NFL WEEK 8 REVIEW
Torrential rain played as large a role as any NFL player in the past week’s slate of football as as many as half a dozen games were drowned with incredibly heavy rainfall.
Still – many games went down to the wire and in the days succeeding our Monday of football was when things really got shaken up.
The NFL trade deadline annually passes us by with very little action. This season was completely different.
Pro Bowlers, quarterbacks, play making receivers – they were all for sale and possibly in the most Brown-like Cleveland Browns moment, the team had all but secured Bengals back-up QB AJ McCarron except they forgot to lodge the required paperwork. Oh lord!
Jay Ajayi goes from the worst offence in football to a 7-1 juggernaut. From a Fantasy Football perspective, Ajayi should see a slight reduction in touches but far more room to move and gain chunk yardage. His wonky knees will also appreciate another bye after the Dolphins were forced to takes theirs in week one due to the hurricane.
In other notable trade news, former Patriots QB Jimmy Garoppolo was shipped out west to San Francisco where he will likely watch for a week before attempting to rescue the winless Niners.
Meanwhile, New England are currently rolling the dice with a 40 year-old QB without a back-up.
Kelvin Benjamin was the other surprise move as Carolina sent him to the Bills in exchange for a pick. Cam Newton made his displeasure clear on social media but that ain’t bringing KB back.
Anyway – back to the gridiron;
DONE WITH TAMPA
I’m not tipping Tampa again. To put up only three points at home in a divisional game. That will do us for a while.
Jameis Winston has a bad shoulder and the defence is nowhere near we expected it to be. Suddenly field goal kicking is the least of the Buccaneers worries.
SAINTS ROLL ON
They began 0-2 and everyone had written them off but the Saints have reeled off five straight including a solid enough 20-12 win over Chicago. No longer are they reliant on 400 yards and 4 scores from Drew Brees to win. Struggling Tampa come to town next.
RESPECT THE BILLS
LeSean McCoy exploded to life and Tyrod Taylor played another extremely poised game. Add Kelvin Benjamin into this mix and suddenly New England have a real competitor.
The defence is for real and the +14 turnover differential speaks to the way this team plays – safe on offence and aggressive on defence. They should go into MetLife and win. Should.
TAKE A W ANY WAY YOU CAN
At this point, Atlanta and Cincinnati will take a win no matter the circumstances. This time last year you’d expect the Falcons to go into MetLife and put 50 on New York – monsoonal rain and all.
But – thanks to a punt return fumble near the goal line – Matt Ryan and the Falcons did enough to pinch the win.
The Bengals, a team struggling as mightily as Atlanta, escaped against Indianapolis 24-23.
AJ Green was quiet and Tyler Eifert is done for the season. The Bengals need some life from rookie John Ross.
WHAT A SHOW
Seattle was one venue where the rain stayed away which allowed two stars to shine bright!
Rookie Deshaun Watson put on a historic performance against an elite defence racking up 402 yards and four TD’s. Not to be outdone, Russell Wilson amassed 452 yards and four scores of his own to lead a last minute drive which ended in a Jimmy Graham TD and a Seahawks last-gasp victory.
As Richard Sherman said, Watson is a special talent.
ZEKE STEAMROLLS SKINS BUT NFL STEAMROLLS ZEKE (FINALLY)
Ezekiel Elliott has scored five touchdowns in his past two weeks and he was at his brutal best against divisional rival Washington.
He chalked up 150 yards and two scores, leading Dallas to a resounding 33-19 win.
A few days later, his suspension was reinstated and his appeal denied, meaning Elliott will finally serve his six-game ban.
STEELERS & CHIEFS OWN PRIME TIME
These two AFC powers are destined to see each other down the road. Pittsburgh ground out a 20-15 win in Detroit on Sunday Night Football whilst 24 hours later, Alex Smith and the Chiefs beat up Denver for most of the night, resulting in a 29-19 win.
Smith and Travis Kelce were excellent and the Broncos offence struggled badly. Broncos coach Vance Joseph has headaches at QB.
BEST BETS;
We had a good week on the betting front landing 4/6 and had the Lions not failed on two 4th and goals as well as a simple Golden Tate fumble we would have landed a fifth bet.
I’m back in Adelaide for a fortnight so stay tuned to more regular updates as we continue to roll through this amazing NFL season.
Josh.
Josh Jenkins Sports 