Eight notable NFL Week 8 winners and losers

What a emotional week in the NFL. From season-ending injuries to personal victories, NFL records, upsets and terrible performances, Week 8 delivered a mixed bag of entertainment and heartbreak.

With that said, here are some of the most notable winners and losers from the NFL’s Week 8 action.

Loser: Ryan Tannehill botches snap while Dolphins get smoked by Patriots

For those who thought the matchup between the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins would be close or perhaps that the Dolphins might actually upset the Patriots, the outcome came as a shock.

If it wasn’t for one lone touchdown scored by Lamar Miller, the Dolphins would have been shut out by the Patriots, who completely dominated on Thursday Night Football, 36-7. The game was already out of hand when Ryan Tannehill totally botched a snap, resulting in a safety that surely had Dolphins’ fans wanting to switch the channel to HGTV.

Tannehill was not sharp, completing 28-of 44-passes for 300 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions in addition to the safety.

Because the Dolphins fell so far behind, they had to abandon the run game, which consisted of a total of just 16 net rushing yards. This was a far cry from Miller’s 175-yard performance from the previous week. And, don’t even get Miller’s fantasy football owners started.

Miami’s defense during the first half of the game did a respectable job in frustrating and pressuring Tom Brady. He was sacked twice but remained interception-free while throwing four touchdowns the Dolphins had no answers for.

Sadly, the Dolphins must head home, tail between their legs to face Week 9 without defensive end, Cameron Wake who was lost for the season to a torn ACL.

Winner: Alex Smith’s legs and Chiefs erase the Lions in London

The Kansas City Chiefs posted their third win of the season across the pond at Wembley Stadium in London, making the Detroit Lions look nearly invisible to the tune of 45-10 on the scoreboard.

Alex Smith was one of the stars of the show passing for 145 yards and piling up 78 yards on the ground, including a 12-yard rushing touchdown. He finished the day with two passing scores as well, connecting with Jeremy Maclin and Travis Kelse.

Aside from Smith’s grand accomplishments, Charcandrick West, De’Anthony Thomas and Spencer Ware also put points on the board while Detroit’s defense looked helpless in the process.

The Lions were bad to the bone once again on offense working for the first time under new offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter. The team fired Joe Lombardi last week, but perhaps he wasn’t the problem.

Matthew Stafford was picked off twice — once by Sean Smith and once by Justin Houston — and didn’t manage a passing touchdown until the fourth quarter of the game. And as usual, the Lions did little on the ground, scrounging up total of only 81 combined rushing yards as the miserable game wound down with backup Dan Orlovsky playing in the final drives.

What was an outstanding day for Smith and the Chiefs will likely result in some heads rolling in Detroit come Monday morning.

Loser: Steelers lose Le’Veon Bell in Big Ben’s unimpressive return

Just as the Pittsburgh Steelers get quarterback Ben Roethlisberger back, they lost running back Le’Veon Bell to a right knee injury in the second quarter.

Bell went down after being dragged from behind by Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict. The running back was then carted off the field to be examined in the locker room. Coincidentally, Bell injured the same knee playing against the Bengals last season which caused him to miss the Steelers’ playoff game. At this time, the Steelers are optimistic that Bell may have sustained an MCL, versus a much more serious ACL injury.

Meanwhile Roethlisberger returned from being out several weeks with a sprained MCL but was an utter disaster against the Cincinnati Bengals in the 16-10 loss at home. An early touchdown to Antonio Brown was Roethlisberger’s only score of the day.

He finished with 262 yards on 28-of-45 passing and threw three terrible interceptions. The first pick came in the third quarter by Reggie Nelson on an attempt to Antonio Brown. Then Big Ben was intercepted in the fourth quarter by Shawn Williams. Lastly, Nelson picked off the quarterback again on another attempt to Brown late in the fourth quarter.

It was not one of Big Ben’s sharpest performances by any means, and the Steelers fell to 4-4 in the AFC south, positioned three games behind the undefeated Bengals.

Winner: Drew Brees and his fantasy football owners

Wow! What a stunning performance by New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees in a nail-biting last-second 52-49 win over the New York Giants at the Superdome.

Not only did Brees lead the team to a win, but his smashing 511 passing yards and seven touchdowns likely caused every fantasy owner who started him to win their matchups this week. And, those who purchased Brees in daily fantasy leagues certainly found him to be worth every penny spent in Week 8.

Depending on varying fantasy football scoring systems, Brees rewarded at least 46 points in standard leagues. And, we’ll forgive him for the one interception that was bound to happen with 50 attempted passes. He completed 40, showing off his awesome play making all game long.

Congratulations to Brees and Eli Manning for their NFL record-setting 13 passing touchdowns in one game. What a shoot out.

Loser: Could the San Francisco 49ers be any worse?

Injuries and unexusable mistakes highlighted the 49ers’ 27-6 loss to the St. Louis Rams on Sunday. Once again, the 49ers got their clocks cleaned, once again the players got outworked, and once again the coaching staff appeared to be completely overmatched.

It has become truly painful to even watch Colin Kaepernick and Co. in action these days. With Carlos Hyde sidelined, the team was already hurting at the running back position. Adding insult to injury, Reggie Bush is believed to have torn his ACL after slipping on the concrete on the sidelines and slamming into the wall at the Edward Jones Dome.

As far as Kap goes, his two-game scoreless streak is quite concerning. During Sunday’s loss to the Rams he completed only 20-of-41 passes for 162 yards. His only saving grace was that he didn’t throw any interceptions for the second game in a row.

All of the 49ers could muster up was a couple of field goal scores.

Meanwhile the Rams put the screws to the team by unleashing Todd Gurley, who carried the ball 20 times for 133 yards and one touchdown against San Francisco’s haggard defense. For those doing the math, Gurley toted the rock at a healthy pace of 6.65 yards per carry.

With only two wins on the books this season, the 2-6 49ers might as well just throw in the towel since matters really couldn’t get much worse for the bottom-feeding NFC West team.

Winner: Tampa Bay Buccaneers help open up opportunities in NFC south

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers took down their divisional rival Atlanta Falcons, 23-20, on Sunday. As that was happening the Saints registered another win, meaning New Orleans is only two games behind the Falcons in the NFC south with a record of 4-4.

As things stand now, the undefeated Carolina Panthers (who play on Monday Night Football) and Falcons both have six wins. With the Saints playing some pretty fabulous football over the past few weeks, all it would take is for the Falcons to flush a couple of more games down the toilet for New Orleans to catch up.

The tough team for the Saints to overcome is obviously the Panthers, who have been tremendous all season with a hodge-podge of receivers for Cam Newton to work with.

Even the 3-4 Buccaneers have at this point produced more wins than in their entire 2014 campaign. Mid-way through the season, the NFC South remains quite up for grabs.

Loser: Baltimore Ravens’ second win is bittersweet

What a day of mixed emotion for the Baltimore Ravens, who finally nabbed win No. 2 against the San Diego Chargers but lost veteran wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. for the season, due to a torn Achilles during the game.

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Not only is Smith out for the season, but this was likely his last NFL performance. He stated earlier this year he plans to retire at the end of the 2015 season. The All-Pro, whose illustrious career spans 14-and-a-half years, had been playing some of the best football since signing on with the Ravens in 2014.

The 36-year old, who was Joe Flacco’s No. 1 go-to guy, had already totaled 46 catches for 670 yards and three touchdowns in his seven games this season. His absence leaves the Ravens in a world of hurt at the receiver position, and the team is already completely off-kilter this year.

Perhaps in Smith’s honor, the Ravens gave it all they had and managed a narrow 29-26 victory on a Justin Tucker game-winning field goal in the last seconds of the game.

Winner: Derek Carr and Raiders make Jets defense look silly

So much for the New York Jets having one of the best defenses in the NFL, because Oakland Raiders second-year quarterback Derek Carr just obliterated Gang Green Sunday.

In a big 34-20 win over the Jets, Carr completed 23-of-36 passes for 333 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions. Many players within the offense made fools of the Jets defenders. In one of the best offensive plays of the game, Michael Crabtree caught a pass and broke tackles of Antonio Cromartie, Demario Davis and Marcus Williams to score a 36-yard touchdown.

And while Carr was working his magic through the air, running back Latavius Murray was pounding the ground. He waltzed his way through defenders at a stout pace of 5.7 yards per attempt while racking up a total of 113 yards.

Unfortunately for the Jets, starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick had to depart the game in the first quarter after he tore some ligaments in his left thumb. After this, Geno Smith was brought in. Neither he nor the team as a whole could manage to turn the tables on a blazing-hot Raiders offense.

Unfortunately, many folks who play in fantasy sports may have hesitated in starting any Raiders offensive players due to what was supposed to have been a looming matchup against a scary defense. Carr and crew proved that theory completely wrong on Sunday.

The Raiders, with their 4-3 record, look to be a legit contender in the AFC West.