This year our writers are teaming up to bring you weekly football coverage! Each week, a few of our writers will be sharing their thoughts and highlights from games they’ve watched. Who were the winners this week? Who remains undefeated? Which team will come out victorious at the end of the 2013-2014 season?
We’ve rolled into the halfway point of the NFL’s season and while every team has either played eight games or will play their eighth this Sunday, there’s no denying that the Chiefs are on fire! They have truly done it again! The games have gotten tight week after week but the Kansas City Chiefs have gone from worst to first, and are still undefeated with a record of 8-0. There is a ton to like about the Kansas City Chiefs this season and while the team is garnering new fans and an admirable appreciation from one of our own writers new to the sport, the Chiefs lead the league with defense against points, with allowing just 12.3 points per game. That is better than last season’s leader, the Seattle Seahawks who allowed 15.3 per game. The Chiefs are this year’s best with being first in sacks and 12+ turnovers. If we were to look back to his time with the 49ers, it’s evident QB Alex Smith hasn’t lost a game since playing as starter QB in more than a year.
With Week 8 behind us, we understand that in order to be a contender in this league you must win games and be consistent. All the teams have faced adversity through injuries, large deficits, and more but it’s how they have responded that defines them most. So far, the elite teams who are possible contenders for Super Bowl status have created quite a storm and winning games as proof of that merit. This past week we saw the Saints win at home, while the Patriots picked themselves up, and the Broncos ripped off 38 points against the Redskins, the Packers playing it close with the Vikings, and the Bengals beating the Jets down to a pulp. Ouch!
How did Week 8 come off though? Our writers, Tania Hussain and Andrew Rogers team up and share some highlights from their favorite games and what they thought of the plays. Do you agree with them?
Buffalo Bills at New Orleans Saints
Image Credit: NFL/Getty Images
Saints, 35-17
Andrew:
Ahhh. It felt so good to have my team back this week and, as usual, they played well. There were moments where there was a bit of a scuffle with Buffalo, but Rookie Kenny Stills stepped it up and Jimmy Graham was on fire as always. Gotta give some credit to Drew as well for putting it right in their hands. Great job to the three of them for not letting this “should win” slip out of their hands. Hopefully they can do the same to the Jets in the dome next week.
Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots
Image Credit: AP Photo/NFL
Patriots, 27-17
Andrew:
Another win that wasn’t really a great one for the Pats. As I’ve said before, I think, despite their record, they’ve got a lot of work to do before the playoffs roll around. They shouldn’t be tied up with the Dolphins until the last few yards of the game but they were. Thankfully they had a few clutch plays near the end but I think they’ll have their work cut out for them over the next few weeks when they take on Denver.
Washington Redskins at Denver Broncos
Image Credit: AP Photo/Washington Post Sports
Broncos, 45-21
Tania:
After being beaten by the Colts last week, I’m wondering how much longer can the Broncos keep it up even though Redskins QB Griffin had been cleared by doctors after a knee injury. The Broncos clearly won the game but managed to play too close for comfort this week. They didn’t look all that great for the first half against the Washington Redskins but did end up with 45 points, so who am I to judge? There are a few teams in the league who I can guarantee would love to rack up that many points in a given game. Denver managed to steal some acclaim and break records as Manning was able to extend his NFL record with his 79th 300-yard game and his 26th 4-TD game in his first eight; and the team is the third team to score an average of 28 points in each of its eight games, joining the ranks of the Patriots in 2007 and Rams in 2000. There has been talk since the Sunday’s game that Manning is losing his “Manning” power as lately he has been a victim of poor pass protection, is a tad sloppy and passes wobbly which he comments on by saying, “I throw a lot of wobbly passes; a lot of wobbly touchdowns too.” Defense really delivered this week though, bailing their QB out of a bind and hopefully it stays that way. They play the San Diego Chargers in Week 10 after resting this coming week and I predict a win for the Broncos after playing incredibly tight with the Chargers.
The Redskins really only scored 1 TD in this game and the rest were handed to them by the Broncos, so it seems. The Denver defense was able to sack Griffin which begged the question, where was Washington? They had a ton of missed opportunities and knowing that they play the Chargers this week, they might miss out on more chances to score big.
Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings
Image Credit: Andy Clayton King/Getty Images
Packers, 44-31
Tania:
The Packers may have 3 of their players on the injury list but QB Rodgers put on quite a show this past Sunday as he threw 285 yards and scored 2 TDs in a win over Minnesota. What was interesting was seeing that Green Bay was able to keep possession of the ball for more than 40 minutes in the game. Because of that, they racked up 464 yards, including 182 on the ground with 13 of 18 third down conversions as WR Randall Cobb and James Jones proved to be worthy assets. On the other hand, the Vikings defense failed to force a punt or any turnovers in nine of the Packers possessions. Their offense wasn’t that great either, punting only four times in six drives after Vikings WR Cordarrelle Patterson’s return on the opening kickoff provided that early 7-0 lead, quickly showing Packers QB Rodgers that they need to make a move as quickly as possible and prove his team’s worth.
The win for the Packers not only keeps them at the top of the NFC North but improves their record to 5-2 this season. When watching the game, you can’t help but see how personal it was for Rodgers, especially after his former right-hand man WR Greg Jennings took a five-year $45 million contract with the Vikings this past March. Makes you wonder that if these guys can bring such emotion to the field and their plays, does any of that emotional drama behind the scenes ever make it up on the field? You never know.
Cleveland Browns at Kansas City Chiefs
Image Credit: AP Photo/Getty Images
Chiefs, 23-17
Andrew:
Once again, the Chiefs squeak out a win. As I said last week, their wins haven’t been the huge blowouts that Denver has been delivering, but they’ve also got a better record. I’m excited for one those two teams play each other because I think we’re going to see two very different game play strategies collide. Will Peyton’s “rack up the points any way we can” mentality prevail or will the Chiefs defense hold him off so Smith, Charles and McCluster can get those carefully crafted touchdowns? We’ll see after they play the Bill’s this week. Here’s hoping they got into the Denver game 9-0.
San Francisco 49ers at Jacksonville Jaguars
Image Credit: Getty Images/NFL
49ers, 42-10
Tania:
The 49ers and Jaguars headed to cheery ol’ London, England as they played at the Wembley Stadium this past Sunday as part of the NFL International Series. It was a great game for the 49ers as they won their fifth straight, bringing their record up to 6-2 this season. They crushed the winless Jaguars 42-10, scoring TDs on their first four possessions and ultimately take a commanding 28-0 lead. At this point, I don’t really get the Jacksonville Jaguars. I don’t get what they’re not understanding. They need to win. They know that, right? If they do, they should at least try some of the plays the Vikings or even the Redskins or Giants have shown, then they can get one or two wins in. That wouldn’t be such a giant skidmark on their season record. Sure they only scored one TD which came in the third quarter on a 29-yard pass from QB Chad Henne to WR Mike Brown, but that clearly wasn’t enough. Even though they go on a BYE, I don’t think one week away is going to help them reevaluate their record, change their plays and make any serious improvements to win seasonal titles. If they can win every game after the BYE? Well, that’s a different story but they’d have to find an amazing genie to make that magic. The 49ers however, they are making all the right moves. Their offense came out very strong and was able to put together organized and impressive scoring drives. Kaepernick? Well he ran. He threw. He conquered. The 49ers QB ran for 2 TDs and connected with TE Vervon Davis on a two-yard TD pass, as San Fran demolished the jungle cats.
Dallas Cowboys at Detroit Lions
Image Credit: Packers/Getty Images
Lions, 31-30
Andrew:
Wow, what a nailbiter! Kudos to Stafford for that last drive. He showed “Peyton Manning” shades of composure as he rallied the team to hand Romo & Co. an unexpected loss. My uncle was at this game and said that after the Cowboys scored, people started leaving the stadium and then everyone turned around when suddenly it looked like Detroit might come back. And come back they did. Kudos to them. They need those kinds of wins to stay competitive with the Packers and Bears.
Cincinnati Bengals at New York Jets
Image Credit: AP Photo/Getty Images
Bengals, 49-9
Andrew:
What a blowout! Sometimes the Jets look great and other times they get squashed. Gotta give credit to the Bengals though. They kind of the underdogs that no one’s paying attention to this season. They’ve got the same record as the Pats and Andy Dalton has been far more compelling this year then seasons past. Also, they’ve got a pretty solid defense which could help them take on teams that seem “bigger than them” when it really counts.
New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles
Image Credit: NFL/AP Photo
Giants, 15-7
Andrew:
Since I was watching the Saints game with my friend who’s a Giants fan, I was obliged to cheer for them. This wasn’t the exciting match-up that this inter-divisional rivalry usually was, considering the lack of points score, but it was nice to see the Giants play a little defense and do just enough to hold the Eagles off and get their second win. Sure, they’re 2-6, but let me remind you that they’re only 4 games back from first place in that division… it’s a long-shot, but this is also the Giants.
Atlanta Falcons at Arizona Cardinals
Image Credit: AP Photo/NFL
Cardinals, 27-13
Andrew:
Remember when the Falcons were the ones that Saints fans feared the most? Gone are those days as, once again, this team just couldn’t deliver the goods. For a while it was close, but Matt Ryan’s fantasy score on my team says it all: There was just no forward motion on the ball for them. In fact, Ryan had some of the best rushing yards of the game. Say whaaaat?
Seattle Seahawks at St. Louis Rams
Image Credit: NFL/Getty Images
Seahawks, 14-9
Andrew:
Again, I expected more out of the Hawks who are, supposedly, one of the favorites to win it all. Marshawn Lynch, who I have on my fantasy team, basically sat idle all night which is pretty unacceptable when the team is having trouble scoring points. Don’t get me wrong, the Rams aren’t a terrible team this season, but if Wilson really wants to be mentioned in the same breath as the elites, including Luck, he better do more than this.
Who are you rooting for? What games did you watch? Let us know what you thought of the eighth week of NFL by sounding off in the comments below.
About the Authors
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Andrew Rogers is Editor and staff writer here at The Hudsucker. He is a 24 year old law student who lives in Halifax during the school year and Toronto the rest of the year. Besides Law, his brain capacity is taken up by reality show trivia, video game walk-throughs and food factoids. Andrew is also happily in a relationship with an American boy named Elliott. Follow him on Twitter as @sublymonal.
Tania Hussain is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief here at The Hudsucker, and a freelance writer at the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF). She has her own column over at NBC News’ Newsvine and has completed a manuscript awaiting to be published. She is a member of The Canadian Authors Association, a national organization dedicated to promoting a flourishing community of writers across Canada. Tania is an avid Colts, Elvis and baseball fan as well as a lover of pancakes and fine cheeses. Follow her on Twitter as @westlifebunny.
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