Each week of the NFL season brings a host of new questions… and answers some old ones, too. Let’s recap what we learned in week 8… and what we’ll be wondering about in week 9 and beyond.
ANSWERED: Jayden Daniels is the truth
We always want to believe that we’re seeing generational greatness the moment it happens, and this week I can confidently say that we have indeed seen an NFL highlight that we will see in reruns for as long as there is an NFL:
With one Hail (to the Commanders) Mary, Jayden Daniels reversed the fate and perception of an entire franchise, wiped away the last stains of the Daniel Snyder era and established himself as one of the must-watch QBs of his generation. Playing with sore ribs, Daniels threw for a tidy 326 yards – including 75 in the final 12 seconds and 52 on that final play. Now That is a game-winning ride.
Everything about this moment – from defeat to victory, the cinematic arc of football, the explosion of the home crowd, even Tyrique Stevenson – this is as perfect as football can be. The euphoria, the elation – when someone tries to denigrate sports with one of those condescending little “sports ball” snails, don’t get angry, just feel a little sorry for them that they will never experience this kind of unmitigated joy in their lives.
Oh, and apologies to Bears fans. But if the tortured Washington franchise can get a moment like this, yours will too.
QUESTION: Could Jameis Winston … be a franchise savior?
Look, literally anything in Cleveland would have been better than the ineffective, expensive quarterback play the Browns got from Deshaun Watson this season. But when noted madman Jameis Winston shows up, you know something memorable will happen somehow, even before the game starts:
Lo and behold, Winston threw for 334 yards and three touchdowns – with no interceptions! – to lead Cleveland to an upset of the mighty Ravens. Even by the NFL’s Any Given Sunday standards, this might have been the Any-Given-Sundayest game of the year, a team that had shown no discernible pulse all season by punching AFC North’s bully in the face .
Is it sustainable? Probably not; Winston will likely come back and throw three INTs and no TDs. Could Winston lead the Browns to the playoffs? No; only Tennessee has a worse record in the conference.
QUESTION: Is Kirk Cousins ready to lead the Falcons on the run?
There was a lot of legitimate skepticism about the Falcons’ future-altering plan to go all-in on Kirk Cousins. An underperforming franchise taking on an underperforming quarterback? What could go right? A lot so far: The Falcons are now two steps forward, one step back, and Sunday against the Bucs was definitely forward movement.
A statement win against the only real division challenger, capped by the kind of last-game defensive play the Falcons have botched too often… these are the moments that add up to something more. Cousins threw four more touchdowns on Sunday, and Raheem Morris’ regime appears more willing to utilize the Falcons’ full range of offensive weapons. This team isn’t at Detroit’s level yet, but it’s more than good enough to make some noise in the playoffs.
The immediate future favors the Falcons; Atlanta faces Dallas, New Orleans and Denver before the break, while Tampa Bay gets Kansas City and San Francisco before the break. That’s a good opportunity for Atlanta to put even more breathing room between itself and the Bucs, more time for Cousins and the offense to settle into a winning rhythm. Let’s see if it goes through.
ANSWERED: Whether the sun will set on the Bengals in 2024
It’s too early to close the door on any team outside of Tennessee, Carolina and the two New Jersey teams, but after Sunday’s loss to the Eagles, the Bengals already feel like they’re laying out their clothes for the holidays out of season. If your leading rusher has 32 yards and your leading receiver has 73 yards, your offense isn’t working. And if you’re up 17 with 4:16 left in the third quarter and then lose 37-17, your defense isn’t working either.
The Bengals are now 0-4 at home, 3-5 overall, and their only wins are against Carolina, Cleveland and the Giants – not exactly a trio of playoff-bound teams. “We’re not good enough,” Joe Burrow said after Sunday’s loss. “We’re not good enough, so we have to get better.” If only it were that easy.
QUESTION: When is a kick a win?
Sometimes when the season is almost over, you enjoy the little things… you know, like a good punt. Check out this beauty from Logan Cooke of the Jaguars:
That was a 73-yard boomer that hit the 10-yard line and skipped over at the 1, trapping the Packers deep in their own territory. It’s the punt version of a perfect approach in golf, 300 yards for a kick-in eagle. The Packers had a three-and-out on the next series, but unfortunately the Jaguars jaguared the end of the game, allowing a last-minute drive that led to a game-winning field goal in the final second. Jacksonville is 2-6 and four games ahead of the division lead, but hey, at least the kicking game is good.
ANSWER: Fine, National Tight End Day is a thing
Have you ever noticed how “National Donut Day” seems to come every six weeks? Social media loves these kinds of made-up holidays, moments when you can debate pizza toppings on National Pizza Day or show love to your siblings on National Siblings Day. These are not sacred dates like Christmas or Halloween; they are purely marketing concoctions, and they work because we enjoy them.
The NFL has never had a trend it couldn’t adopt, and now we have National Tight End Day, a made-up holiday that the league and its broadcast partners gleefully shoved in our faces all day Sunday. But here’s the strange thing: the tight ends actually went up! Tight Ends scored 16 touchdowns on 177 receptions on Sunday, the most in league history. Well, it’s almost as if the NFL had a script and forced its teams to follow it!
Hey, wait a minute…
Anyway, now that the door to made-up holidays has been opened, we’re going to get weird. Let’s have a National Overmatched Backup Quarterback Day, a National Surly Postgame Wide Receiver Day, and a National Don’t Put Up Big Numbers While on My Fantasy Bench Day. Everything. Let’s do it!
