plays against a bewildered Rams defense that had no answer for him.

McCaffrey posted some monstrous numbers despite rushing for only 24 yards in the opening half. He finished with 94 yards on the ground, as well as a touchdown on 18 carries. He also caught eight of his nine targets for 55 receiving yards and another touchdown. And if that wasn’t enough, he threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Aiyuk. That said, he needed some help from his teammates, as his fellow San Francisco players recovered two of his fumbles, including one made near the goal line.

Garoppolo, meanwhile, misfired on just four occasions, going 21-of-25 for 235 yards and two touchdowns. He was 12-of-13 for 150 yards and the two scores following intermission. Garoppolo should have been picked twice in the first half of this game, but like McCaffrey, he was very fortunate to avoid turnovers.

Garoppolo didn’t have the services of Deebo Samuel or Kyle Juszczyk in this game, but it didn’t matter because McCaffrey, Aiyuk and George Kittle all stepped up. Aiyuk led the team with 81 receiving yards on six catches, which included a touchdown. Kittle also scored, with his three grabs going for 39 yards.

As for the Rams, Matthew Stafford experienced the opposite of Garoppolo following intermission, as he recorded just 37 passing yards on five completions after the break. He finished 22-of-33 for 187 yards and a touchdown. Garoppolo didn’t have much time in the pocket.

Adding injury to insult, Cooper Kupp got hurt in the final minutes of this game, though he was able to walk off on his own power. Kupp caught eight passes for 79 yards and a touchdown. He and Allen Robinson (5-54) were the only Rams with more than 15 receiving yards. Tyler Higbee (2-15) dropped a deep pass late in the game after injuring his neck earlier in the afternoon.

Someone named Ronnie Rivers led the Rams in rushing. He gained 21 yards on eight carries, and he also caught four passes for 15 receiving yards. He saw 12 touches in total, while Darrell Henderson was given only six.

Seahawks 27, Giants 13

This game was a tale of two receivers: Tyler Lockett and Richie James. The unlikely duo decided the outcome of this matchup with mostly negative plays.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that Lockett was heavily involved in this game, especially given that D.K. Metcalf was not 100 percent heading into this contest. Lockett lost a fumble inside his own 5-yard line in the opening half to set up a Giants touchdown. He then failed to score a touchdown because he was able to get just one foot inbounds. And if that wasn’t bad enough, he dropped a touchdown. Lockett, however, was able to redeem himself, scoring the decisive touchdown of the game that put his team up 20-13.

James, meanwhile, made his impact on punt returns. He gave the Seahawks an early 10-7 lead when he fumbled a kickoff return, and he made the same mistake later, as another fumble of his on a punt return set up a Seattle touchdown, putting the game out of reach. Had James not coughed up the ball, the Giants would’ve had a chance to tie or take the lead in the middle of the final frame when they were down 20-13.

Lockett led the Seahawks in receiving with five catches for 63 yards and a touchdown, but missed out on a much bigger performance. Metcalf was close with six grabs for 55 yards and a score.

Geno Smith saw some heavy pressure from the Giants when trying to deliver the ball to his two star wideouts. Smith went 23-of-34 for 212 yards and two touchdowns, but should’ve had a third score, as mentioned earlier.

Kenneth Walker scored the touchdown that put the game out of reach. He rushed for 51 yards and a touchdown on 18 attempts.

Saquon Barkley also found the end zone, barely edging out Walker in the process. Barkley gained 53 yards and a touchdown on 20 tries. He wasn’t used in the passing game as much; he caught just three passes for nine receiving yards.

Daniel Jones had a rough afternoon, as his two missing offensive linemen allowed the Seahawks to generate lots of pressure. Jones went just 17-of-31 for 176 yards. He scrambled six times for 20 rushing yards.

Only two Giants recorded more than 15 receiving yards: Darius Slayton (5-66) and Tanner Hudson (3-58). Wan’Dale Robinson was a huge disappointment with only two catches for 15 yards.

Bills 27, Packers 17

Aaron Rodgers told the media that his team needed a tough battle like this game would provide. That didn’t translate to any success, as Green Bay trailed 27-10 in the second half before the Bills began being sloppy with the football. Josh Allen tossed interceptions on consecutive drives in the fourth quarter, allowing the Packers to creep back to within 10. Green Bay had a chance to get a long field goal, then an outside kick, and then a Hail Mary at the end, but the first part of that didn’t come to fruition, as a Mason Crosby 55-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left, sealing the victory for the 6-1 Bills.

The Packers theoretically had a chance to win this game if they ran the ball effectively and ate up the clock enough to keep a frustrated Allen on the sidelines. Green Bay didn’t rush the ball enough in the opening half, however, as they had just as many carries in the second half when they were always trailing by double digits. They had lots of success with the run following intermission, save for a fourth-down try in which Aaron Jones was stuffed. Nevertheless, Green Bay’s unwillingness to run enough early allowed Allen to torch their defense, which was ailing at linebacker in the wake of a De’Vondre Campbell injury and a Quay Walker ejection.

The Packers had no answer for Allen in the opening half, as the MVP frontrunner was 8-of-11 for 129 yards and two touchdowns prior to intermission. This includes a great scramble to pick up a third-and-14. However, Allen wasn’t on the field much in the second half because the Packers ran so well, prompting the frustration that was speculated earlier. The result was Allen being 5-of-14 for 89 yards and two reckless interceptions following halftime.

Allen’s final numbers were 13-of-25 for 218 yards, two touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. He also scrambled six times for 49 rushing yards. Allen seemed frustrated during the post-game sideline interview despite prevailing by double digits.

Stefon Diggs was the only Buffalo receiver who was very productive; he caught six passes for 108 yards and a touchdown. Aside from James Cook, who caught a 41-yard pass, the next player on the stat sheet was Gabriel Davis, who was limited to two grabs for 35 yards.

Devin Singletary ran well – 14 carries, 67 yards – but this paled in comparison to what the Packers accomplished. Aaron Jones was a monster, dashing for 143 yards on 20 attempts. He also caught four passes for 14 receiving yards. A.J. Dillon chipped in with 54 yards on 10 carries. He appeared to suffer an injury in the third quarter, but didn’t miss much action.

If there’s a silver lining for the Packers, it’s that Aaron Rodgers looked much healthier than in previous weeks. The thumb didn’t seem to be a big factor, with Rodgers going 19-of-30 for 203 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.

Another positive for the Packers is that Romeo Doubs overcame his drops from last week and made some big catches. Doubs caught four passes for 62 yards and a touchdown.

Browns 32, Bengals 13

The Browns aren’t known for their great pass rush, despite Myles Garrett being on the roster. Cleveland had the 12th-worst pressure rate in the NFL entering this game, but don’t tell that to Joe Burrow, who had severe problems dealing with Cleveland’s pass rush the entire evening. Playing without Ja’Marr Chase, Burrow couldn’t produce a single point until garbage time, as he was sacked on five occasions. All of this pressure led to two turnovers, an interception on a pass tipped by Garrett, and a lost fumble on a strip-sack.

Cleveland’s offense, meanwhile, had issues capitalizing on these blunders in the early stages of this game, but Nick Chubb and the offensive line eventually wore down Cincinnati’s defense. Chubb trampled the Bengals for 101 yards and two touchdowns, setting up Jacoby Brissett with very easy passing opportunities. Brissett, as a consequence, misfired on five occasions, as he and the rest of the team cruised to an easy victory.

Burrow finished 25-of-35 for 232 yards, two touchdowns and the pair of turnovers. The numbers don’t look bad, but consider that Burrow topped the 200-yard mark and threw both touchdowns until after the Browns established a 25-0 lead. Burrow looked lost without Chase, and the horrendous play of his offensive line didn’t help matters.

Brissett, conversely, went 17-of-22 for 278 yards and a touchdown. He lost a fumble due to heavy pressure, which was his only blunder of the night. Brissett threw a number of great passes in a clean pocket, as Cincinnati’s defense was way too focused on Chubb.

Speaking of Chubb (22-101), he and Kareem Hunt combined for 143 rushing yards and the two scores. Hunt was close to scoring in the second half. He also caught four passes for 30 receiving yards. This could be Hunt’s final game as a Cleveland player, as he’s been a popular name in trade speculation.

With David Njoku sidelined, Brissett threw mostly to Amari Cooper, Donovan Peoples-Jones and Hunt, as the trio soaked up all but four of Brissett’s targets in this game. Cooper led the way with five catches for 131 yards and a touchdown, though he threw an interception right to Vonn Bell on a failed trick play. Peoples-Jones hauled in four passes for 81 yards.

Both Cooper and Peoples-Jones vastly outgained everyone on Cincinnati’s roster. Tee Higgins led the receivers with 49 yards and a touchdown on three grabs, though his score, a 41-yard reception, came at the very end of the game, as Higgins barely accomplished anything beforehand, aside from a drawn interference flag. Tyler Boyd (3-38) also scored. Fourth receiver Mike Thomas, expected to thrive in the wake of Chase’s absence, dropped his only target.

Joe Mixon was a huge disappointment as a runner, given how bad Cleveland’s rush defense had been entering this game. Mixon mustered just 27 yards on eight carries, though he caught seven passes for 32 receiving yards.

For more thoughts, check out my updated NFL Power Rankings, which will be posted Tuesday morning.

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