With another Sunday in the books, fans were left with plenty of notable performances. Not all of these were notable for the most positive of reasons though. Let’s hit up some of the high points and low points that we witnessed this past Sunday with our winners and losers from Week 8.
Winner – Running backs
After our slate of Sunday games, we were left with several notable performances from running backs around the league. There were so many in fact, that I just didn’t think it was fair to only write about one. Christian McCaffrey, Alvin Kamara, and D’onta Foreman all had phenomenal weeks, so let’s look at them all individually.
Christian McCaffrey
In under two games within Kyle Shanahan’s offense we are presented with McCaffrey throwing touchdown passes. Not only that, but McCaffrey left Sunday’s game with a touchdown on the ground and through the air. The former Panthers running back has seemingly found his place within the 49ers’ offense rather quickly, which isn’t a surprise as he has been one of the most versatile players in the league when on the field. McCaffrey finished the game with three total touchdowns and 183 total yards in Sunday’s 31-14 victory against the Rams.
Alvin Kamara
The trade market for Kamara just got significantly hotter after Sunday’s victory against the Raiders. Just days after reports that the New Orleans Saints were fielding offers from the Bills and Eagles, Kamara decided to have a day. That could just jack up the price for the running back who can seemingly do it all. Kamara finished the game as the team’s leading rusher and leading receiver, totalling 158 yards. And on top of that, he scored all three of the Saints’ touchdowns against the Raiders.
D’Onta Foreman
Foreman has stepped up for the Panthers since they got rid of Christian McCaffrey just two weeks ago. Despite coming up short against the division rival Falcons, Foreman’s performance cannot go unnoticed. The Panthers running back found the end zone three times on Sunday and totaled 118 yards. In fact, scoring those three rushing touchdowns meant that Foreman did something that not even McCaffrey did in his time in Carolina. Hats off to Foreman for stepping up in a big way for this Panthers offense.
It is hard to find time to talk about every notable performance, but shout out to Tony Pollard. The Cowboys running back came out and proved to be the most efficient back in that backfield. It would be rude to not at least mention him as one of the running backs who had huge games as he also totalled three touchdowns this weekend.
Loser – Zach Wilson
It seems like pretending Zach Wilson is a good quarterback has finally come to an end. Watching him drop back never leads to good things for Jets fans. For some reason the second-year quarterback just feels the need to put the ball in somebody’s hands instead of throwing it away and living for another play. The problem is he always finds a way to put the ball in opposing defenders’ hands. Wilson seemed confused by what holiday was coming up as he gift wrapped three picks for Patriots defenders on Sunday.
Wilson finished the day with 355 yards, 2 touchdowns, and three interceptions. A career high in yards and touchdowns from the former BYU quarterback, but at what cost. After the game, second round pick Elijah Moore was asked about his chemistry with Wilson. The wide receiver then responds with,” I don’t get the ball, I don’t know.” Yikes.
Winner – AJ Brown
Have a day AJ! The former Titans receiver absolutely had his way with the Steelers secondary on Sunday. Hurts connected with Brown six times for 156 yards and three touchdowns in the Eagles’ cakewalk against the Steelers. One of the incredible catches from Brown saved Hurts from an interception when he somehow came down with the ball in the end zone over two defenders.
But that was not the last time that we would see him come down with a ball double covered. With around six minutes to go in the second quarter, Hurts connected with Brown once again in double coverage. After scoring, Brown pointed out the fact that he was double covered by pointing to the two defenders, one of which was Minkah Fitzpatrick. May the Steelers secondary see AJ Brown in their nightmares this Halloween.
Loser – “Loss” Vegas Raiders
With possibly one of the worst performances that fans will see all year, the Raiders find themselves in the Losers column once again. Entering the season with tons of hype surrounding this roster and the potential “MVP” season from Carr, it seems as if this team has fallen flat. As it stands, the Raiders are now 2-5 under new head coach Josh McDaniels. So, what went wrong in their 24-0 loss against the Saints?
For starters, the offense looked disastrous this weekend. The Raiders did not cross the fifty-yard line until 3:15 remaining in the fourth quarter – yikes! This is against the same defense that entering this weekend had allowed the second most points a game in the NFL. Not a good look, especially when your quarterback can only connect with Davante Adams once all game for 3 yards.
Derek Carr just hasn’t seemed like himself under this new offensive scheme from McDaniels. Carr has only surpassed 250 yards just three times this season, though in his defense this could be because of such a successful run game. The problem was that this run game was quickly schemed out as the Raiders fell to the Saints 17-0 at half. The Raiders will look to bounce back next Sunday against the 2-6 Jaguars.
Winner – Tua Tagovailoa
Tua Tagovailoa had a near perfect day against the Lions on Sunday. The Dolphins quarterback completed 80% of his passes while also throwing for 382 yards. On top of that he finished with three touchdowns, connecting with Waddle twice (which I thank him for doing for fantasy purposes!).
On Sunday’s game against the Lions, Tua threw for his second 300-yard passing game on the season. This is commendable given that the Dolphins quarterback missed practically four games due to head injuries. Miami sorely missed him during his absence, but since returning he has helped get this team back on track.
Tua has seemingly taken a massive leap this season, and is currently leading one of the most dominant passing offenses in the league. Currently, receiver Tyreek Hill is on pace the break Calvin Johnson’s single season yardage record. The two have found a connection early on and will look to ride this into the playoffs.
Loser – Najee Harris
Najee Harris has been underwhelming practically all season, and on Sunday that theme did not change. Entering half time, the Steelers running back had a total of zero yards. That is not something a team would want to see in the player they drafted in the first round just a year ago. The regression from Harris has been apparent, but to cut him some slack one also has to look at what surrounds him.
Harris is currently averaging just 3.3 yards on the season, and with this offensive line that should not be that surprising. But one thing that has been very concerning is how he handles the ball in open field situations. On Sunday the Steelers’ running back caught the ball out of the back field and failed to convert on 3rd and short. He got happy feet and went absolutely nowhere, which then led to another Steelers punt.
On Sunday Harris also saw a decrease in opportunity as rookie running back Jaylen Warren was given more chances in the backfield. If Najee isn’t careful he may see himself playing less and less snaps in this Steelers offense.