NFL Week 8 preview

Thursday, 8:20 p.m. ET (NFL NETWORK)

The Dolphins are still 4-3, and Brock Osweiler has looked better than fine in relief of Ryan Tannehill, who is still out with an injured shoulder. Oh, and with Buffalo (twice) and Indianapolis still on the schedule, as well as the Jets, Miami should have a decent chance to get to eight wins, minimum. However, Miami's defense is still hemorrhaging yards. Last week, it didn't force a turnover for the first time all season, and Miami's remaining games outside of the ones already mentioned are New England, Green Bay, Minnesota and Jacksonville. Oh, and Houston this week. The Texans seem like a team starting to figure things out, now having won four games in a row after an 0-3 start. Houston's offense hasn't done much the last two weeks, but the defense has risen to the occasion three straight times, holding each of its last three opponents to under 300 yards of offense. The most interesting variable is Lamar Miller, who went for 100 yards last week. If he's finding himself, Houston could end up running away with the AFC South. 

Sunday, 9:30 a.m. ET (NFL NETWORK - Game at Wembley Stadium)

Everyone on the Jags is injured, and there's obvious tension in Doug Marrone's locker room, mainly because the defense is fed up with the offense, and Blake Bortles has turned into a pumpkin, or something. The perfect tonic for an angry, hurting team is the horrible trans-Atlantic travel schedule for a game in London against the defending Super Bowl champs, right? Having said that, the Eagles aren't exactly playing the part, as they melted down against the Panthers last week, blowing a 17-0 lead by giving up 21 fourth-quarter points. Philly needs this game more than Jacksonville, if only because Washington so far looks like something resembling a competent team and might not fall back to the pack, while the AFC South is a den of mediocrity. If Jacksonville loses and the offense is to blame yet again, I would love to be a fly on the wall for the flight home.

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

If you had "after Week 7" in your "when will Hue Jackson and Todd Haley butt heads" poll, please come and claim your prize. Jackson publicly called out the Browns' offensive play-calling, but given Hue's standing with Cleveland fans and Haley's overall track record as an offensive coordinator, one wonders if the head coach isn't the real issue. In any case, the Browns, who rallied gamely in Tampa but fell short, have to deal with Haley's former team. The Steelers are somehow in first place after nonstop drama to start the season, and James Conner has made his teammates and many fans forget Le'Veon Bell, who still hasn't shown up and figures not to until after the trade deadline. Pittsburgh has suddenly discovered the tight end position, as Vance McDonald and Jesse James together have 37 catches for 548 yards and two touchdowns, and their combined catch percentage is a gaudy 80.5. Cleveland will have to sort out its drama if it wants to stay close and perhaps spring an upset.

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

Chicago was oh-so-close to scoring on a last-gasp Hail Mary, and one wonders whether or not Matt Nagy would have gone for the win right then and there against the Patriots had Kevin White made it into the end zone. The Bears actually stood toe-to-toe with New England just about all afternoon, and Mitch Trubisky made some big plays to keep them in it. Chicago should be able to wreak havoc with Sam Darnold under center for the Jets, if only because an accurate description of Darnold is that he is not Tom Brady. The Jets came back to earth rather emphatically last week, getting thumped by Minnesota after two straight wins. New York will need to find some semblance of a consistent running game in this one, or else Darnold will be left to contend with Khalil Mack (assuming his ankle is OK) and a sack-happy, turnover-forcing Bears defense. The Bears can't afford another loss to a non-New England AFC East opponent, particularly now that the Vikings have found their footing, and the NFC North race is picking up steam.

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

Suddenly, the Bengals are the Bengals again. They couldn't close the deal against the Steelers, then got run over by the Chiefs and find themselves at 4-3 and at a bit of a crossroads. They're talented, but they need to start stacking wins and putting pressure on Pittsburgh and Baltimore. They need this game badly because after the bye week, they get New Orleans and the Ravens back-to-back. Cincy is also banged up, including Vontaze Burfict, but were he to miss, it might be a case of addition by subtraction. Tampa survived a furious Cleveland rally and improved to 3-3, which feels like a misprint. The Bucs have the league's worst defense, but they've discovered some semblance of a running game, which might help them in that regard by allowing them to chew up the clock. What's more likely, though, is that the defense continues to be bad, and the offense needs to figure out a way to bail them out. Cleveland was the first opponent they held under 400 total yards. Tough to envision them making it two in a row.

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

For a franchise with a well-deserved reputation for being a running back wasteland post-Barry Sanders, the Lions are pretty good at it so far this year, with their 4.9 yards per carry ranking fifth in the league thus far. Despite their gaudy defensive reputation, the Seahawks rank 25th in the league in opponent yards per carry and have surrendered over 100 yards per game, on average. Seattle does do an excellent job against the pass, but Matthew Stafford is the kind of guy who should still be able to sling it around regardless. What's more, the Lions haven't turned the ball over since Week 3, which might negate one of the things Seattle does best. If Kerryon Johnson can stay rolling on the ground, Detroit should be able to control the flow of the game and put the onus on the Seahawks' offense. A Lions win helps them stay within striking distance in the NFC North, while Seattle needs a victory to stay within shouting distance of the Rams, though a wild card already seems like a more realistic pursuit.

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

Besides New England, Denver is the only other team to give the Chiefs any semblance of a real battle this season. That happened in Denver, though, and in prime time, and it still wasn't enough of a hostile situation to take Patrick Mahomes out of his game. The Broncos don't figure to have the same kind of luck this time around, with Kansas City riding high after smashing the Bengals. The Chiefs should be 9-1 heading into a Week 11 showdown with the Rams that looms as the likely game of the year in the NFL. Mahomes is on pace for a 50 touchdown season, but Kareem Hunt has emerged of late as the driving force among the skill players, racking up six TDs in his last four games. Hunt has been especially good as a pass catcher the last two weeks, with 10 catches for 160 yards and three scores in his last two games. The Broncos will need a monster week from Von Miller again, but they'll likely find that having success against Josh Rosen is a lot easier than shutting down Mahomes.

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

The Giants are bad. I don't have anything clever to say. They've got major offensive line problems, considerable issues at quarterback, and they can't get Saquon Barkley the ball outside of throwing him low-risk, low-reward dump passes. Oh, and Odell Beckham Jr. is still incredibly unhappy. It's quickly becoming a lost year in the Big Apple, and speaking of, the team just traded away Eli Apple. Oh, and Damon "Snacks" Harrison got dealt as well. Things are a good deal more pleasant in Washington, where Alex Smith has the Redskins 4-2 and feeling good about itself. Washington was blown out by the Saints, which is excusable, and only the Week 2 loss against Indianapolis is a head-scratcher. Smith and the offense haven't been great, but they have managed to run the ball effectively despite not having a great yards-per-carry total. Washington's real calling card has been its defense, which is seventh in the league in points against and fifth in yards allowed. A win here for Washington would keep significant pressure on Philly and Dallas.

Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

This game has slugfest written all over it. Baltimore boasts the league's best defense, both in terms of yards and points allowed, and Carolina is 10th in points allowed. The Ravens have been somewhat vulnerable against the run, and the combination of Christian McCaffrey and Cam Newton could pose some problems for them. McCaffrey has become significantly better as a runner in the pros, but it is his overall versatility that could be the biggest issue for Baltimore. The Ravens will have to recover from the shocking, gut-punch manner in which they lost to New Orleans, and they need the win to stay tight with Pittsburgh in advance of their Week 9 showdown. The Ravens are averaging only 3.4 yards per carry, so the onus will be on Alex Collins and Javorius Allen to pick up their level of play. While so much could pivot around each team's ability to run the ball, or lack thereof, this also seems like the kind of game that favors Carolina because of Newton's unpredictability as well as Devin Funchess' ability to win one-on-one matchups downfield. 

Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET (CBS)

The Amari Cooper trade means the rebuild is fully underway in Oakland, and your enthusiasm for that depends entirely on whether or not you trust Jon Gruden to make the most of the five first-round picks he has over the next two years. The Colts, by virtue of their existence in the incredibly mediocre AFC South, are not quite out of the running just yet. That having been said, nothing the Colts have done this year gives one the impression that they're about to flip a switch and start playing great football. Their offense has been spotty but is producing plenty of points. Their defense has forced plenty of turnovers, but they need Marlon Mack and the rest of the running game to continue what they did against Buffalo so as to ease the burden on Andrew Luck. Oakland, as previously mentioned, can't do anything well, and more talk this week has focused on Derek Carr and crying than anything else. The Raiders might as well pack it in and focus on the 2-14 season they seem destined for.

Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET (FOX)

The Packers haven't strung together two wins in a row all season, and this doesn't seem like a good opportunity for them to do so, even with an extra week to prepare. The juxtaposition is interesting, though. On one side you have Jared Goff and Sean McVay, who make beautiful offensive music and seem to work in perfect harmony. It's the ideal play-caller/quarterback relationship. On the other side, you have Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy, and there has been simmering tension between the two all season. The results speak for themselves. Despite churning up plenty of yardage, the Packers are only 16th in the league in points per game. The Rams are third in points, second in yards and rank in the top 10 in both of those categories on defense as well. To be fair, a big reason for L.A.'s success is something the Packers don't have. His name is Todd Gurley, and he has keyed a rushing attack that has been held under 100 yards only one time this season: in Week 2. Green Bay needs a win because a road date with New England looms next week.

Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET (FOX)

Arizona's only win all season was against the Niners, and San Francisco has cratered since Jimmy Garoppolo's injury. The 49ers have had some close losses in that span, to be sure, but they simply don't have the firepower to compete without Jimmy G. Having said that, Arizona seems ripe for the picking, even though this game is in the desert. The Cardinals are anemic offensively and are coming off a five-turnover performance by their offense. Josh Rosen has gone through plenty of growing pains, David Johnson still can't get going, and Patrick Peterson has been the subject of trade rumors. The Cardinals' offense is the league's second-worst in points and worst in yards, but San Francisco's defense is the second-worst in points. What we have here is a case of the movable object meeting the resistible force, and the most interesting thing about the game is its impact on the race for the No. 1 pick in the 2019 draft. If you have to watch this game, make sure you've got something more fun to do at the same time, like fold laundry.

Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC)

The resurgent Vikings have won three in a row to take over first place in the NFC North, and to no one's surprise, their defense has played a big role, forcing eight turnovers and stifling the opposition during the streak. That said, the Saints, doubtless desiring revenge after last year's stunning playoff defeat, are an altogether different animal from everyone else they've played, save the Rams. Los Angeles, if you need a refresher, put 556 yards and 38 points on Minnesota. New Orleans, for its part, got a win over the Ravens via the unlikeliest avenue imaginable — a missed extra point by Justin Tucker. Tucker, if you didn't know, was a perfect 222/222 on extra points until that miss. The Saints have a chance to make a statement this week and next, with the Rams making a trip to the Superdome on Nov. 4. This stands as one of the few games where a loud home crowd could truly make a difference. If Minnesota's defense from the last three games shows up and Kirk Cousins continues his strong play, this one is a toss-up. Either way, it should be one of the best games of the week.

Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC)

The resurgent Vikings have won three in a row to take over first place in the NFC North, and to no one's surprise, their defense has played a big role, forcing eight turnovers and stifling the opposition during the streak. That said, the Saints, doubtless desiring revenge after last year's stunning playoff defeat, are an altogether different animal from everyone else they've played, save the Rams. Los Angeles, if you need a refresher, put 556 yards and 38 points on Minnesota. New Orleans, for its part, got a win over the Ravens via the unlikeliest avenue imaginable — a missed extra point by Justin Tucker. Tucker, if you didn't know, was a perfect 222/222 on extra points until that miss. The Saints have a chance to make a statement this week and next, with the Rams making a trip to the Superdome on Nov. 4. This stands as one of the few games where a loud home crowd could truly make a difference. If Minnesota's defense from the last three games shows up and Kirk Cousins continues his strong play, this one is a toss-up. Either way, it should be one of the best games of the week.