- A five-sack day should have been cause for Myles Garrett to celebrate, but instead it feels as though the Browns star’s prime is going to waste.
- The Texans offense managed to find its footing Sunday with a stellar performance in a win over the 49ers.
- The Falcons and Bengals stumbled in ways that could prove lethal to each team’s playoff hopes.
Week 8 in the NFL was short on drama but long on consequences.
Blowouts became a running theme of the week, with nine matchups decided by two touchdowns or more. But parity is still running strong throughout the league, with little clarity on just who will emerge as buyers or sellers ahead of next Tuesday’s trade deadline. And with just one week of games remaining until the regular season reaches its halfway point, several teams are still looking to build momentum for a late-season playoff push.
With all that in mind, here are the biggest winners and losers from Week 8 in the NFL:
NFL Week 8 winners
Houston Texans offense
Maybe they need to switch to the H-Town threads for good. Decked out in their distinctly cool alternate uniforms, the Texans looked markedly different in a 26-15 win over the San Francisco 49ers. Employing a heavy dose of jumbo packages, the Texans were able to solve their protection problems and keep C.J. Stroud out of duress. The result: A season-high 318 passing yards and an offense that kept possession of the ball for 24:31 in the first half, the highest mark of any team since 2009, according to Next Gen Stats. Even with top target Nico Collins sidelined by a concussion, Stroud put his troika of former Iowa State receivers to work, with Xaiver Hutchinson, Jaylin Noel and Jayden Higgins combining for 14 catches, 166 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, rookie running back Woody Marks continued to be a difference-maker with 111 yards from scrimmage on 15 touches. The offense will need to prove it can hold up against opposition that hasn’t suffered the devastating personnel losses that the 49ers have, but this actually looks like a path forward for a much-maligned unit.
Tua Tagovailoa
Added to the injury report Sunday with an illness, the Miami Dolphins quarterback said he woke up with his left eye swollen shut. That might spell doom for many passers, especially one coming off two consecutive three-interception games as well as a controversy regarding his pointing the blame at others for a spiraling campaign. Instead, Tagovailoa fired off a season-high four touchdown passes to help Miami break a three-game losing streak with a 34-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons. The sixth-year signal-caller said after the game he would be keeping the visor he donned, but that’s hardly the only thing he and the offense should be clinging onto. A heavier commitment to the run game – particularly when feeding rookie Ollie Gordon III in short-yardage situations – helped the Dolphins keep the Falcons off balance, and nine different receivers got in on the action by recording at least one catch.
Aaron Glenn
Not many coaches have navigated a more difficult introduction to their first top job than Glenn, who seemed at a loss to account for his team’s repeated miscues through nearly the first two months of the season. Yet with things seemingly continuing to build against him – owner Woody Johnson’s pointed criticism of Justin Fields this week only drove more drama, as did the team’s decision not to reveal its starter prior to the weekend – the leader of Gang Green finally scored a breakthrough with a 39-38 win against the Cincinnati Bengals. Trailing by two scores at multiple separate points in the fourth quarter, Glenn twice called for a two-point conversion attempt. Those would prove plenty meaningful, as New York eventually took the definitive lead on its final touchdown. For a coaching staff that had been accused of lacking aggression in recent weeks, the outcome yielded a long-awaited proof of concept in a rebuild that had seemingly stalled out. With a home tilt against the Cleveland Browns on the other side of the upcoming bye, is it time to talk about … a winning streak?
Tucker Kraft
On an otherwise muted National Tight Ends Day, the Green Bay Packers’ third-year standout seized the spotlight in prime time. Operating as the focal point of the Packers’ aerial attack, Kraft hauled in seven catches for 143 yards – tops among all players on Sunday – and two touchdowns. The former third-round pick from South Dakota State has blossomed from intriguing talent to a true go-to target, despite coach Matt LaFleur’s previous insistence that his offense didn’t require one. Travis Kelce has a chance to grab plenty of attention on Monday night against the Washington Commanders, but for now, National Tight Ends Day belongs to Kraft. More importantly, Kraft’s emergence as a devastating run-after-catch threat dovetails nicely with the return of deep threat Christian Watson, who posted 85 yards on four catches in his first game back from a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered in January. If Jordan Love maintains the level of consistency he displayed in tying a franchise record with 20 consecutive completions, no one might be able to catch Green Bay for the NFC’s No. 1 seed.
James Cook III
Is it possible for a 216-yard, two-touchdown outing to feel like a light day? That’s how Cook’s performance came across, as the Buffalo Bills running back needed just 19 carries – none of them coming in the fourth quarter – to set a career high in his team’s 40-9 romp against the Carolina Panthers. His 64-yard touchdown jaunt was especially worthy of the punctuation he provided with a diving tumble into the end zone. This was a good tune-up for Cook and the offense as a whole ahead of next week’s massive matchup against the Chiefs.
Tyler Huntley
Nothing is guaranteed in the life of a veteran fill-in quarterback, as Andy Dalton and Kirk Cousins can attest after trying days. But when the Baltimore Ravens’ already tumultuous season threatened to careen off a cliff as Lamar Jackson missed yet another game amid controversy, Huntley stepped in to secure a 30-16 win over the Chicago Bears that could prove critical to the team’s hopes of a midseason revival. No, he didn’t do enough to stop the jokes about him being a ‘former Pro Bowl QB’ after he made it in as the fourth alternate in 2022. But Huntley, who stepped in after backup Cooper Rush flamed out in a Week 6 loss to the Los Angeles Rams, strung together an efficient day by completing 17 of 22 passes for 186 yards while adding 53 more on the ground. The Ravens were the lone AFC North team to win on Sunday, putting them two and a half games back of the Steelers. If Baltimore can handle an eminently winnable Thursday matchup with the Dolphins ahead of a bye that figures to allow Jackson and others to get healthy, a resurgence could be in the cards.
NFL Week 8 losers
Atlanta Falcons
Can’t expect to break a seven-year playoff drought – tied for the second-longest active streak – with monthly faceplants like this. Between September’s 30-0 flop against the Panthers and Sunday’s drubbing by the Dolphins, Atlanta now owns two of the most bewildering performances of the early season. Kirk Cousins once again proved not up to the task of handling the offensive reins, failing to get much of anything going until garbage time. And for the second straight contest, Bijan Robinson and the ground game looked largely toothless. The back, whom Falcons coach Raheem Morris repeatedly called ‘the best player in football,’ averaged just 2.8 yards per carry against a defense that had given up 5.2 yards per carry entering the contest. And for all the strides the defense has made under first-year coordinator Jeff Ulbrich, the unit was wholly unprepared to stop Miami’s offense from finding its established comfort zone. With the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts on tap in the next two weeks, the Falcons could find themselves in a serious hole if this level of stagnation continues.
Cincinnati Bengals
Heading into Sunday, the Bengals looked on the precipice of doing the unthinkable: creeping back into the playoff race thanks to an in-season trade for a 40-year-old quarterback. Simply handling the winless Jets would have put Cincinnati back at .500 with a favorable setup down the stretch. Yet despite racking up 181 rushing yards and not turning the ball over, the Bengals couldn’t figure out a way to slow New York, particularly in a fourth quarter that saw them surrender 23 points. Afterward, coach Zac Taylor pleaded for someone to ‘step up and lead’ the defense. But the inexperienced and error-prone group is the product of Cincinnati’s flawed build that allotted an outsized slice of the team’s resources for a few key figures. The organization has also undermined the veteran presence on the unit at several turns, including with the benching of linebacker Logan Wilson and the contract stalemate with Trey Hendrickson, who was knocked out of Sunday’s game with a hip injury. And now, the decision to largely stand pat with an interior defensive line that looked seriously questionable this offseason might leave Cincinnati without any moves to save its season.
New York Giants
Cam Skattebo’s gruesome ankle injury took a visible toll on the rookie running back’s teammates, and the New York Giants had legitimate reason to be upset with some key calls in a 38-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Still, there’s no question that most of Big Blue’s misery is a product of the team’s own doing. It came as no surprise that Saquon Barkley enjoyed a get-right game with a season-high 150 yards against his former team and a vulnerable run defense. Yet having return specialist and backup Tank Bigsby erupt for 104 yards on nine carries should sound an alarm. Meanwhile, an up-and-down Philadelphia passing attack didn’t falter without A.J. Brown, with diminutive receiver Jahan Dotson plucking a pass over the top of practice squad fill-in Korie Black for one of the Eagles’ four touchdowns through the air. Rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart said after the game it was ‘an embarrassing feeling’ to be dominated so thoroughly and that he wouldn’t accept continued losing. When your primary purveyor of hope is striking that tone, things are looking quite bleak.
Dallas Cowboys’ defense
Leave it to Sean Payton to pull no punches in summing up his offense’s mentality when facing the league’s last-ranked defense. ‘We wanted to keep them last,’ said the Denver Broncos coach. That he and his charges did, as Bo Nix and Co. rolled to a 44-24 win that featured little resistance. Nix threw four touchdown passes – with a fifth easily within reach, had it not been for a penalty and subsequent drop by Courtland Sutton – while taking zero sacks and just one hit. Even though the second-year signal-caller has struggled against other teams’ zone looks this season, he patiently picked apart Dallas’ shorthanded secondary. But the woes didn’t end there, as Jerry Jones’ beloved run defense also floundered in allowing 179 yards on the ground. Jones has left the door open for the team to make a move at the trade deadline, but what acquirable piece would legitimately boost this group? If the Cowboys really are intent on making a splash, it might not be feasible until the offseason.
Myles Garrett’s brilliance
The lasting image of Garrett’s day should have been him wrapping up Drake Maye on any one of the edge rusher’s five sacks. Instead, it might be the former NFL Defensive Player of the Year sitting alone at the end of the Cleveland Browns’ bench toward the culmination of a 32-13 loss to the New England Patriots. Quite literally, Garrett has set himself apart from his peers since he entered the league, and he reinforced that Sunday by passing Hall of Famer Reggie White for the most sacks (112 ½) by any player before turning 30. But the Browns’ continued inability to build in any form off Garrett’s record-setting performance creates an uncomfortable dissonance. Garrett slammed his helmet after being pulled by the Browns, and it’s understandable that he would feel frustration while bumping against the ceiling of just how much he can do for this franchise. But the four-time All-Pro had a chance to force his way into a more prosperous setting this offseason, yet he retreated from his trade demand to sign a lucrative contract extension. If Garrett is feeling exasperated, it’s important for him to recall that he essentially signed up for this by re-upping with a franchise that gave every indication it was looking ahead to a more complete rebuild in 2026 and beyond. And barring a historic turnaround in the coming years, he looks on track to occupy a similar space to former Browns legend Joe Thomas, going down as an all-time great whose singular contributions at a premium position weren’t enough to lift an organization that repeatedly undercut itself at almost every turn.
Dillon Gabriel
There’s no quarterback controversy in Cleveland, where coach Kevin Stefanski affirmed after Sunday’s rout that Gabriel would remain the starter coming out of the forthcoming bye. But it’s getting harder to figure out the third-round rookie passer’s value when he’s coughing up interceptions, with two bad ones coming against the Patriots. Gabriel also was responsible for a baffling safety when he appeared to panic in the pocket and threw to no one in particular in the flat, earning him an intentional grounding penalty. The makeup of this offense is hardly his fault, and a lackluster receiving corps isn’t doing nearly enough. But once this team gets into obvious passing situations with him, there’s little hope of the offense clawing its way back. Said Patriots coach Mike Vrabel of his defense: ‘When their gimmick plays ran out, we played pretty good defense.”
NFL trade deadline momentum
The annual cutoff for deals is now eight days away, and there doesn’t seem to be very many indicators for a major swap ahead. Sunday’s action did little to move the needle. Teams like the Dolphins and Ravens already looked resistant to selling off key pieces, and now they have even more reason to hold firm heading into their Thursday night matchup. Parting with Hendrickson appears to be a non-starter for the Bengals, who remain intent on hanging around in the playoff picture despite their woeful defense. Flipping either Chris Olave or Rashid Shaheed would put the New Orleans Saints’ struggling offense in an even more unenviable position as they try to evaluate their young quarterbacks. And is there any way that the Jets could sell off Breece Hall after the running back’s three-touchdown day helped fuel the franchise’s first win of the season? Maybe a handful of moves will materialize, but the rumor mill fodder for the biggest names might not amount to much more than some fun speculation.