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NFL Week 8 roundup: Packers beat Steelers in Aaron Rodgers reunion, Jets win first game

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Packers' QB Jordan Love throws a pass in Week 8 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers
Packers' QB Jordan Love throws a pass in Week 8 matchup against the Pittsburgh SteelersJoe Sargent/Getty Images

The New York Jets earned their first win of the season in a shocking comeback over the Cincinnati Bengals, while the New York Giants possibly lost rookie sensation Cam Skattebo for the season in a wild NFL Sunday of Week 8 games!

Packers 35-25 Steelers

Packers QB Jordan Love went off for 360 passing yards and three touchdowns on 29-of-37 passing en route to the Packers' fifth win. 

Green Bay tight end Tucker Kraft led all receivers with 143 yards and two touchdowns on seven receptions (nine targets) - a perfect way to celebrate National Tight Ends day across the league. 

In his first game against his former team, which he said he will retire with when all is said and done, Aaron Rodgers went 24-of-36 passing for 219 yards and two touchdowns. 

Roman Wilson led the Steelers with 76 receiving yards and a touchdown on four receptions. D.K. Metcalf finished with 55 yards and one touchdown on a team-leading five receptions.

The Packers' defence held the Steelers to just 295 yards of total offence, including three sacks - two from Rashan Gary and one from Micah Parsons. 

Green Bay's Josh Jacobs was held to just 31 yards on the ground on 13 carries, but backup Emmanuel Wilson found life after going for 61 yards on 11 carries. Pittsburgh's Jalen Warren had 62 yards (73 total) on 13 carries, while backup Kenneth Gainwell had 31 yards on nine carries, including a fumble.

The Steelers have now lost back-to-back games, both in primetime, having let up over 30 points in both, as they fall to 4-3. They will remain at home next week as the NFL's best Indianapolis Colts (7-1) come to pay a visit.

As for the now 5-1-1 Green Bay, they'll head back to their home of Lambeau Field to face the 4-4 Carolina Panthers.

Broncos 44-24 Cowboys

The Broncos were firing on all cylinders as quarterback Bo Nix threw for four touchdowns while running backs J.K. Dobbins and RJ Harvey combined for 157 rushing yards and two touchdowns. 

Dobbins put up a season-best 111 rushing yards on 15 carries, while Harvey punched in the two touchdowns and added one through the air for three on the day.

Broncos two-year receiver Troy Franklin tied his career-high with 89 yards while also setting a new high with two touchdowns.

It's just the second game in Franlink's career where he posted at least 60 receiving yards on five or more receptions - both games came this season. 

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott finished with 219 total yards and two interceptions, one of them being from Broncos two-year defensive lineman Dondrea Tillman, the first of his career. 

Meanwhile, Broncos rookie defensive back Jahdae Barron also recorded his first career interception. 

Running back Javonte Williams went on to put up 49 total yards with two rushing touchdowns.

He now has at least one touchdown in six of the eight games the Cowboys have played this season, continuing to cement himself as one of the best backs this season. 

Jets 39-38 Bengals

After being down 31-16 heading into the fourth quarter, the New York Jets put up 23 and held the Bengals to seven the rest of the way to earn their first win of the season. 

The go-ahead score came via a running back pass from Breece Hall to rookie tight end Mason Taylor for the first touchdown of his career. 

New York would finish the game with 502 total yards to Cinci's 398. 

Hall had three total touchdowns and 147 total yards for the Jets. Quarterback Justin Fields threw for 244 on 21-of-32 passing with one touchdown and didn't take a single sack for the first time all season.

Backup running back Isaiah Davis also put up 109 total yards, 65 rushing on seven attempts.

Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco finished 21-of-34 with 223 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Samaje Perine had 94 yards on the ground on nine attempts with a touchdown. Wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase's 19 targets were more than every other Bengals player combined, finishing with 12 receptions for 91 yards.

The Jets are heading into the bye week with a 1-7 record and their morale a little higher than it was before Sunday's game against the Bengals. 

Cinci will head into Week 9 with a 3-5 record as they take on the now 4-3 Chicago Bears, who are coming off a loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

Ravens 30-16 Bears

Baltimore's 30 points this week were more than their past two games combined. Backup QB Tyler Huntley took the mantle as Lamar Jackson continues to recover from a hamstring injury, putting up 239 total yards with one touchdown. 

After going down 6-0 in the first quarter, holding the Bears to a pair of field goals, the Ravens' defence shut out the Bears' offence in the second and third quarters completely. 

Baltimore had a total of six tackles for loss, four QB hits, two pass deflections, one sack, and one interception. The 16 points the Bears scored are the fewest the Ravens' defence has allowed all year. 

Baltimore running back Derrick Henry finished with 71 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries, while Chicago's De'Andre Swift finished with 45 yards on 11 carries with a touchdown. 

Zay Flowers led the Ravens in receiving with 63 yards on seven receptions (nine targets). Rome Odunze led the Bears with 114 yards on seven receptions (10 targets). 

Chicago QB Caleb Williams finished with 309 total yards, but went without a touchdown for the second straight week. 

Baltimore improves to 2-5 as they prepare for a short week. They'll be facing the Miami Dolphins on Thursday night, who are also coming off their second win of the season. 

Dolphins 34-10 Falcons

The Falcons put up a season-low 213 total yards as they take a loss in back-to-back weeks. Veteran QB Kirk Cousins took over for the injured Michael Penix Jr., who the Falcons benched Cousins for at the end of last season, and he managed just 173 yards threw the air on 21-of-31 passing. 

On Miami's side, their 34 points are a season high. 

Miami QB Tua Tagovailoa tossed four touchdowns to four different receivers. Jaylen Waddle (5-99), Malik Washington (4-36), De'Von Achane (5-24), and Ollie Gordon II (1-20) all got in on the action. 

Achane (67), Gordon II (46), and Jaylen Wright (28) combined for 141 total yards on the ground for the Dolphins.

Atlanta's Bijan Robinson, who was second in the league in scrimmage yards heading into Week 7, put up a season-low 48 total. 

Falcons tight end Kyle Pitts Sr. led the team in receptions for the second straight week, finishing with 59 yards on nine receptions (nine targets). 

 

As the Dolphins await the Ravens for a Thursday night game in Miami, the Falcons will now head to New England for their Week 9 matchup, looking to break their current losing skid. 

New England is coming off a dominant win of their own over the Cleveland Browns

Patriots 32-14 Browns

Despite Cleveland's Myles Garrett recording a weekly high of five sacks, the Patriots are now tied with the Denver Broncos for the league-leading fifth straight win. 

New England has now scored at least 30 points in back-to-back weeks, doubling the Browns in both points and yards this time around.

The Pats put up 422 total yards to Cleveland's 212. QB Drake Maye finished with 332 total yards, three touchdowns, and one interception on 18-of-24 passing. 

Browns rookie QB Dillon Gabriel finished with 156 yards and two touchdowns on 21-of-35 passing, including two interceptions - the first of his career. Malachi Corley led the Browns in rushing with 31 yards...on a single carry. 

Rookie Quinshon Judkins was held to 31 on nine carries. 

Patriots own rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson had his first breakout game, totaling 75 yards on 10 carries against the NFL's No. 1 defence. 

Mack Hollins led the Pats in receiver after racking up 89 yards on all seven of his targets. Teammate Stefon Diggs also scored his first touchdown as a member of the Patriots.

Cleveland heads into the bye week with a 2-5 record, Patriots will take on the Falcons in Week 9 as they look to extend their win streak and remain one of the best teams in the league. 

Eagles 38-20 Giants

After seven games, reigning Offensive Player of the Year Saquon Barkley finally eclipsed 100 yards in a game this season - finishing with 174 total (150 rushing) and a pair of touchdowns. 

Philly got their revenge on the Giants after losing in New York on Thursday night a couple of weeks ago. They held the lead the entire game and out-gained the Giants 427 to 246. 

The Giants day got worse when rookie running back sensation Cam Skattebo snapped his ankle, immediately being rushed to the hospital to prep for surgery on Sunday night. Skattebo finished with just 30 total yards and a touchdown. 

Rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart threw for 193 yards and one touchdown on 14-of-24 passing. Eagles QB Jalen Hurts tossed a season-high four touchdowns (two to tight end Dallas Goedert on National Tight Ends Day) on 15-of-20 passing for 179 yards, despite being without wide receiver A.J. Brown on the field. 

Wide receiver DeVonta Smith led the team with six receptions for 84 yards. He had nine targets while the rest of the team had 11 combined.

Philly is heading into their bye week with a 6-2 record and sole possession of the NFC East division. 

New York, who are heading into Week 9 of back-to-back losses, giving up more than 30 points each, will be heading back home to take on the San Francisco 49ers - also coming off a bad loss. 

Texans 26-15 49ers

Houston held the 49ers to a season-low 15 points en route to their third win on the year. Texans QB C.J. Stroud put up a season-high 348 total yards with two touchdowns through the air, including an interception.

Houston doubled the 49ers' yard total for the game, out-gaining them 475 to 223 total yards. 

Running backs Nick Chubb and Woody Marks combined for 28 rushes and 118 yards. Wide receiver Xavier Hutchinson had himself a career day with 69 yards and a touchdown on five receptions (six targets). 

49ers' Christian McCaffrey - the league leading in scrimmage yards - put up a total of 68. QB Mac Jones finished with 216 total yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. 

The Texans will be sitting at home ready to host the red-hot Denver Broncos, who are coming off a blowout win over the Dallas Cowboys, as they look to make some sort of push in the AFC South led by the NFL's best Indianapolis Colts.

Colts 38-14 Titans

Indy improved to a league-best 7-1 record after winning their fourth-straight game. They've now scored at least 30 or more points in each of those four wins.

Daniel Jones posted 275 total yards and three passing touchdowns, including one to running back Jonathan Taylor, who finished with 174 total yards and three touchdowns (two rushing).

Michael Pittman Jr. led the Colts in receiving after racking up 95 yards on eight receptions (nine targets) with a touchdown to go with it.

As for the Titans, rookie fourth-round pick Chimere Dike led them in receiving with a new career-high 93 yards on seven receptions (eight targets). 

Titans rookie QB Cam Ward threw for 259 yards, one touchdown, and one interception on 22-of-38 passing. Running backs Tyjae Spears and Tony Pollard combined for 103 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries. 

Tennessee now falls to 1-7 on the year as they head back home to take on a Los Angeles Chargers team that is coming off a long week after their Thursday night win over the Minnesota Vikings

Bills 40-9 Panthers

Buffalo bounces back after two straight losses thanks to running back James Cook III exploding for a weekly leading 216 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries. 

Quarterback Josh Allen went just 12-of-19 passing for 163 yards and one touchdown. However, he did reach 70 career rushing touchdowns with a QB sneak on the goal line - he is now just the second QB in NFL history with at least 70 rushing TDs, the other being Cam Newton (75).

The Panthers took a beating on Sunday with quarterback Bryce Young out due to injury. Carolina was held to just 244 total yards and one touchdown.

Their saving grace was rookie wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan putting in the work as always, leading the Panthers with 99 yards on seven receptions (10 targets). His 99 yards made up the majority of QB Andy Dalton's 175 through the air. 

Buffalo has now scored at least 30 points in all five of their wins this season. They now head back home to face the Kansas City Chiefs in a rematch of last year's AFC Championship. 

As for the Panthers, they'll be heading north to take on the Green Bay Packers

Bucs 23-3 Saints

Tampa Bay bounced back after last week's loss to Detroit as they improved to 6-2 with a rather easy win over the Saints. The Bucs put up just 88 total yards and one touchdown on the ground, while QB Baker Mayfield finished with just 152 total yards on 15-of-24 passing. 

One of Tampa's two total touchdowns came from an interception return for a TD by linebacker Anthony Nelson

Spencer Rattler, who started the game, was later benched after going 15-of-21 for 136 yards and one interception. Rookie backup Tyler Shough made his season debut, but didn't do much better. 

Shough posted 128 yards and one interception on 17-of-30 passing. Wide receiver Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed put up a combined 24 targets, which was two fewer than the rest of the team combined (26). 

Olave and Shadeed finished with a combined 138 yards on 17 receptions. 

New Orleans will be heading to Los Angeles to face the Rams as they look for their second win on the season. Tampa Bay now heads into their bye week as they prepare for the Patriots in two weeks.