The trade deadline was boring and lame- more exciting than it was a few years ago though. Last year’s was electric.

Commanders

Why did they trade away both their young edge rushers? I get trading away one, you don’t wanna pay both- but is chase young really worth like pick 100 to you?

Running Backs

The ravens reportedly tried to trade for Derrick Henry and Josh Jacobs, and were refused by both teams. The titans didn’t want to trade Henry and the raiders wanted a 2nd for Jacobs. Saquon was never for sale. My question is why does the league value running backs highly in trades when none of them are getting paid beyond franchise tags. All 3 of these teams suck and were sellers anyway.

Wide Receivers

The raiders not trading away Renfrow was weird, and Adams clearly wants out too- but it makes sense they didn’t want to trade him because of his contract, seems like more an offseason thing. That being said, it’s also super weird that teams weren’t trading for wide receivers.

The Giants paid Daniel Jones and didn’t trade away Saquon, why not invest and get him a good weapon.

The Chiefs wide receivers are awful, and they’re obviously a contender- it makes no sense to not at least try to get a reliable pass catcher.

I’m pretty confident Mac Jones sucks but they should at least try to get him a good weapon

The Panthers were rumored to be trying before the deadline- and I think they made the right choice not to, although it’s kinda weird they didn’t trade Brian Burns.

Other weird things:

Jaylon Johnson’s trade request was weird for multiple reasons, like why would the bears not pay him, and why was he unable to find a suitor?

Danielle Hunter not getting traded, the Vikings are done- and according to albert breer they wanted a top 60 pick. Very strange a team was unwilling to give up a 2nd and maybe some change for Hunter.

The dolphins not being buyers. Idk what they need even, I’m just surprised they didn’t do anything since they’ve been extremely aggressive lately. Not necessarily a bad thing, in fact it’s probably good.

Cowboys and Lions not being more aggressive was also weird, the NFC is very top heavy- and in order to have a shot at winning they should’ve gotten more pieces imo. Bengals not making trades is also dumb but they just don’t that type of thing. Also surprised the browns weren’t aggressive.

Now keep in mind when I talk about aggressiveness, I’m not plugged into every team. The Ravens were trying to make moves but nothing ever materialized, idk if that happened with the above teams.

Welcome to week 8 of the official r/NFL Power Rankings! Happy Halloween everyone, ready for some spooky trades? Josh Dobbs will look to transform Minnesota back into contenders, while Montez Sweat will transform 2-6 Chicago into...? Will Purdy bounce back after a month of 4th quarter mistakes? After their mile high loss can Kansas City shake it off? Is there any clear cut top team? Discuss! 32/32 Reporting

#		Team	Δ	Record	Comment

1. | | Eagles | +1 | 7-1 | With the Phillies knocked out and the Sixers sending Harden to the retirement home that is the Clippers, Nick Sirianni is running out of pandering graphic tees, resorting to a plain Flyers logo or, and this is not made up: a fake logo for Dom, their celebrated head of security. Yes, the Eagles are the main attraction in town, and it showed this week: despite two fumbles inside the 5 and trailing for much of the game, the birds found a way to make the final minutes of their game in Landover relatively stress-free. Thanks to another dominant performance from AJ Brown, who is continuing his historic run, the offense was able to overcome those early mistakes to come back, icing the game with a late Swift TD. Yes, the defense that trounced the NFL’s top offense a week ago let Sam Howell look like Tom Brady for much of the matchup, but made a play, a late interception, when it mattered. Looking ahead, the Eagles have a tough upcoming schedule starting against the red-hot Cowboys. Eagles fans are just hoping Nick will continue to leave the t-shirts out of this matchup.
2. | | Ravens | +1 | 6-2 | Home sweet home. Somehow, some way the Ravens have escaped a trek from Cleveland to Pittsburgh to London to Baltimore to Arizona with a 4-1 record. After a trouncing of the Lions the Ravens, somewhat expectedly, didn’t look nearly as sharp on the road in Arizona this week but they found a way to get the job done and in the NFL that’s all you can do some days. While many fans are still begrudging frustrating losses to the Colts and Steelers the team’s in a great position at 6-2. Up next is an absolutely critical 3 game home stretch against the Seahawks, Browns and Bengals. With Cincy quickly regaining form the Ravens need to hold serve and win at least 2 of the next 3.
3. | | Chiefs | -2 | 6-2 | Rats started being used in biomedical experiments during the early 19th century. There are a number of reasons for this, cost of maintenance and an eerily similarity to human biology at the top of the list. In part due to those early lab rats and their domestication process, we have become incredibly familiar with the species. They are surprisingly social animals with an immense play drive. When two lab rats are introduced to each other they frequently begin to play fight early on. In these fights the bigger of the two lab rats almost always wins, which is intuitive enough I suppose. The interesting thing is that if the bigger rat always wins, the smaller of the two rats will eventually stop trying to play at all, and the bigger rat stops having fun as a result. This has led to an interesting phenomenon where the bigger rat will occasionally allow the smaller rat to win in order to keep them interested in playing and to allow the games to continue into the future.
4. | | Dolphins | +1 | 6-2 | It wasn't an easy, but a win is a win. The Patriots did a great job in coverage forcing Tua to think about where he wanted to go with the ball, but Tua still had an excellent day throwing for over 300 yards 3 TDs and one INT in a 31-17 win over the Pats. Jalen Ramsey had his long-awaited debut and did not disappoint. He picked off Mac Jones after making a great read on the QB leaving his man to swoop right in front of a different receiver for the interception. The team now turns its attention to the Kansas City Chiefs for a quasi-primetime game in Germany. Both teams are very motivated for this game as the Chiefs will be trying to bounce back from an embarrassing loss to the Broncos, while the Dolphins will be trying to prove they can hang with and beat great teams too. If Xavien Howard and Jevon Holland both play, it'll be the first time all season that our defense will be playing at full strength. It should be the game of the week.
5. | | Lions | +1 | 6-2 | MNF produced a dominant Lions performance everywhere but the box score. Jahmyr Gibbs alone outgained the entirety of the Las Vegas Raiders, and the Lions defensive line had the highest pressure rate in an NFL game since 2018, pressuring Garoppolo on a whopping 71.4% of dropbacks (shoutout Alim McNeill for wrecking the interior) and notching 6 sacks and 9 QB hits. If not for an extreme aversion to scoring TDs when they got to the redzone (last night alone dropped them five spots in red zone efficiency rankings), this game could have easily been a 30-40 point victory margin. The Detroit Lions are now 6-2 and the current 2 seed in the NFC, and are heading into their bye itching to heal up some key contributors. David Montgomery, Jonah Jackson, and Frank Ragnow are all looking to be on track to return to the lineup week 10 against the LA Chargers, providing a lethal boost to their run game with Gibbs and Montgomery hopefully playing their first fully healthy game together since the absolute drubbing of Green Bay.
6. | | Jaguars | +1 | 6-2 | The Jaguars would rather you pay them no notice. Don't look at the fact that they currently hold the league's longest active win streak. Give no attention to the destructive 2.3 takeaways per game they average. Disregard that they're one of the least penalized teams in the league. Ignore the touchdown machine ETN has become. Never mind that the Jaguars continue to find ways to win games even should they make ugly mistakes. Oh, you are paying attention? Seems you already know: The future is feline. 😼
7. | | Cowboys | +1 | 5-2 | Who had "Bones Revenge Game" on their bingo card? Anyone? This was another wonderful three phase victory. Special teams blocked a kick and broke off a big return, Daron Bland got ANOTHER pick six, and Ceedee Lamb tied him for the team lead in touchdowns. The team got right, and now they are on to Philly.
8. | | Bills | +1 | 5-3 | The Bills let this game get closer than it had any right being, but there’s still plenty of positives to be taken away. The offense was humming for the first time in a few weeks, putting up 427 total yards. Unfortunately, it didn’t translate into points on a few drives —an issue Buffalo’s had since last season. With all that being said, this game felt like the Bills finding their stride again, and hopefully they’ve found it, with a Monday night matchup against the red-hot Bengals slated for week 9.
9. | | 49ers | -5 | 5-3 | The niners secondary was carved up for the second straight week, this time by a finally healthy Joe Burrow. Yet again, the run game was uneffective, putting lots of pressure on Purdy to keep drives going. The second year QB was able to move the chains for most of the game, but again had costly turnovers late to kill momentum. The bye week has come at the right time, hopefully giving the team the time necessary to fix the weaknesses that have surfaced the last three weeks.
10. | | Seahawks | -- | 5-2 | It was an awesome week for Seahawks rookies, with both Jake Bobo and JSN finding the endzone. After a blazing hot start, the Seattle offense cooled significantly beyond the first quarter. Geno had some off throws, particularly when targeting DK Metcalf. The ground game was uncharacteristically quiet. The Browns defense deserves a ton of credit; they kept Cleveland in this game. On the defensive side, it was more of the same from the Seahawks defense. Tariq Woolen and Devon Witherspoon have been a pretty dominant duo, and the defense has been absolutely humming since Jamal's return a few weeks ago. Boye Mafe has developed into a hell of an edge if the beginning of the season is any indication. And finally... Welcome to Seattle Leonard Williams!
11. | | Bengals | +1 | 4-3 | The Bengals finished their season sweep of the NFC West on Sunday, but now need to do what they haven't done yet this year, beat an AFC team. Sunday Night Football against the Bills is looming, and although it's too early in the season to call anything a must-win, the game does have huge playoff implications for both teams.
12. | | Browns | -1 | 4-3 | Kareem Hunt was left absent in the latter part of the week eight loss to the Seahawks, having fans ask why take your foot off the gas when you're about to cross the finish? Seattle scored a late TD to win. Watson was yet again sidelined with a shoulder injury. The Browns will face the, frankly, terrible Cardinals next week.
13. | | Chargers | +6 | 3-4 | The Chargers finally gave their fans what they wanted: a boring ass game. No praying your fingers hoping that the opposing kicker misses heart races. No watching the rookie QB drive towards the endzone as your blood pressure skyrockets. No 4th-and-Staley moves late in a tight game that drive made Rex Ryan lose his mind. Just a normal ass comfortable win. No one hands out cookies for beating a D2 rookie QB in his 2nd start, but screw you guys. We'll bake our own cookies. You don't have Chargers PTSD like we do.
14. | | Saints | +7 | 4-4 | Saints are .500 on the season, fans have no idea what to make of them, Derek Carr is a rollercoaster, Dennis Allen continues to be middling. And we wouldn't have it any other way.
15. | | Steelers | -2 | 4-3 | Credit where credit is due - The Jaguars playoff dreams can melt steel beams. The former AFC Central rival Jags really are looking up and the Steelers caught them on their way to establishing an impressive 2023 resume. Losing Pickett and Fitzpatrick to injury was a devastating blow, especially on a short week with Thursday Night Football coming up. Pittsburgh needs a quick turnaround. They have to shake this loss off and figure out how to put together a solid challenge to a Titans team who have still not won consecutive games this season. Coming off of a win against a tenacious Falcons team, Tennessee are not only an old AFC Central rival who have broken Steel City dreams of their own, but also could start their own upward climb with a win against this Steelers team.
16. | | Jets | +2 | 4-3 | The Jets have three extremely improbable victories and have really only outplayed one team for 4 quarters. But here they are at 4-3 on a 3 game winning streak. Jet fans can’t help but imagine where this team would be with Rodgers. Everyone keeps saying Zach Wilson is playing better, and I guess there's some truth to that, but the Jets are still a bottom 5 offense no matter how you slice it. Three of the next four Jets games are nationally televised so I hope you guys are excited for more Zach.
17. | | Buccaneers | -2 | 3-4 | The new nickname for Todd Bowles should be Nilmot. The man is a reverse Tomlin. While the Steelers' coach finds a way to keep a winning record even with the shittiest squads, Mr. Nilmot finds a way to have a losing record even with solid players. After finishing 8-9 with Tom Brady as his QB, Nilmot's squad managed to be utterly outclassed against the Bills to drop below .500 in a game that was definitely not as close as the score indicates. This was Nilmot's 53rd loss as a head coach in his career against 35 wins. By the time the Tampa Bay Buccaneers play their next game, they would've had a streak of 35 days without a win. Congrats on the one month win-sobriety chip!
18. | | Texans | -2 | 3-4 | There’s no sugar coating it, that was a bad game. While all the attention has been paid to the rookies on the field, there’s also a rookie Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator. Bobby Slowick will probably be under the microscope a bit this week as he had no answers for what the Carolina defense was throwing at him and it showed with an ineffective run game (that’s becoming worryingly common) and passing plays that rarely were able to get a receiver open. If there was a bright spot, the defense was able to combine for 6 total sacks on Bryce Young.
19. | | Rams | -5 | 3-5 | Pain. There have been a lot of would/coulda/shoulda's during this season, but when you have a young and inexperienced squad with little depth, it makes little mistakes, injuries, and disadvantages more difficult to overcome. There have been flashes of potential—which has increased expectations—but 2023 will not be the year they are capitalized upon.
20. | | Falcons | -3 | 4-4 | Most important takeaway from Sunday's game is Grady Jarrett tearing his ACL, the organization has already traded Philadelphia for a replacement. The dropoff without Grady was noticeable and drastic, and the best case for this defensive unit is significant growing pains. Injuries never hit at the "right" time, but this defense needs to be firing on all cylinders to prop up whatever weekly issues pop up with the offense. What will happen next week against Minnesota? Bijan's targets/carries under 10 total on the day? An under utilization of various other high investment skill positions? With Arthur Smith everything is probable until proven otherwise.
21. | | Vikings | -1 | 4-4 | It is fitting for Kirk Cousins' season to end all too early on an Achilles tear — As once Achilles chose to go down in a blaze of glory, so falls Cousins at his peak; as once Achilles, in his rage, slew so many Trojans that the very river cried out as corpses choked its streams, so Cousins left opposing backfields in carnage. We come to bury Cousins. Yet, in a greater sense, it is not Cousins whom we bury, but ourselves. For in our mourning we, the living, continue our inexorable death march towards senescence, while Cousins, though fallen, achieves an apotheosis into legend. And so we bury our dead, our grandparents, parents, siblings, and – ineluctably – ourselves; and yet the sun keeps rising and setting madly on. Are the heavens deaf and dumb to our cries, going through their motions as the inanimate reflex of our dead gods? Or do they hear us, and their carrying on is their response for us to go and do likewise? Only the dead, whose legends carved themselves into our constellations – like Achilles, like Cousins – know.
22. | | Titans | +3 | 3-4 | The Titans game against the Falcons saw the first career start for the rookie out of Kentucky, Will Levis. Donning the beautiful Oiler throwback uniforms, Levis put on a show joining Fran Tarkenton and Marcus Mariota as the third QB to put up four touchdowns in his rookie debut. With a short week, Levis will likely start in Pittsburgh on Thursday and will have the opportunity to show more dynamic throws down the field and expand his game with more intermediate passing.
23. | | Colts | -1 | 3-5 | Welp. Tony Brown had one of the worst games you'll ever see from an NFL cornerback, and Indy gave up at least 37 points for a third straight game (all losses). The Colts are the only team to score 20+ points in every game this season, yet they have the worst point differential in their division and are two games under .500 after starting 3-2. Losing Anthony Richardson was a major blow, yes, but this Indy defense is now taking the Colts out of more games than it's keeping them in. Gardner Minshew's carelessness with the football (9 turnovers in 3 games) certainly isn't helping, but he's also not the one giving up 153 yards and a TD on three catches to… *checks notes*… Rashid Shaheed. A top-10 pick is not out of the question at this point.
24. | | Commanders | -- | 3-5 | Is the spirit of a football franchise like a ghost, imprinted on a place, a concept even? It's the strangest phenomenon that basically not a single person from 2016 is left involved with this team, but the team looks unchanged, unaltered. 2011, same. 2006, same. It's enough to loosen my grip on reality and makes me start to wonder if the program that injected the procedurally generated memories into my brain lazily repeated the same cycle of events with just enough change that could reasonably convince me I'm having a unique experience; but I'm left with that uncanny pit in my gut telling me something about this is wrong. Like I'm looking at a family photograph but I can't definitively tell you the person in it that looks like me, is actually me. 2023 is another season where a few players look individually good, but the team just can't get it together. Whether it's some key roster failures, or awful coaching, or terrible luck, this team just looks like the Ghosts of Washington past: Perennial lingerers toward the mid-bottom of the league who occasionally let their NFL worthy roster steal a game, but most of the time just serve as the faceless, textureless enemies beaten by some other main characters in the plot.. is anything left of the legacy of this once dominant franchise? Swept by the Eagles, with 2 games still to come against the dominant Cowboys, the season is all but over for this team. If there are fans left who care enough to be bothered by it, the sting is surely worsened by having to watch division "rivals" look like world beaters for another year, while this team floats listlessly in mediocrity for decades at a time. In years past, I might have started to feel nervous that the Eagles or Cowboys might actually win the whole thing. At this point, my apathy expects nothing less and has long since accepted it. You'd think me sad or upset about this, but it's truly that I can't be bothered to care. Why should a Division 2 team be upset that Georgia won the championship; it's not like we were ever in contention for it. And this team is truly not in contention for anything meaningful this year. You'll note fans of the team are already buckling up their annual off-season armor of "well at least the QB looks good" or "hey we get to draft high" or "surely the owner will fire the coach"; These are echoes of the past reverberating in the present, nothing more. Funny how something as silly as a game where an inflated bag of skin is flung around to men in padding can reconnect you to the nihilistic feeling of meaninglessness. But at least Sam Howell looks good, we'll surely draft high, and the owner is sure to fire the coach..
25. | | Broncos | +5 | 3-5 | At about 4:30pm eastern on Sunday October 29th, I noticed that there was no game thread for the Chiefs game on r/taylorswift. Did this mean she wouldn't be at the game? The Broncos scored on their first possession. At 4:35, as a joke, I messaged my football friends group chat: "Taylor Swift isn't in Denver, so if we win I will listen to all her albums and write a review for each song." If she skipped the game and thereby granted us a win, I'd owe her this. The Broncos held the Chiefs to a field goal on their first possession. I was not concerned. At the beginning of the second quarter, our defense forced a turnover and Russell Wilson delivered a deep strike to Jerry Jeudy, who followed that up with a touchdown reception a couple plays later. I was not concerned. Halfway through the 4th quarter, our defense prevented Patrick Mahomes from scoring a touchdown on 4th and 2. "Uh oh." I texted my group chat. They asked me if I knew how many albums Taylor Swift had. I guessed five. I was wrong. With 5:39 remaining in the 4th quarter, Patrick Mahomes was sacked by his own lineman, ending their must-score drive to stay in the game. Some said the loss was due to Mahomes having the flu, but I knew it was because of her. Shortly after the game I made a post on r/taylorswift, explaining the monumental task at hand. By the end of the week, I needed to write a review of every Taylor Swift song. To make matters more difficult, I had no subscriptions to any music streaming platforms because I...don't listen to music. At all. Thanks to many fine and helpful Swifties, I've been set up with couple spreadsheets and guidance on how to tackle all 200+ songs written by this popular blond woman. All this week, it is my burden to honor those careless words I uttered in passing on that fateful Football Sunday. I don't write horror stories for losses, but some might say I'm living the worse outcome.
26. | | Packers | -3 | 2-5 | Congrats to Rashan Gary, the best player on the 2023 Packers, for signing a 4 year, 107 million dollar extension! Maybe by the end of the contract we'll have receivers that actually run the correct routes, a defensive coordinator that doesn't want to make me gouge my eyes out, and all those project picks we've made in the last two years or so blossom into quality players, just like you did! Anyways there was a game this week and the Packers did poorly. Get well soon Kirko!
27. | | Patriots | -1 | 2-6 | I planted three Hickory saplings in Autumn 2022, and I watched them carefully to see if they would wake up in the Spring 2023. Many of my other trees budded and produced leaves a month before the Hickories showed any signs of life, but after a long period absent of hope, a sudden spurt led to a productive summer of growth. It may seem like the local 53 will never wake from their slumber. After the sacrificial Bison feast, they seemed to shrivel away from the South Florida sun in a familiar pattern of anti-clutch execution. Have faith though, my friends. We’ve got them all right where we want them! Consult your almanac. The conditions ahead seem favorable for a surprise mid season growth spurt. It is clearly far from guaranteed. Sparks of stardom seem subject to voodoo curse of injury around here. This team may simply be the get-right game for other terrible teams, but the story is not yet written. A little momentum can go a long way at the right time of year. Get your eyes off the draft order. There will be plenty of time for that down the road. Look instead at the record of the current 6 and 7 seed in the AFC. I am nothing if not stalwart. Hickory trees along with Oaks are the apex species of Northeastern forest ecosystems, supporting extensive biodiversity of creatures big and small once they reach maturity.
28. | | Raiders | -1 | 3-5 | Bring back the overhead projector, Mark. Make your father proud.
29. | | Bears | -- | 2-6 | The Bears lost a road game where they were 10 point underdogs - okay, makes sense, let's move on. What is going on with this team? Is there a coherent long term plan for next season? Is there even a coherent plan for THIS season? GM Ryan Poles doesn't seem to want to extend talented (but sometimes injured) CB Jaylon Johnson, who is only 24, and has let him seek a trade - a decision that has many fans irate. But he also traded for DE Montez Sweat. Presumably an extension is imminent - so why won't Poles also invest in homegrown talent and reward a player who, frankly, has had no reason to play hard over the past two seasons? Either way, these moves seem to imply that Poles will be around for at least another year. To add to the fun, there are rumors swirling about Bears' coaches "throwing Fields under the bus" by discussing his obvious weaknesses with media members. And now Fields' has been already ruled out against the Saints after optimism about his recovery timeline last week. At least last season's bad news Bears were fun to watch. This is just mostly sad.
30. | | Giants | -2 | 2-6 | There is a special pain when the team you root for loses a game in which they had every opportunity to win. This loss falls on the coaching staff, for putting an injured kicker out there on 4th and 1 (twice) and for having a Plan B at QB that they had absolutely zero trust in to throw the ball. Why even have that player on the roster at all? Alas, another L for Big Blue and fans are already looking toward the draft; the trade of Leo to Seattle means NYG will have some extra draft capital come spring. Until then, though, the slog continues. Daniel Jones' return is sure to be a welcome one after the offensive product put on the field Sunday.
31. | | Cardinals | -- | 1-7 | You’re still here? It’s over. Go home. Go. There’s really not much of a point to watching unless you’re the most diehard fan. Or you really like Michael Wilson, Trey McBride, or Kyzir White and want to watch them develop. Like I said last week, Kyler might play this week. He might not. We know for sure Dobbs isn’t anymore. Last minute update We know for sure it ain't Dobbs now!!
32. | | Panthers | -- | 1-6 | IT HAS HAPPENED! The Carolina Panthers have gotten their first win of the season! The Thomas Brown era has begun and so far it is going well. Going into this game, it was inevitable that the Bryce Young vs CJ Stroud narratives would be all the rage. Since the Panthers won, you could say Bryce also won that battle but ultimately both QBs are going to be bright spots for the NFL and it was great to see. This was by far Bryce’s best game of the season. He showed poise, threw good balls, and was able to drive the team down the field for the game winning field goal made by Eddy Pinero. The Texans tried their hardest to disrupt the kick by going offsides not once, not twice, but three times. Ultimately it didn’t matter as Eddy had that ice in his veins on a hot Charlotte day. The Panthers still have some woes but they looked better offensively than they have all season. Chubba was a force again and it seems as if he’s the first option for now. Miles Sanders does not look 100% and his production is lacking. Our sole TD was Bryce to Tremble, which was shocking but no complaints over here. Like I said last week, we had nowhere to go but up and we did just that. The OL still needs to protect Bryce better. He was sacked six times. That needs to tighten up from virtually the same OL as last season. The offense still seems like there is more to unlock and if Bryce has a bit more time, maybe that would open things up a bit. Regardless I am not upset after that game. The Colts are coming to Bank of America next Sunday and this is another winnable game. If Brown can call a good offensive game and our injury riddled defense can get the stops they have continued to get, I feel good about our chances. Feels good to be 1-0 in our last one game. Keep Pounding.

Source

My understanding is that the Ravens want Josh Jacobs. Josh Jacobs wants to be a Raven. The Raiders want a second round pick. The Ravens don’t want to give a second round pick.

Part 8 of a series I have been doing since the beginning of the season:

• Week 7

• Week 6

• Week 5

• Week 4

• Week 3

• Week 2

• Week 1

Normally I post this series on Mondays but wanted to wait until after MNF this week just based on the fact that most results lent themselves to overreactions on Sunday, not underreactions. There's a lot to overreact to in any given week (Do the Packers have a shot at the 1-seed? Jacksonville vs. Baltimore AFCCG? Are the 49ers done for? Are the Bengals back? ext...)

Instead, let's spend some time talking about the opposite - storylines that may have flown under the radar or otherwise just aren't getting the attention they deserve. Some things I think people are underreacting to or otherwise deserve more discussion:

• It's time to change the narrative about the Detroit Lions: This team is still being talked about as a fun, plucky upstart team, and the consensus is sort of "We'll see if they can keep it up." It's time to stop asking "Are the Lions legit?" and start asking "Will the Lions be able to win some playoff games?" Because they are 6-2 and their remaining schedule is one of the easiest in the entire NFL (Bears twice, Packers, Vikings twice, Chargers, Broncos, Cowboys, Saints). Barring an epic collapse or heartbreaking injury, the Lions will win their division, and they will host one, if not two, playoff games.

• Mayfield isn't the problem in Tampa - Boyles is: Last Thursday, Todd Boyles made multiple decisions that were far too conservative - electing to try a 50-yd FG on a 4th & 2 (kick was blocked) when losing by 3 in Q1, lining up the FG unit to attempt to draw the Bills offside and ultimately punting instead of going for it on 4th & 3 from the Bills 43 yd line just before halftime, and punting on 4th & 4 when trailing by 2 TDs in the 4th quarter. This was just the latest exercise in futility for a Buccaneers squad with legit playmakers but horrible coaches. This team should be running away with their milquetoast division. Instead they are on a 3-game losing streak.

• The Commanders are awful, but they have found their franchise QB: Sam Howell is a gamer. He's had his share of struggles over the season, but he has found ways to keep his team in the game and competitive even despite being sacked more than any other QB in the league. This is likely Rivera's last year in Washington, and I expect this team to build around Howell and be a very good team next year.

• The Titans are who we thought they were, but they took too long to figure that out: Sportsbettors loved the Titans as a bit of a sleeper to win the AFC South based on Vrabel's extremely consistent coaching, Derrick Henry, and the fact that we at least know what to expect from Tannehill. Instead they stumbled around for the first several weeks. This is not a bad team by any means, but they certainly aren't good either. They have a couple winnable games coming up and it's far too early to count them out, but they made lives a lot harder on themselves than it had to be.

• The Saints are poised to run away with the NFC South: Partially due to the Buccs slamming their heads into a brick wall repeatedly, the Saints now sit atop their division and their remaining schedule is cake - Bears, @ Vikings, BYE, @ Falcons, Lions, Panthers, Giants, @ Rams, @ Buccs, Falcons.

• This isn't so much an underreaction as me admitting that I'm wrong about one of my old reactions - The Rams are not "sneaky good". They aren't good at all. They're solidly mediocre. They beat bad teams and get their shit pushed in by good teams. Outside of a horrific Week 1 game by the Seahawks, their two wins are against the Colts and Cardinals. They haven't lost to a "bad" team, but this is the NFL - there's no such thing as a quality loss. They have a chance to get an easy win next week in GB before going on their BYE, but the rest of their schedule is a gauntlet, and the preseason expectation of them being a 6-win team is starting to look pretty accurate.

Browns: Watson, Walker, DTR

Commanders: Brissett

Colts: Mond

Cardinals: McCoy, Dobbs

Buccaneers: Mayfield

Vikings: Mullens

Giants: Taylor

Texans: Keenum

Raiders: Hoyer

I'm sure I'm missing more, so feel free to name any if you can think or them. This is both sad and cool to think about the Browns impact on a lot of QB rooms. Lol.

QBs run through Cleveland? Maybe more accurate to say QBs run away from Cleveland...

At the beginning of the season, the map is divided into 32 regions, each controlled by a team in the NFL. When a team defeats another team, if the defeated team controls any land, that land is taken by the winner.

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Week 8

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Territory Changes

The Browns lost 8 territories to the Seahawks

The Chiefs lost 2 territories to the Broncos

The Giants lost 2 territories to the Jets

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Album of all maps

GIF through Week 8

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Leaderboard

TEAM	# OF TERRITORIES
Jets	8
Seahawks	8
Jaguars	6
Ravens	6
Bengals	2
Broncos	2

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49ers and Jaguars have held the most territory this season (27).

Bears, Chargers, Panthers, Patriots, Titans, and Vikings are tied for least territory held (1).

To get these scores, I gave each team a point for each territory they held per week (so if a team held 4 territories for 5 weeks, they would get 20 points)

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Upcoming Battles

The Bengals are battling the Bills

The Jets are battling the Chargers

The Ravens and Seahawks are battling

The Broncos and Jaguars are taking the week off to regroup and prepare for future battles

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There is no guarantee he will sign with the Bears, although it would be weird for them to not have some sort of agreement in place.

With that in mind, however, if they already have an agreement in place then they could have taken the Derek Carr route and waited until the off-season to pick him up to keep their draft capital.

Poles has made some interesting decisions to say the least.

Source: https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/stat/yards-per-game

SS: https://i.imgur.com/WwKLt3e.png

Amon-Ra had another game of 100+ yards last night, and I was checking his stats and he holds up pretty well against the top receivers in the league, despite missing a game.

• T-6th in receptions
• 12th in catch rate among WR despite being 6th in targets
• 6th in receiving yards
• 10th in success rate among WR
• 5th in yards per game
• 83.6 PFF grade (his PFF grade in 2022 was 90.7, 2nd in the league as well)

He just passed Calvin Johnson for most receiving yards through 40 career games in Lions history. Goff looks to him all the time on crucial third downs and he comes through, often in traffic, the significant majority of the time. Great downfield blocker as well. I am biased, but I think he’s a top 10 WR. Am I wrong?

ptdotme's NFL Elo Power Rankings After Week 8

(By popular demand, see the rankings without the influence of last year's season-ending ratings in my comment below, or here.)

This is OC. I’ve written code to calculate and format NFL team Elo ratings^1 on a week to week basis. The goal is to use simple Elo ratings to create power rankings without the influence of human bias and emotion. The ratings are based on each team's rating from the previous week, with a "parity reset" applied every offseason. The model has been tested for accuracy against game outcomes since week 1 of the 2013^2 season. The ratings are derived only from each game's score, venue, and date. There are a number of variables/weights in my secret sauce but otherwise they're fairly conservative, basic, Elo ratings.

This is all a work in progress and feedback is appreciated! See more stats and info on my 2023 NFL Elo Power Rankings page.

Note: You may feel teams are ranked too high or low based on recent games, and you may be right. However, the model has been tested and is more accurate when it doesn't overreact to individual games. The goal is model accuracy, not rankings that "look right." ^(2)  

Rank	Team	Elo Rating	Record
1 (+1)	Buffalo Bills	1554 (-2)	5-3
2 (-1)	San Francisco 49ers	1551 (-10)	5-3
3 (+2)	Dallas Cowboys	1542 (+9)	5-2
4	Philadelphia Eagles	1541	7-1
5 (-2)	Kansas City Chiefs	1536 (-11)	6-2
6	Baltimore Ravens	1531	6-2
7	Cincinnati Bengals	1526 (+10)	4-3
8 (+1)	Miami Dolphins	1519 (+4)	6-2
9 (+1)	Detroit Lions	1515 (+2)	6-2
10 (+1)	Jacksonville Jaguars	1515 (+4)	6-2
11 (-3)	Seattle Seahawks	1515	5-2
12 (+1)	Los Angeles Chargers	1507 (+6)	3-4
13 (-1)	New Orleans Saints	1507 (+4)	4-4
14 (+3)	Minnesota Vikings	1505 (+7)	4-4
15 (+1)	Cleveland Browns	1499 (+1)	4-3
16 (-2)	Green Bay Packers	1493 (-8)	2-5
17 (+2)	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	1493 (+2)	3-4
18	New York Jets	1491 (-1)	4-3
19 (-4)	Los Angeles Rams	1490 (-9)	3-5
20 (+1)	Tennessee Titans	1489	3-4
21 (+1)	Houston Texans	1486 (-1)	3-4
22 (-2)	Pittsburgh Steelers	1485 (-4)	4-3
23	New England Patriots	1479 (-5)	2-6
24 (+7)	Denver Broncos	1478 (+11)	3-5
25 (-1)	Atlanta Falcons	1477	4-4
26	Washington Commanders	1473	3-5
27 (-2)	Indianapolis Colts	1469 (-4)	3-5
28 (+1)	New York Giants	1469 (+1)	2-6
29 (-2)	Las Vegas Raiders	1468 (-2)	3-5
30 (+2)	Carolina Panthers	1468 (+2)	1-6
31 (-1)	Arizona Cardinals	1468	1-7
32 (-4)	Chicago Bears	1462 (-6)	2-6

The Eagles and Ravens have a legitimate claim at 1st place in human-written rankings, but in week 8 neither won by a wide enough margin to improve their Elo rating. As expected, the Bills' Elo rating continues to deteriorate. They are on a 4-game, -18 Elo slide. But other top teams are struggling even more, and the Bills have fallen backwards into 1st place after the 49ers' latest loss. With another big win the Cowboys, who have been bouncing between 3rd and 5th place, move back into 3rd. The Chiefs fell to 5th after losing by 15 points to the Broncos. The Dolphins, Lions, and Jaguars all move up a spot at Seattle's expense. The Jaguars finally crack the top 10: they're on a 5-game, +28 Elo hot streak.

Big games to look forward to in week 9 are Cowboys/Eagles, Chiefs/Dolphins, Bills/Bengals, and Ravens/Seahawks.

^(1)See Wikipedia. Elo ratings are numeric and assigned to each contestant. The ratings are used to estimate performance. After each game, the difference between a contestant's estimated and actual performance is used to update their rating. For the NFL, this can all be summarized as "Who did you beat/lose to and by how much? And who have they beaten/lost to and by how much? And who have they beaten/lost to ...

^(2)Moving backward through the years, each preceding season has a much smaller impact on the current ratings. Team ratings from 2011 have zero impact on today's ratings. Ratings from only a couple years ago, say 2021, have almost no effect on today's ratings. Seasons going back to 2011 are only used by the model to ensure its accuracy over thousands of NFL games.  

Through the first 5 weeks, the Broncos were historically awfully. Allowing 30+ points to the Commanders, Justin Fields, and Zack Wilson. Allowing 70 points to Miami.

Yet the last 3 weeks, they held the Chiefs to sub-20 both games and their season low of 9 as well as giving up just 17 to Green Bay.

• They didn't fire Vance Joseph
• Did they have any big returning names from injury on D?

Rather than clog up this subreddit with a bunch of individual posts from NFL games that all occured on October 31, I wanted to combine all of these into one rather than too many separate ones (i.e. 1 big post like a king sized Halloween Candy Bar rather than dozens of fun sized bars):

1965- Cowboys vs. Steelers before both teams became legendary

1965- Chicago surprises the Lombardi's Packers

1971- Steelers at Colts in a battle of present and future defense

1971- The Chiefs and Raiders are fit to be tied on Halloween

1971- Dolphins vs Rams in a a classic uniform matchup

1971- Tom Landry learns that when you have 2 QB's, you have no QB's

1976- A wacky game between the 49ers and Cardinals

1983- A fake punt that almost went for a touchdown

1988- Indy scores 42 1st half points on MNF with Eric Dickerson scoring 4 touchdowns in the 1st half

1993- Emmitt Smith's only career 200 yard rushing game

1993- Bears/Packers, the oldest rivalry in football

1993- Don Shula ties George Halas for most wins

1993- The Battle of New York with a score eerily similar to what we saw on Sunday

1993- The Chargers score on a 102 yard interception

1993- A wacky game between the Saints and Cardinals

1994- The Bears and Packers in throwback uniforms in throwback weather

1999- Michael Strahan's OT Walkoff Touchdown

1999- Buffalo rallies late at Baltimore

1999- Washington clobbers Chicago

1999- Troy Aikman vs Peyton Manning

1999- The Browns shock the Saints on a final play hail mary

2004- Green Bay's only visit to Washington from 1980-2009

2004- The Giants' last win by a QB not named Eli Manning until last year

2004- The Colts and Chiefs combine for 1,095 yards and 80 points

2004- Michael Vick and Jake Plummer light up the scoreboard in Denver

2004- Pittsburgh ends New England's record 21 game winning streak

2004- T.O. vs Ray Lewis

2004- Drew Brees' 1st 5 Touchdown Game

2005- The Ravens and Steelers in a spooky Monday Night showdown

2011- The Chargers chargering as only the Chargers can

2013- Cameron Wake's Spooky Sudden Death Safety

2021- Mike White Throws for 400 Yards in his NFL Debut

2021- Carson Wentz with an all-time turnover

2021- Dallas' Cooper-to-Cooper Connection

2021- Trevor Siemian beats Tom Brady

2022- Amari Cooper makes a scary good catch

His previous "best" this year was rushing for 62 yards on 17 carries against the Steelers.

At 3.1 YPC on the season (through 8 games) he's currently averaging 1.8 YPC less than he did last year, and by far the worst of his career.

Layout:

— Individual Team News + Stone’s Cold Takes

— Picks of the Week

— Featured Team of the Week - Detroit Lions

Arizona Cardinals (1-7):

• Lost 31 to 24 against the Ravens
• QB Kyler Murray could return next week
• Benched QB Josh Dobbs

This game ended semi close but really was not that close for til the end. The Cardinals clearly have needs at a lot of different positions. This team is still missing RB James Conner and it is making things a lot more difficult on everyone else. QB Josh Dobbs who started out the season avoiding turnovers has struggled recently doing just that. There are rumors that QB Josh Dobbs could be on the trade block and that may be the reason why he is not starting next week. The team announced it will either be rookie QB Clayton Tune or QB Kyler Murray. At this point it would be difficult to turn things around enough to make the playoffs for the Cardinals.

Atlanta Falcons (4-4):

• Lost 28 to 23 against the Titans
• Benched QB Desmond Ridder at Half
• DL Grady Jarrett out for Season with ACL injury
• Traded for DL Kentavious Street from the Eagles

Tough loss for the team and even tougher to lose DL Grady Jarrett for the season. The defense has been the key thing for the Falcons that has been keeping them in games and Jarrett is a big part of that. Good move to get some help here with DL Street from the Eagles. It will be interesting to see how the team proceeds but at least at the moment it sounds like they are going to be sticking with QB Desmond Ridder. QB Taylor Heinicke showed a bit more of the potential of the offense and it will be something that will hopefully be more fully implemented as QB Desmond Ridder continues to develop.

Baltimore Ravens (6-2):

• Won 31 to 24 against the Cardinals

This team just keeps on rolling and really had this game pretty well put away from the get go. QB Lamar Jackson continues to play at a high level and be efficient with the ball. In this game though the offense did not have to do too much with the turnovers generated by the defense and the overall efficiency. The real test for this team should come next week against the Seattle Seahawks.

Buffalo Bills (5-3):

• Won 24 to 18 against the Buccaneers
• Signed RB Leonard Fournette

Good to get a win for the Bills but this was not as convincing of a win as it should have been. Had WR Chris Godwin for the Bucs turned around he probably would have caught the game winning Hail Mary from QB Baker Mayfield. To me it still feels like the Bills are trying to figure out their identity. The good news is that they are getting a lot of production out of TE Dalton Kincaid and starting to get help from other folks too like Deonte Harty. RB James Cook is even running the ball pretty well in his limited touches. The defense still has holes due to their pile of injuries and they seem to be grasping at straws to solve problems that may not even be there. I don’t love the signing of RB Leonard Fournette because I don’t think he is much of an upgrade over RB Latavius Murray and definitely in my opinion is not an upgrade over RB James Cook. Overall I am a huge Josh Allen fan but this offense and their struggles do have me scratching my head. However, with them still being at 5-3 I have a feeling that in the long run they are going to be just fine. They are going through pre-holidays slump at the moment. Also, the fact that they won was big this week with the Chiefs losing to the Broncos.

Carolina Panthers (1-6):

• Won 15 to 13 against the Texans

I had a feeling about this game and Carolina fans can rest a little easier at night knowing they avoided losing every game this season. Hopefully this can be a confidence builder for young QB Bryce Young and he can figure out how to continue to improve throughout the rest of the season. It has been encouraging to see a bit more production out of WR Jonathan Mingo these last few weeks as well as WR Adam Thielen. The big concern here on offense at the moment is about what is going on with RB Miles Sanders. He did not see much action even though his counterpart RB Chubba Hubbard did not do much. Maybe a win now will help him to play inspired football the rest of this season because being able to establish a run game will be key for the team if they want to have more success than just this one game.

Chicago Bears (2-6):

• Lost 30 to 13 against the Chargers
• CB Jaylon Johnson requests trade

Rough game for rookie QB Tyson Bagent. Also, the Charger defense really did show up making things difficult on the Bears the whole game. The Bears let the Chargers get out to an early lead and had some calls not go there way on offense and all of the sudden they were in a hole down 14 to 0 after the first quarter and 24 to 7 at half. I would say that this one was just ugly because of that and then a QB who is still a rookie. Overall though I thought QB Bagent showed some poise and made some really good throws. He left a few deep balls on the table that he decided to throw elsewhere but it sounds like he will get another chance to start next week as QB Justin Fields continues to heal from his injury. This next one should be interesting since they will be facing a very good defense from New Orleans and an offense that may be starting to hit its stride.

Cincinnati Bengals (4-3):

• Won 31 to 17 against the 49ers

Great win for the Bengals and a team we were so worried about after starting the season 0-3 has now ripped off 3 straight wins against the NFC West and this one in convincing fashion. QB Joe Burrow appears to be healthy again and was able to move around quite a bit more in this game than he has in any other this season. It appears that he is finding his connection with WR Tee Higgins as well after doing so with WR Ja’marr Chase the other week. The key player in this game though was RB Joe Mixon. In his return back to his hometown he shined bright and produced for the team making it impossible for the Niners defense to clamp down on offenses like they do so often.

Cleveland Browns (4-3):

• Lost 24 to 20 against the Seahawks

The defense here overall played pretty well for the Browns but they need more out of the QB position than journeyman backup PJ Walker can offer. They are playing money to the QB position as if they have a Hall of Famer in place and what they have gotten is an oft injured QB Deshaun Watson who has maybe played one game in the past two years that reminded us of the Watson who played for the Texans. Really though at the end of the day this was sloppy game for both teams and one they will quickly want to move on from. They need QB Deshaun Watson back and they need the old version of him back sooner rather than later. I worry for the future of NFL players getting more guaranteed money based on how his contract has gone.

Dallas Cowboys (5-2):

• Won 43 to 20 against the Rams

The Cowboys came out and were playing like they were trying to make a statement. Great and very convincing win by the team where they were firing on all cylinders. At 5-2 they set themselves up pretty well in the NFC and recent struggles by the 49ers have made things a bit easier. I still feel like the key to sustained success though for the Cowboys is for them to really find and commit to their run game which they still don’t seem to be doing. This was a great win and they didn’t need to but as the season progresses if they can get that going is what will make them a clear cut Super Bowl contender rather than just a strong playoff team.

Denver Broncos (3-5):

• Won 24 to 9 against the Chiefs

Great win for the Broncos and Denver is probably starting to feel good about themselves and Russ’ ability to cook. The stats don’t jump off the page here but they didn’t need to do a lot on offense to beat the Chiefs who had 5 turnovers and couldn’t seem to figure out how to hold onto the ball. Good win for them in the division which sets themselves up well if they can go on a little run now. Key for them moving forward is for the defense to continue to step up and look like it did last year and for QB Wilson to find his old form. That will likely come through a run heavy focused offense that allows Wilson to have plenty of time when he does decide to drop back.

Detroit Lions (6-2):

• Won 26 to 14 against the Raiders

Strong bounce back win for the Lions after a rough week against the Ravens. Overall just a well played game. A couple things they can clean up on offense but the big news from this win was the emergence of RB Jahmyr Gibbs who ran for over 150 yards and added almost 40 yards receiving as well. This is what the fans have been wanting and waiting to see. If he can really get going consistently it will open up this offense quite a bit. The other great and encouraging thing for Lions fans was the 6 sacks and just overall suffocating play by the defense. The Lions are the real deal in the NFC and should be considered in any conversation about top NFL teams. The nice thing is that the division they are in has not been strong this year either so should allow them to have easier divisional games than most of the rest of the league.

Green Bay Packers (2-5):

• Lost 24 to 10 against the Vikings

Tough loss for the Packers who seem to be going downhill fast. The Packers really need to figure out the run game here because I actually feel like QB Jordan Love still has quite a bit of potential and could be the long term answer. He has no real experienced receivers, a struggling offensive line, and a run game that has not really been effective this year. Overall the defense has played well but a little more help on the offensive side of the ball here should go a long way in helping QB Jordan Love continue to progress and make strides to become what he needs to in order to lead this Packers team.

Houston Texans (3-4):

• Lost 15 to 13 against the Panthers

Tough loss for the Texans against the Panthers but the encouraging thing here is that they are still going to be in a lot of games with who well the defense played. Overall the offense struggled to get the passing game or the running game going. No need to panic here because the team is playing better still than most expected at the beginning of the year and will have game like this, especially with a young QB. It seems that QB CJ Stroud is still coming along well and limiting interceptions which so many young QBs with coming into the league and adjusting the speed of the NFL.

Indianapolis Colts (3-5):

• Lost 38 to 27 against the Colts

The Colts definitely are not making it easy on anyone to beat them and are starting to reap the benefits of having RB Jonathan Taylor back in the lineup. Against the Saints though it just was not enough. Good to see that WR Josh Downs continues to play very well. I think the main thing hurting them now is WR Michael Pittman Jr. and his complaining about the team not valuing him. He had the most targets at 13 and the most reception at 8 and managed just 40 yards. He needs to produce at a higher clip when he gets the ball rather than just complain about not getting it or feeling like he is an important part of the offense. Right now WR Downs is playing like the better talent in my opinion and WR Alec Pierce is coming on strong too. Obviously I hope they can all figure it out and play well together.

Jacksonville Jaguars (6-2):

• Won 20 to 10 against the Steelers

Another good win for the Jaguars. They seem to be quietly making their case for the top spot in the AFC. The main thing here is that they have been playing well on both offense and defense. QB Trevor Lawrence has done a good job of limiting turnovers and playing within the offense. I expect them to start unlocking a bit more though of the potential they have given their weapons now as the season progresses. There is no reason this offense should not be able to put up closer to 30 points a game with the talent they have. Against a tough defense what they were able to do was huge and should serve as a confidence boost for them going forward.

Kansas City Chiefs (6-2):

• Lost 24 to 9 against the Broncos
• QB Patrick Mahomes sick prior to the game

Not going to write too much here. QB Mahomes did not look good but was playing sick and the receivers did not look good either. The Chiefs will figure it out and bounce back but getting some more production out of the WR room here would not hurt. Overall though I am not worried about this team and am excited for the upcoming game against the Dolphins.

Las Vegas Raiders (3-5):

• Lost 26 to 14 against the Lions

Rough game and it does not seem like the Raiders are trending in the right direction. The QB play has been awful, WR Davante Adams does not seem happy with his role, and RB Josh Jacobs has not been the same this year. It kind of feels like a typical Raiders season again where on paper they have a lot of talent but just don’t seem to be able to inspire confidence in themselves or their fans. I worry about them down the stretch here with the other teams in their division starting to look better.

Los Angeles Chargers (3-4):

• Won 30 to 13 against the Bears

Great overall win for the Chargers and they needed this one. It was a game they should have won pretty handily and they did. It seems normally the Chargers end up making these games close games but overall good execution by the offense and defense. QB Justin Herbert looked sharp and was spreading the ball around to lots of different receivers. I think a big difference maker here on offense was having RB Austin Ekeler back with the team. Even though he did not do much rushing the ball he led the team in receiving yards and was able to get lots of yards after the catch. If the Chargers can keep trending upwards they are a scary team but we shall see how things go.

Los Angeles Rams (3-5):

• Lost 43 to 20 against the Cowboys
• QB Matt Stafford has sprained thumb

Tough loss and potentially losing QB Matt Stafford is definitely not going to help. Turnovers and the defense letting them get down early are what hurt this team the most in this game. It felt like this game was over after the first quarter with the Cowboy up 17 to 3. The good news though is that it sounds like Stafford avoided major injury and is considered day to day.

Miami Dolphins (6-2):

• Won 31 to 17 against the Patriots
• CB Jalen Ramsey likely to return this week

Great win for the Dolphins against a Patriots who has proved to be a bit problematic for some teams recently even the Dolphins earlier in the season. WRs Waddle and Hill were really cooking and should they continue it is going to make it extremely difficult on teams to stop them. WR Chase Claypool even had a reception this week and was targeted twice in the game. Good to see Miami win again in a game where the run game struggled for them. The good news for this team is that they start to get some help back on defense this week with CB Jalen Ramsey returning. The defense has been the weakest point thus far so any reinforcement are key there.

Minnesota Vikings (4-4):

• Won 24 to 10 against the Packers
• QB Kirk Cousins tore Achilles

What a heart breaking injury. QB Kirk Cousins is someone that I feel like everyone roots for and was pulling this Vikings team back into relevance this year after a rough start for the team. He was playing some of the best football of his career and even doing so without WR Justin Jefferson the past few weeks. Now the team has a decision to make as the trade deadline approaches. They have QB Jaren Hall in place at the moment and are they going to try and help him out with some pieces added or are they going to be sellers at the deadline as they head towards a potential rebuild next year with QB Kirk Cousins hitting free agency. Lots of decisions to be made and very little time to make them.

New England Patriots (2-6):

• Lost 31 to 17 against the Dolphins
• WR Kendrick Bourne tore ACL

Tough loss for the Patriots and on top of that losing their top WR this year does not help a team that doesn’t have much at the position to begin with. There have been a few high moments for this Patriots team but for the most part it feels like this team is on a downward spiral this year. It is tough to see but appears to be the case. No receiver had more than 40 yards in the game and the run game was held under 100 yards. RB Ezekiel Elliott looked the best of the all the backs so maybe they give him so more carries here in the weeks to come and see if he can jumpstart something.

New Orleans Saints (4-4):

• Won 38 to 27 against the Colts

The Saints seem to be started to find themselves potentially. QB Derek Carr had a great game and threw the ball all over the field. This offensive showing is what was expected from the beginning of the year just with WR Shaheed stepping up more than WR Chris Olave early in the season. Next big thing for them will be to have a complete game where the defense plays well like it had been most of the year complementing an explosive offensive performance. They have a good chance to do that next week against the Bears.

New York Giants (2-6):

• Lost 13 to 10 against the Jets
• Lost QB Tyrod Taylor due to injury
• Traded DL Leonard Williams to Seahawks for 2024 2nd round pick and 2025 5th round pick
• QB Daniel Jones cleared to play

I don’t even want to write about this one. It was an overall ugly game and the good thing is that the Giants defense looked really good and were able to shut down the Jets until the end of the game. The QB situation clearly during this game was a difficult one and it is welcome news that QB Jones will be back this week. Trading away Leonard Williams was a good move though because they could use the draft capital as it is clear they are the worst team in the division as currently constructed.

New York Jets (4-3):

• Won 13 to 10 against the Giants

I don’t know what it is in this type of game that the Jets are able to get the win but somehow they are willed to victory. QB Zach Wilson did not look great all game but towards the end figured something out and I think it is just when he gets to play loose and do less thinking that he is at his best. At 4-3 the Jets are looking pretty good for the back half of the season and much better than folks thought when they lost QB Aaron Rodgers. They need to get more out of the running game in order to keep winning game and keep the pressure off of Wilson. RBs Hall, Cook, and Carter averaged under 2 yards a carry across 15 carries.

Philadelphia Eagles (7-1):

• Won 38 to 31 against the Commanders

It was not an easy one for the Eagles but the great teams find ways to get it done. Great 4 TD performance by QB Jalen Hurts and WR AJ Brown continues to amaze. The biggest concern here is that the QB Hurts is dealing with a knee injury that will be something to watch over the coming weeks and how he recovers from it because clearly they need him healthy and starting to contend. Right now Philly looks like the best team in football and with GM Howie Roseman it will be interesting to see if they pull anything off before the deadline to get them more secondary help.

Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3):

• Lost 20 to 10 against the Jaguars
• QB Kenny Pickett questionable due to rib injury

Ugly loss for the Steelers and I know there were some questionable calls but overall the struggles on offense here are the main problem with this team. It appears to be potentially a QB and OC issue but primarily an OC issue in my opinion. I know it is the popular thing to rag on OC Matt Canada but it really feels like that is the root of the problem here with this team that has an incredible defense.

San Francisco 49ers (5-3):

• Lost 31 to 17 against the Bengals

That is 3 in a row for the Niners. It is hurting them not having WR/RB Deebo Samuel and OL Trent Williams. I know Purdy has had his struggles in the past couple of weeks but at least from this game I was more impressed with a lot of the plays that he did manage to make. What is more concerning here was how the defense got sliced apart and how when the Niners play good QBs they don’t seem to have an answer for how to stop them. Sunday they didn’t have an answer for stopping the run either. The bye week could not have come at a better time though and hopefully they can get fully healthy and figure out the funk they have been in because they are no longer atop the division.

Seattle Seahawks (5-2):

• Won 24 to 20 against the Browns
• Traded a 2024 2nd round pick and a 2025 5th round pick to the Giants for DL Leonard Williams

Great trade by the Seahawks as they see the struggling Niners across from them and the Rams flailing as well. It was not a pretty win but ugly wins are better than losses and it seems like this team just finds way to get things done. The run game looked great for Seattle and will be key for them down the stretch and against teams like the Niners. Another thing that has been developing more recently is WR Smith-Njigba getting more involved in the offense and just giving QB Geno Smith another high level target to look for in the passing game when WRs Lockett and Metcalf are covered.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-4):

• Lost 24 to 18 against the Bills

Even though they lost the Buccaneers should still feel good. They are very much still in it in their division being only a half game back of the Falcons and the Saints. They can easily turn things around in my opinion as they re-find their offensive identity and they have a defense that has slowed down even the best of offenses. They also win this game if WR Chris Godwin turns around a second sooner to catch the Hail Mary pass from QB Baker Mayfield. I really would love it if they find a way to get some more help at the RB position because they still are not getting enough there but we shall see what happens.

Tennessee Titans (3-4):

• Won 28 to 23 against the Falcons
• QB Will Levis started

What a day for QB Will Levis and WR Deandre Hopkins. This could be a great sign for the Titans who struggled with poor QB play thus far this year. QB Will Levis came in and stepped up with 4 TDs against a top ranked Falcons defense and seemed to get the veterans producing on the team as well including WR Deandre Hopkins who caught 3 of the TD passes and had over 100 yards receiving. It was also good to see RB Derrick Henry have over 100 yards and get involved in the receiving game. The Titans could have just figured something out. They have a tough test this week against the Steelers on Thursday night football but I am sure there are more people excited to watch that game after the performance by the 2nd round pick.

Washington Commanders (3-5):

• Lost 38 to 31 against the Eagles

Tough loss for the Commanders where they showed their potential to be able to go toe to toe with the best team in the league. OC Eric Bieniemy clearly has done something right during his time there thus far with how well QB Sam Howell is playing this year. The defense has been inconsistent but the Commanders should still be excited for the future with the young core they have leading this team on offense. They have a game this upcoming week against the Patriots that they need to win and should win.

Picks of the Week:

Went 7-8-1 this past week so that brings me to 55-66-1 on the year with hopefully my best week yet coming up. Things have been very unpredictable recently.

• Vikings +4.5 v. Falcons -4.5
• Bills +3 v. Bengals -3
• Titans +3 v. Steelers -3
• Dolphins +2.5 v. Chiefs -2.5
• Cardinals +8 v. Browns -8
• Rams +3 v. Packers -3
• Commanders +3 v. Patriots -3
• Bears +7.5 v. Saints -7.5
• Seahawks +5.5 v. Ravens -5.5
• Buccaneers +2.5 v. Texans -2.5
• Colts -2.5 v. Panthers +2.5
• Giants +2.5 v. Raiders -2.5
• Cowboys +3 v. Eagles -3
• Chargers -3 v. Jets +3

Featured Team of the Week:

*For links and pictures please see the link in my profile

Lions Den Welcome Sign

Restaurant of the Week (Mom's Spaghetti):

Since we are back in Detroit I had to find a way to give Eminem a bit of a shoutout here. From his song Lose Yourself where talks about Mom’s Spaghetti comes to you the restaurant Mom's Spaghetti. It is a bit of a changeup from the typical place I pick here for restaurant of the week but this one is definitely worth a try. The menu is pretty straightforward here with spaghetti coming with a couple different sauce options and if you would like even in a sandwich. I recommend just getting good old Spaghetti and meatballs but again it is not like you aren’t getting that in one way or another when you order here. It is a half mile from the stadium too so it should not be too hard to make a choice here.