Best And Worst Of NFL Week Eight

We are now close to the halfway point of the NFL season, with things really starting to take shape around the league. The Kansas City Chiefs are still the lone undefeated team in the league, while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jacksonville Jaguars are still winless. Some divisional races are starting to heat up, some teams are starting to find their stride again, while others are still looking to hit their stride. That's just the teams. We also have individual players having huge weeks and huge seasons, some for the record books. Things have gotten more and more interesting by the week in the NFL and it sure makes for good stuff to talk about. So with all that in mind, lets now look back at some of the best and worst from week eight in the NFL season.

Best:
Calvin Johnson, Wide Receiver Detroit Lions
The man they call Megatron has already had some highlight reel plays and games this season, Remember the catch two weeks ago in triple coverage? Well last Sunday against the Cowboys, Johnson had a game for the ages. Megatron only put together the second-highest single-game receiving yardage in NFL history.Johnson made 14 catches for 329 yards, 2nd most yards in a game behind only Flipper Anderson's 336-yard performance in a 1989 overtime win. With the monster day, it gave Megatron his fifth career performance over 200 yards, tying him for the NFL record with Hall of Famer Lance Alworth. Oh and the Lions came away with a 31-30 win over the Cowboys.

Worst:
Dez Bryant, Wide Receiver Dallas Cowboys
Lets keep the record clear, Bryant had a good day receiving in the loss to Detroit. He caught two touchdowns, including an incredible one-handed grab from five yards out. He finished the day with 3 catches for a total of 72 yards, not a bad day by most standards. That highlight will likely be diminished by clips of Bryant’s multiple outbursts on the Dallas sideline, which started with him screaming at assistant Derek Dooley and Tony Romo midway through the fourth quarter (with the Cowboys leading) and continued with DeMarcus Ware and Jason Witten needing to restrain him as time expired. His sideline antics made him look like a total and complete fool, showing a level of immaturity that doesn't need to be in the NFL. That's why I have Dez here on this list.

Best:
Marvin Jones, Wide Receiver Cincinnati Bengals
There is a big reason why the Bengals are atop the AFC North at 6-2. We knew they had a potent offense, with star wide receiver AJ Green. But Jones had a huge coming out party against the Jets on Sunday. Jones had eight catches for 122 yards and a ridiculous four touchdown day in the Bengals’ 49-9 blowout win. It was almost like playing a videogame. Jones went off and made a lot of fantasy owners very, very happy.

Worst:
New York Jets Defense
After a big victory the week before against New England, you would like to think that the momentum would have carried over to this week. Well thats not what happened. The Jets had been a top flight defense this year, sitting in the top 8 in all categories. They got lit up like a cheap cigar by the Bengals, allowing AJ Green and Marvin Jones to both have over 100 yards receiving in the ball game and gave up 49 points. This was almost like the loss against the Titans two weeks back. The difference is the Titan loss wasn't all on the defense, this one I place most of the blame for the loss on the defense.

Best:
Andre Ellington, Running Back Arizona Cardinals
For a long time now, Arizona has been looking for a solution to their problem at running back. Beanie Wells, Ryan Williams and Rashard Mendenhall have all tried and have failed to really hold down the job of running the football. Well now it looks like Ellington has taken a solid hold of the job. He had the best week of any running back in the league this week, carrying the ball 15 times for 154 yards and a touchdown in the Cardinals 27-13 win over Atlanta. Based on that performance, he may have sealed the deal and become the starting back in Arizona.

Worst: 
LeSean McCoy, Running Back Philadelphia Eagles
Coming into week eight, he had been the leading rusher in the NFL. this week, facing the Giants, McCoy couldn't even hit 50 yards on the ground, the 2nd time in a month that's happened. He gained just 48 yards on 15 carries and was held without a touchdown in the Giants 15-7 win. The biggest glitch in Chip Kelly’s suddenly low-octane offense has been not being able to get McCoy going again. If the Eagles want to be able to stay in this hunt, he really needs to step his game up and return to form.

Best:
Drew Brees, Quarterback New Orleans Saints
Lets face facts, behind Payton Manning and maybe Tom Brady,  Drew Brees is the best Quarterback in the NFL. The Saints quarterback threw five touchdowns in his team’s 35-17 win over Buffalo, improving New Orleans’ record to 6-1. But that's not all he did. With the five touchdowns, Brees now has 343 career touchdown passes. That helps Brees pass Fran Tarkenton, and move into a tied with Tom Brady for fourth place all-time. While his competition with Brady remains ongoing, it’ll take a little bit of time for Brees to approach third-place, which is held by Dan Marino and his 420 career touchdown throws. But with how good he has been during his career, and if he can stay healthy, Brees should be able to catch Marino on the all time list.

Worst:
Matt Ryan, Quarterback Atlanta Falcons
Not having your two top receiving targets to throw to is going to be tough for any quarterback to work with. Take Julio Jones and Roddy White away from Matt Ryan and he is going to really struggle. Well the man they call Matty Ice melted in Arizona, as the Falcons quarterback threw four interceptions in Atlanta’s 27-13 loss to the Cardinals. Tyrann Mathieu, Daryl Washington and Rashad Johnson (twice) all victimized the Pro Bowl quarterback. The loss puts Atlanta at 2-5 on the year and has them sitting in 3rd place in the division. If Matt Ryan can't return to form and help right the ship for the Falcons, they may be stuck on the outside and miss out on playing in the playoffs.

Best:
Oakland Raiders Pass Rush
There is something that doesn't really get talked about too often. Its been a good long while since the Raiders have had a solid pass rush in this league. Last Sunday, the Raiders pass rush showed up, making life very tough for the Steelers. Oakland took full advantage of a weaker Steeler offensive line, getting to Ben Roethlisberger five times in Oakland’s 21-18 win over the Steelers. Linebacker Sio Moore got to him twice while the other three were amassed by defensive linemen as the Raiders doubled their per game average in that category. Yes the Raiders are still in last place in the AFC West and yes they are currently a game under .500 but they have played better this season than I think most fans would have anticipated.

Worst:
Washington Redskins 4th Quarter Offense
This is a sign of how rough a year its been for the Redskins. Washington’s quarterbacks threw four picks in the final 7:54 of their 45-21 loss to the Broncos. After trailing 21-7 in the third quarter, the Broncos went on a 24-point run in less than a quarter of football. Suddenly down 31-21, Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins’ attempts to generate a comeback resulted in two consecutive interceptions by Griffin and then two more by Cousins after Griffin exited with an injury. Denver used the extra possessions to finish the game with a 45-21 win. That shows me that who really knows whats going on with the Redskins. They are 2-5, sitting in 3rd place in the NFC East, and look a little bleak right now in Washington.

So there you have it, the Best and Worst of Week Eight of the NFL Season!