NFL Week 8 has wrapped up, and we have plenty of storylines to cover as we close out the eighth weekend of NFL football. New threats, season-jeopardizing injuries, and inconsistent play headline the NFL Week 8 news. Here are some (potential) overreactions to the eighth slate.
The Chicago Bears have been pounding their chest all season, saying that they have Super Bowl aspirations. They have shown the NFL that caliber of play over the last few weeks, but none as dominant as Monday night. The Bears rolled into Lumen Field as underdogs. That was despite them having a better record than the defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks. That was thrown out the window early, as they went right to work on offense, all while stifling the Seattle offense. They doubled up the home Seahawks 34-17.
A big reason for that effort was the acquisition of Jeffery Simmons, who was all over Sam Darnold and the Seahawks’ running backs. He ended the game with six tackles, a sack, and two tackles-for-loss, but his impact was much bigger than that, as he created constant havoc in the backfield for Darnold to avoid. This is exactly the type of player that GM Ryan Poles envisioned when he traded two first-round draft picks for Simmons last Thursday.
The Bears offense showed why they are a force to be reckoned with as well, as they rode a balanced attack all night. 34 points was the total against the vaunted Seahawks defense, with a good mix of pass and run games. Caleb Williams, especially, has been fantastic since returning from a hamstring injury, as he has 860 yards, four touchdowns, and zero interceptions in three games since.
While Monday night was a triumph for the Bears, it was a disaster for the Seahawks. Aside from a defense that gave up many more points than is usually expected, the bigger problem was an offense that was incapable of sustaining drives. Much of the blame so far this season has fallen on the shoulders of new OC Brian Fleury. This is Fleury’s first time calling an offense at any level, and the growing pains have been evident coming over from San Francisco. The play calling was in question much of last night, as Seattle struggled to run the ball, was consistently in third-and-long situations, and many times played it safe with screen passes instead of being aggressive.
The other big problem for the Seahawks offense has been a lack of production from anyone not named Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Another aspect was on full display last night, as Smith-Njigba accounted for 118 of Sam Darnold’s 188 passing yards. Whether it is a lack of explosiveness from other positions or a schematic issue, Seattle’s other receiving options are simply not getting the job done right now, and Sam Darnold is forced to make risky decisions with the football.
In a nightmare scenario for the Baltimore Ravens, Lamar Jackson will miss an extended period of time after injuring his right thumb Sunday against Buffalo. What was supposed to be a triumphant return for Jackson in a highly anticipated game quickly turned into a blowout for the Bills. On the first play of the game for the Ravens offense, Jackson slammed his thumb on the arm of Greg Rousseau on his follow-through. He immediately headed to the locker room. It didn’t get much better for Baltimore, as backup Tyler Huntley, who had been starting in place of Jackson the last few weeks, also left the game with a toe injury. That just left emergency third-string Joe Fagnano, who struggled for the remainder of the game.
It appears as though both Jackson and Huntley will miss significant time. Jackson requires surgery on his thumb, which will send him to IR. Head coach Jesse Minter would not comment on whether or not it would end Jackson’s season. Meanwhile, Huntley is dealing with turf toe, an injury notorious for having vague return timelines.
The Ravens are looking at a disaster of a season. They are currently 4-4, and with no Lamar Jackson for the foreseeable future, their quarterback situation is subpar at best. Their divisional play will make for a difficult schedule the rest of the way, and they will have to grit out some wins without their star under center.
Falcons fans are used to inconsistent play over the past several seasons, but this year might take the cake. Atlanta has been perhaps the toughest team to pin down in terms of their level of play, and they put up another confusing performance on Sunday in Tampa. In a game where rain soaked the field throughout much of the game, the Falcons lost 16-0 to a Buccaneers team that did not complete a pass. Tampa Bay was 0-3 passing on the day; however, they ran the ball 56 times for 324 yards. Atlanta’s defense could not stop the run, and their offense couldn’t stop turning the ball over, as Michael Penix Jr. threw four interceptions on the day.
This putrid performance comes just a week after the Falcons handed the San Francisco 49ers their first loss of the season. In that game, Penix threw for three touchdowns and no picks, and their defense forced four turnovers. The Falcons, especially their offense, seem to go as Penix goes, and as of now, he looks wildly inconsistent.
After he led the charge in their comeback win against the Cowboys on Sunday, the Cardinals have named Gardner Minshew their starting quarterback for week nine against Seattle. Arizona seems to be favoring the hot hand in a season where they look to be little more than a spoiler team. Luckily for them, that’s exactly what they did against Dallas, as they stormed back from down 14 in the fourth quarter and beat the Cowboys in overtime. Minshew replaced Jacoby Brissett, who was rough early in the game. Minshew completed 17/23 passes for 188 yards and three touchdowns, all in the second half. Arizona hopes that Minshew can continue to play well next week against a much better defense in Seattle.
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