NFL Game Recaps: Week 8, 2023

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

Bills 24, Buccaneers 18

The Bills looked unstoppable when they crushed the Dolphins, but they’ve struggled since, losing to the Jaguars and Patriots and nearly suffering a defeat to the Giants in between. It was unclear if they would be able to right the ship on such a short work week, but they were seemingly able to do so in a convincing victory over the Buccaneers.

Josh Allen, who looked like he was playing hurt from an injury that he suffered versus the Giants, looked like his normal self in this contest. There was a scary moment in the first half when he went into the blue tent to get checked out for something, but he didn’t miss any action, as he was able to play on his usual level. In fact, Allen looked much different than at any other point this year because he was actually willing to scramble. Allen has been reluctant to run this year for some reason, but that changed in this contest, as he scrambled seven times for 41 yards and a touchdown. His legs were instrumental to keep drives alive.

Allen also did it with his arm. He misfired on just nine occasions as he went 31-of-40 for 324 yards, two touchdowns and a weird interception that was tipped by Antoine Winfield to set up a Tampa touchdown. This tied the game at 10, but the Bills scored two touchdowns after that to establish a 24-10 lead. With the Buccaneers doing nothing but punting in the second half, Buffalo was able to coast to an easy win despite how close the final score looks.

The Buccaneers ended up covering the spread with one final drive at the end that was the first possession of theirs in the second half that didn’t conclude with a punt. Even still, the Buccaneers needed some luck to get there, as the drive was kept alive with a pair of Buffalo penalties on fourth down.

Thanks to this garbage time, Baker Mayfield was able to finish with a respectable stat line: 25-of-42, 237 yards, two touchdowns. Mayfield didn’t play as well as those numbers indicate, however. He had major issues converting third downs (4-of-15) and also connecting with Mike Evans, who had one reception for most of the evening. Evans caught the back-door touchdown, finishing with three grabs for 39 yards and a score.

Neither Evans nor Stefon Diggs was the top fantasy receiver in this game. Instead, it was Gabe Davis, who caught nine of his 12 targets for 87 yards and a touchdown. And yet, Davis wasn’t even Buffalo’s leading receiver. Khalil Shakir paced the Bills with 92 yards on six grabs. Diggs also reeled in nine of his 12 targets, but had 70 scoreless yards. Meanwhile, Dalton Kincaid logged five receptions for 65 yards and a score.

As for the Tampa receivers, Evans and Chris Godwin (5-54) caught the touchdowns. Rachaad White was the only Buccaneer with more receiving yards than Godwin. He had seven catches for 70 yards.

Speaking of White, he was outclassed in the running game. He managed just 39 yards on nine carries, while paled in comparison to James Cook’s 67 yards on 14 attempts.

Cowboys 43, Rams 20

You could say this game turned quickly. It was a 10-3 affair with the Rams having possession. Matthew Stafford threw a pass to Cooper Kupp, but there was an unusual miscommunication between the two, resulting in a pick-six. On the next possession, the Rams had a punt blocked that resulted in a safety. On the ensuing kickoff, Dallas had a great return to set up an instant red zone opportunity. Dak Prescott took advantage of this with a touchdown to CeeDee Lamb.

In the blink of an eye, a 10-3 battle transformed into a 26-3 rout. The Rams scored a couple of touchdowns in the third quarter to make the spread result interesting, but all intrigue concluded when Stafford was pulled from the game because of an injury to his hand.

While the Rams sabotaged themselves with mistakes, credit needs to be given to the Dallas offense. The Rams had no answers for the unit, as Prescott was nearly flawless. He had nearly as many touchdowns (4) as incompletions (6). Prescott was 25-of-31 for 304 yards, the four scores and an interception, which was a poor decision thrown into a crowd that resulted in a red zone pick.

Lamb had a monster game, catching half of Prescott’s touchdowns. Lamb secured 12 of his 14 targets for 158 yards and a pair of scores. Brandin Cooks (3-49) and Jake Ferguson (4-47) reeled in Prescott’s other scores.

The only disappointing element of the Cowboys in this game was Tony Pollard, who couldn’t get going despite a big lead. He mustered just 53 yards on 12 carries, and he also caught only one pass for two yards.

The Rams, meanwhile, had a golden opportunity to have Stafford generate some amazing fantasy numbers in garbage time, but the hand injury ruined that opportunity. Stafford ended up 13-of-22 for 162 yards, one touchdown and the aforementioned pick-six. Brett Rypien (5-of-10, 42 yards) struggled in relief of Stafford.

Kupp had an atrocious game. He caught just four of his 10 targets for only 21 yards in addition to being at least partly responsible for Stafford’s pick-six. Puka Nacua was only marginally better with three catches for 43 receiving yards.

Darrell Henderson ended up leading the Rams in receiving with three catches for 54 receiving yards. He didn’t do much as a runner, mustering only 31 yards on 12 carries. Royce Freeman was the superior rusher; he rumbled for 44 yards and a touchdown on nine attempts.

Vikings 24, Packers 10

The Vikings won this game, but they ultimately were the losers because of the major injury that occurred in the fourth quarter. With Minnesota in complete control of this game, Cousins limped off the field prior to a field goal attempt. Cousins never returned to the game, and it was announced after the game that he tore his Achilles. He will be out for the year.

This is a shame for the Vikings, who were able to claw their way back to 4-4 after a disappointing start. Cousins, who was 23-of-31 for 274 yards and two touchdowns, will sorely be missed. Minnesota will now have to turn to rookie Jaren Hall, who was 3-of-4 for 23 yards in relief of Cousins.

The Packers also have major problems at quarterback, albeit for different reasons. “No Cookie” Jordan Love was a disaster once again despite being at home for the first time in several weeks. Love’s accuracy was all over the place, and he had issues keeping drives alive, converting just 5-of-14 third-down attempts.

Love was 24-of-41 for 229 yards, one touchdown and an interception. The pick wasn’t his fault because a Minnesota safety ripped the ball away from Jayden Reed. Still, Love was incredibly disappointing in a good matchup. The Packers had a chance at the end to make it a close game, but they failed twice in the red zone. One possession saw Dontayvion Wicks drop a touchdown. The second saw the Packers self-destruct with a face mask penalty, followed by a poor Love throw into double coverage. Love then tried to scramble for a first down on a fourth-and-16, which was an embarrassing display.

It was shocking that neither team was able to run the ball. Love actually led the Packers in rushing with 34 yards on four scrambles. Aaron Jones was a colossal disappointment with only 29 yards on seven carries. Meanwhile, Alexander Mattison couldn’t do anything against one of the softest ground defenses in the NFL. He mustered only 31 yards on 16 carries. Cam Akers (9-19) vultured a touchdown.

With Cousins gone for the year, the Vikings’ receivers will have issues continuing their great production. Jordan Addison had another big game with seven catches for 82 yards and a touchdown, yet he was still just third on the team in receiving. K.J. Osborn led the way with eight grabs for 99 yards. T.J. Hockenson (6-88) also scored.

Green Bay’s receiving corps was headlined by Reed, who redeemed himself for the interception with four catches for 83 yards. He also drew an interference flag. Christian Watson struggled – three receptions, 33 yards – as Love repeatedly tried to connect with him, but couldn’t quite make enough completions.

Titans 28, Falcons 23

Everyone seemed to think the Falcons would have an easy victory in Tennessee with the Titans starting Will Levis over an injured Ryan Tannehill. However, Levis was an unknown quantity entering this game as a second-round rookie. He struggled in the preseason, but that meant very little when he heaved a 20-yard touchdown to DeAndre Hopkins to give his team a 7-3 lead. Levis then went back to Hopkins for a second touchdown prior to halftime, as Levis was 12-of-19 for 119 yards and two touchdowns at the break.

At that point in the game, it was clear that Levis was the superior quarterback in this matchup. The Falcons continued to shoot themselves in the foot with Desmond Ridder’s mistakes. Ridder took a bad sack in the red zone and then lost a fumble on a strip-sack as he was stepping up in the pocket.

Ridder was benched at halftime, giving way to Taylor Henicke. The former Redskin was better than Ridder, who was just 8-of-12 for 71 yards. Heinicke, by contrast, was 12-of-21 for 175 yards and a touchdown. He had the Falcons in position to potentially drive down the field and win the game, but a pass to Van Jefferson on fourth down fell incomplete because of a horrible drop.

The Titans prevailed, and while they ruined their draft positioning, they have to feel very optimistic after watching Levis play. It’s only one game, but Levis was terrific. He matched his two first-half touchdowns with a pair of scores following intermission. His best throw was a 61-yard bomb to Hopkins to help ice the victory.

Levis ended up 19-of-29 for 238 yards and four touchdowns. His numbers would have been better had Chig Okonkwo (4-23) not committed a deep drop. The Titans were considered sellers at the trade deadline, but that may not be the case anymore. The organization may believe that it can reach the playoffs with Levis this year.

With Levis throwing more touchdowns in a single game than Tannehill had accumulated all year, Hopkins was really able to benefit. Hopkins had a monster game four catches for 128 yards and three touchdowns. Nick Westbrook (1-33) reeled in Levis’ fourth score.

Derrick Henry will have more running room if Levis continues to perform this way. He rumbled for 101 yards on 22 carries against a tough Atlanta run defense.

Bijan Robinson didn’t quite have the same rushing yardage as his counterpart, but he was at least involved offensively this week. Robinson had more carries than Tyler Allgeier, though not by a wide margin (11-8), but he outgained Allgeier by a ton with 62 yards and a touchdown compared to Allgeier’s 31 yards.

Drake London had a nice matchup, but didn’t fully take advantage of it with five catches for 55 yards. The reason for this was that he got banged up and left the game early. This is why Kha’Darel Hodge led the Falcons in receiving with three grabs for 75 yards. Kyle Pitts (3-35) disappointed.

Saints 38, Colts 27

The Saints had the flu circulating through their locker room ahead of Week 8. Even Dennis Allen was sick. New Orleans was able to take advantage of a similar situation when the Raiders were dealing with the flu around this time last year. It looked like they would be on the short end of that stick when the Colts established a 17-7 lead in this game.

The Saints, however, seemingly overcame their offensive woes in this game to eventually take full control of this game. They made big plays after trailing by 10. They were also extremely efficient in the red zone for a change, scoring three touchdowns on four tries. They also got lucky, with the officials blowing an obvious call when Taysom Hill threw a deep interception.

New Orleans ultimately compiled 511 net yards of offense, as no one could be stopped by the beleaguered Colts defense. This includes Derek Carr, who went 19-of-27 for 310 yards and two touchdowns. The only mistake Carr made was losing a fumble on a strip-sack early in the game, which the Saints were obviously able to overcome.

Carr completed multiple deep bombs, mostly to Rashid Shaheed. The speedy receiver led the team with three catches for 153 yards and a touchdown. Michael Thomas was next on the team with four receptions for 68 yards. Chris Olave disappointed with five grabs for 46 yards.

Alvin Kamara and Hill were touchdown machines for the Saints. Kamara dashed for 59 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries to go along with four catches for 51 receiving yards and a second score. Hill, meanwhile, rushed nine times for 63 yards and two touchdowns to go along with a 44-yard pass and a 14-yard reception.

As for the Colts, their hot start came to a screeching halt when Gardner Minshew began limping during one red zone attempt. In fact, the Colts were going to go for it on fourth down until Minshew began limping off the field. Minshew remained in the game, but wasn’t very effective afterward. Minshew finished 23-of-41 for 213 yards, two touchdowns and an interception, which was a horrible throw in the red zone while down 21-20, when a field goal would have obviously given the Colts the lead. This sort of poor decision-making from Minshew has sabotaged potential victories for Indianapolis recently.

Only one Colts receiver logged more than 41 receiving yards. That was Josh Downs, who secured seven of his nine targets for 72 yards. Michael Pittman’s eight receptions went for only 40 yards, but he scored a touchdown.

Speaking of touchdowns, Jonathan Taylor was robbed of one by Zack Moss, who vultured him. Moss wasn’t even supposed to play because of multiple injuries, but that apparently didn’t matter. Moss rumbled for 66 yards and a score on 11 attempts, while Taylor dashed for 95 yards on 12 carries.

Dolphins 31, Patriots 17

The Dolphins had a tough scheduling spot in this game, as they had to travel to Germany to battle the Chiefs following this contest. Given that they had already beaten the Patriots, they easily could have suffered a letdown, which is what appeared to be happening when Mac Jones hit Kendrick Bourne for a touchdown to take a 7-0 lead.

This didn’t last very long, however. The Dolphins dominated from that point forward, outscoring New England 31-10. Tua Tagovailoa had his way with New England’s beleaguered defense, connecting with his talented receivers on numerous occasions. This includes the all-important front-door cover, as Tagovailoa hit Jaylen Waddle for a touchdown at the very end to win by 14 when it seemed as though a late New England score would keep the margin to within seven.

Tagovailoa finished 30-of-45 for 324 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. The pick was a poor read, but Tagovailoa was able to rebound and continue to abuse Bill Belichick’s defense.

The Patriots had Christian Gonzalez for the first matchup, and he was able to limit Tyreek Hill. Gonzalez is out, which would explain why Hill had such a dominant performance this time. Hill caught eight passes for 112 yards and a touchdown. Yet, he was outgained by Waddle, who secured seven receptions for 121 yards and a score.

Raheem Mostert didn’t have a monstrous performance for a change, but he still did well. He rushed for only 46 yards on 13 carries, but he scored a touchdown. Jeff Wilson Jr. was mixed in with five carries for 23 yards.

The stats weren’t pretty for the Patriots, and this includes Jones’ performance. Jones was 19-of-29 for 161 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. The two scores look nice on paper, but one score came in garbage time. Jones’ pick was telegraphed in the red zone.

Jones’ touchdowns went to Bourne (3-36) and JuJu Smith-Schuster (1-3). Bourne led the Patriots in receiving with Hunter Henry (3-28) and DeVante Parker (1-14) disappointing.

New England couldn’t run the ball well either. Rhamondre Stevenson was limited to just 39 yards on 10 carries. Ezekiel Elliott stole some touches, with his seven carries going for 36 yards.

Jets 13, Giants 10

This is a game that set NFL offenses back a half a century. Despite an extra quarter being played, these teams combined for just 23 points, which happened to be a lower number than the number of combined punts between these teams. The Jets and Giants totaled 24 punts, and the two teams combined to go a hilariously inept 4-of-35 on third and fourth down.

The Giants at least had an excuse for their poor performance. In addition to battling a terrific Jets defense while missing their All-Pro left tackle, they also lost Tyrod Taylor and Darren Waller to injury. With Taylor sidelined, someone named Tommy DeVito stepped into action. DeVito rushed for a touchdown, but completed only two passes. Despite this, DeVito had more completions than yards. He failed to generate positive passing yardage, throwing for minus-one yard. Then again, Taylor wasn’t much better; he was just 4-of-7 for eight yards.

The Jets, however, don’t have much of an excuse. The Giants do not have a good defense, so Zach Wilson should have performed better than he did. Wilson, instead, spent the entire afternoon drifting too far back in the pocket and throwing short of the sticks on third down. It looked like he would blow this game in embarrassing fashion, but a missed chip-shot field goal gave the Jets life down three at the end of regulation. It still seemed like a long shot for the Jets to win, but Wilson completed consecutive completions of 29 yards to Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard. The Jets then rushed to spike the ball and did so with just one second remaining in regulation, allowing Greg Zuelerin to hit the tying, 35-yard field goal.

The Giants received possession initially in overtime, but a three-and-out by the defense and a big play by Wilson gave the Jets the victory.

Despite his late heroics, Wilson still had an ugly game in which he failed to complete half of his passes. He went 17-of-36 for 240 yards and a touchdown. He also lost a fumble on a strip-sack to begin the game. He had issues dealing with the Giants’ pressure, headlined by Kayvon Thibodeaux, who had an incredible game aside from a crucial offsides penalty late in the afternoon. Regardless, the Jets won’t be able to win this way in the playoffs, so they’ll need Aaron Rodgers to make an unlikely but somewhat possible return.

The Jets couldn’t run the ball whatsoever, which was shocking. Wilson actually led the team in rushing with four scrambles for 25 yards. Breece Hall was limited to only 17 yards on 12 carries, but made a big play in the passing game with 50-yard receiving touchdown. Hall’s six catches went for 76 yards.

Only one Jet outgained Hall, and that was Garrett Wilson, who made two clutch plays at the end. Wilson secured seven of his 13 targets for 100 yards. He, Hall and Lazard (3-45) were the only Jets with more than 19 receiving yards.

As bad as the Jets’ stats were, the Giants’ numbers were hilarious. Darren Waller and Matt Breida were the only players to register positive receiving yardage, with each catching one pass for four yards. Darius Slayton also caught a pass, but lost one yard. Saquon Barkley led the team in receptions with three, but had no yards.

Speaking of Barkley, he was able to give the Giants their only positive production. He rushed for 128 yards on 36 carries. He was great on the Giants’ sole, real scoring drive that culminated with a DeVito rushing score. The Giants’ field goal came at the beginning following Zach Wilson’s lost fumble.

Jaguars 20, Steelers 10

The Steelers were dominated against the Rams last week, but managed to prevail with a big fourth quarter. Kenny Pickett caught fire by repeatedly connecting with his two talented receivers. It seemed as though Pickett would have a chance to do something similar in this game.

The Jaguars, like the Rams last week, were in full control, but couldn’t quite put the Steelers away because of mistakes. Jacksonville failed to take advantage of a potential Pickett pick-six, which came before an Evan Engram lost fumble in the red zone and a Trevor Lawrence interception thrown into the end zone. Tank Bigsby also lost a fumble in field goal range. However, Pittsburgh never came back, potentially because Pickett suffered an injury. Mitchell Trubisky had to take over for Pickett, and he made his own mistakes. He was picked twice, including once where he recklessly heaved a pass into triple coverage.

As a result of the injury, Jacksonville was able to hold on to its lead, ultimately prevailing by 10 to improve to 6-2. The Jaguars are now tied with the Chiefs and Dolphins for the best record in the AFC.

Aside from the interception, which was a foolish decision because the pass was thrown into triple coverage, Lawrence had a strong performance. Lawrence completed three-quarters of his throws, going 24-of-32 for 292 yards, one touchdown and the pick.

Lawrence threw to Engram and Calvin Ridley 10 times each. Engram snared all 10 of his targets for 88 yards, while Ridley hauled in six passes for 83 yards. Christian Kirk (4-46) did not perform as well.

Travis Etienne was a big producer once again. His rushing numbers weren’t overly impressive – 24 carries, 79 yards – but he caught three balls for 70 receiving yards and a touchdown.

As for the Steelers, they predictably couldn’t get anything going on the ground. Najee Harris had seven lifeless carries that went for 13 yards. Jaylen Warren outgained him (19 yards) on two fewer carries.

Trubisky ended up 15-of-27 for 138 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He was far worse than Pickett, who didn’t make any mistakes outside of the dropped pick-six, going 10-of-16 for 73 yards.

Given the quarterback change, the Steeler receiving numbers were deflated, excluding Diontae Johnson’s eight catches for 85 yards. George Pickens caught a 22-yard touchdown, but didn’t do anything else, failing to convert his other four targets.

Eagles 38, Redskins 31

The Eagles were coming off a big win on national TV and had a battle against arch-rival Dallas the following week. This was an obvious flat spot for the Eagles if they didn’t have the Redskins on their radar after Washington took them to overtime in the previous meeting. Philadelphia obviously didn’t put too much stock into that result, as the team was didn’t look very interested in the early going as the Redskins built a 14-3 lead.

Philadelphia had a chance to trim the lead to four in the middle of the second quarter, but the lack of focus persisted, as Kenneth Gainwell lost a fumble inside the 5-yard line. The Eagles’ defense then blew an opportunity to intercept Sam Howell, as a defender dropped an easy pick. Philadelphia eventually put together a touchdown drive, with Jalen Hurts hitting A.J. Brown in the end zone, but a Joey Slye field goal brought the margin to seven at halftime.

The Eagles, however, finally woke up after halftime, while Washington became the team to make mistakes. Howell was intercepted on an overthrow, and he and his teammates then had a sequence where he hurt his team. He didn’t see an open receiver on third down, and this was followed by a Terry McLaurin drop on fourth down. Meanwhile, Philadelphia’s offense caught fire. Aside from a fumble, Hurts was flawless as he and his talented receivers torched Washington’s hapless secondary.

Hurts finished 29-of-38 for 319 yards and four touchdowns. This was an unusual game for him. He barely did any running – four scrambles, six rushing yards – and he fumbled on Philadelphia’s patented Brotherly Shove, negating a potential rushing touchdown for himself. Still, it’s a positive that Hurts was still able to prevail despite doing nothing on the ground.

This was yet another 125-yard game for A.J. Brown. He caught all eight of his targets for 130 yards and two touchdowns. DeVonta Smith also had a great performance with seven catches for 99 yards and a score. Dallas Goedert chipped in with four catches for 36 yards.

The Eagles didn’t have as much success on the ground. In addition to Hurts failing to run much, D’Andre Swift was limited to 57 yards on 16 carries, though he was able to score a touchdown to help his fantasy owners.

As for the Redskins, Howell had a monstrous fantasy performance, going 39-o-52 for 397 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. The Eagles had severe problems stopping him and his receivers. This includes Jahan Dotson, who showed signs of life for the first time all year. He caught eight passes for 108 yards and a touchdown.

Brian Robinson was the leading rusher in this game with 59 yards on only 10 carries, but unlike Swift, he didn’t reach the end zone.

Panthers 15, Texans 13
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: It sucks we got the Brian Burns news so late. It seemed like he would sit, so I didn’t bother changing my pick. I wrote Sunday morning that I had more confidence in Carolina with Burns available.

The Panthers passed on C.J. Stroud to take Bryce Young last April, and this was their first head-to-head matchup. Young outplayed Stroud in this meeting and led Carolina to its first win of the season. Stroud has played better overall this year, but Young drove the Panthers to critical points while Stroud struggled in the second half. Obviously, both teams are not expected to win much right now and are building around their young quarterbacks, so the Chicago Bears might be the most disappointed in this game because the Panthers coming away with the win could cause the 2024 NFL Draft pick that Carolina traded Chicago falling lower than No. 1 overall.

After a series of punts, Stroud put together a drive using Nico Collins (4-30), Tank Dell and Noah Brown to move the ball down the field. Fullback Andrew Beck then plunged into the end zone from a yard out to give the Texans the lead. Carolina responded with Young making a superb play to dodge a sack and loft in a 30-yard completion to Adam Thielen. Houston’s defense stuffed three runs, and on fourth-and-goal, Young quickly threw into double coverage and the pass was batted away. After getting the ball back, Young started ripping passes through the Texans defense to get set up for another first-and-goal. This time, Young scored with a perfect strike to Tommy Tremble on third-and-goal, but the extra point was missed, so the Texans held a 7-6 lead at the half.

Young opened the third quarter by connecting with Jonathan Mingo, who darted down the field for a gain of 40 yards. Eddy Pineiro hit a field goal to give Carolina the lead, and promptly Beck was stripped of the ball by Donte Jackson. The Panthers the recovered the fumble at the Houston 27. That short field produced another Pineiro field goal to extend Carolina’s lead to 12-7. Houston responded with a drive led by Stroud, and on fourth-and-goal from the one, Stroud dove into the end zone. The two-point conversion failed, so the Texans led 13-12 entering the fourth quarter.

After a number of punts, Carolina crossed midfield late in the fourth quarter with Young finding Thielen to convert a fourth down. Chuba Hubbard moved the ball inside the 25 with a screen pass and some tough runs. The Panthers drained the clock, and on the final play of the game, Pineiro’s 23-yard field goal was good.

Young completed 22-of-31 passes for 235 yards and a touchdown.

Chuba Hubbard ran for 28 yards and 15 carries.

Adam Thielen caught eight passes for 72 yards.

Stroud completed 16-of-24 passes for 140 yards. The Carolina defense flustered him with a number of batted balls, sacks, and tipped passes. Stroud’s accuracy was impacted, and he missed on multiple open long throws to Nico Collins.

Dameon Pierce ran for 46 yards on 12 carries.

Noah Brown led the Texans with three receptions for 57 yards.

Ravens 31, Cardinals 24
By Charlie Campbell – @draftcampbell

EDITOR’S NOTE: What a cover by Joshua Dobbs! It would have been nice to get that against the Seahawks the previous week, but whatever. It’s been one of those years.

Arizona played Baltimore close for about two quarters, but midway through the second half, the Ravens opened up a three-score lead. The Cardinals then ran out of time in their comeback effort. Arizona quarterback Josh Dobbs hurt the cause with some horrible passes, and Baltimore was able to cruise without needing its quarterback Lamar Jackson to produce a prolific performance.

The Cardinals struck first, with a number of Ravens penalties helping to move the ball. The biggest was a pass interference in the end zone by Marlon Humphrey, which put the football at the one. A tush-push behind Dobbs led to a quick 7-0 lead for Arizona, but it didn’t last long thanks to Baltimore going down the field and tied the game at seven off of a scoring strike to Mark Andrews. The Ravens then made a fourth-down stop at midfield, but Justin Tucker missed a 53-yard field goal. Both defenses played well throughout the first half, keeping points off the board, and just after the 2-minute warning, Dobbs had a horrible pass that was easily intercepted by Brandon Stephens. Jackson threw a check down to Justice Hill that went for 24 yards, and Gus Edwards plunged into the end zone to give the Ravens a 14-7 lead at the half.

Late in the third quarter, Dobbs threw another horrible pass into double coverage, where Geno Stone made an easy pick that set up the Ravens inside the Arizona 30. A few plays later, Edwards darted into the end zone to put the Ravens up 21-7 just before the start of the fourth quarter. Baltimore then added a field goal to make it a three-score game. The Arizona offense finally started moving the ball, thanks to Dobbs connecting with Michael Wilson (4-58) for a chunk completion. Dobbs then hit a scoring strike to Trey McBride. Dobbs ran in the two-point conversion to make the score 24-15. In garbage time, the Ravens added another short touchdown from Edwards, and the Cardinals had a short touchdown pass to Hollywood Brown (6-33-1) as well as another field goal.

Jackson completed 18-of-27 passes for 157 yards and a touchdown. He ran for 17 yards.

Edwards ran for 80 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries.

Andrews had four receptions for 40 yards and a touchdown.

Dobbs completed 25-of-37 passes for 208 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Emari Demercado ran for 78 yards on 20 carries.

McBride led Arizona with 10 catches for 95 yards and a touchdown.

Seahawks 24, Browns 20

The Seahawks’ No. 1 defense was battling a backup quarterback, yet it appeared as though the team would blow what should have been a sure victory. Seattle got out to a 17-7 lead, but suddenly began struggling on both sides of the ball. The defense, which is usually stour against the run, had trouble tackling the Cleveland rushers. Meanwhile, Geno Smith got into a funk with some horrible mistakes.

Cleveland eventually established a 20-17 lead and maintained it for the majority of the fourth quarter. The Browns even had possession with two minutes remaining with that 20-17 advantage, but the backup quarterback finally ended up costing Cleveland. Phillip Walker fired a pass that was deflected and picked. The Seahawks then took advantage on the short field, as Smith finally got his act together and completed some passes before finding Jaxon Smith-Njigba for the decisive score.

Smith won the game at the end, but had a woeful performance otherwise. He was picked on two occasions, with the first interception being a telegraphed throw and the second being the result of his inability to see Maurice Hurst in coverage. Smith easily could have thrown a third interception, but the potential pick-six was dropped. In fairness, it appeared as though Smith-Njigba ran the wrong route.

Smith finished 23-of-37 for 254 yards, two touchdowns and the two picks. This was a tough matchup, but Smith needs to perform better against top competition for the Seahawks to have a legitimate chance to make a Super Bowl run.

Smith wasn’t the only quarterback making mistakes throughout the afternoon. In addition to the interception with two minutes remaining, Walker was picked a second time, lost a fumble on a strip-sack, and had a potential third interception that was dropped. He failed to complete half of his passes, going 15-of-31 for 248 yards, one touchdown and the three turnovers.

As mentioned, the Browns were able to keep the chains moving on the ground. They did so via a committee. Kareem Hunt led the way with 55 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Pierre Strong chipped in with 41 yards on 10 attempts, while Jerome Ford, who wasn’t even supposed to play, managed 37 yards on seven tries.

The Seahawks were also able to generate positive gains on the ground. Kenneth Walker tallied 66 yards on only eight carries, while Zach Charbonnet added 53 yards on just five attempts. These numbers look nice, but they were buoyed by 45- and 21-yard gains by Walker and Charbonnet, respectively.

Amari Cooper led all players in receiving with six catches for 89 yards. David Njoku wasn’t too far behind him with four grabs for 77 yards and a score.

Tyler Lockett nearly matched Cooper’s receiving total, hauling in eight of his nine targets for 81 yards and a touchdown. D.K. Metcalf saw more balls go his way (14), but secured just five of them for 67 yards. Smith-Njigba caught three balls for 36 yards and the all-important game-winning score.

Broncos 24, Chiefs 9

News broke leading up to this game that Patrick Mahomes was dealing with the flu. Based on how the Chiefs played, it seemed like everyone on the team was stricken with the flu in what was a truly embarrassing loss by Kansas City.

It was apparent that Mahomes wasn’t quite himself, with the TV announcers even opining that there was something off with him. We saw some mistakes early when Mahomes missed some throws, fired an interception where he didn’t see a linebacker, and lost a fumble on a strip-sack. Adding injury to insult, Mahomes hurt his hand and then was intercepted when he threw the ball up for grabs.

Mahomes finished 24-of-38 for 241 yards, two interceptions and a lost fumble. However, he was far from the only one to blame for this loss. His teammates dropped some passes, including Skyy Moore, who had the ball slip through his hands in the end zone. Rashee Rice also dropped a reception for what would have gone for a big gain.

Kansas City’s defense also had a lifeless performance. The Chiefs, ranked sixth in defensive EPA heading into the week, couldn’t get off the field versus the Broncos. They allowed Russell Wilson to make some big plays, while Denver maintained a strong rushing attack.

Wilson was a part of both factors, as he scrambled eight times for 30 rushing yards. He only had to throw 19 times, as he completed 12 of those passes for 114 yards and three touchdowns. Wilson’s only blunder was losing a fumble on a strip-sack after Mahomes was guilty of a fumble.

As for the rushing attack, Javonte Williams looked as though the restrictions had been lifted off his workload. He was given a season-high 27 carries, which he turned into 85 yards. He also caught three passes for 13 receiving yards and a touchdown. Jaleel McLaughlin chipped in with 33 yards on four attempts.

Because of Wilson’s low passing volume, only two Broncos logged more than 16 receiving yards. They were Jerry Jeudy, who caught two passes for 50 yards, and Courtland Sutton, whose two receptions went for 29 yards. Both caught touchdowns.

The leading receiver in this game was Travis Kelce, who caught six balls for 58 yards. He didn’t score, likely because Taylor Swift was not in the stands. Rice was right behind Kelce with four receptions for 56 yards despite the aforementioned drop.

Given the Chiefs’ constant deficit, Isiah Pacheco didn’t have much of a chance to do anything. He had an early 19-yard burst, but was given just seven other carries for 40 rushing yards.

Bengals 31, 49ers 17

Don’t look now, but the Bengals are back. They had some poor results to begin the year, getting blown out by the Browns and Titans. They weren’t able to reach their potential because Joe Burrow was not 100 percent, struggling mightily with a balky calf. It didn’t help that he aggravated it against the Ravens and then could barely move the past two weeks.

Burrow was looking better prior to the bye, and it appears as though the week off did wonders. In fact, Burrow looks better than ever. He completed 19 consecutive passes at one point in this game, as San Francisco’s talented defense had absolutely no answer for him. The defense, meanwhile, rattled Brock Purdy, who was guilty of interceptions on consecutive throws at one point.

Burrow threw 32 times in this game, yet he failed to complete just four of them. He was 28-of-32 for 283 yards and three touchdowns. He also showed the mobility that didn’t exist when he was dealing with his calf, scrambling six times for 43 rushing yards. He would have led the Bengals to more than 31 points had Irv Smith Jr. not lost a fumble inside San Francisco’s 5-yard line.

Ja’Marr Chase had a big game, thanks to Burrow’s much improved passing. He caught 10 of his 12 targets for 100 yards and a touchdown. His only blemish was a drop on third down that was nearly ruled a lost fumble. Tee Higgins had five receptions for 69 yards, while Tyler Boyd (3-40 reeled in another one of Burrow’s touchdowns. Andrei Iosivas (1-2) had the third.

Joe Mixon looked surprisingly spry for the first time all year. He dashed for 87 yards and a touchdown on just 16 carries. He also snatched three receptions for 23 receiving yards.

It’s shocking that Mixon outgained Christian McCaffrey on the ground, with McCaffrey gaining 54 yards and a touchdown on just 12 carries. McCaffrey, however, added six receptions for 64 receiving yards and a score.

As mentioned earlier, Purdy was picked on consecutive passes. The first interception occurred via a great play by Germaine Pratt. The second was the result of Purdy not seeing a linebacker in coverage. Purdy was at least able to accumulate garbage stats at the end, finishing 22-of-31 for 365 yards, one touchdown and the two picks. He also scrambled six times for 57 rushing yards.

George Kittle had a monster game because of garbage time. He caught nine of his 11 targets for 149 yards, but was guilty of two crucial drops. One was on third down, while the other occurred in the red zone. Brandon Aiyuk chipped in with five grabs for 109 yards.

Chargers 30, Bears 13

Anything that could have went wrong went wrong for the Bears in this game. It began early, when an official blew a play dead early, which prevented Darnell Mooney from scoring a touchdown on a deep pass. It ended at the very end as well, as a great onside kick attempt saw the ball bounce around quite a bit and somehow trickle into the arms of a Charger special-teamer.

The game was decided by the time the onside kick occurred, but this type of occurrence was indicative of how this game went for Chicago. The Bears were whistled for nearly quadruple the penalties that the Chargers were guilty of, as the officials simply refused to call penalties on the host, including an obvious grounding penalty by Justin Herbert. Meanwhile, the Bears dropped a Herbert interception, while Velus Jones dropped a Tyson Bagent touchdown after slipping in the end zone. The Bears also goofed on a pair of fourth-down tries where Roschon Johnson, not D’Onta Foreman, was given a carry, and the other try was a pass that went toward Darrynton Evans for some reason. Any hope the Bears still had vanished when a third fourth down, a pass to Mooney, was dropped.

While the Bears spent the entire evening shooting themselves in the foot, Herbert simply wasn’t letting passes hit the ground. He completed his first 15 passes, ultimately going 31-of-40 for 298 yards and three touchdowns. He cooled down in the second half, as he had a dropped pick and an obvious ground penalty that went uncalled, but it’s not like he had his full supporting cast. In addition to Mike Williams being sidelined, Joshua Palmer (3-24) left the game with a knee injury. He tried to play through it, but didn’t see the field much after getting hurt.

Of course, Herbert still had Austin Ekeler and Keenan Allen at his disposal. Ekeler rushed for only 29 yards on 15 carries, but was a big factor as a receiver, catching seven of his eight targets for 94 yards and a touchdown. He lost a fumble late in the game. Allen, meanwhile, hauled in eight of his 10 targets for 69 yards.

Meanwhile, the Bears had Tyson Bagent go 25-of-37 for 232 yards and two interceptions. He was robbed of a couple of touchdowns by horrible officiating and a hilarious drop by Velus Jones in the end zone. Then again, he’s lucky that a potential third pick of his was dropped.

Bagent’s favorite target was Cole Kmet, who caught all 10 passes thrown to him for 79 yards. D.J. Moore was next on the stat sheet with four grabs for 55 yards.

It was confusing that Roschon Johnson (6-21) got a fourth-down carry over Foreman, especially when considering that Foreman was more productive with 34 yards on nine attempts.

Lions 26, Raiders 14

The Lions were looking to rebound from their embarrassing loss to the Ravens last week, but they were missing two offensive linemen, while Amon-Ra St. Brown was iffy to play with an illness. And yet, it didn’t matter because the Raiders were completely incompetent offensively, scoring just seven points if a pick-six is excluded.

Jimmy Garoppolo thoroughly embarrassed himself. He held on to the ball too long in the pocket, taking six sacks. Garoppolo stared down his receivers, waiting for them to get open, but not being able to enjoy the same protection he had in San Francisco meant that he was pummeled by the defense. When Garoppolo released the ball, he threw errant passes. He was picked when he stared down his receiver in the end zone off a Detroit fumble. Garoppolo also missed Davante Adams for a pair of deep touchdowns. The first pass fluttered out of bounds, while the second was thrown five yards too far. Adams would have scored easily on both occasions, and a semi-competent quarterback could have gotten the ball to him.

Garoppolo finished 10-of-21 for 126 yards and an interception. His night ended on a fourth-and-17 when he tossed a helpless checkdown pass, a sign that he is perhaps mailing it in after receiving a big contract. He should be benched immediately in favor of Aidan O’Connell.

Detroit’s offense, meanwhile, had a simple approach to this game. They were going to ram the ball down the Raiders’ throat and create easy opportunities for Jared Goff. This was a success, as Jahmyr Gibbs enjoyed a career night. Gibbs dashed for 152 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries. He also caught five passes for 37 receiving yards. Gibbs was quick and elusive, and it was easy to see why the Lions spent the No. 12 overall pick on him.

With Gibbs running well, Goff was able to benefit from a night in which he only made one mistake. Goff was pick-sixed when he panicked under pressure, but he was otherwise stellar. He went 26-of-37 for 272 yards, one touchdown and the interception.

St. Brown, who was questionable heading into this game, led Detroit in receiving with six catches for 108 yards. Sam LaPorts was the only other Lion ahead of Gibbs on the receiving list with eight catches for 57 yards and a touchdown. His only mistake was a drop late in the game.

Hilariously, no Raider logged more than 27 receiving yards. This includes Adams, though this was not his fault. Adams easily could have exploded for 100-plus yards had Garoppolo been able to hit him with the two deep passes. Instead, Adams hauled in just one of his seven targets for 11 yards. Jakobi Meyers inexplicably had just one reception as well, with it going for 19 yards. He was open on a fourth down in the opening half, but Garoppolo didn’t see him, opting to throw to Hunter Renfrow (2-19) instead. The pass predictably fell incomplete.

Josh Jacobs ended up atop the Raider receiving list with two catches for 27 yards. He had a nice drive in which he ran the ball very well on nearly every snap, but the Raiders went away from that strategy for some reason. Jacobs concluded the night with 61 rushing yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. He dropped a pass and fumbled the ball in the fourth quarter, but Meyers was able to recover.

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

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