Week 8 of the NFL saw the division leaders continue to win. We are almost halfway through the season, so teams who have a legitimate shot at the postseason are now separating themselves from the pretenders.
Detroit 31 Dallas 30 – Someone dusted off Tecmo Super Bowl and picked every play to go to Calvin Johnson. Megatron went off and nearly broke the NFL record for receiving as he caught 14 passes for a whopping 329 yards and a touchdown. Not to be outdone, the play of the game was in the waning seconds. With the ball at the 1 yard line and time ticking down, Detroit’s Matthew Stafford ran to the line to spike the ball. Seeing that the Cowboy linebackers were not paying attention, he took the snap and immediately dove over the line to cross the plan and tie the game before the extra point by David Akers sewed the game up. Watching Dez Bryant melt down on the sidelines was rather entertaining. Let this be a lesson for us all: Do not go on national media and claim to be superior to the best receiver in the league and not expect him to go on a rampage of destruction. Also, be ready to back your claim up.
Kansas City 23 Cleveland 17 – Kansas City continues to maintain their stake in the realm of the unbeaten as they held on to beat Cleveland. Despite taking 6 sacks, Alex Smith continues to be an efficient game manager and leading the Chiefs to victory. Smith went 24-36 for 225 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including a big 28 yard pass to Dexter McCluster that turned out to be the difference in the game. Jason Campbell got his first start for the Browns and did an okay job by going 22-36 for 293 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He did not throw any interceptions. The equalizer was the ineffective of the Browns’ running game. Kansas City will have another challenge to remain unbeaten as they host Baltimore next week.
Oakland 21 Pittsburgh 18 – This game started with a bang. Oakland’s Terrelle Pryor ran the ball 93 yards on the first play and the Raiders never looked back. For the record, that run by Pryor is a new NFL record for a QB keeper. Pryor only went 10-19 for 88 yards and 2 interceptions, but the Raiders did their damage on the ground. Pryor lead the way with 9 rushes for 106 yards and that opening score, while Darren McFadden ran 24 times for 73 yards and 2 touchdowns. Ben Roethlisberger went 29-45 for 275 yards with a score and 2 picks, but with Le’Veon Bell leading the rushing attack for the Steelers and only averaging 1.8 yards a carry, it was definitely going to be an uphill battle. It does not help when Pittsburgh kicker Shaun Suisham missed 2 field goals. This win was Oakland’s first after coming off the bye week since 2002.
New York Giants 15 Philadelphia 7 – No touchdowns, no problem. Despite never reaching the end zone, New York was able to put together 5 Josh Brown field goals en route to their 2nd win of the season. Despite Michael Vick starting the game, most of this game was in Matt Barkley’s hands and it didn’t go well. LeSean McCoy wasn’t able to do much and the Giants defense was on point. Eli Manning went another game without throwing an interception by going 25-39 for 246 yards. Josh Brown was perfect, including 3 kicks from over yards out. If you have him on your fantasy team: jackpot.
Arizona 27 Atlanta 13 – The Falcons continue to fall further and further down the rabbit hole. This game began to get away from Atlanta in the 2nd quarter when Arizona’s Andre Ellington ran the ball for 80 yards and a touchdown. Ellington ended up finishing with 15 rushes for 154 yards. Carson Palmer only went 13-18 for 172 yards with 2 touchdowns and an interception, but he didn’t have to do much with the Falcons continuing to throw opportunities away. Matt Ryan went 34-61 for 301 yards with a score and a whopping 4 interceptions. The Atlanta running corps went a combined 13 attempts for 14 yards. Add in Ryan’s single carry for 13 yards and you have a horrible day. The Falcons have fallen to 2-5 and the thought of playoffs seem to keep getting further and further away.
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Host of The College Cram, NFL and NCAA writer on the National Gridiron Network
