Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow told us not to worry after the Bengals started 0-2.
He said it was a long season, and the Bengals would get it together. Well, he was right.
“It was a big win, but like I said, it was just one. There’s still a lot of football left to be played,” Burrow told reporters after Sunday’s game. “This is Week 7; we got 10 more, so this one means nothing if we come out and lay an egg next week and the week after. So, we just have to keep stacking them together.”
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As the calf he strained in training camp improves, so does his production. Burrow even used his legs to beat San Francisco, 31-17.
It was Cincinnati’s fourth straight win.
Burrow, who completed 19 straight passes in one stretch, passed for 283 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran for 43 yards and a couple of critical first downs.
“All you need to say now is, ‘Welcome back, Burrow. Welcome back,’” receiver Ja’Marr Chase told reporters.
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The timing is perfect because the Bengals play Buffalo on Sunday, and then comes a string of games against Houston, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Jacksonville.
Here’s the rest of the NFL Week 8 recap.
Jalen Hurts shows he can still carry Philadelphia Eagles
Jalen Hurts tried his best to shut folks up with 329 yards passing and four touchdowns in a 38-31 win over Washington.
Hurts has been fighting a bone bruise on his knee, and he had only nine touchdowns and eight interceptions entering this game.
He started slowly as the Eagles fell behind 14-3, but they rallied behind Hurts to take a 38-24 lead in the fourth quarter. Once again, A.J. Brown did most of the damage.
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He’s emerged as one of the NFL’s best receivers, and he set an NFL record with his sixth straight game of 125 yards receiving. He caught eight passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns.
Now, comes the showdown against Dallas. Philadelphia is 7-1 and leads the NFC East by a game over the Cowboys.
We’re just enjoying the journey. Obviously, there’s one stop we’d like to make in the end, but it’s just a journey,” Hurts said. “You have to really embrace the process of it.”
With Kirk Cousins out, Jaren Hall takes the QB spotlight for Vikings
Kirk Cousins tore his Achilles and is expected to miss the rest of the season.
Cousins, 35, has never missed a game due to injury. He limped to the sideline after suffering a non-contact injury in the fourth quarter
“I do know that it is going to have to be an injury that makes him not capable physically of playing because if it has anything to do with pain tolerance or a choice to go out on the football field, Kirk Cousins is going to be out on the field,” coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters. “We will figure out the severity of it and let you guys know what my fear is right now of the injury.
“When we confirm that as an organization we will try to move forward in the short term knowing that I’m not sure anybody in this league overall was playing as well as Kirk at the position this year.”
Cousins’ absence deals a serious blow to the Vikings’ playoff hopes just as they won their third straight game to reach .500 for the first time this season.
Jaren Hall, a fifth-round pick in April, replaced Cousins and completed 3 of 4 passes for 23 yards.
The question for Minnesota is whether it wants to trade for a quarterback like Tennessee’s Ryan Tannehill or Arizona’s Kyler Murray or turn the season over to Hall.
New York Giants passing game is grounded
Somehow the New York Giants finished their 13-10 overtime loss to the New York Jets with minus-9 yards passing.
That’s not a misprint. Yes, the Giants really had negative yards passing.
Tyrod Taylor completed 4 of 7 passes for eight yards before leaving with a rib injury. Third-string quarterback Tommy DeVito completed 2 of 7 passes for minus-1 yard.
Darren Waller and Matt Breida each had one catch for four yards. Darius Slayton caught one pass for minus-1 yards. The New York Jets sacked the Giants quarterback four times.
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“Wish it would’ve ended better to fulfill those emotions, but the little kid in me is smiling right now that I got to play in an NFL game and really in a meaningful NFL game,” DeVito said. “I just wish the outcome would’ve been different.”
The Giants missed a 35-yard field goal with 24 seconds left, but Jets’ quarterback Zach Wilson hit consecutive 29-yard passes to set up a 35-yard field goal by Greg Zuerlein as time expired to send the game to overtime.
Miami Dolphins offense can’t be held back this time
In Week 2, the New England Patriots contained Miami’s offense in a seven-point loss.
This time, the Patriots had no chance.
Tua Tagovailoa passed for 324 yards with three touchdowns and an interception.
Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill each went over the 100-yard mark as the Dolphins overwhelmed New England’s inept offense. Hill had eight receptions for 112 yards and a score, becoming the first player in the Super Bowl era to top 1,000 receiving yards through eight games.
The Dolphins face the Kansas City Chiefs (6-2) next week in Germany.
“You get a great litmus test of where you’re at as a football team when you have a division game, and then on top of that you’re going overseas the next week,” Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said after the game, “and on top of that, you have ‘Hard Knocks’ the week after. That is leading the league in potential distractions. So I knew we were going to find out a lot about our team today.”
New England managed just 218 yards and 13 first downs to drop to 2-6 and stay in last place. The Patriots haven’t finished last in the NFC East since they went 5-11 in 2000.
“It starts with us in the locker room,” New England veteran center David Andrews said. “I think any grown man has to sit there and look in the mirror and say what I could do better. If you start pointing fingers, I think that’s kind of a coward’s way of doing things.”
Trevor Lawrence disses Pittsburgh’s ‘little yellow towels’
Trevor Lawrence took a shot at the Pittsburgh Steelers’ fan base, dissing their Terrible Towel.
Lawrence was asked during the week about the tradition of Pittsburgh fans waving the yellow towels, and he referred to them as “Little yellow towels”.
Then he went and shut them up with a quality performance as the Jaguars won their fifth straight game. Lawrence passed for 292 yards with a touchdown and an interception in a workmanlike performance and a 20-10 win.
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They lead the AFC South by two games.
“It’s part of what makes this game great,” Lawrence said. “You want that fuel. You want to hate your opponent when they come in and make it as hard as possible. I totally understand that.”
Bryce Young gets the best of bestie C.J. Stroud
We probably should have known Bryce Young would play his best game of the season against Houston. After all, the Texans’ quarterback C.J. Stroud is a good friend he’s known since middle school.
Young passed for 235 yards and a touchdown as Carolina beat Houston 15-13 to win its first game. Stroud passed for 140 yards, his lowest total of the season.
Young led Carolina on a 15-play drive that gobbled up the last 6:17. Eddie Piniero’s 23-yard field goal won it. The win kept Carolina from matching its worst start in franchise history. The Panthers started 0-7 in 1998.
“You love opportunities like that,” Young said. “You go in and have a chance to end the game on your terms and just try to take the game. Down by one, what else would you hope for? That’s what we play for.”
The two shared a pregame hug, and Young waited for Stroud outside the locker room after the game. They spoke briefly.
“It was cool. It was a normal game for him and for me,” Stroud said. “We’re just playing football. We’re friends off the field – and that’s a blessing. I came to play hard and win. I’m happy for him and his first win and I hope he catches some momentum.”
Jean-Jacques Taylor is the NFL Insider for Sportsnaut. Follow him on Twitter. He’s the author of Coach Prime: Deion Sanders and the Making of Men.