2026-2027 NFL Season: Week 8 Review, Week 9 Picks - Teams Taking a Bye and Saying Goodbye to Week 8

As the NFL has now seen the eighth week of the season go in the books, there remains one very surprising team that has yet to gain a victory. Another team took a hard hit at their quarterback position, and a few teams continued a dreadful tailspin.

Let’s begin with the team that is now in last place and has lost their starting quarterback for an indefinite amount of time. That would be the Baltimore Ravens now at 4-4 and in last place in the AFC North. Their starting QB Lamar Jackson once again suffered an injury this time a fractured thumb and there is no word on how soon he can return. To make matters worse, his backup Tyler Huntley is also injured both men going down in the team’s 36-10 loss to Buffalo. That left Joe Fagnano to take over and many are saying who?
Perhaps the Ravens are now questioning themselves as to whether or not it was a good idea to fire John Harbaugh? Baltimore was an AFC favorite going into the season and now it is likely they will not even make the playoffs. The rest of the games from week eight had some surprises and expected results. Away we go.

Packers 27 Panthers 19. Carolina tried to make a game of it on the road but just didn’t have enough gas in the tank to stage a comeback and now with two straight losses, crazy as it is, they remain in first place in the league’s only division with all four teams posting a losing record. The Panthers are on top at 3-4.

Jaguars 42 Colts 7. The Colts gave up on their season over a week ago when they started trading off players to other teams. We could see more dumping by Indianapolis especially after getting walloped by the 5-2 Jags 42-7. OUCH.

Raiders 38 Jets 33. Word is that head coach Aaron Glenn is in trouble in New York. The Jets had a lead in this game but could not hold on to it. While New York’s defense has been pretty good in the last few seasons, they still haven’t figured out how to intercept a pass. At the start of the season, they spent the entire 2025 campaign without one and thus far this season they have just ONE. Las Vegas is trying to stay in competition for the division title now by evening their record at four they are just two behind the front runners.

Buccaneers 16 Falcons 0. This division is simply a joke. Four teams of which no one wants to take control of the NFC South. While Michael Penix Jr. has shown some impressive signs of progress on this day he threw four interceptions and passed for a measly 125 yards. His passer rating was an embarrassing 12.0. Meanwhile on the other side, Tampa accomplished something that hasn’t been done I think I read since 1974 or 1978, they spent the entire game without completing a pass. That’s unthinkable. Baker Mayfield threw the ball just three times and never connected. But by deciding to run the ball instead, run the ball they did. Bucky Irving finished with 170 yards on the ground and Kenny Gainwell with 140. That’s crazy.

Cardinals 33 Cowboys 30. Go ahead and try to figure out the Cowboys. Good luck. With their fifth loss in eight games, they can’t get over the hurdle called the New York Giants who are in first place at 4-2-1. Dallas had a 10 point lead with about four minutes to play in the game and as Arizona tried to close the gap, the Cowboys kicked a field goal to make the game 30-24 with just over one minute left in regulation. Gardner Minshew, who replaced Jacoby Brissett who got benched mastered a comeback getting a touchdown pass to Michael Wilson with just six seconds left in the game and the Cards should have won it there with the extra point but it was not good sending the game into overtime. There, Minshew maneuvered his offense into field goal range to send the Cowboys to another defeat.

Bengals 43 Titans 36. No one saw this one coming. The Titans with just one win all season gave the Bengals all they could handle and pushed Cincinnati into overtime. There Tennessee just didn’t have the guns to earn a win and Joe Burrow squeaked into the end zone on a nine yard rush to win the game in OT. Titans quarterback Cam Ward had what might be his best game as a pro with 304 yards passing and two touchdown passes. He also ran the ball seven times for 41 yards. Joe Burrow on the other hand lit up the statistical scoreboard by throwing for 462 yards and 38 completions with five touchdown passes. He did, however, get picked off three times and was sacked three times. 

Lions 19 Vikings 15. Minnesota was the league’s last undefeated team. Then came Detroit. There go the zero.

Rams 24 Chargers 9. This is getting ridiculous out in Los Angeles with the Chargers. I heard on the radio today something about 0-17? I mean the ‘Bolts are not just losing every game they are getting spanked in many of them. Still, Jim Harbaugh sticks with Justin Herbert who threw two interceptions to the Rams and was sacked twice and through seven games he has been picked 10 times and sacked 23 times thus far. Harbaugh has Trey Lance waiting in the wings and for some crazy reason he is third on the depth chart behind rookie DJ Uiagalelei. The Rams are trying to keep pace with San Francisco but find themselves three games behind. 

Broncos 28 Chiefs 24. Kansas City was holding onto a 24-13 lead at the end of the third quarter but let it slip away. Two final quarter touchdowns sealed the deal for Denver and they take over first place in the AFC West. When the Chiefs were undefeated at 5-0 everyone was saying, “here they come again.” That talk has dimmed with two straight losses. 

Patriots 24 Dolphins 19. This was an expected result although maybe not such a close game. When your team is 1-6 it is time to try anything. Miami has nothing to lose at this point which turns them into a dangerous opponent for any other team. New England is still in range of catching the 6-1 Buffalo Bills as the Pats are two games behind. 

Commanders 27 Eagles 10. How is it that Philadelphia has lost six straight? All because Jalen Hurts is out for the season? How does Nick Sirianni stop the bleeding? The first place Giants are next followed by the red hot Steelers. They obviously won’t be returning to the post season so maybe it’s time to give Joe Milton a shot instead of playing Tanner McKee again.

Bears 34 Seahawks 17. Make no mistake, the 49ers best look over their shoulders at the emerging Bears. With Jeffery Simmons added to the defense and Caleb Williams finally hitting the level he was supposed to be on when drafted, this team is scary. The defending Super Bowl champions are heading down a path of not being able to defend their title.

Two teams get a bye this week the Steelers and Titans. Everyone else is on the field for Thursday, Sunday, and Monday night. Time to pick ‘em.