NFL 2022: Football Food For Thought (Week 8)

Talk about some firepower? The 5-1 Buffalo Bills, 3-3 Los Angeles Rams, 5-1 Minnesota Vikings and 6-0 Philadelphia Eagles didn’t play in Week 7. Of course, that didn’t stop teams like the Cardinals, Bengals, Raiders and Chiefs from lighting up the scoreboard.

Speaking of the AFC West leaders, Andy Reid’s club and the rival Chargers are on their mini-vacations. Meanwhile, there are six interconference clashes this week.

Off: Kansas City, L.A. Chargers

Thursday, Oct. 27

Baltimore (4-3) at Tampa Bay (3-4): This marks just the seventh meeting between these franchises since their first encounter in 2001. Todd Bowles’ club has dropped four of its last five games. Ravens’ quarterback Lamar Jackson has run for 510 yards (2 touchdowns) on 66 carries. The Bucs have rushed for 451 yards and two TDs as a team.

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Sunday, Oct. 30

Denver (2-5) vs. Jacksonville (2-5) (London): Both the Broncos and Jaguars bring four-game losing streaks into this clash. Denver is last in the NFL in points per game (14.3) and their offense has scores only eight touchdowns. The Broncos’ defense looks to terrorize Jacksonville quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who has committed eight turnovers.

Carolina (2-5) at Atlanta (3-4): Last week, the Panthers dealt away running back Christian McCaffrey and wide receiver Robbie Anderson and proceeded to stun the Buccaneers. Now they head to Atlanta, where the team has won the past two seasons. In fact, the road club has won four straight games in this series dating back to 2020.

Chicago (3-4) at Dallas (5-2): On Wednesday, the Bears dealt standout pass-rusher as well as one-time Cowboys’ defender Robert Quinn to the Eagles. But Chicago quarterback Justin Fields is the player that could be feeling the heat as he deals with a Dallas’ defense that leads the NFL with 29 sacks – eight of those by Micah Parsons.

Miami (4-3) at Detroit (1-5): Mike McDaniel’s club ended a three-game losing streak last Sunday night as they held off the Steelers. The Lions haven’t found the end zone in two straight games – losses to the Patriots and Cowboys. In those contests, quarterback Jared Goff has been sacked seven times and has turned over the ball six times.

Arizona (3-4) at Minnesota (5-1): Talk about a long losing streak? Including a playoff loss in 1998, the Cardinals have dropped 10 straight games at Minnesota dating back to 1991. The last time Big Red beat the Purple Gang on the road, they were based in St. Louis and the Vikings played their games outdoors at Metropolitan Stadium.

Las Vegas (2-4) at New Orleans (2-5): Josh McDaniels’ club heads to the Big Easy and his offense unit is humming. The club has scored a combined 99 points as well as nine offensive TDs in their last three contests (2-1). The Saints’ team are struggling on defense these days – allowing 30 or more points in each of their last three outings.

New England (3-4) at N.Y. Jets (5-2): Back in Week 5 at MetLife Stadium, the Jets snapped a 12-game losing streak to their AFC East rivals with a win over Miami. On Sunday, the club will look to end a 12-game skid vs. the Patriots. A year ago, Robert Saleh’s club finished with just four victories. Now the Jets are riding a four-game winning streak.

Pittsburgh (2-5) at Philadelphia (6-0): There was a time when these intrastate rivals met twice during the season. Now it’s an AFC vs. NFC encounter. The Steelers haven’t had much luck in City of Brotherly Love. The club hasn’t beaten the Eagles in Philadelphia since 1965. That’s a total of nine consecutive road losses in this series.

Tennessee (4-2) at Houston (1-4-1): The Titans have won four straight games. But Mike Vrabel’s team still owns a negative point differential (minus-13) due mainly to that 41-7 Monday night setback at Buffalo in Week 2. The Texans handed Tennessee their lone divisional loss of 2021 with a stunning 22-13 win at Nashville in Week 11.

Washington (3-4) at Indianapolis (3-3-1): So much for the Carson Wentz reunion. Both the Commanders and Colts are utilizing their second starting quarterback this season. Wentz is on IR so Taylor Heinicke gets the nod for a second straight Sunday. As for Indianapolis, Frank Reich has benched veteran Matt Ryan in place of Sam Ehlinger.

San Francisco (3-4) at L.A. Rams (3-3): Thanks to a 24-9 Monday night win in Week 4 at San Francisco, the 49ers are in position to sweep this regular-season series for the fourth straight year. The Rams could take advantage of a Niners’ defense that is now struggling – giving up nine offensive TDs (72 points) in losses to the Falcons and Chiefs.

N.Y. Giants (6-1) at Seattle (4-3): A season ago, the Giants (4) and Seahawks (7) combined for 11 victories and both finished last in their respective divisions. New York is 3-0 on the road this season, quite a turnaround for a club that was just 1-8 away from home in 2021. Only four teams are averaging more points per game than the ‘Hawks.

Green Bay (3-4) at Buffalo (5-1): The Packers head to Orchard Park on the second leg of a three-game road trip. Matt LaFleur’s offense must deal with a team that has allowed the fewest total yards, rushing yards and points per game in the NFL. Meanwhile, Green Bay’s Rashan Gary and Buffalo’s Von Miller each lead their team with six sacks.

Monday, Oct. 31

Cincinnati (4-3) at Cleveland (2-5): A year ago, the eventual AFC champions swept the Ravens (82-38) and Steelers (65-20) by a combined score of 147-58. But Zac Taylor’s team was swept by the Browns – including a 41-16 at Cincinnati in Week 9. Cleveland has allowed at least 23 points in four straight games and six of their seven games.