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    • Aaron Rodgers, the Jets look ready
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    Aaron Rodgers, the Jets look ready

    Kathleen William Posted on

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    Week 8 in the NFL saw a victorious Hail Mary in the afternoon, a wild conclusion to the first few games that pitted a Super Bowl contender (Baltimore Ravens) against a team that had only one win before (Browns) and an NFC The contender (Philadelphia Eagles) records another positive performance and returns to form.

    And yet one of the bigger storylines of the day is the utter implosion of the Aaron-Rodgers-led New York Jets, who are in freefall and now faced with the question of which direction the team should take, with another rebuild potentially in store.

    Here are the winners and losers from Week 8 on Sunday.

    WINNER

    Commanders require a bit of luck, but can prevail despite inefficiency

    Washington went 0-3 in the red zone and didn't score a touchdown in its only goal-to-go situation against the Chicago Bears. The Commanders had to settle for field goals the entire game and only scored a touchdown on the final play, a 52-yard Hail Mary touchdown that won the game 18-15.

    But despite the offensive inefficiency, the Commanders (6-2) went hard against Chicago, limiting the Bears' conversions to just 2 of 12 third downs and keeping rookie Caleb Williams under control; Williams completed just 10 of 24 passes (41.7%) for 131 yards. Williams was effective on the ground and Washington benefited massively from a bizarre play call in which the Bears passed the ball to backup center Doug Kramer Jr. after a third-and-goal from the one, resulting in a fumble, but Washington (6). – 2) is now the No. 2 seed in the NFC and has shown it can win even when it doesn't play cleanly.

    Fully healthy, Philadelphia's offense is back in balance

    The Eagles have fully embraced balance as part of their offensive identity and have produced excellent results. After missing time, receivers AJ Brown (84 yards in Sunday's 37-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals) and DeVonta Smith (85 yards and a touchdown) have brought consistency to Philadelphia's passing attack, and quarterback Jalen Hurts is playing more decisively.

    This has also opened up more opportunities for the rushing game, which continues to shine under Saquon Barkley. The Eagles (5-3) have won three straight and have scored their last 17 points against the Bengals. The tush push continues to be almost unstoppable and the Eagles have not lost a single ball during their winning streak.

    The Cardinals are turning the corner

    Arizona was a much-improved team in the second season of Jonathan Gannon's tenure as head coach. And in a 28-27 comeback win against the Miami Dolphins, the Cardinals showed how difficult they can be to defend.

    Kyler Murray killed the Dolphins with precision crossing the route, finding rookie Marvin Harrison Jr. and tight end Trey McBride. It was a smart game-planning move; Miami's secondary lacks elite speed and hasn't been able to keep up with Arizona's targets on free releases. Arizona (4-4) is currently in first place in the NFC West thanks to tiebreakers. Nevertheless, it is clear that the Cardinals are an up-and-coming team that is developing positive momentum.

    In the weak AFC East, Bills are running away with (another) division title

    The AFC has 16 teams. Two teams in the AFC East, the Patriots and the Jets, are tied at 2-6 and are currently in 14th placeTh and 15Th Seeds in the conference. The 2-5 Dolphins aren't much better off in the Group of 10. That means the 6-2 Bills are almost certain to clinch another division title, which would be their fifth in a row, after a 31-10 win over the Seahawks.

    Nevertheless, none of Buffalo's six wins came against teams that currently have a winning record. In fact, the overall record of opponents the Bills have defeated is 15-31 (.326). On one hand, the Bills can't control which teams are on their schedule. On the other hand, Buffalo needs to prove it can consistently beat the tougher opponents it faces, with two losses coming against the Ravens and Texans. A four-game stretch starting in Week 11 that includes games against the Chiefs (7-0), 49ers (4-4) and Lions (6-1) should be telling.

    LOSER

    This Jets season was a dismal failure

    And New York, the five-time loser in a row, has only itself to blame. This backfires spectacularly when you double (triple?). The Jets went all in on this Aaron Rodgers rebuild, surrounding him with old friends – with the emphasis on old in some cases – meaning the Jets (2-6) are facing another rebuild without one there is a clear plan for the future.

    Rodgers will turn 41 in just over a month. He is under contract for next season. Frankly, the Jets should consider an exit. That receiving corps, that offense, the shape of the coaching staff — everything was done to appease Rodgers, and his play just wasn't nearly as expensive as those investments. It's time to start asking if Rodgers will be signed for another season. In any case, the Jets should focus entirely on securing a franchise quarterback in the draft.

    The Cowboys' inability to run is dragging Dallas into the NFC abyss

    The Cowboys entered Sunday already ranked last in the NFL in rushing offense, as the only team averaging fewer than 80 yards per game on the ground. With running back Rico Dowdle sidelined against the 49ers, the Cowboys hoped that Ezekiel Elliott and Dalvin Cook, the latter activated off the practice squad, would be able to maintain consistent production in the ground game.

    Dallas ran for 56 yards on 19 carries, just 2.9 yards per attempt. In comparison, San Francisco ran for 223 yards on 36 attempts. When there is no threat of a competent rushing game, Dallas' offense becomes predictable and puts tremendous pressure on Dak Prescott. Worse, the Cowboys are a poorly constructed offense whose No. 2 and No. 3 receivers are 6-foot-1 and 5-foot-9, respectively. The Cowboys (3-4) fell to the bottom quarter of the NFC standings. They look like a team heading into a transition-filled offseason.

    The Ravens let themselves down once again

    It seems that every season, Jon Harbaugh's Ravens suffer an inexplicable disappointment that calls their status as a legitimate contender into question. This year it was against a Browns team that entered Sunday with a win and started Jameis Winston at quarterback.

    In these disappointments, Baltimore (5-3) incomprehensibly violates the very things on which they build their identity. The Ravens have the NFL's strongest rushing offense; Against the Browns, Baltimore ran the ball 21 times. Derrick Henry, who averaged 6.6 yards per carry against Cleveland, only received 11 carries. Baltimore was therefore constantly faced with third-and-longs and only converted two of ten third-down attempts. All-Pro safety Kyle Hamilton dropped a game-winning interception. On the next play, Winston threw a game-winning 38-yard touchdown after safety Eddie Jackson had a loss in coverage. The Ravens' receivers dropped passes all game long.

    Shane Steichen becomes mindlessly aggressive

    This is when situational coaching costs teams games. Against the Texans, the Colts kept the ball at their own 12-yard line late in the first half – with 34 seconds to play, to be precise. The game ended in a tie and the Colts were poised to get the ball back early in the third quarter. The obvious sensible move was to kneel down, regroup and start the second half strongly.

    Instead, coach Shane Steichen opted for a pass play on a third-and-3 that Texans safety Jalen Pitre intercepted. This is despite Jonathan Taylor, a 2021 All-Pro, being there as a running back. On the next play, the Texans scored a touchdown. Anthony Richardson obviously deserves blame for telegraphing the pass, but Steichen should never have put his young quarterback in that position. To put it simply, the Colts had nothing to gain from this passing game.

    Indianapolis (4-4) would lose the game by three points.

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    Kathleen William
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