Week 8 in the NFL was weird, ugly and beautiful. Weird because a Denver Broncos defense that gave up 70 points to the Miami Dolphins was able to keep Patrick Mahomes out of the end zone entirely. Beautiful because A.J. Brown exists in our world. Ugly because man, in his hubris, decided to put two teams in northern New Jersey and claim them for the city of New York.
There was a lot to process in a mid-season week without any byes. The top two picks in last spring’s draft faced off in a game with two combined touchdowns. Will Levis made his debut and doubled that total on his lonesome. And the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, both easy Super Bowl picks five weeks into the season, each lost in convincing fashion.
So what were the best things to come out of Week 8? And what were the worst?
Best: AJ Brown, human cheat code
The Philadelphia Eagles were trailing the Washington Commanders 14-3 and had already dealt with a red zone fumble when Jalen Hurts decided “you know what, I’m just gonna toss it up there for AJ Brown.”
This was, without a doubt, the correct decision.
UNREAL. @1kalwaysopen_
📺: #PHIvsWAS on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/Quwvdzpx7G pic.twitter.com/vwFT61DBjb— NFL (@NFL) October 29, 2023
Two drives later, Hurts decided to run it back to a double-covered Brown. For many wideouts this would be a problem. For A.J. Brown it was a minor inconvenience at worst.
And-1 ref 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/CGshXUwamm
— Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) October 29, 2023
Brown finished his day with eight catches — on eight targets — for 130 yards and two touchdowns. He is very good at football.
Worst: The Eagles' red zone fumbles
The Eagles have been steadily moving toward D’Andre Swift as their RB1, but Kenneth Gainwell still lurks for carries near the goal line. But his usage may slump after Week 8:
WELCOME BACK, PHIL!
📺 #PHIvsWAS: FOX pic.twitter.com/gppaN3v9i5
— Washington Commanders (@Commanders) October 29, 2023
Gainwell only had two carries on the day, and in hopes of avoiding a similar folly Philadelphia went with their tried, true, and too-often complained about Brotherly Shove rugby scrum tactic in the red zone soon after (or tush push, if you’re crude). This too failed in the worst possible way.
Commanders jump on the Eagles fumble at the 1!
📺: #PHIvsWAS on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/Quwvdzpx7G pic.twitter.com/9wYjeye5i5— NFL (@NFL) October 29, 2023
On the plus side, this did all set the stage for Swift to ice the game with a fake-scrum sweep that left him effectively untouched on his way to the end zone:
Touchdown D'Andre Swift to extend the Eagles lead!
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/O9Lt6J7q2t
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 29, 2023
Still, one out of three’s pretty bad.
Best: A moral victory for Bryce Young, an actual victory for the Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers traded away multiple first- and second-round draft picks for the opportunity to draft Young over CJ Stroud in last spring’s draft. Then they had to watch as the Houston Texans’ rookie quarterback roundly outplayed their own despite being drafted second overall.
By most measures, Stroud has had the better first year campaign. But in the head-to-head matchup, Young reigned supreme. He threw for 235 yards and a touchdown to lead a come-from-behind victory on his home turf and notch Carolina’s first win of the 2023 season.
Bryce makes a way and Thielen makes the grab 😤 pic.twitter.com/BQgjNyvOKj
— Carolina Panthers (@Panthers) October 29, 2023
Young still has plenty to prove, but Sunday was a cathartic win in the middle of a trying season. For at least one week, the Panthers had the best quarterback in the draft class. Just wait until they get him some blockers and receivers.
Worst: Jordan Love's worst case scenario
Love started the season 2-1 with a hype-deflating victory over the Chicago Bears and a stirring fourth quarter comeback over the New Orleans Saints. He hadn’t proven he could be a franchise quarterback, but he at least gestured toward the idea.
He’s still gesturing, but it’s more like the flailing heaves of an antelope caught in the jaws of a lion, because Jordan Love is getting crushed out there.
Jordan Love commmmeeee onnnnnnn pic.twitter.com/g3dPQUSowd
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) October 29, 2023
Love is currently mired in a four-game losing streak in which he has thrown nearly twice as many interceptions (seven) as touchdown passes (four). While he continues to do a good job finding and hitting open targets — credit to Matt LaFleur’s offense for finding ways to get guys like Dontayvion Wicks and Jayden Reed open — he crumbles when pressed to make his own magic. There are glimpses of a good quarterback buried within this sub-replacement level play, but they’re too often undone by throws that are juuuuuust a bit off in big moments.
Over that span, his -0.124 expected points added (EPA) per play are fifth-worst among starting quarterbacks. His closest comparisons are players like Zach Wilson, Mac Jones, Aidan O’Connell and Joshua Dobbs — a chunk of the efficiency chart I like to call the NOOOOOOO zone.
There is an upside to Love’s failure streak. If he keeps it up, Green Bay will be in prime position to draft his replacement next spring.
Best: Joe Burrow, who is feeling much better, thank you for asking
Listen, could a guy with an injured calf do this?
How did @JoeyB pull this off? 😮
📺: #CINvsSF on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/Quwvdzpx7G pic.twitter.com/nEU2DTzMMm— NFL (@NFL) October 29, 2023
Burrow was, from a statistical standpoint, the league’s worst quarterback through four weeks. His Cincinnati Bengals were 1-3 and on the periphery of the early playoff race. Now they’re 4-3 with wins over potential contenders like the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers. In that stretch, Burrow has thrown eight touchdown passes against two interceptions and completed more than 71 percent of his throws.
Burrow is back, and his momentum pushes the Bengals into a Week 9 showdown with the Buffalo Bills that will likely have significant playoff seeding implications. Once again, Cincinnati has found a way to get hot. And once again, the rest of the AFC looks like it’s about to have a hell of a time cooling the Bengals off again.
Worst: New York Jets - New York Giants, a game we're all better off forgetting existed
Behold, the offensive leaders of 2023’s most offensive game.
Tyrod Taylor led the Giants in passing yards … with eight. He left midway through the second quarter, leaving the reins to Tommy DeVito, an undrafted rookie who led the offense to negative-nine net passing yards — or a half-yard loss per dropback. The Giants’ leading receiver also left the game due to injury, as Darren Waller finished his day with four yards to stand tall as the man with half a nose in a land of skunks.
This all made the Jets look more competent, though that was blatantly false. Garrett Wilson and Breece Hall combined for 79 percent of the team’s total offense. 12 different Jets drives gained 10 yards or fewer. Wilson had exactly one competent stretch, and it was enough to thoroughly bail out New York and take advantage of a cowardly fourth down call (and a missed chip shot field goal) that completed the Giants’ shame spiral.
Wilson finds Lazard and spikes it in time!
📺: #NYJvsNYG on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/Quwvdzpx7G pic.twitter.com/bM88jN0N0F— NFL (@NFL) October 29, 2023
So yeah, if the cops ask, we never saw this game. Never even heard of it, in fact. Tommy DeVito? That’s Joe Pesci’s character in Goodfellas, right? Certainly couldn’t be an NFL quarterback.
Best: The Denver Broncos broke an eight-year streak
Nothing embodied the futility of the post-Peyton Manning Broncos quite as succinctly as their record against the Kansas City Chiefs. Sixteen regular season games. Sixteen regular season losses.
But on a cold afternoon at elevation, Denver demoralized their division rival in a 24-9 win that brought out the worst of the Kansas City offense. Patrick Mahomes threw two interceptions and the Chiefs failed to find the end zone even once as the Broncos moved one week closer to what could be charitably called their first winning streak since September 2021.
Credit here belongs to Javonte Williams, who returned from a torn ACL to serve as a workhorse in a 27-carry day. It also belongs to embattled quarterback Russell Wilson, who wasn’t asked to do much but did so efficiently.
That duo cracked a defense that had punched above its weight class. More importantly, a Bronco defense that had given up 70 points to the Miami Dolphins earlier in the season held Mahomes to nine. That was unexpected — and it could signal the beginning of a turnaround in Colorado.
Worst: The Chicago Bears' perpetual carnival of pain
(deeeeeep sigh)
Bears, noooooooooo pic.twitter.com/zkeZ84af4f
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) October 30, 2023
The Bears lost 30-13 in primetime to drop to 2-6 on the season.
Best: Derek Carr, playing like he might be a franchise savior
Carr was regrettable in Week 7, falling short in a comeback bid against the Jacksonville Jaguars in large part thanks to his own early failings. But he was able to harness his late-game momentum from that loss and roll it into a double-digit road win against the Indianapolis Colts.
Carr was dealing in Indiana, throwing for 310 yards on only 28 dropbacks against a decent Colts defense. He used his short throws to create deep shots downfield, maximizing a conservative playbook with accurate strikes when given the chance.
The main benefactor of his performance was Rashid Shaheed, who continues to be a poorly maintained crate of dynamite whilst targeted. The explosive wideout only needed three targets to torch Indianapolis for 153 yards and a touchdown — a stat even more impressive when you consider his longest catch was only 58 yards.
51 YARDS ON THE 💰#Saints | 📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/gIu8MTDMjK
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) October 29, 2023
Shaheen is electricity, but that pass is perfect. That’s what the Saints were signing up for when they gave Carr $100 million in guaranteed money.
Worst: Running a trick play in a lost game with your already injured quarterback
Matthew Stafford had already left Sunday’s game — a game his Los Angeles Rams trailed by 30 points with two minutes to play in the first half — to get an ailing thumb taped up. When he returned, head coach Sean McVay used him as trick play ballast — and asked him to make a catch with that same bad hand.
Matthew Stafford. Athlete.
📺: #LARvsDAL on FOX
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/Quwvdzpx7G pic.twitter.com/14XDNuZ6Zu— NFL (@NFL) October 29, 2023
Stafford came through to make the score 33-17, but got up holding his already injured thumb. That would be his last play of the game, as he’d sit out the rest of the Week 8 trouncing. His status remained up in the air after the game.
“We’ll see what the significance of that injury is, but I don’t want to speculate until I have full clarification from the doctors,” McVay told reporters at his post-game presser. “But obviously he wasn’t able to return.”
Best: Will Levis, who never wrote off DeAndre Hopkins
Will Levis drinks coffee with mayonnaise in it. Probably not all the time, but even once is enough to make me question his judgment. What I cannot question, at least for one week, is his ability to be an NFL quarterback. Not after throwing four touchdown passes in his debut.
FOURTH TD OF THE DAY @will_levis
📺: Watch #ATLvsTEN on @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/Lp2xarvRDA
— Titans (Oilers Version) (@Titans) October 29, 2023
That back-foot sling was the outlier, in fact. For most of his first NFL start Levis was content to play his game on easy mode. When he dropped back for big throws, he simply defaulted to DeAndre Hopkins, who was happy to oblige en route to 128 receiving yards and a deserved feeling of invincibility against an Atlanta Falcons team unable to cover him deep downfield.
HOPTOBER
📺: Watch #ATLvsTEN on @NFLonCBS pic.twitter.com/IvTtbjgdkV
— Titans (Oilers Version) (@Titans) October 29, 2023
Levis was only good for 3.9 EPA, but executed his gameplan as well as could be expected for a 130.4 passer rating. The Titans don’t have a franchise quarterback yet, but Levis gives them hope — and, at the very least, a high variance player who’ll be more exciting to watch, for better or worse, than Ryan Tannehill.
