NFL Week 8 grades: Chiefs earn 'A-' for Monday night win; Cowboys get 'F' for blowout loss to Broncos
Here are the grades for every NFL team that has played in Week 8
By
John Breech
•
17 min read
Welcome to the Week 8 grades!
It has been a week of blowouts in the NFL, and the Kansas City Chiefs capped things off by giving us another blowout on Monday night with a 28-7 win over the Washington Commanders. With Kansas City's win, that means that 12 of the 13 played in Week 8 were decided by double digits. That means only one game was decided by one-score, marking the the first time since Week 14 of the 1970 season that we've seen anything like that.
Everyone got blown out ... well, except for the New York Jets.
Going into Week 8, there was only one winless team in the NFL, but that's not the case anymore after the New York Jets pulled off a stunning 39-38 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. The Jets were trailing by 14 points with eight minutes left to play in the fourth quarter, but they pulled off the shocker after Breece Hall threw a game-winning touchdown pass (That is not a typo, Breece Hall threw a TD pass to put the Jets ahead with 1:54 left to play).
How shocking was this win?
- It was the Jets' second-largest fourth-quarter comeback in franchise history. They trailed by 15 points at the start of the fourth quarter, but managed to outscore the Bengals 23-8 in the final quarter to pull off the win.
- Hall became the first running back since 2000 to throw a go-ahead TD in the final two minutes of a game. The last time it happened also came with the Jets when Curtis Martin threw a go-ahead TD back in 2000.
- Hall became just the third running back in NFL history to score two rushing touchdowns AND throw a TD pass in a single quarter (Hall did all of that in the fourth quarter).
- This game marked the first time since 2001 that the Jets topped 500 yards. The last time it happened also came against the Bengals.
It was a great win for the Jets, but an ugly loss for the Bengals.
With that in mind, let's get to the Week 8 grades, starting with the Chiefs dominating win on Monday night.
The tush push didn't die in a meeting room; it died on a Sunday in Philadelphia
Jonathan Jones
Kansas City 28-7 over Washington
| C- |  |
| The Commanders deserve some credit here, especially Marcus Mariota, because this was a one-score game midway through the third quarter. But the bottom line is that a defense that has let them down all season let them down once again. With Jayden Daniels out, the Commanders were going to need the defense to come up big, but instead, it got run off the field during a second half where the Chiefs piled up nearly 300 yards. With Washington now sitting at 3-5, its season is slowly slipping away, and even if Daniels returns soon, it might be too late to save its season. | |
| A- |  |
| The Chiefs got off to a slow start, but they blew this game open by playing a nearly perfect second half. Patrick Mahomes led the way with a near flawless half that saw him complete 17 of 19 passes for 210 yards and three touchdowns. One reason the Chiefs offense is so difficult to stop is because Mahomes spreads the ball around, and he did that against the Commanders with five different receivers catching at least two passes, including Travis Kelce, who led everyone with 99 yards and a touchdown. The second-half perfection was also on display from a Kansas City defense that absolutely shut down Washington over the final two quarters, holding the Commanders to just 66 yards. This is the kind of win that will have the Chiefs feeling really good about their upcoming trip to Buffalo for a showdown with the Bills in Week 9. | |
N.Y. Jets 39-38 over Cincinnati
| A- |  |
| Justin Fields almost got benched this week, but he ended up playing and he responded with his most impressive performance of the season. With Fields and Breece Hall leading the way, the Jets piled up more than 500 yards in a game for the first time in four years. The duo took over during a fourth quarter where the Jets put up 23 points: Hall ran for 53 yards and two touchdowns AND threw a TD while Fields was 6 of 7 for 68 yards. The Jets defense wasn't great, but no one in the locker room cares about that right now after a day where this team picked up its first win of the season. | |
| C- |  |
| This was an ugly loss and the Bengals only have their defense to blame. The Bengals got zero pressure on Justin Fields, they couldn't stop the run and that was all compounded by the fact that they constantly missed tackles. They surrendered more than 500 yards to a Jets offense that had only totaled 302 yards over the past two weeks COMBINED. Joe Flacco. Joe Burrow. Joe Montana. It doesn't matter who the Bengals have at quarterback, they're not going to win games if their defense continues to play like this. | |
Green Bay 35-25 over Pittsburgh
| A- |  |
| In the Aaron Rodgers revenge game, it was Jordan Love who stole the show. The Packers QB tied a franchise record by completing 20 straight passes, something that Rodgers never did in Green Bay. Love threw for 360 yards and three touchdowns on a night where he outdueled Rodgers on a national stage. Most of the Packers' big passing plays went to Tucker Kraft, who caught seven passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns. Defensively, the Packers struggled some in the first half, but they pinned their ears back and went after Rodgers during a second half where they sacked the QB twice while limiting the Steelers to just 117 yards of offense. Brandon McManus did miss two field goals, and that could be a concern going forward, but for now, the Packers continue to look like one of the best teams in the NFL. | |
| C |  |
| Aaron Rodgers didn't get his revenge and that's mostly because the Steelers defense continues to look like the opposite of the Steelers curtain. For the fourth time this season, the Steelers surrendered more than 30 points. With the Packers totaling 454 yards, the Steelers have now given up at least 365 yards in six of their seven games. The team seems to be plagued by the same issues every week: This time around, their secondary got torched by Jordan Love and a big reason that happened is because the pass rush generated almost zero pressure (The Steelers didn't have any sacks). Rodgers has played solid football all season, but the Steelers don't really have the firepower to keep up in a shootout and with the defense struggling, every game is now turning into a shootout. With two straight losses and the defense struggling, it feels like the AFC North is officially up for grabs. | |
Tampa Bay 23-3 over New Orleans
| B+ |  |
| With the Buccaneers' offense banged up, Tampa Bay needed its defense to carry the load this week, and that's exactly what happened here. They didn't get the the shutout, but besides that, the Bucs defense essentially pitched a perfect game: They forced four turnovers and recorded four sacks, and the Saints didn't run a single play inside of Tampa Bay's 20-yard line. The biggest turnover came from Anthony Nelson, who had an impressive three-yard pick-six in the second quarter that opened up the scoring. Winning the games you're supposed to win isn't always an easy thing to do in the NFL -- just ask the Bengals about that -- but the Bucs got the job done this week, and now they've got a Week 9 bye to get healthy. | |
| D |  |
| The Saints are going to need better play from the quarterback position if they want to win any more games this year. Spencer Rattler started this game but got benched for Tyler Shough after turning the ball over twice. The rookie QB wasn't much better with Shough getting picked off on his third pass of the game. The Saints defense held Tampa Bay to just 212 yards, but when your offense turns the ball over four times and your quarterbacks get sacked five times, that makes it hard to win in the NFL. The only good news for the Saints is that the Jets won, so they're now back in the running for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. | |
Denver 44-24 over Dallas
| F |  |
| Heading into Week 8, the Cowboys defense had given up the most yards per game this year (401.6), the most passing yards per game (260.3), the third-most points per game (29.4) and the third-most rushing yards per game (141.3) -- and none of that is going to change after this loss. The Cowboys defense was bad, and when that happens, Dak Prescott has to play nearly perfect for his team to win, but that didn't happen this week. Prescott struggled to complete passes against a Broncos secondary that picked him off twice while holding him to 188 yards. The Micah Parsons trade continues to look worse and worse for Jerry Jones. The Cowboys need Jones to fix his own problem by adding a defensive playmaker before the trade deadline. | |
| A+ |  |
| The Broncos got to go up against one of the worst defenses in the NFL on Sunday, and they definitely made the most of it. Sean Payton was probably thrilled to see his rushing attack go off against the Cowboys. JK Dobbins found several big holes as he rushed for 111 of Denver's 179 yards. And then there's Bo Nix. After throwing an interception on his second pass of the game, Nix rebounded to throw for 247 yards and four touchdowns. The Broncos defense also deserves a lot of credit for shutting down the Cowboys' high-powered passing attack despite the loss of Patrick Surtain II. The Broncos are a well-rounded team capable of beating anyone, and they still have a very real chance of ending the Chiefs' nine-year reign atop the AFC West. | |
Indianapolis 38-14 over Tennessee
| F |  |
| The Titans offense only had one drive of more than 40 yards over the first three quarters, and their defense had no answers for anything the Colts did. The Titans might be the worst team in the NFL: They've now lost three straight games by double digits, and that streak might not end any time soon. | |
| A+ |  |
| Another week, another dominant win by the Colts. This is the best team in the NFL, and they proved it once again on Sunday. On offense, they can beat you through the air or on the ground as Daniel Jones and Jonathan Taylor proved in this game. Taylor rushed for 153 yards and two touchdowns, but the Titans couldn't focus on him, because that would just open the door for Jones to dice them up (he threw for 272 yards and two touchdowns). Indy's defense was also a force in this game. So how good are the Colts? We'll find out for sure over the next six weeks, with five of their next six games being played away from Indy. | |
Houston 26-15 over San Francisco
| C- |  |
| The 49ers lost this game due to a disastrous first half where they fell behind 16-0 and they just weren't able to dig themselves out of that hole. During the first two quarters, they got outgained 299-65. The 49ers only had the ball for 5:29 of the first half, which was the lowest time of possession by any team in a first half over the past 15 years. The Texans were able to dominate the time of possession because the 49ers defense couldn't make any third-down stops (Houston converted 9 of 16 attempts in the game). If this game proved one thing, it's that the 49ers are probably going to need to add a pass rusher before the Nov. 4 trade deadline. | |
| B+ |  |
| The Texans' passing game has struggled all year, but those struggles finally ended on Sunday. The offensive line finally gave C.J. Stroud time to throw and he responded by throwing for a season-high 318 yards and two touchdowns (His season-high going into this game was 244 yards). With the passing game working so well, that opened things up for a Houston rushing attack that totaled 157 yards with Woody Marks and Nick Chubb both topping 55 yards. The defense made several big plays, including a fourth-quarter interception by Kamari Lassiter in the end zone. At 3-4, the division might be out of reach for the Texans, but they're certainly good enough to sneak their way into the wild card race. | |
Baltimore 30-16 over Chicago
| C |  |
| The Bears looked like the better team after jumping out to a 6-0 lead in the first quarter, but then the wheels fell off the wagon after that. The defense was banged up and you could certainly tell that in this game: Even with Lamar Jackson out, the Bears couldn't slow down the Ravens offense. At one point in the game, the Ravens had four straight scoring drives that went for at least 54 yards. Offensively, Caleb Williams and his crew pretty much disappeared in the second and third quarters with just 97 total yards. Williams also threw a back-breaking interception in the fourth quarter that essentially allowed Baltimore to ice the victory. This was a winnable game, but the Bears let it slip away. | |
| A- |  |
| With no Lamar Jackson, the Ravens won this game the old-fashioned way: By running the ball and playing good defense. For just the second time this season, Derrick Henry got more than 20 carries and although his numbers weren't huge (71 yards), he did score two touchdowns and he definitely wore down the Bears defense. The Ravens' much-maligned defense had one of its best games of the year and Nate Wiggins made the play of the game by picking off Caleb Williams and returning it to Chicago's 9-yard line in the fourth quarter. The Ravens are 2-5, but they have a very real chance of winning the AFC North, especially if Jackson is back on the field for Thursday's game against the Dolphins. | |
Buffalo 40-9 over Carolina
| A |  |
| No team is better after a bye week than the Bills and they proved it in this game. During their week off, it seems they realized how valuable James Cook is because they unleashed him against the Panthers. The Bills offense came alive and Cook led the way with 216 yards and two touchdowns. The Bills defense, which also struggled some before the bye, absolutely dominated the Panthers. After only recording 15 sacks through the first seven weeks, the Bills suddenly unstoppable pass rush added seven to that total against Carolina (Michael Hoecht led the way with 1.5 of those). The Bills didn't look like a Super Bowl contender during their two-game losing streak, but they just destroyed a feisty Panthers team. It's probably safe to say that this team is back. | |
| F |  |
| This was a nightmare game for Andy Dalton, who was making his first start in more than a year. The Panthers QB turned the ball over three times and the Bills ended up getting 17 points off those turnovers. Dalton got no help from an offensive line that gave up seven sacks to the Bills. The Panthers also had an ugly sequence at the end of the first half that ended with a missed field goal by Ryan Fitzgerald. The biggest surprise here is that the Panthers defense, which was giving up less than 95 rushing yards per game heading into Week 8, got run over by a Bills rushing attack that topped 240 yards. This was a chance for the Panthers to prove that they're for real, but they ended up failing the test badly. | |
Philadelphia 38-20 over N.Y. Giants
| C- |  |
| This was a brutal loss for the Giants. Not only did they get beaten on the scoreboard, but they also loss rookie Cam Skattebo to a season-ending injury. Not to mention, they figured out how to stop the tush push (by stripping Jalen Hurts), but the officiating crew didn't see things the same way (more details on that here). All that being said, the Eagles were the better team in this game: The Giants offense was a mess and the defense couldn't stop Saquon Barkley. If Brian Daboll's seat was warm before this game, it's a lot hotter now. | |
| A- |  |
| It took eight weeks, but Saquon Barkley finally had a breakout game. The Eagles running back, who hadn't topped 90 yards a single time this year, ran for 150 yards against the Giants, including a huge 65-yard TD for Philly's first touchdown. Tank Bigsby also got in on the action with 104 rushing yards. With A.J. Brown out, the passing game was quiet in the first half until Jalen Hurts blew the game open by throwing two of his four TDs passes in the fourth quarter. The Eagles defense also did a good job of keeping pressure on Jaxson Dart, who was sacked five times. The Eagles proved last year that if they can run the ball and get after the passer, they can win the Super Bowl and that's exactly what they did against the Giants. | |
New England 32-13 over Cleveland
| D |  |
| From an individual standpoint, Myles Garrett had one of the best games of any NFL player this season, but he didn't get very much help from anyone else on the Browns' roster. Garrett racked up a career-high five sacks on a day where the Browns got to Drake Maye six times, but that was about all that went right for Cleveland. Dillon Gabriel had a rough outing with two interceptions: Both picks came in the third quarter and both led to New England touchdowns, which allowed the Patriots to blow this game open. When you have a rookie quarterback making rookie mistakes, it's hard to win in the NFL. | |
| A |  |
| This was the type of game that should make the Patriots feel even better about Drake Maye. He got sacked six times and was under constant pressure, but he still managed to carve up the top defense in the NFL for 282 yards and three touchdowns. This game was close at halftime, but the defense helped put it away with a second-half performance that included two interceptions, a safety and two fourth-down stops. A pick by Robert Spillane in the third quarter set New England up with first-and-goal at the Browns' 6-yard line on a drive that ended with a TD. The Patriots didn't play a perfect game, but they still managed to win by double digits and that's when you know you're a good team. This is a good team. | |
Miami 34-10 over Atlanta
| A+ |  |
| The Dolphins definitely haven't quit on Mike McDaniel. With their coach squarely on the hot seat, the Dolphins played their best game of the season. The Dolphins defense has struggled to stop the run this year, but the unit managed to bottle up Bijan Robinson (nine carries for 25 yards) while holding the Falcons to just 31 yards on the ground. Tua Tagovailoa was dealing with an eye issue, but that didn't seem to phase him: A locked-in Tua completed 76.9% of his passes for 205 yards and four touchdowns. If this Miami team had shown up at the beginning of the season, the Dolphins would probably be in much better shape, but instead, they're sitting at 2-6 heading into November. | |
| F |  |
| If Kirk Cousins had any trade value, he might have just killed it all with his performance in this game. Cousins struggled, but you can't fully blame him. The Falcons decided not to run the ball even though they were playing a Dolphins team that had surrendered the most rushing yards per game in the NFL heading into Week 8. Bijan Robinson only had five carries in the first half and nine in the game. The defense also got torched by a Dolphins offense that scored just six points last week. This was an all out failure by Atlanta. | |
L.A. Chargers 37-10 over Minnesota
| F |  |
| For most of the season, the Vikings defense has been the glue holding the team together, but all of a sudden, that glue is starting to come apart. The defense had no answers for a Chargers rushing attack that streamrolled the unit for more than 200 yards. After not giving up 350 yards of offense all year, the Vikings have now done it in two straight games. The Vikings offense was also a mess: Carson Wentz rarely had time to throw and in the few instances where he was given time, he managed to complete just 55.6% of his passes. Minnesota also had a nonexistent running game. The Vikings officially hit rock bottom in this game and they might not recover. | |
| A |  |
| Well, well, well ... the Chargers are back. In what was easily their most impressive performance of the season, the Chargers dominated this game from start to finish. Justin Herbert did a good job of confusing the Vikings defense by showing a willingness to take off and run in this game. The Charters QB ran for 62 yards, which was the fifth-highest total of his career. When he wasn't running the ball, he was dicing up the Vikings defense for 227 yards and three touchdowns. It was a brilliant performance from an offense that also got a brilliant performance from Kimani Vidal (117 yards rushing and a touchdown). The Chargers defense was just as good: The pass rush, which sacked Carson Wentz five times, had the Vikings QB running for his life for most of the night. If this is the Chargers team that shows up every week, there's no reason this team can't be a Super Bowl contender. | |
