Key events
TOUCHDOWN! Texans 7-16 49ers 0:25, 2nd quarter
Merry national tight end day! The 49ers find some footing with a George Kittle with a 17-yard grab. Is there anything weirder in sport than national tight end day? Answers on a post card please.
TOUCHDOWN! Panthers 3-19 Bills 0:02, 2nd quarter
AJ Epenesa picks off Andy Dalton and runs it down to the one yard line. Quarterback Josh Allen does the rest with the sneak and score. Big lead for Buffalo with Carolina really struggling with the veteran at QB. He is 6/11 for 73 yards with a pick. As I type this he is sacked by Joey Bosa. Not good.
TOUCHDOWN! Bengals 24-10 Jets 1:15, 2nd quarter
Isn’t the Jets defense supposed to be good? They are currently being vaporised by the Bengals. Chase Brown rumbles for a 19-yard score. Easy peasy.
TOUCHDOWN! Eagles 14-7 Giants 8:11, 2nd quarter
Oh man. This is a real shame as fun-loving speedster Cam Skattebo is carted off the field after a really nasty looking leg injury. That is almost definitely his season over. And what a young season he was having: 398 rushing yards and five touchdowns. Really tough luck for the Giants to lose such a talismanic figure.
TOUCHDOWN! Bengals 17-10 Jets 5:27, 2nd quarter
Tyler Johnson with an unbelievable grab in the corner of the end zone on a 15-yard pass from Justin Fields.
TOUCHDOWN! Panthers 3-12 Bills 7:23, 2nd quarter
James Cook is having a huge day for the Bills. The running back breaks off a 64-yard sprint and score. He has 146 yards already today on 11 carries. Outrageous.
TOUCHDOWN! Texans 13-0 49ers 9:39, 2nd quarter
Houston take a commanding lead after Jayden Higgins snatches up his second touchdown off the season with a 12-yard pass from CJ Stroud.
TOUCHDOWN! Eagles 14-7 Giants 11:38, 2nd quarter
Barkley just keeps on rolling with his second touchdown already today. Excellent response from Philadelphia as they mix it up and get the running back involved in the passing game. Barkley catches one short out to the left and jogs in for an easy nine-yard touchdown.
TOUCHDOWN! Bengals 17-3 Jets 10:45, 2nd quarter
Flacco is enjoying himself today. The 40-year-old unleashes a 44-yard bomb to Tee Higgins to put Cincinnati comfortably in the driving seat. Higgins ran an incredible route there with a little stutter to shake his defender enough to catch the ball on the goal line in space. Just the slightest twitch and Flacco does the rest with a perfect pass to seal the touchdown.
TOUCHDOWN! Ravens 7-6 Bears 8:15, 2nd quarter
Snoop Huntley is going well at QB for the Ravens going 6/6 for 59 yards so far. Running back Derrick Henry holds up his end of the bargain by finishing off the 12-play drive with a two-yard dive into the end zone. King Henry’s 111th career touchdown moving him to 5th in the all-time charts for rushers.
Panthers 0-6 Bills 14:09, 2nd quarter
It’s good! But Carolina come out on top as Buffalo settle for a field goal. Josh Allen successfully scrambles around once but on the second effort is sacked on 3rd and 5. Not the end of the world but a cheap penalty forced Allen to put on his dancing shoes after an illegal formation penalty. Matt Prater knocks in the 43-yard field goal.
TOUCHDOWN! Falcons 0-7 Dolphins 2:33, 1st quarter
De’Von Achane catches a short pass from Tua for a three-yard score. Relief for Miami fans as the Dolphins take a lead as they try in their effort to snap a three game losing streak.
TOUCHDOWN! Eagles 7-7 Giants 2:56, 1st quarter
The Giants respond. Cam Skattebo loves scoring against Philadelphia apparently. But I think Skattebo just loves scoring full stop. The rookie QB Jaxson Dart finds his rookie running back with an 18-yard strike for the touchdown. Game on!
Panthers 0-3 Bills 3:40, 1st quarter
On grizzled gunslinger watch Andy Dalton is enduring a rough start to this one. He scrambles to his right but is hunted down by Greg Rousseau who knocks him down. As he falls the ball comes loose with Christian Benford on hand to steal it for Buffalo. Coming off the bye the Bills will hope Josh Allen finds his spark after two successive losses. He is yet to do so going 3/7 for 38 yards. Early days though
TOUCHDOWN! Patriots 3-7 Browns 3:35 1st quarter
Rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel shoots a 18-yard strike to Harold Fannin Jr for the score. Not enough Harolds in sport, are there?
TOUCHDOWN! Bengals 10-0 Jets 5:35, 1st quarter
Maybe skip this post Jets fans. In their own half New York go for it on 4th and 1 and Breece Hall gets knocked back two yards. The Bengals are gifted excellent field position and Joe Flacco marches Cincinnati down field and he even nabs a rushing touchdown. Real head scratcher there. A winless season for the Jets might just be on the cards.
Ravens 0-3 Bears 6:50, 1st quarter
It’s good! Baltimore summon some much-needed might on defense with a great stop in the red zone. Rookie second-round pick Mike Green sacks Caleb Williams on third down to force a 32-yard field goal. Bend but don’t break at its finest.
TOUCHDOWN! Eagles 7-0 Giants 14:51, 1st quarter
Hmmmm remember that time I said it was tough to know how Philadelphia’s offense would perform? Well, about that. After an incomplete pass Saquon Barkley cracks open the big one in the NFC East with a 65-yard touchdown run. The running back has been the missing piece so far this season for Philadelphia so they will be delighted with that start.
Here we go! Lots of old faces in at QB tonight. A pair of 37-year-olds taking the field with Kirk Cousins back in for Atlanta and Andy Dalton subbing in for Carolina. Can the veterans get it done tonight?
Preamble
Good evening football fans, welcome to week eight of the NFL! By far my favourite week of the regular season as the clocks have spun back in the UK giving us a huge lineup of seven matches a whole hour early. What more could you ask for?
Here are the games starting at noon CST/1pm EST/5pm GMT (home teams listed first):
(3-3) Atlanta Falcons v Miami Dolphins (1-6)
(1-5) Baltimore Ravens v Chicago Bears (4-2)
(4-3) Carolina Panthers v Buffalo Bills (4-2)
(3-4) Cincinnati Bengals v New York Jets (0-7)
(2-4) Houston Texans v San Francisco 49ers (5-2)
(5-2) New England Patriots v Cleveland Browns (2-5)
(5-2) Philadelphia Eagles v New York Giants (2-5)
Some very intriguing matchups but it is a big shame Lamar Jackson won’t be suiting up for Baltimore tonight. Snoop Huntley will be deputising as they try and contend with a Chicago Bears team rampaging into town on a four-game winning streak.
Elsewhere top billing has to be over in the NFC East. The Giants whipped the Eagles a couple of weeks ago, thanks to a Cam Skattebo hat-trick, but endured a historic meltdown last week in Denver while Philadelphia finally found some offensive firepower to swat Minnesota aside. Expect a fast start from New York’s young guns to turn the page. For the Eagles it is tough to predict how the offense will look but the team have reportedly made a call on wide receiver AJ Brown’s future. He is staying put in Pennsylvania.
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