Week 8 Takeaways for the 2026 NFL Season
We witnessed so much this week, but the main story will most certainly be Ravens QB Lamar Jackson. Returning from an ankle injury, Jackson hit his thumb on his first snap against Buffalo, and now he needs surgery and may miss the rest of the season. Making matters worse, backup Tyler Huntley exited with turf toe, forcing emergency QB Joe Fagnano, a rookie UDFA, to play. I liked how Fagnano did in the preseason, but this appearance went about as you’d expect. We’ll talk more about Baltimore when they play on Thursday Night, but for now, let’s see the rest of my week 8 takeaways for the 2026 NFL season!
TNF: Packers Ride Passing Game and Defense to Thwart Panthers
Both of these teams came into week 8 off some serious disappointment. From the jump, Green Bay seemed poised to implode for the second straight week, fumbling the opening kickoff. However, their defense held Carolina to an FG, and we saw their path to victory. The Panthers are decimated along the offensive line, and their tackles proved to be a weak spot. Rookie RT Monroe Freeling struggled, as did LT and former Packer Rasheed Walker. Specifically, bull rushes overpowered both of them, and the line ceded 6 sacks to 6 different players, with DE Lukas Van Ness (sack) and LB Ty’Ron Hopper (8 tackles, 3 PBUs, sack, INT) being particularly effective.
The Packers made life miserable for Panthers QB Bryce Young (23/41, 209 yards, TD, INT). He had pressure in his face every time he caught the snap, and due to his size, several passes were batted at the line (including the one that Hopper picked off). This game wasn’t Young’s fault; he had no chance. Green Bay had their shortcomings too. Their run game is still a complete mess. RB Josh Jacobs (21/39/1; 6/13/1 receiving) isn’t fixing it because this is an OL problem, not an RB issue. K Trey Smack also missed another kick (a PAT this time). This guy was so good in the preseason; I have no idea what happened to him since then.
On offense, Green Bay figured out that throwing the ball with QB Jordan Love (30/41, 288 yards, 3 TDs, INT) was the right idea. Despite a red zone INT and a few (increasingly concerning) drops from WR Matthew Golden (7/79) the plan was foolproof because Carolina basically had no corners. Only three were active for the game, and rookie Will Lee III exited with a hamstring injury when he collided with WR Christian Watson (8/113) on a 53-yard catch by the latter. Yet the Panthers scapegoated DC Ejiro Evero. Watson also got hurt on the play. He went to the hospital by ambulance with a chest injury yet amazingly returned to the field in the third quarter. Wild stuff!
This game had a bit of everything, including a stoppage for a rogue drone over the stadium. In the end, GB held on 27-19 after a late surge from Carolina came up short due to, you guessed it, the pass rush. That group did a fantastic job, and Micah Parsons isn’t even back yet! The Packers are still flawed; pathetically, their 66 total rushing yards (against the #32 run defense) exceeded their per-game rushing average. However, they’re 5-3 in football’s toughest division thus far. Carolina is actually in fine shape at 3-4 thanks to the mediocrity of the NFC South, but I’d rather be in the Packers’ position. They at least have a few healthy CBs.
Cardinals, Bengals Win Games That Surprisingly Went to OT
If you had the Cardinals pushing the Cowboys to OT in Dallas or the Titans doing the same to the Bengals in Cincinnati, please lend me your psychic powers. For a while, Arizona looked as good as dead. Through almost 3 full quarters, the Cardinals had just 3 points. Their offense did nothing, the team’s red zone struggles continued, and Dallas hummed to a 17-3 advantage. HC Mike LaFleur made a bold move: he benched struggling QB Jacoby Brissett (10/23, 119 yards, INT) for Gardner Minshew. It’s hard to blame Brissett for everything that was wrong with this offense, but Minshew provided a major spark off the bench.
For his first act, Minshew did nothing but hand the ball off to RB Tyler Allgeier. He took off for a powerful 63-yard TD run, and he had all the remaining carries with rookie Jeremiyah Love (9/23), who just came back from injury but hurt his ankle again. In yet more proof why Love was a terrible pick, Allgeier (11/147/1; 5/44/1 receiving) played far better. It helped to have competent QB play. After another Dallas TD, Minshew led an 80-yard TD drive of his own, which Dallas answered with a field goal. Minshew, leaning heavily on WR Michael Wilson (8/111/1) and TE Trey McBride (7/72/1), threw another TD pass to keep the game close.
Trailing 30-24 with one last shot, Minshew (17/23, 189 yards, 3 TDs) led a 1:03 drive that ended in a Wilson TD with 6 seconds remaining. Alas, K Chad Ryland hooked the PAT, leading to OT. Undeterred, the Cardinals kept the Cowboys from scoring and allowed Ryland to earn redemption with a walk-off FG. This is the type of loss that could get someone fired in Dallas. It was an epic failure. Arizona is now 5-0 at AT&T Stadium, and Minshew is the new starter. Rookie Carson Beck is the backup, so as QB3, Brissett is likely to be traded in the next week. The Cardinals appear done with him, and I suspect he’s done with them too.
On a 2-game winning streak, maybe Cincy looked past the Titans, who just traded their best player (Jeffery Simmons) and lost WR Carnell Tate to injury. Tennessee proceeded to have their best offensive performance of the season. RB Tony Pollard (21/117/2; 3/20 receiving) continued his resurgence, while 2nd-year QB Cam Ward (26/40, 304 yards, 2 TDs, FUM) had his finest pro outing. They stunned the home crowd by taking a 13-0 lead, and two specific defenders kept the Bengals down. S Amani Hooker picked QB Joe Burrow off THREE times, while LB Jacob Martin had a hat-trick of his own with 3 sacks. Slow starts aren’t new for the Bengals.
Instead of showing up in the second half like last week, Cincy arrived in the second quarter and actually took a halftime lead. From there, Burrow (38/48, 465 yards, 5 TDs, 3 INTs, 3/10/1 rushing) caught complete fire. He fed his three main targets: WRs Ja’Marr Chase (11/141/1) and Tee Higgins (10/155/2) and TE Mike Gesicki (4/76/1). The Titans were game for a shootout though, and Ward set a career-high in passing yards as he pushed his team to a 36-29 lead late. Burrow, who tied a career high of his own with 5 passing TDs, tied up the game, but he needed his defense to finally show up and prevent a GW FG by the Titans.
New DT Dexter Lawrence saved the game. Continuing his stellar season, Lawrence sacked Ward to prevent that potential kick, leading to OT. Burrow then ran for a score after a surgical drive, and Tennessee couldn’t match it. This is still a REALLY good sign for the Titans. Ward showing signs of life is honestly better for them than any win. Cincinnati cannot keep starting this slowly in games (they used to start entire seasons slowly, so I guess this is an improvement). I also have concerns about the “improved” defense making the Titans look like the 2013 Broncos. 5-2 is a great place to be regardless, but a full 4-quarter effort would be nice.
Minnesota, Last Unbeaten NFL Team, Falls to Lions
I haven’t talked much about Minnesota despite their 6-0 record because I knew it was a mirage. Their defense is 100% real, but that offense isn’t. Against worse teams, the defense has gotten the job done without many points from the offense. Detroit is not such a team. That being said, the Viking defense definitely proved itself. The Lions’ high-octane attack scored just two first-half FGs. QB Jared Goff (18/25, 176 yards, TD, INT) played solidly but threw his first INT of the year (it wasn’t even his fault). As the offense found its way, Detroit got an unexpected contribution: strong defense. Of course, mistakes by Minnesota played a major role in that effort.
For starters, K Will Reichard missed his first FG of the season. It was from 57 yards out, and he has been otherwise flawless, so I won’t be hard on him at all. QB Kyler Murray (17/29, 210 yards, 2 TDs, INT; 4/35 rushing) doesn’t get the same grace. While he led the team in rushing, that’s not because the RBs were bad. Oddly, Minnesota only ran the ball 18 times versus 29 pass attempts. Murray’s sporadic passing made that a foolish gambit. If not for a ridiculous TD catch by WR Justin Jefferson (5/33/1), the output would’ve been worse. The Vikings scored just 15 points against one of the league’s least-effective defenses.
On that note, Lions DC Kelvin Sheppard deserves some props. His unit suffered injury after injury. S Brian Branch and DE DJ Wonnum both left with concussions. CB DJ Reed, who had a really good game, suffered a hip injury. LB Jack Campbell went to the hospital with a neck injury. Yet the defense kept attacking Minnesota. That allowed their offense to find the Vikings’ kryptonite: their running game. RB Jahmyr Gibbs (23/153/1) was sensational, and Sione Vaki (11/65) even chipped in. Uncharacteristically, the Vikings missed a ton of tackles, but that’s pretty much what happens to everyone against Gibbs.
Even though Minnesota scored a late TD to take a 15-12 lead, and it seemed like their formula would work again, Detroit had other plans. The Lions marched right down the field to retake the advantage, their defense forced a punt, and then the running game salted the clock away. As Detroit gets healthier defensively, I think they’ll become more like who we thought they’d be, i.e., a Super Bowl threat. I can’t say the same for Minnesota. With games against the Bills, Packers, and 49ers on deck, they could easily be 6-4 in a few weeks. My lack of trust in this offense has been justified, and even a top-5 defense can’t overcome it forever.
Florida Teams (Minus Dolphins) Dominate at Home in the Rain
For some reason, despite the calendar turning to November, Florida trudged through serious summer rain. It affected all 3 games played in the state this week (what were the odds that all 3 FL teams would be home?), though Miami wasn’t good enough to beat New England (even they were tough to put away though!). The other two squads, the Jaguars and the Buccaneers, crushed their opponents in the swamp-like conditions. Jacksonville arguably had an easy job to begin with, hosting a Colts team that just traded G Quenton Nelson and DT DeForest Buckner. The fashion in which they won (42-7 at that) was still striking.
QB Trevor Lawrence (10/14, 210 yards, 3 TDs) attempted just 14 passes but made the most of them. He sat for the entire 4th quarter because the game became a blowout. RB Bhayshul Tuten (16/104/1; 2/55/1 receiving) had one of his best games, leading the Jags in both rushing and receiving. On defense, they made the poor Colts look silly. Jacksonville earned 4 sacks and 3 takeaways, with just one 3rd-quarter score allowed. Even that felt like garbage-time production. Now with a commanding 3-game lead in the NFC South, the regular season is more about fine-tuning things. Playoff success is the next step for this ascending team.
Tampa Bay had even worse conditions in their game against Atlanta than Jacksonville did. In addition to the downpour, wind ravaged Raymond James Stadium. Falcons K Nick Folk saw one FG attempt hook over 10 yards to the left. Bucs K Chase McLaughlin (3/3 on FGs) fared much better, which was emblematic of how much better Tampa managed the elements. The Buccaneers kept things entirely on the ground. RB Bucky Irving (27/170/1, FUM) had excellent balance on the slick field and earned all of his yards after contact. Kenny Gainwell (25/140) also had a banner day taking some of the load off of Irving.
Bizarrely, QB Baker Mayfield completed 0 passes on just 3 attempts. His thumb supposedly wasn’t the issue, but that’s two weeks in a row with poor pass production. Tampa became the first team to win with 0 completions since the 1974 Bills. Maybe it’s smart that Mayfield didn’t throw. The run game worked, and Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr (8/24, 125 yards, 4 INTs) imploded. Outside of one 76-yard pass, he was abysmal. Bucs LB Alex Anzalone had 2 of the INTs on back-to-back possessions. Tampa’s defense pitched a 16-0 shutout and somehow clawed them back into the division race. They’ll need a better passing game moving forward though.
Broncos Beat Chiefs in Rematch, Raiders Top Jets in Shootout
The AFC West continues to possess three teams that are solid or better. Two of them faced off for the second time this year. Kansas City whipped Denver in week 1 in what became the coming-out party for Chiefs RB Kenneth Walker. Denver’s defense is arguably as good as Seattle’s, but while KC couldn’t score on the Seahawks, they had no such trouble against the Broncos. Walker (21/69) was neutralized, but backfield mate Emmett Johnson (1/15; 5/128/1) was not. QB Patrick Mahomes (30/41, 321 yards, 3 TDs) loved throwing to him out of the backfield, and it led to massive success for the passing game.
Meanwhile, Denver’s offense had a decent first half but never gave them the lead. They also fell asleep for the third quarter as KC mounted a 24-13 lead. At that point, the Broncos’ 4th-quarter heroics kicked in. By that I specifically mean QB Bo Nix (20/32, 222 yards, 2 TDs), who led 2 TD drives in the final frame, plus a 2-point conversion. The defense held the Chiefs at bay, with an assist from KC K Harrison Butker, who missed again from 50+. Justin Tucker is now on the practice squad. As beloved and reliable as Butker has been, I can’t see him keeping the job much longer. Due to the miss, Kansas City trailed 28-24 with 1:56 to go.
When you give Mahomes that much time, bad things usually happen. He led the Chiefs right down the field for 1st-and-goal at the 4. With 15 seconds and a timeout remaining, they seemed destined to score. Instead, Denver’s defense stiffened. A 3-yard run, an incompletion, a stuffed run, and a false start penalty later, KC had 4th-and-goal from the 6. DT Malcom Roach sacked Mahomes (with help from his friends), and the Broncos pulled the stunner. They now lead the AFC West. Both of these teams will be jockeying for the rest of the season, and they’re both good bets to reach the playoffs. Denver proved their mettle in this one though.
Elsewhere in the division, the only other team to win was Las Vegas, who had to work for their victory against the Jets. NY QB Geno Smith (20/32, 290 yards, 2 TDs, INT), who lead the league in INTs for the Raiders last year and subsequently got traded to the Jets, tried his best to stick it to his prior team. With a strong ground game headlined by RB Braelon Allen (21/147/1), Smith carved up a porous Raiders defense. He even extracted a career day out of WR Adonai Mitchell (7/142/1). There was just one problem: his own defense was even leakier. Despite scoring on their first 6 possessions, they couldn’t pull away from LV.
A 95-yard KR TD from Dylan Laube, the NFL’s first this year, certainly helped Vegas. However, Raiders QB Kirk Cousins (19/26, 247 yards, 3 TDs), who continues to start despite asinine calls for his benching, really heated up after halftime. TE Brock Bowers (7/92/2) being his main target wasn’t surprising. Rookie RB Mike Washington (25/83) seeing way more stats than Ashton Jeanty (2/9; 3/64 receiving) was stunning. We’ll try and find out whether that was a blip or the new normal. Regardless, Cousins lead LV back for a 38-33 win, and Smith’s final heave landed in the hands of S Jeremy Chinn. 4-4, still competing, and ahead of schedule are these Raiders.