What we found out in NFL Week 8: Feed Tyreek Hill and A.J. Brown; Jets in playoff hunt?

As soon as 5-0 and looking entirely unsurpassable, the San Francisco 49ers have actually unexpectedly dropped 3 in a row.

As soon as 1-3, looking miserable and disjointed, Joe Burrow and the Bengals unexpectedly appear like … Joe Burrow and the Bengals.

” I do not utilize that word incredible any longer,” Cincinnati coach Zac Taylor stated after his quarterback’s three-touchdown day in a persuading 31-17 win in San Francisco.

” Since that’s what you concern anticipate.”

Simply not in September, obviously.

The Green Bay Packers still can’t discover a method to rating in the very first half– 9 points integrated in their last 5– and have actually now lost 4 in a row

” Myself, it’s too rough today,” Jordan Love stated. “I require to discover consistency in my play.”

The Minnesota Vikings, winners of 3 in a row after Sunday’s win versus Love and the Packers, fear they have actually lost Kirk Cousins for the season

And for the very first time given that Peyton Manning was their quarterback– method back in 2015– the Denver Broncos beat the Chiefs, snapping Kansas City’s 16-game streak in the series

On a careless Sunday throughout the NFL that included the similarity Brett Rypien, Tommy DeVito, Taylor Heinicke, Mitch Trubisky and Tyson Bagent actioning in at quarterback for their particular groups– spoiler: none entrusted a triumph– Burrow’s declaration in the Bay Location was the most definite.

The calf injury? History.

Burrow? Back in MVP type.

The Bengals? Competitors again.

Burrow completed with simply 4 incompletions versus the once-vaunted 49ers defense, a system that’s enabled 852 combined lawns in their last 2 losses, to the Vikings and Bengals. Burrow sculpted up San Francisco’s zone the majority of the afternoon, then when the 49ers changed into guy, discovered his preferred target, Ja’Marr Chase, in the end zone for a definitive third-quarter goal. It was classic Burrow and classic Bengals– extremely effective, constantly equipped with a response– and it undoubtedly puts them back in the discussion in the AFC.

When It Comes To the 49ers, Brock Purdy tossed 2 second-half interceptions and has actually now lost 3 directly after winning the very first 10 regular-season starts of his profession. His colleagues had his back later.

” He’s the reason that we have a possibility to win video games,” linebacker Fred Warner stated of Purdy, stating the defense was to blame for the group’s current skid. Up next: a much-welcomed bye.

Here’s what else stuck out from Week 8:

Provide the ball, see what occurs

All this speak about how offenses are struggling this season, about how scoring has actually dipped, about how quarterbacks– with uncommon exception– have not been as respected as current years.

While lots of that holds true, so is this: The league’s finest pass receivers have not decreased.

Not Sunday. Not for the majority of this season. In Miami, Tyreek Hill has actually currently eclipsed 1,000 lawns simply 8 video games in, ending up being the very first gamer in NFL history to do so. The Dolphins finished a season sweep of the Patriots, winning 31-17 in Miami.

Hill has actually been unstoppable for the majority of his profession, including his very first 6 seasons in Kansas City. However by his own admission, he’s never ever looked this excellent.

” I am light years ahead of where I was then,” Hill stated Sunday, when inquired about his Chiefs days.

He’ll face his previous group for the very first time next week in Germany.

In Washington, Philadelphia‘s A.J. Brown ended up being the very first gamer in league history with 125 getting lawns in 6 successive video games. The Eagles (a league-best 7-1) finished a season sweep of the Leaders with a 38-31 win.

And in Dallas, CeeDee Lamb appeared for 9 catches, 122 lawns and 2 goals– all before halftime. “Offer me the ball and see what occurs,” Lamb stated just recently The Rams discovered Sunday what that appears like. Lamb was deadly. The Cowboys kept feeding him. And before the Rams might blink, ball game was 33-3.

The Cowboys (5-2) completed it off 43-20, their 4th win by 20 or more points this season.

On a Sunday that saw a spectacular variety of backup QBs take the field, the league’s real cream-of-the-crop receivers advised everybody of their worth.

In Some Cases, there’s merely no response for them.

Did the Titans simply discover their quarterback?

It’s constantly prematurely, too spontaneous, to make any sort of a strong pronouncement after a single video game.

However one start into Will Levis’ profession in Tennessee, it’s difficult not to believe the Titans might have discovered their next quarterback.

For a 2-4 group going to pieces in a little bit of a no guy’s land this season– brand-new basic supervisor Ran Carthon needed to inform Derrick Henry they weren’t trading him before Tuesday’s due date, in spite of queries from other groups– the Titans required to see something from either Levis or second-year QB Malik Willis, who had a hard time strongly last season as a novice.

In other words, with Ryan Tannehill out, they required either Levis or Willis to get ahold of the beginning task.

On Sunday, Levis did

The second-round choice, who notoriously toppled in last spring’s draft, made his NFL launching versus the Falcons, and all he did was toss for more goals (4) than Tannehill, the Titans’ veteran starter, had all season (2). Levis strutted his beast arm, striking DeAndre Hopkins for 3 ratings, consisting of one for 47 lawns and another for 61.

” He plays the video game like he’s been here before,” Hopkins stated of his novice quarterback.

Thanks to Levis and Hopkins, the Titans relocated to 3-4 with a 28-23 triumph versus Atlanta. Levis shared snaps with Willis, however Willis never ever tried a pass, utilized just in hurrying scenarios. And thanks to Levis’ sterling launching– he completed 19-for-29 for 238 lawns, 4 TDs and a 130.5 passer ranking– there’s little concern which of the 2 QBs the Titans will turn to moving on.

If Levis advances this trajectory, and Anthony Richardson go back to the type he flashed early this season in Indianapolis, the AFC South figures to be a great deal of enjoyable in the coming years. All 4 groups, consisting of Jacksonville ( Trevor Lawrence) and Houston ( C.J. Stroud), appear like they have capable franchise quarterbacks in location for many years to come.

Hope, in Carolina.

Short lived as it may be, it’s something.

And this franchise required it.

After 6 successive losses to open the year, concerns about their choice at the top of last spring’s draft and an abrupt switch in offending play-caller– coach Frank Reich passing tasks off to his offending organizer, Thomas Brown– the Panthers required something to go right. Anything, truly.

Enough did Sunday.

Thanks to a winning drive led by Bryce Young on Sunday, the NFL will have no winless groups this season. (Bob Donnan/ U.S.A. Today)

In a video game including the leading 3 choices from the most current draft– the very first time that’s ever occurred in NFL history– Bryce Young made his very first win as an NFL starter, assisting the Panthers to a 15-13 win versus Stroud, Will Anderson Jr. and the Texans. It prevented a 0-7 start for Carolina, which would have been the franchise’s worst going back to 1998.

Young led a 15-play, 58-yard drive throughout the video game’s last 6:17 to establish Eddy Pineiro‘s 22-yard, game-winning basket. And with that, every group in the NFL has at least one win this season.

” Down one, head out and attempt to take the video game, what else would you expect?” Young stated later on.

The Panthers stay thin on skill, specifically at the offending ability positions, however no group wishes to get in November without a triumph.

Are the Jets truly in the early AFC playoff race? (Yes)

” They do not ask you how, they ask the number of,” Jets coach Robert Saleh stated after this one, appropriately summarizing the offensively challenged fight of New york city his group in some way eked out in overtime

Saleh’s right. Forget the information. Throw out package rating. When your star quarterback, who likewise occurs to be a Hall-of-Famer-in-waiting, is lost 4 snaps into the season, you do not excuse the wins that follow.

4 in their very first 7, consisting of 3 in a row?

Does not matter how you get them. Does not matter what they appear like. Does not matter if the video game included simply 4 third-down conversions (in 34 efforts) and 24 punts.

Now, the Jets stay a problematic group, Zach Wilson a problematic quarterback, however there’s something to be stated for a group that keeps scraping out unsightly triumphes in spite of amazingly long stretches of offending insufficiency. ( Breece Hall‘s 50-yard catch-and-run rating in the very first quarter Sunday was the Jets’ very first first-quarter goal of the season.)

After losing 3 in a row after Aaron Rodgers decreased, the Jets (4-3) have actually swindled 3 in a row and are– surprise– quite in the AFC playoff hunt as the calendar turns to November.

Truthfully, who had the Jets above.500 at any point after Halloween?

” I do not even understand what took place,” cornerback Sauce Gardner stated after the win, confessing that he believed the video game was lost. However Giants kicker Graham Gano missed out on 2 basket, consisting of a 35-yarder with 28 seconds left that would have clinched the win. 2 29-yard conclusions from Wilson sufficed to get the Jets in field-goal variety.

It’s likewise quite excellent the Giants almost won a video game tossing for a grand overall of minus-9 passing lawns. After Tyrod Taylor left the video game in the very first half, DeVito, a New Jersey native, took his location however wound up trying simply 7 passes, completing with minus-1 passing backyard.

Jaguars are warming up

The Jaguars have actually silently turned into one of the most popular groups in football. While Jacksonville definitely went into the season with increased expectations after last season’s playoff run, it stumbled early this year, being up to 1-2 after an embarrassing 37-17 Week 3 loss in the house to the Texans.

Then the Jags went to London for 2 weeks and discovered something.

The outcomes given that: 5 successive wins, leaving them at 6-2 heading into the bye week with a juicy match when they return, in the house versus the 49ers. On Sunday, the Jags stopped the Steelers’ win streak, beating Pittsburgh 20-10 behind 292 passing lawns from Lawrence and 149 all-purpose lawns from Travis Etienne, whose 56-yard catch-and-run goal in the 3rd quarter was the longest play of the day for either side.

Going back to in 2015’s late-season run, the Jags have actually won 11 of their last 13 regular-season video games.

Ramsey returns, and the Dolphins keep rolling

Ninety-four days after Jalen Ramsey hurt his meniscus– this was the 2nd day of training school, and preliminary reports recommended he may be out up until December– the six-time Pro Bowl cornerback made his Dolphins launching 2 days shy of Halloween.

He made his existence felt right away, baiting Patriots quarterback Mac Jones into an interception prior to the half that Ramsey returned 49 lawns. It caused a basket in the Dolphins’ win, their 6th in 7 attempts versus their department competitor.

” He completely dissatisfied me,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel joked postgame. “He informed me he was going to return and have a choice 6, not a choice basket.”

” The buzz is genuine when it pertains to somebody like Jalen Ramsey,” Miami QB Tua Tagovailoa stated.

With the win, the Dolphins finished a season sweep of the Patriots and enhanced to 6-2, their finest start to a season given that 2001.

( Leading picture of A.J. Brown: Patrick Smith/ Getty Images)