Week 8 - Sunday

'13 Seattle (6-1) vs. '98 Atlanta (3-4)

The top team from the NFC West took on the bottom team from the NFC South, in what was expected to be a great game. 2 explosive offenses, 2 unforgiving defenses - all met up to...well cause a big sloppy mess.

Russell Wilson looked good on the day, hitting 65% of his throws and spreading 253 yards across 9 receivers. But his inability to get into the endzone, coupled with Marshawn Lynch's inability to run anywhere, kept the Seahawks from coming up with anything more than a FG on the day.

The Atlanta defense had 6 sacks on the day against Wilson, making his job harder. But it was Chandler's laser efficiency and 3 TD's, with just over 220 yards passing, that proved deadliest for the Seahawks. Jamal Anderson also supported with 134 yards on the day.

So Seattle takes their first loss on the road, breaking their 6 game win streak and Atlanta is now 3-1 at home. Final score Atlanta 38, Seattle 3

'17 Philadelphia (3-4) vs. '90 Buffalo (1-5)

The Eagles traveled to Buffalo to take on a struggling Bills team. With over 80,000 fans in the stadium, the Bills offense exploded early on, and Thurman Thomas took in the 1st score to put the Bills up 7-0.

Carson Wentz later retaliated with a quick throw to Ertz for the tie. But that was the last glimmer of hope the Eagles would see. Thurman Thomas, with a whopping 5 total TD's on the day, would get the next 3 of those in the first half alone before Philadelphia would find a way to score.

Down 28-13 at half, the Eagles would get a 3rd TD in the 3rd quarter on a 5 yard run by Blount, their 8 point deficit would get destroyed in the 4th quarter as Jim Kelly continued to break down the Philadelphia secondary.

Kelly only had 170 passing yards on the day, just slightly less more than Thomas's 162 yards and a longest of 50. But it was Kelly's ability to throw off the Eagles with short passes that helped them score big, as the Bills take home the win 42-27.

'79 San Diego (6-1) vs. '85 Chicago (5-2)

The Chargers clash against the Bears at Soldier field with almost 65,000 in attendance. Both teams are among the best in the league right now, so both teams have lots on the line.

But if there  was any sign the Chargers needed that they might have some trouble, Willie Gault gave it to them by taking the opening kickoff 93 yards to put the first 7 points on the board.

In fact, Chicago would get the next 2 scores on Butler FG's to go up 13-0. San Diego fought back to get within 3 points before the half, but Suhey ran in a for a score before the half, rubbing more salt on the wounds for the Chargers.

In the 2nd half, the Chargers still struggled to score, but their D picked up to keep Chicago at bay a bit more. Ultimately, their efforts weren't enough as the Bears win 30-17. Both teams with great offense on the day, throwing over 200 yards and rushing for 100 or more. But the Bears simply played better football.

'86 NY Giants (2-5) vs. '91 Detroit (2-4)

A Lions team that is hot off a big win last week defended their home at the Pontiac Silverdome against the Giants. Both teams needed a miracle to find themselves in the playoffs, and Detroit may have found it in Barry Sanders' performance, running for 141 yards and 3 TD's, and grabbing a 4th TD on an easy toss from Kramer.

Simms had an unusually tough time passing against Detroit, only hitting half his marks for 188 yards and getting picked not once, not twice, but 3 times. If Detroit's defense keeps this up, they'll have a shot at many more wins.

Detroit with the big 41-10 over the Giants.

The Lions now have a winning record against the Conference and The Giants have yet to win on the road.

'74 Oakland (4-2) vs. '12 Houston (3-4)

The Texans hosted the Riaders with almost 70,000 fans in attendance at NRG Stadium.  After a scoreless first quarter, Houston broke down the Raiders with a Foster TD. Later, they'd settle for a 28 yard FG to go to half 10-0. Oakland continued fighting for yardage, but couldn't come up with anything until about 3 minutes left in Q3, settling just for a FG.

The Texans D came up huge, shutting down 13 of 16 3rd-down conversions for Oakland. Houston wins 17-3.

'68 NY Jets (4-2) vs. '99 Jacksonville (7-0)

The Jets took to the road to face the undefeated Jaguars. With the heavy competition in their division, they needed a win just to have a shot at the top. The Jaguars, of course, looked to establish their dominance so far.

The Jets had a big 1st half, as their defense held off the Jaguars, and Namath was able to fire off some great passes. Maynard took a 14 yard throw, and later Snell was setup for a nice 5 yard run.

Jacksonville worked hard to get on the board, but still somehow settled for just a FG before the Jets would again attack the Jaguars defense, getting another TD before the half.

At 21-3, things looked bad for the Jags, but looked even worse when they were forced to settle for a FG on 2 back-to-back drives in the last 2 minutes of the half. This critical defensive effort by NY is what helped edge them into the W column after holding Jacksonville all 2nd half.

Both teams did good on Offense with Namath tossing up 286 yards and Brunell 201. But the Jets D really gets the credit here, as the Jaguars just couldn't find their way into the end zone.

And so the Jaguars undefeated streak ends as the Jets win 29-7.

Jacksonville's 7 game win streak remains the longest in the league. The Jets, now 5-2, paint a target on their back as they join several other AFC teams with 5 wins.

'15 Arizona (4-3) vs. '09 New Orleans (4-3)

The Superdome saw a super showdown against 2 well matched teams as the Saints faced off against the Cardinals. Both teams known for their strong defense and strong passing game.

New Orleans literally ran up the 1st quarter, bringing in 2 TD's while holding Arizona at bay. The 2nd quarter was more stale, but as the half loomed near, the Cardinals were able to put 3 on the board.

In the 2nd half, Brees continued to fly by the Cardinals defense, throwing for 261 yards all game and hitting 74% of his throws. Palmer, on the other hand, just couldn't find a target, only completing 8 throws for 64 yards all day. Both teams had over 150 rushing yards, but ultimately Arizona loses 34-16.

With this win, the Saints remain the only NFC team that is undefeated against the conference.

'02 Tampa Bay (3-3) vs. '08 Tennessee (4-3)

The Titans hosted the Buccaneers in an AFC-NFC showdown at Nissan Stadium. The 1st half saw both teams fight for control, and the Titans took it by just 1 point, heading to half 10-9, as Johnson had the only TD of the game that far.

The 2nd half would look very different, as the usually active Tampa defense seemed to break down. In particular, it was a critical 47 yarder by Collins to Gage with 1:44 on the 3rd quarter that gave Tennessee some breathing room.

Brad Johnson wouldn't come up with his first TD throw until late in the 4th quarter, finding Keyshawn for an 11 yard throw. But Tennessee, with 136 rushing yards on the day, put up another TD as Johnson ran 8 yards just inside the 2 minute warning.

Where Tennessee came up big this game was with their general ability to keep Atlanta's rushing game at bay. So Tennessee wins 27-15, and Tampa Bay, despite a great start to the season, now takes their 3rd straight loss.

'73 Los Angeles (2-5) vs. '88 Cincinnati (3-4)

Cincinnati headed to Los Angeles to take on the Rams. The Bengals, fresh off a win last week, are looking to get a 50% record, while Los Angeles struggles to find another win.

Los Angeles got off to a good start, holding the Bengals off and putting 6 points on the board with 2 FG's, one from 49 yards. But on the last play of the 1st quarter, Esiason hit McGee for a 37 yard TD.

The 2nd quarter saw both offenses fighting, but it was special teams that came up big for Cincinnati, as Hillary took a punt return 67 yards to give Cincinnati an 8 point lead. The Rams would close the gap some with a FG before half, but it's the last action each offense would see for a while. Both defenses came on strong, and the 2nd half was mostly scoreless.

The Bengals go up to 4-4 by a final score of 17-9. Los Angeles rushed for over 160 yards, but only came up with 39 yards passing on just 8 completions from Hadly. Cincinnati did only slightly better, making the return by Hillary the crucial play for the Bengals and for the game.

'15 Carolina (4-2) vs. '89 San Francisco (0-6)

The '49ers pick up their first win of the season at home against what has been a powerful Panthers team. We've seen their performance improve in recent weeks, but this week they come up big, finding a way to rack up 190 rush yards total to supplement Montana's pass attack.

Roger Craig was simply a beast for the day, cranking out 154 yards for a 5.4 average and 2 TD's. This is the Roger Craig SF has needed all season. The red and gold Defense also came up big against the run for Carolina, holding them to just 61 yards.

Both teams did great on the pass attack, with Montana's efficiency balanced by low yardage, save for a huge 50 yard toss to John Taylor. Newton on the other hand threw more, racking up 258 yards and 2 TD's. Olson was the star receiver on the day for the Panthers with 138 yards.

San Francisco grabs their first win, 31-17.

'68 Colts (2-4) vs. '97 Broncos (1-6)

Memorial Stadium hosted 2 teams that have come up short more times than they'd like. Baltimore got off to a great start, scoring 10 points in the first half of the 1st quarter.  But Elway brought the Broncos back to tie, with a pass to Sharpe first, and a quick turnover leading to a FG almost a minute later.

The Colts turned on the run game against an unprepared Broncos team, grabbing 2 quick scores before the half to take a huge lead over Denver. From there, Denver just couldn't recover in the 2nd half, as the Colts D held the Broncos to just a FG. But just as the Broncos wised up to the run, Baltimore opened up their passing game to take a larger lead.

The final nail in the coffin came late in 4th quarter when Boyd took a 3rd pick off Elway at the 39 and ran all the way for a score.  Colts pick up a huge win here, 38-13.

Denver simply had the opportunities, but too many turnovers sealed their fate. Meanwhile Matte had a big day for the colts with 123 rushing yards, as many as Denver had all day combined.

'07 New England (5-2) vs. '69 Cleveland (1-5)

In one of the only predictable games of the day, 66,000 Patriots fans showed up to Gilette Stadium to watch New England take on Cleveland. The Browns have struggled all year, and today's game was no exception. With just 147 total yards on offense, it was clear Belichik knew just how to direct his team to stop Nelsen and company. And Cleveland's defense just didn't even show up.

Everyone on New England's team had fun,with Maroney running over 100 yards on the day but New England totaling 230 yards rushing, and 5 different carriers crossing the goal line. Coupled with 318 passing yards, it's not hard to see how New England ended up taking home a huge win, 52-7.

Gostkowski remains perfect in kicking, and NE converted 11 of 13 times on 3rd down.

'62 Green Bay (5-2) vs. '69 Kansas City (2-5)

Green Bay traveled to Kansas City in what is close to a Super Bowl 1 rematch. The Chiefs have yet to win at home, but GB is only 50% on the road. Both defenses have been spectacular, and both teams have had offenses that have been able to balance a strong rush attack with good passing.

So it came a surprise to many watching the game that this was not a game of offense, but a game of defense and special teams.

Five minutes into the game, Robinson picked off Starr and went 40 yards for the score, giving the Chiefs an early lead. The rest of the half would be mostly a standstill, until 2 minutes were left on the clock. The Packers were driving close to the end zone, and just when Starr took his chances with another toss, Kearney picked off the throw and took it 87 yards for another TD.

The first Super Bowl champs kept fighting in the 3rd quarter, and Green Bay was able to rely on Moore as they got in the red zone, who took a carry 18 yards for a score. But if there was any hope for Green Bay, it was crushed on the following kick return, as they failed to stop McVea, who ran 86 yards for KC's 3rd TD of the day.

Green Bay would get in the end zone again on their running game, but the Chiefs were unstoppable. The Packers had 179 yards rushing and 184 yards passing, with Jim Taylor breaking 100 on the day. Starr, however, was picked off a total of 5 times on the day, which KC clearly capitalized on. No doubt without that this would have gone a much different direction.

So the Chiefs win 28-17, picking up their first win at home.. Green Bay has now lost 2 in a row after a 5 game win streak.

Conclusion

We're now almost halfway through the season and have already seen some tremendous upsets, as nobody is undefeated in the league, but each team's strengths and weaknesses are on display in full force.

With that, we have one more game for week 8 tomorrow night, and we'll take a look at league standings and stats for our halfway point.