There wasn't a ton of drama and intrigue in Week 8 of the NFL season, but sometimes that's what it takes to draw some hard lines in the sand about who is for real and who is not as the season reaches its halfway point.
The week opened with a blowout on Thursday night, when the Minnesota Vikings got crushed 37-10 by the Los Angeles Chargers. Sunday followed suit with just one game that finished with a final margin of one score between the Bengals and the Jets.
Just because there wasn't a classic Witching Hour on Sunday afternoon doesn't mean there aren't a lot of important takeaways to take from the games. Some of the teams that got hit with a reality check on Sunday headline the list of losers from Week 8.
Vikings get humbled by Chargers in prime time
The Minnesota Vikings came into the year with high expectations despite an uncertain quarterback situation. Kevin O'Connell's squad boasts one of the most talented rosters in the league, but it turns out the QB situation has doomed them in 2025.
Things came to a head on Thursday night in prime time, as the Vikings were blown out by the Chargers 37-10 with the whole country watching. After an Isaiah Rodgers pick-six was called back on the first drive of the game, nothing went right for the Vikings as they fell to 3-4 on the season with a tough stretch coming up.
Carson Wentz has played poorly since taking over for the injured JJ McCarthy, and now he is out for the season with a shoulder injury. Now, McCarthy is returning, but he also didn't look great earlier in the season. The rest of the ream is either banged up or underperforming, and it is starting to look more and more like a lost season in Minnesota.
The bad Falcons show up… again
So far this season, there has been the good Falcons and the bad Falcons. The bad Falcons have been especially ugly at times, suffering a blowout loss to the Panthers and a lifeless performance against the shorthanded 49ers. Sunday's showing, a 34-10 blowout loss at home against what's left of the Dolphins, takes the cake.
Even with Michael Penix Jr. sidelined with an injury, the Falcons still should have been able to move the ball with Kirk Cousins at quarterback against one of the worst defenses in the league against the run and the worst unit in football against the pass. That was not the case, however, as Atlanta finished with the fifth-lowest EPA per play of the week on offense.
The running game was by far the most disappointing part of the game. The Falcons, normally a great running team, finished below only the Vikings with a negative-0.65 EPA per rush mark in Week 8. Now, Atlanta is sitting at 3-4 with a tough game against the Patriots coming up and its playoff hopes in serious jeopardy.
Joe Flacco brings back the full Bengals experience
Joe Flacco was a revelation for the Bengals in his second start since being traded from the Browns, picking up an improbable prime time win over the Steelers. Flacco seemingly revived the Bengals' offense, including the fantasy football stock of Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, giving fans optimism that Cincy could stay in the division hunt with Joe Burrow out of the lineup.
Unfortunately for the Bengals, the addition of Flacco has restored the full Bengals experience. Flacco, Chase and company carved up a putrid Jets defense on Sunday, but Justin Fields, Breece Hall and company had no trouble scoring on a terrible Cincinnati defense in a 39-38 win to get New York on the board this season.
Sunday looked like so many Bengals losses over the years, no matter who was at quarterback. Chase popped off and was the engine of the offense and Tee Higgins hit a big-play touchdown, but the defense let them down in what ended up being a very frustrating loss.
In fact, the Jets finished the week with a top-five mark in both overall EPA per play and EPA per pass. Not bad for a team whose owner was at war with the starting quarterback during the week.
Panthers finally get to the test and leave with a big fat F
The Carolina Panthers were one of the surprises of the league through seven weeks and entered Week 8 sitting at 4-3, right in the mix in the NFC playoff picture. However, it was easy to pick apart some of those wins. Carolina beat the Jets, it beat up a terrible Cowboys defense, and it beat the dreadful Dolphins.
On Sunday, Carolina faced a big test against the Buffalo Bills. James Cook ran wild for 216 yards and the Bills crushed Carolina 40-9 in a clash of two teams that are clearly on different levels.
The Panthers get somewhat of a pass for this loss because Bryce Young was out and Andy Dalton played terribly, including a couple of shocking rookie mistakes, but Carolina was exposed on every level on both sides of the ball in this game. If a Week 9 matchup with the Packers goes wrong on top of this and the Panthers drop to 4-5, it might be time to start looking at mock drafts in Carolina.
