2022 NFL Week 8 Recap
Contributors
Santiago Leon – @sleon
Joe Toscano – @joeybagovdonuts
CAR 34 ATL 37
D.J. Moore hauled in a last-minute touchdown pass but ripped off his helmet, Carolina’s Eddy Piñeiro missed a pair of potential winning kicks, and the Atlanta Falcons escaped with a victory that was as improbable as their spot in the standings.
First place.
Younghoe Koo booted a 41-yard field goal in overtime after a silly penalty by Moore opened the door for the Falcons to pull off a 37-34 victory Sunday that maintained their hold on the NFC South lead.
Mariota, who threw three touchdown passes. Mariota was 20 of 28 for 253 yards with a pair of interceptions, his first coming on the second play of the game.
The Panthers wasted a three-touchdown performance by D’Onta Foreman, a career best from a guy who filled in brilliantly for injured running back Chuba Hubbard. Foreman, who had 118 yards on 26 carries, scored the last of his touchdowns on a 12-yard run with 3:06 to go, pushing the Panthers to a 31-28 lead.
CHI 29 DAL 49
Parsons got up and rumbled to the end zone on a fumble return for his first NFL touchdown after Chicago quarterback Justin Fields failed to touch him down, and the Cowboys beat the Bears 49-29 on Sunday.
Prescott threw for two touchdowns and ran for another score, and Tony Pollard had 131 yards rushing and a career-best three touchdowns with Ezekiel Elliott sidelined by a right knee injury.
Prescott was 21 of 27 for 250 yards with an interception in his second game back after missing five with a fractured right thumb.
The Chicago QB was 17 of 23 without an interception (one was negated by a roughing-the-passer penalty) for a career-best 120 passer rating. Both of the 100-plus ratings of his career have come in the past four games.
MIA 31 DET 27
Tagovailoa’s cool and calm progression led to his third touchdown pass — a go-ahead, 11-yarder to Mike Gesicki late in the third quarter that capped the Miami Dolphins’ rally from a double-digit, second-half deficit for a 31-27 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.
Tyreek Hill had 12 receptions for 188 yards and Jaylen Waddle had eight catches for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Hill and Waddle have 1,688 yards receiving combined, setting a Super Bowl era record for two teammates through the first eight games of a season.
Detroit scored on all five of its posssessons in the first half to lead 27-17 after scoring a total of six points in its previous two games.
Detroit’s Jared Goff was 27 of 37 for 321 yards with a touchdown. Goff would have had a second scoring pass at the end of the first half, but Josh Reynolds dropped a pass in the end zone and the Lions settled for a field goal. The four-point difference ended up being critical.
AZ 26 MIN 34
Za’Darius Smith had three sacks to help a fired-up defense hang on against Kyler Murray, and the Vikings beat the Cardinals 34-26 on Sunday for their fifth consecutive victory.
Dalvin Cook rushed for a season-high 111 yards and a touchdown, Kirk Cousins passed for two scores and ran for another, and the Vikings (6-1) remained unbeaten at home in coach Kevin O’Connell’s rookie year.
Murray passed for 326 yards and a season-high three touchdowns, including a one-handed grab for a score by DeAndre Hopkins with 47 seconds left in the second quarter, but he threw two second-half interceptions that proved costly for the Cardinals (3-5).
Hopkins had 12 catches for 159 yards in his second game back from a suspension, Rondale Moore had seven receptions for 92 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown, and Murray’s speed kept an active Vikings defense honest all game.
LV 0 NO 24
Kamara backed it up by scoring his first three touchdowns of the season, and New Orleans’ defense was dominant in a 24-0 victory over Las Vegas on Sunday.
Kamara converted short receptions into touchdowns of 36 and 16 yards. He also rushed for a 3-yard score.
Dalton was 22 of 30 for 229 yards and two TDs. His top receiver was Kamara, who had nine receptions for 96 yards to go with his 62 yards rushing.
Derek Carr was 15 of 26 for 101 yards with one interception and was sacked three times before being replaced by Jarrett Stidham late in the fourth quarter.
NE 22 NYJ 17
Belichick passed George Halas for second place on the NFL’s career victories list and the last-place New England Patriots continued their mastery of the surprising New York Jets by beating them for the 13th straight time, 22-17.
Devin McCourty had two of the Patriots’ three interceptions of Zach Wilson. Nick Folk kicked five field goals against his former team, and Belichick’s bunch slowed the Jets, who had won four in a row.
Mac Jones, who was benched against the Bears for rookie Bailey Zappe, finished 24 of 35 for 194 yards with a touchdown to Jakobi Meyers and an interception. Rhamondre Stevenson had 71 yards on 16 carries and caught seven passes for 72 yards.
After Greg Zuerlein was wide left on a potential tying 45-yarder early in the third, Folk made kicks of 49, 45 and 52 yards to make it 22-10 early in the fourth.
PIT 13 PHI 35
Hurts threw three touchdown passes to Brown in the first half and finished with 285 yards and four TDs overall as Philadelphia raced past Pittsburgh 35-13 on Sunday.
Brown had six receptions for 156 yards and helped the Eagles win their first seven games for only the second time in franchise history and first since 2004, when Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens led them to the Super Bowl. In that season, the Eagles were denied an 8-0 start with a loss to the Steelers.
Rookie Kenny Pickett showed more short-term growing pains for the Steelers and was 25 of 38 for 191 yards and an interception. Wide receiver Chase Claypool threw a 1-yard pass to fullback Derek Watt on a trick play in the first quarter for Pittsburgh’s only touchdown.
TEN 17 HOU 10
Derrick Henry dominated the Texans again, running for 219 yards and two touchdowns to carry the Tennessee Titans to a 17-10 win.
It was Henry’s fourth straight 200-yard game against the Texans, making him the first player in NFL history to have at least 150 yards and two touchdowns on the ground in four consecutive games against the same opponent. The 28-year-old has six 200-yard games in his career, tying O.J. Simpson and Adrian Peterson for the most in NFL history.
Henry’s big day gives him 75 career touchdowns (72 rushing and three receiving), passing Eddie George for most TDs in franchise history.
Henry has run for 892 yards and nine touchdowns combined in his last four games against Houston.
Mills was 17 of 29 for 152 yards with an interception and a touchdown, struggling more than usual with top receiver Nico Collins out with an injury.
Malik Willis, who was the 86th pick in the draft, threw for 55 yards with an interception as Tannehill sat out for the first time since the seventh game of the 2019 season.
WAS 17 IND 16
The Washington Commanders are heading home happy after a tight 17-16 win against the Indianapolis Colts Sunday afternoon at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The Commanders had a chance to win the game on the final drive, and Taylor Heinicke came in the clutch on a 9-play, 89-yard drive spanning 2:17 to take the one-point lead.
SF 31 LAR 14
Christian McCaffrey became the 11th player in NFL history with a rushing touchdown, a passing touchdown and a receiving touchdown in one game, and the 49ers extended their regular-season mastery over the Rams to four full years with a 31-14 victory over Los Angeles on Sunday.
McCaffrey threw that 34-yard TD pass in the first half. He caught a 9-yard TD pass from Garoppolo in the third quarter and then put the Niners (4-4) in control with a TD run early in the fourth. The running back finished with 94 yards rushing and 55 yards receiving in another brilliant all-around game highlighted by his second career scoring throw.
Garoppolo passed for 235 yards and two touchdowns as San Francisco scored 24 unanswered points to finish its eighth consecutive regular-season victory over its NFC West rival. McCaffrey last threw a TD pass for Carolina in 2018, and Niners coach Kyle Shanahan decided to try it again in only his second game with his new playmaker.
Matthew Stafford passed for 187 yards and scored his first rushing touchdown since 2016 for the defending Super Bowl champion Rams (3-4), who are under .500 for the third time — all occurring this season — in McVay’s career. Los Angeles has been shut out in the second half of three home losses this season.
NYG 13 SEA 27
Tyler Lockett had a steady stream of visitors on the Seahawks bench — coach Pete Carroll, DK Metcalf, Quandre Diggs — all reminding the standout wide receiver he’d get another chance after two uncharacteristic mistakes.
The opportunity emerged, and Lockett seized it, securing a 33-yard touchdown catch that provided the decisive points in Seattle’s 27-13 win over the New York Giants on Sunday.
Kenneth Walker finished with 51 yards on 18 carries. Smith was 23 of 34 for 212 yards and two touchdowns, including a 3-yard TD pass to DK Metcalf in the second quarter. Smith was 5 for 5 for 75 yards on the drive capped by Lockett’s scoring catch. Both Lockett (hamstring/oblique) and Metcalf (knee) were questionable entering the game.
GB 17 BUF 27
Stefon Diggs had a game-high six catches for 108 yards and ran a perfect route in making a 26-yard touchdown catch in a 27-17 win over over the Packers, who are off to their worst start eight games into a season under Aaron Rodgers.
Allen finished 13 of 25 for 218 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions. He added 49 yards rushing, including a powerful 20-yard gain on third-and-14 to set up his 1-yard TD pass to Dawson Knox that opened the scoring.
Rodgers finished 19 of 30 for 203 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. He was limited by an injury-depleted group of receivers. Green Bay was already missing veterans Allen Lazard (shoulder) and Randall Cobb (ankle), and then lost Christian Watson to a concussion in the first quarter.
PREDICTION
CIN-CLE
JT: CIN
HOU-PHI
JT: PHI
Santiago Leon is the Founder and CEO of the Sports Cast. He covers NFL, NBA, and world soccer. He’s also founder of sleon productions, which he specializes in technology and serves clients with solutions to make their business grow.
