Overall, nothing new in week 8 of the 2016 NFL season: The New England Patriots are running over everyone, the Dallas Cowboys keep winning with a mix of Dak Prescott and the help around him, and the Denver Broncos defense keeps being too much for visiting quarterbacks, this time Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers.
Jacksonville Jaguars (2-5) 22 Â Tennessee Titans (4-4) 36:Â The Titans ran to a 27-0 lead before letting the Jags in the game, which means Gus Bradley doesn’t have much time left at his job. Marcus Mariota threw a couple of touchdown passes, both Derrick Henry and DeMarco Murray ran for one.
Washington Redskins (4-3-1) 27 Â Cincinnati Bengals (3-4-1) 27:Â Another tie, this time in London, blowing multiple opportunities to finish the game in regulation and overtime. The Redskins were the last to score, sending the game to overtime with a field goal by Dustin Hopkins and 1:04 left on the clock.
Kansas City Chiefs (5-2) 30 Â Indianapolis Colts (3-5) 14:Â Andrew Luck threw for 210 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. He also led the team’s rushing with 60 yards. It didn’t help, despite the Chiefs losing Alex Smith to a head injury along the way. Nick Foles filled in and threw two touchdown passes, helping the Chiefs overcome their demons against the Colts.
Oakland Raiders (6-2) 30 Â Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-4) 24:Â The Bucs are still winless at home, losing in overtime to a 41-yard touchdown pass from Derek Carr to Seth Roberts. Sebastian Janikowski missed field goal kicks to win the game in overtime and before, but Carr throwing for 513 yards and 4 touchdown passes helped them overcome those misses.
Seattle Seahawks (4-2-1) 20 Â New Orleans Saints (3-4) 25:Â The Seahawks took a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter, but couldn’t score another touchdown from there, as Russell Wilson continues to play hurt and it’s showing, even if he almost made it go away with the final drive. Tim Hightower was helpful with 102 rushing yards, Drew Brees threw a touchdown pass to Brandin Cooks early in the fourth to give the Saints the lead for the first time in the game.
Detroit Lions (4-4) 13 Â Houston Texans (5-3) 20:Â The Texans improve to 5-0 at home, despite another shaky performance from Brock Osweiler. Lamar Miller helped out with a touchdown run, as the early points from Houston helped them get back to winning, despite having only six points in the second half.
New York Jets (3-5) 31 Â Cleveland Browns (0-8) 28:Â Ryan Fitzpatrick wasn’t very good, but against the Browns it doesn’t matter. Matt Forte ran for two touchdowns and Bilal Powell added another, as the Browns managed to throw away a 13-point halftime lead, this time with Josh McCown at quarterback for most of the game, throwing two touchdowns passes and a couple of interceptions.
New England Patriots (7-1) 41 Â Buffalo Bills (4-4) 25:Â The Bills lose their second in a row, unable to cope with Tom Brady, sending dumb blitzes at him when it’s the wrong thing to do. Brady threw four touchdown passes and Rob Gronkowski was unstoppable with 109 rushing yards and a score.
Arizona Cardinals (3-4-1) 20 Â Carolina Panthers (2-5) 30:Â The Panthers finally win as Jonathan Stewart ran for a couple of touchdowns, and a fumble return touchdown by Thomas Davis early on helped set the tone, and keep the Panthers out of reach for the Cardinals.
San Diego Chargers (3-5) 19 Â Denver Broncos (6-2) 27:Â The Broncos took control of the game when a Philip Rivers interception was returned for a touchdown (he had 3 in the game). Trevor Siemian also threw a pick six, but it was a bit later in the game, and the Chargers struggled coping with the Broncos defense, unable to turn the game back around.
Green Bay Packers (4-3) 32 Â Atlanta Falcons (5-3) 33:Â A nice duel between the Falcons and the Packers, as Matt Ryan overcame Aaron Rodgers, throwing his third touchdown pass of the game to Mohamed Sanu with less than 40 seconds on the clock, countering the touchdown pass Aaron Rodgers threw three minutes earlier to give the Packers a temporary lead.
Philadelphia Eagles (4-3) 23 Â Dallas Cowboys (6-1) 29:Â Dak Prescott didn’t have a great passing game and Ezekiel Elliott was held to “only” 96 rushing yards. Didn’t matter. The Cowboys won in overtime when Prescott connected with Jason Witten. He also ran for a touchdown himself, and Elliott was a huge help in the passing game with 52 yards.
AFC Standings
| AFC East | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| New England Patriots | 7 | 1 | 0 | .875 | 2–1 | 6–1 | 217 | 132 | W4 |
| Buffalo Bills | 4 | 4 | 0 | .500 | 1–3 | 1–4 | 212 | 172 | L2 |
| Miami Dolphins | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 146 | 159 | W2 |
| New York Jets | 3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | 1–0 | 3–3 | 150 | 208 | W2 |
| AFC North | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 4 | 3 | 0 | .571 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 170 | 150 | L2 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 3 | 4 | 1 | .438 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 167 | 189 | T1 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 133 | 139 | L4 |
| Cleveland Browns | 0 | 8 | 0 | .000 | 0–2 | 0–6 | 158 | 238 | L8 |
| AFC South | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Houston Texans | 5 | 3 | 0 | .625 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 137 | 167 | W1 |
| Tennessee Titans | 4 | 4 | 0 | .500 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 182 | 183 | W1 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | 1–2 | 2–4 | 208 | 230 | L1 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 2 | 5 | 0 | .286 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 139 | 196 | L2 |
| AFC West | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Oakland Raiders | 6 | 2 | 0 | .750 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 215 | 203 | W2 |
| Denver Broncos | 6 | 2 | 0 | .750 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 196 | 136 | W2 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 5 | 2 | 0 | .714 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 166 | 137 | W3 |
| San Diego Chargers | 3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | 1–3 | 2–4 | 226 | 211 | L1 |
NFC Standings
| NFC East | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Dallas Cowboys | 6 | 1 | 0 | .857 | 2–1 | 5–1 | 188 | 130 | W6 |
| New York Giants | 4 | 3 | 0 | .571 | 1–1 | 3–3 | 133 | 141 | W2 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 4 | 3 | 0 | .571 | 0–2 | 2–3 | 179 | 117 | L1 |
| Washington Redskins | 4 | 3 | 1 | .563 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 186 | 189 | T1 |
| NFC North | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Minnesota Vikings | 5 | 1 | 0 | .833 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 129 | 84 | L1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 4 | 3 | 0 | .571 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 172 | 156 | L1 |
| Detroit Lions | 4 | 4 | 0 | .500 | 0–2 | 3–2 | 183 | 190 | L1 |
| Chicago Bears | 1 | 6 | 0 | .143 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 121 | 169 | L3 |
| NFC South | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Atlanta Falcons | 5 | 3 | 0 | .625 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 262 | 231 | W1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 152 | 189 | L1 |
| New Orleans Saints | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 201 | 215 | W1 |
| Carolina Panthers | 2 | 5 | 0 | .286 | 0–3 | 2–4 | 191 | 197 | W1 |
| NFC West | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Seattle Seahawks | 4 | 2 | 1 | .643 | 1–1–1 | 2–2–1 | 131 | 109 | L1 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 3 | 4 | 1 | .438 | 1–1–1 | 2–2–1 | 179 | 140 | L1 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 3 | 4 | 0 | .429 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 120 | 154 | L3 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 1 | 6 | 0 | .143 | 1–2 | 1–5 | 144 | 219 | L6 |