It’s the eighth Sunday of the 2021 NFL season and we’re keeping you updated on all the action and biggest storylines throughout the day. The Week 8 slate has some fantastic matchups and storylines, and we’re here to help you watch it unfold. Check back often to find out everything you need to know.
Schedule
Thursday
Packers 24, Cardinals 21 (Recap)
Sunday
Panthers 19, Falcons 13 (Recap)
Eagles 44, Lions 6 (Takeaways)
Rams 38, Texans 22 (Recap)
Jets 34, Bengals 31 (Recap)
Bills 26, Dolphins 11 (Recap)
Steelers 15, Browns 10 (Takeaways)
49ers 33, Bears 22 (Takeaways)
Titans 34, Colts 31 (OT) (Takeaways)
Jaguars at Seahawks, (GameTracker)
Patriots at Chargers, (GameTracker)
Buccaneers at Saints, (GameTracker)
Washington at Broncos, (GameTracker)
Cowboys at Vikings, 8:20 p.m. ET (Preview)
Monday
Giants at Chiefs, 8:15 p.m. ET (Preview)
Pick-six puts Pats ahead
Justin Herbert has been outstanding over his first season and a half in the NFL, but he’ll definitely want his fourth-quarter throw against the Patriots back. With Jared Cook head still upfield, Herbert’s pass fell into the hands of a diving Adrian Phillips, who quickly got up and returned his second interception of the day 26 yards for the touchdown. A subsequent two-point conversion gave New England a 24-17 lead.
Heinicke drops a dime
Washington has finally found the end zone, and it came on a beautiful throw from Taylor Heinicke to DeAndre Carter from 20 yards out. All tied up in Denver!
Fullback TD
I can say with confidence that Trevor Siemian to Alex Armah will be the unlikeliest touchdown connection in Week 8. The 1-yard score, which gave the Saints a 16-7 lead, marked Siemian’s first touchdown pass since 2017 and Armah’s first-ever receiving score and first overall score since 2019.
Gordon dives for game’s first TD
Denver and Washington went without a touchdown for almost 29 minutes before Melvin Gordon caught a pass out of the backfield. beat a defender to the sideline, cut up the field and dived into the end zone.
Saints strip Brady
Despite Jameis Winston being carted off the field with a knee injury, the Saints have still hung tough against the Buccaneers on both sides of the ball. With Tampa Bay threatening to go ahead, Cameron Jordan not only stripped Brady but recovered the fumble. Then backup quarterback Trevor Siemian led the offense on a 10-play, 58-yard drive that ended with a short go-ahead field goal.
Broncos block FG
They should start calling Chris Blewitt “Chris Blockedit” because out of his three field goals since signing with Washington’s active roster Oct. 21, he’s had two of his attempts blocked. Shelby Harris got his hand on this one to keep Washington off the board.
DK snags TD
Geno Smith threw a laser toward the front-right pylon, and DK Metcalf, with a defender draped all over him, picked it out of the air and got both feet in bounds for the 16-yard touchdown. Great coverage, but a better throw and an even better catch.
Game-winning FG!
The Titans took a huge step toward winning the AFC South with a 34-31 win over the Colts in overtime. Randy Bullock was the hero, as his 44-yard field goal gave Tennessee the win and a three-game lead in the division.
Just because Russell Wilson is sidelined doesn’t mean Tyler Lockett stops making beautiful over-the-shoulder grabs. His latest came via Geno Smith for a 27-yard gain that set up the Seahawks’ first touchdown.
Jets lead!
All hope looked lost for the Jets down, 31-20, in the fourth quarter, but after a touchdown, interception from defensive end Carl Lawson, and another touchdown, and a Mike White catch for the two-point conversion, New York took a three-point lead with just under four minutes to play. The Jets held on to win, 34-31, as White threw for 405 yards.
Magical TD scramble
There was nothing, and I mean nothing, there for Justin Fields on fourth-and-one from the 49ers’ 22-yard line. But Fields is no ordinary quarterback, capable of making defenders look silly, and that’s what he did, avoiding several 49ers on his way to the end zone for by far the biggest highlight of his young NFL career.
Darnold takes massive hit
Sam Darnold has had tremendous success running the ball against the Falcons (team-high eight carries for 66 yards), but sometimes it’s just better to slide. Darnold tried to run through the Atlanta defense on his way to the end zone. Instead, he took a massive hit that nearly took his helmet off and resulted in him leaving the game.
Burrow, Higgins connect deep
We know Tee Higgins can make the most contested of catches, so the wide-open ones are almost automatic for the Clemson product. He got behind the defense late in the third quarter, and Burrow found him in stride for a massive pickup.
Scoop and score!
The Eagles deserve all the candy for how they’re playing, albeit against the winless Lions. Philadelphia tacked on yet another touchdown thanks to the defense, as Darius Slay picked up a fumble and waltzed across the goal line from 33 yards out.
Josh Allen has been discarding Dolphins defenders all afternoon, but through the majority of three quarters, he and the Bills have managed just a single field goal. That changed on first-and-goal from the eight, when Allen shed a face mask before looping a pass to a wide open Gabriel Davis.
3rd-and-20 = 83-yard gain?!
Facing 3rd-and-20 from their own 16-yard line, the 49ers were probably thinking, “Let’s just get this ball out to Deebo Samuel behind the line of scrimmage and let him help out our punter.” But Samuel is no ordinary receiver, so when he caught the ball, he stepped out of one tackle, weaved through the Chicago defense and was off to the races, bringing the ball down to the 1-yard line before finally being knocked out of bounce. San Francisco scored a few plays later to pull within a point.
Jets WRs making tough catches
Despite three first-half turnovers, the Jets only trail by three at halftime against the Bengals. That’s because of this sweet Braxton Berrios touchdown grab, which came moments after Keelan Cole’s catch of the year candidate was overturned.
The Colts should have had the ball in plus territory after an interception. Instead, Tyquan Lewis fumbled, the Titans recovered, and on the next play, A.J. Brown tied up the game with a 57-yard catch and run into the end zone.
Insane grab!
I don’t know how Tee Higgins came down with this pass down the right sideline in the second quarter against the Jets. Watch for yourself as Higgins set up the go-ahead score.
Eagles trickery
The Eagles dug into their bag of tricks in the second quarter against the Lions, as Kenneth Gainwell took the pitch and then threw back to Jalen Hurts, who hit a tightly covered Dallas Goedert for a sizable gain. It wasn’t pretty, but it was effective, and it led to Philadelphia’s second touchdown of the game to go ahead 17-0.
He’s here, he’s there, he’s everywhere. No it’s not Roy Kent; it’s Falcons weapon Cordarrelle Patterson, who’s been hurting defenses in a variety of ways this season. He scored his seventh touchdown of the year Sunday, catching a short pass from Matt Ryan and doing the rest for a 15-yard score.
Fields fires pretty TD
Bears rookie Justin Fields is making up for his miserable performance against the Buccaneers last week. He’s completed seven of his first eight passes for 72 yards and this smooth touchdown throw on the run to put Chicago ahead.
Wentz + Pittman = Titans’ nightmare
The Titans cruised against the Chiefs last week, but they’re in trouble early against their division rivals. A Ryan Tannehill interception set up the Colts inside the 10-yard line, and on the next play, Carson Wentz hit Michael Pittman Jr. for the duo’s second touchdown connection of the day.
Jets lead!
Hardly anyone gave the Jets a chance to hang with the Bengals after both teams’ performances last week, but New York came out firing in front of their home crowd this afternoon. Ten plays, 75 yards and rookie Michael Carter’s eight-yard touchdown has New York in front.
4th-down TD
The Colts know field goals will not be enough to beat the Titans, so on fourth-and-goal from the two-yard line, they kept their offense on the field. Their aggressiveness was rewarded, as Carson Wentz found Michael Pittman in the middle of the end zone for a score on the opening drive.
First-play fumble!
The Panthers are looking to get back into the win column after three straight defeats, but their Week 8 game against the Falcons started about as bad as it could have. Chuba Hubbard fumbled on the first play from scrimmage, allowing the Falcons to take over just outside of the red zone. They couldn’t do anything offensively but took the early lead on a field goal.
Saints, Colts look to close in on division leaders
The eye test casts the New Orleans Saints as an underwhelming team, but despite their offensive struggles (fourth-worst in the NFL in total offense), they sit just a game and a half behind the reigning Super Bowl champion Buccaneers with a chance to pull even closer this afternoon in front of their home crowd (4:25 p.m. ET on Fox, stream on fuboTV, try for free).
The Colts, who lost four of their first five games, have their own golden opportunity against the AFC South-leading Titans, coming off the most-impressive back-to-back wins (vs. Bills and Chiefs) of any team this year. With a healthy Carson Wentz and a nearly unstoppable Jonathan Taylor (5.5 yards per carry in 2021), Indianapolis will look to get back to .500 and climb within a game of Tennessee while splitting the season series (1 p.m. ET on CBS, stream on Paramount+).
The final crucial division battle comes in the AFC North, though neither team is vying for the top spot as their campaigns reach the midway point. A win for either the Cleveland Browns or Pittsburgh Steelers would allow them to stay within striking distance of the Ravens and Bengals, while a loss would cement their last-place standing, making it more and more likely that their playoff hopes would be tied to making the wild card. Expect a physical, low-scoring affair at the Dawg Pound at 1 p.m. ET on CBS (stream on Paramount+).
