NFL Week 8 takeaways: Lessons, big questions for every game

Week 8 of the 2022 NFL season featured an early riser and plenty of big games.

The Baltimore Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicked things off Thursday night with the Ravens pulling out a 27-22 victory, handing quarterback Tom Brady a 3-5 record for the first time in his career as a starter. With an overtime victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday afternoon, the Atlanta Falcons took over first place from the Bucs in the NFC South.

On Sunday morning, the league played its third and final game in London this season. Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos’ offense were far from perfect, but they were good enough to get past the Jacksonville Jaguars 21-17.

The Philadelphia Eagles improved to 7-0 with a 35-13 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers propelled by three first-half touchdowns from A.J. Brown. The Miami Dolphins rallied back to beat the Detroit Lions on the road, the Vikings held on to win their sixth game of the season and the New England Patriots beat the New York Jets for the 13th straight time. Led by Tony Pollard’s three touchdowns, the Dallas Cowboys scored 49 points at home against the Chicago Bears.

In the late afternoon window, Christian McCaffrey became the first player in 17 years to pass for, rush for and catch a touchdown in the same game as he led the San Francisco 49ers to another victory over the Los Angeles Rams. Derrick Henry also continued his mastery of the Houston Texans to lead the Tennessee Titans to a fifth straight win.

On Sunday night, Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers dropped their fourth straight, as the Buffalo Bills improved to 6-1.

On Monday Night Football, the Cleveland Browns sacked Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals in an all-Ohio battle.

The Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers are on a bye and will return to action in Week 9.

Our NFL Nation reporters react with the biggest takeaways and lingering questions off this week’s matchups and look ahead to what’s next. (Games are Sunday unless noted.) Let’s get to it.