This week brought the demise of the final undefeated team in the NFL, a couple of surprising upsets, and some Halloween horror movie performances from a few teams. The top spot in the AFC seems to be cursed like a Madden cover and the NFC is a completely open race at the top. We are nearing the halfway point and have learned a lot about the league, but as Week 8 showed, there’s still a lot we don’t know.
1972 Miami Dolphins Can Celebrate
For the 48th consecutive year, there will not be an undefeated NFL team as Green Bay gave the Arizona Cardinals their first loss while also swapping places with them for first place in the NFC. It wasn’t necessarily a pretty game, but the Arizona Cardinals were far uglier. Kyler Murray attempted a throw to AJ Green from the Green Bay five yard line with only 15 seconds remaining, but neither player seemed on the same page and it was intercepted to clinch the game for the Packers. Without the turnover, the Cardinals could have at least kicked a field goal to tie. Turnovers were the difference as Green Bay won the battle three to zero. It’s hard to know who the favorite in the NFC is at this point, but Green Bay should be content with the top spot as of right now. They have risen from their Week One dismantling by the hands of the Saints and come back like the Undertaker in a Hell in the Cell match. Considering they haven’t necessarily played a great game, Packers fans should show optimism that if they do find a way to start playing complete games in all phases it could be a very fun rest of the season.
The Mike White Game
37 for 45, 405 yards passing, three touchdowns, two interceptions, and a win against the number one seed in the AFC. Jets Quarterback Mike White had a day as he made the start filling in for injured rookie Zach Wilson and led a 34-31 win against the Cincinnati Bengals. A 2018 draft pick out of Western Kentucky, White gave Jets fans an exciting game in a season where there hasn’t been a ton to cheer about. New York has continued to struggle this season and Wilson has not shown many glimpses of potential stardom in his games prior to being injured. Now the Jets have their second win of the season, oddly against the Bengals and the now current top ranked team in the AFC, the Tennessee Titans. However, if Mike White continues to perform well with Wilson out, the Jets could have a new conundrum on their hands.
Rush Wears Starting Quarterback Costume and Wins
Christmas came earlier for the Cowboys and the Vikings had an absolutely terrifying Halloween as backup quarterback Cooper Rush led Dallas to a Sunday Night win on the road in the absence of Dak Prescott. Rush threw for 325 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception while completing the eventual game winning drive on a throw to Amari Cooper in the end zone. It’s a big win for Dallas as they move to 6-1 while running away with the NFC East and keeping pace with the best of the NFC for a potential playoff bye.
Minnesota may be seeing the final games of the Mike Zimmer era as they once again embarrassed themselves on national television. The fact that this loss was at home and came at the hands of a back up quarterback only adds to the frustration Vikings fans are experiencing. The Vikings offense scored a touchdown on their first drive, but then looked almost as lost as Mike Zimmer appears to be when it comes to clock management. The Vikings still have a positive point differential, even with a below .500 record, due in large part to the fact that every game outside of their win against Seattle has had the winner outscore the loser by seven points or less. In a season in which the Vikings are keeping bad teams close and unable to finish off other teams, it seems like this just might be how the 2021 Vikings season continues to go. If so, I will probably not survive.
Titans Keep Rolling
It was close, but the Titans extended their win streak to four games as they defeated the only other formidable appearing opponent in their division, the Indianapolis Colts. Thanks in large part to some costly late game/overtime interceptions thrown by Carson Wentz, including an absolutely mind boggling pick six thrown from the Colts own eight yard line, Tennessee came away with 34-31 overtime win. The Titans now find themselves as the top team in a conference where home field could be huge due to the fact that no team wants to become a clear cut favorite. The game didn’t come without a loss though, as Monday it was revealed that back to back rushing yard leader Derrick Henry may miss the remainder of the season due to foot surgery. The Titans have signed former rushing yard leader Adrian Peterson, but the loss of Henry will likely be far more impactful than the win over Indianapolis.
Saints Smack Bucs for Big NFC South Win
Sean Payton might be the early season favorite for Coach of the Year. Having limited weapons on offense with a new quarterback after years of Drew Brees and being a half game out of first place in the NFC South as we are about to reach the halfway point of the season is impressive. That looked even better as the Saints beat defending Super Bowl Champion and division rival Tampa Bay by a score of 36-27. The Saints pressured Tom Brady and forced him to give up the ball three times (2 interceptions, 1 fumble) while the New Orleans offense spread the ball around. Ten different players caught a pass from Jameis Winston or Trevor Siemian, who needed to come in for Winston after he had an ACL injury that will end his season. With Siemian now taking over the reins, Payton will have potentially more resume padding if he is able to keep the Saints in the division title and playoff hunts.
Kansas City Gets Win, Remains Unpretty
The Chiefs returned to the win column, but the KC fans likely won’t feel any more comfortable with how the team looks. In a 20-17 win at home against the Giants that went right down to the wire, the Chiefs still had difficulty showing any sort of explosiveness that football fans have been accustomed to seeing on a weekly basis for the past several years. Travis Kelce was once again a non-factor, catching only four balls for 27 yards while losing a fumble. Patrick Mahomes also had another interception, this time in the red zone on the first drive of the game. The positive notes? Kansas City is now back up to 4-4 and the defense did hold New York to 17 points. The Chiefs will decide their fate as they enter a brutal part of their schedule with games against Green Bay, Oakland (twice), Dallas, Denver, and the Los Angeles Chargers in the next six weeks. They have the toughest schedule remaining in the entire NFL based on winning percentage so this week’s win may have been a must win. A win next week against NFC leading Green Bay would do a lot to start re-convincing football fans they are able to hang with the big boys of the NFL in 2021.
Looking Ahead to Week Nine
Give me all of that Titans/Rams match up on Sunday Night Football. SNF can’t get that terrible Vikings/Cowboys taste out of my mouth soon enough. It’s the marquee game between two of the NFL’s hottest teams and with the Super Bowl taking place at SoFi Stadium, this could realistically be a preview of that game. It will be interesting how the Titans respond after the loss of Derrick Henry.
Green Bay vs Kansas City doesn’t have the marquee feel that it did at the beginning of the season, but it should still be a fun game to watch be another test for both teams. Green Bay will have another opportunity to continue to prove they are for real while the Chiefs attempt to show they still have a heartbeat.
Arizona will try to get back to their winning ways, but will have to do so with a tough test on the road against division rival San Francisco. A characteristic of good teams is that they have short term memories, especially when it comes to losses, so it will be interesting to see if Kyler Murray and the Cardinals continue to show the high level of play they had for the first seven weeks.