Week 8 of the NFL saw the Carolina Panthers’ first win of the season. Meanwhile, the New York Jets managed a late comeback including an overtime win against local rivals. The Philadelphia Eagles once again had trouble against the Washington Commanders and the Minnesota Vikings had to pay dearly for their victory in Green Bay.
NFL Predictions Week 8
sport.de accompanies selected games on Sunday evening in the live ticker from 7 p.m.!
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-3) @ Buffalo Bills (4-3)
Result: 18:24 (0:3, 10:14, 0:7, 8:0) BOXSCORE
Los Angeles Rams (3-5) @ Dallas Cowboys (5-2) (Sun., 6 p.m.)
Result: 20:43 (3:17, 6:16, 8:3, 3:7) BOXSCORE
- The Dallas Cowboys gave the Los Angeles Rams no chance and secured an unchallenged fifth win of the season. By halftime, the Dallas offense had already built up a comfortable lead with a strong Dak Presscott (four touchdoons, 304 yards) and CeeDee Lamb (158 receiving yards, 2 TD). In the second period, the Texans, who held the Rams around Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp to nine points in the first half, took things a little easier without giving the team from California a serious chance of victory.
Minnesota Vikings (3-5) @ Green Bay Packers (2-5)
Result: 24:10 (7:0, 3:3, 14:7, 0:0) BOXSCORE
- The Vikings apparently “got” a very expensive Pyrrhic victory at Lambeau Field. Although they managed their third win in a row, they also lost quarterback Kirk Cousins to what was probably a serious injury. Officially he left the game in the second half with an ankle injury, but video images suggest that his Achilles tendon may have been affected. A diagnosis is still pending.
- Before his loss, Cousins made the game decisive with two touchdowns in quick succession in the middle of the third quarter. Between the TD catches by TJ Hockenson and Jordan Addison there was an interception in front of Jordan Love’s own end zone.
Atlanta Falcons (4-4) @ Tennessee Titans (3-4)
Result: 23:28 (3:7, 0:7, 6:7, 14:7) BOXSCORE
- In Ryan Tannehill’s absence, rookie Will Levis made his NFL debut – and what a debut it was! The Titans’ second-round pick led his team to a home win with 234 yards and four touchdowns. His congenial partner was wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins with four receptions for 128 yards and three touchdowns. Derrick Henry also ran for 101 yards.
- A lot came together for the Falcons in this game. On the positive side, rookie running back Bijan Robinson scored his first rushing touchdown in the NFL. On the other hand, the performance of quarterback Desmond Ridder was negative. He only played the first half and only managed 71 yards (7/12). He also lost a fumble and stayed out at halftime after being checked for a concussion, although he survived it successfully. Taylor Heinicke then played for him, who at least brought his team within striking distance.
New Orleans Saints (4-4) @ Indianapolis Colts (3-5)
Result: 38:27 (7:7, 14:14, 7:0, 10:7) BOXSCORE
- In a close duel against the New Orleans Saints, the Indianapolis Colts suffered the next setback in the fight for the playoffs. In a real offensive fireworks display, Derek Carr’s team narrowly had the upper hand in the end. After an even first half, the Saints pulled away slightly after an interception by Gardner Minshew and defended their narrow lead until the end. At New Orleans, Rashid Shaheed shone with three caught passes for an incredible 158 yards and a touchdown.
New England Patriots (2-6) @ Miami Dolphins (6-2)
Result: 17:31 (7:7, 0:10, 3:7, 7:7) BOXSCORE
- The Miami Dolphins maintained their lead in the AFC East over the Bills with a home win in Week 8 and made history in the process. Wide receiver Tyreek Hill not only scored a touchdown in the first quarter, he also broke the 1,000-yard mark with his 112 receiving yards after just eight games. No receiver had ever achieved this before in the Super Bowl era.
- The Patriots took the lead after an early interception by Kyle Dugger against Tua Tagovailoa, but they were unable to continue the momentum. Rather, Mac Jones once again made a bad interception deep in the opposing half against returner Jalen Ramsey, preventing a possible equalizer at halftime. In the second half, Miami ultimately decided the game with two long touchdown drives, so that the first Patriots TD from JuJu Smith-Schuster no longer had any effect.
New York Jets (4-3) @ New York Giants (2-6)
Result: 13:10 OT (7:3, 0:0, 0:7, 3:0, 3:0) BOXSCORE
- In an incredibly weak game, the Jets managed a late comeback and an overtime win thanks to several errors by the Giants. Kicker Greg Zuerlein scored from 35 yards to equalize with the clock running out and then from 33 yards in overtime to win. The equalizer was preceded by a 35-yard miss from Giants kicker Graham Gano and two 29-yard completions from Zach Wilson to Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard. The winning goal was preceded by a fairly obvious pass interference by the Giants.
- Things got even worse for the G-Men, however, because they lost quarterback Tyrod Taylor with a rib injury – and tight end Darren Waller also had to go out at halftime – so Tommy DeVito got his first appearance and even his first NFL touchdown. However, he only completed four passes for eight yards. As a team, the Giants had -9 net passing yards. After all, they ran for 203 yards (Barkley: 128). Both teams only had two successful 3rd downs each and were 4-34 on 3rd downs overall!
Jacksonville Jaguars (6-2) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3)
Result: 20:10 (6:0, 3:3, 8:7, 3:0) BOXSCORE
- The Jacksonville Jaguars are still on course for the playoffs and celebrated their fifth win in a row in Pittsburgh. The team from Florida made things unnecessarily exciting for a long time against harmless Steelers. Two turnovers in the red zone before halftime ensured that the game was not yet decided in the Jaguars’ favor at halftime. In the second period, the Steelers suffered the loss of Kenny Pickett, who was replaced by Mitch Trubisky. It was the former Bears quarterback who buried the chance of victory with an interception in the final quarter.
Philadelphia Eagles (7-1) @ Washington Commanders (3-5)
Result: 38:31 (3:7, 7:10, 7:0, 21:14) BOXSCORE
- The Washington Commanders narrowly missed an upset against the Philadelphia Eagles. Sam Howell impressed with four touchdowns against the Eagles’ highly praised defense. The O-line also appeared to be vastly improved. The team from the capital was in the lead almost throughout until the last quarter, before an interception by the 23-year-old turned things around for the favorites. Once again it was the outstanding combination of AJ Brown (130 yards, two TD) and Jalen Hurts (319 yards, four TD) that saved the favorites against their rivals from the NFC East.
Houston Texans (3-4) @ Carolina Panthers (1-6)
Result: 13:15 (0:0, 7:6, 6:6, 0:3) BOXSCORE
- The Carolina Panthers are no longer winless! With the clock running out, kicker Eddy Pineiro scored his third field goal of the game to seal the win. In an overall weak game in which both teams were only five total yards apart (229:224 from the Texans’ perspective), the guests only took the lead at the end of the third quarter with their first touchdown by CJ Stroud and Carolina needed a whole quarter to strike back again.