Before we say goodbye to Week 8 for good, let’s take a look back at what happened for a quick rundown of what happened, what was learned and the injuries that matter. It was also the eve of the trade deadline, so let’s see happened and who is looking to upgrade their team.
Here’s what we learned, from the week that was Week 7.
AFC East
The division got tighter as the Patriots pulled to a game behind the Jets and Dolphins who are tied now. None of them gained ground on the Bills but that was to be expected. It’s possible that at least one wild card team comes out of the East, maybe two.
Buffalo Bills – Hand it to the Packers, they didn’t let this loss swell to embarrassing proportions, but the Bills never gave up the lead in the game. Josh Allen did throw two touchdowns but also threw two picks. Stefon Diggs let his 108 yards and a touchdown finish whatever smack that was started by Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander. Given the way the Bills dominated the first three quarters, you’d have expected a much bigger difference in the scoreboard, but they were never threatened in the game.
Miami Dolphins – If you were watching the Dolphins’ comeback win over the Lions you couldn’t help but think, “How are they losing to the Lions by this much!?” Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle were huge; even Mike Gesicki scored a touchdown. Raheem Mostert underperformed but Tua Tagovailoa came through with a very good performance, throwing 382 yards and three touchdowns.
New England Patriots – It was Mac Jones and not Bailey Zappe to make the start and he got this offense far and often enough to lineup for Nick Folk to make five field goals in eluding a 52-yarder. This is exactly how Jones got the Patriots in the win column several times last year and it was a huge come from behind win. Rhamondre Stevenson accumulated 143 total yards and Jakobi Meyers caught nine passes, including one to score the only touchdown for the Patriots.
New York Jets – For one half of football, it didn’t matter that the Jets didn’t have Breece Hall. But in the second half, they could have used his running. The Jets could only gain 51 yards on the ground so they took to the air instead. Zach Wilson completed 20-of-41 passes for 355 yards. He found Tyler Conklin twice for touchdowns and Garrett Wilson for 115 yards. Where Wilson went bad was throwing three interceptions killing potential scoring drives.
