Despite Week 8 in the 2025 NFL season being dubbed “Bye-mageddon” – six teams were on bye weeks, leaving fantasy football players scrambling – Sunday was jam-packed with action.
There were last-minute thrills, serious injuries and historic achievements across the day’s games.
Some notable moments that we won’t cover include a serious ankle injury that will need surgery suffered by New York Giants running back Cam Skattebo and Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett having a performance for the ages with five sacks against the New England Patriots.
Here’s everything you need to know about Week 8.
It’s fair to say that Aaron Glenn’s first season as head coach of the New York Jets hasn’t gone to plan.
Heading into Week 8, the team was 0-7 and had very little to shout about. The build-up for Sunday’s clash with the Cincinnati Bengals played out in typical Jets fashion with starting quarterback Justin Fields benched for back-up Tyrod Taylor, only for Taylor to be ruled out with a knee injury meaning Fields was thrust back in as the starter.
It also came in a week where Jets owner Woody Johnson criticized Fields’ play.
However, on Sunday, the squad – and Fields in particular – looked like a completely different team as they stunned the Bengals 39-38 to get Glenn his first win as head coach.
New York had trailed for the majority of the game in Ohio, including being down 31-16 heading into the last quarter. But three touchdowns, all from running back Breece Hall, in the final 15 minutes mean there are no winless teams left in the NFL anymore.
First, Hall scampered through the Bengals defense for a five-yard TD run and a successful two-point conversion made it a seven-point game. A one-yard score from Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown did put the Bengals back up by 14, but New York didn’t appear daunted.
The Jets came right down the field and scored yet again, with Hall running in from 27 yards out. Another successful two-point conversion put New York just six points back with 7:52 left in the game.
And then, in the most dramatic fashion with just under two minutes remaining, Hall completed a short pass to tight end Mason Taylor to give the Jets a one-point lead; Hall is the first running back with a go-ahead touchdown pass in the final two minutes of regulation since Hall of Famer Curtis Martin did so in 2000.
Although the Jets struggled to stop Bengals QB Joe Flacco and the Cincinnati offense all game, the defense stepped up just when it needed to, forcing a turnover on downs to clinch an emotional victory.
It was particularly meaningful for Fields who revealed afterwards that he cried in his closet at home due to the stress of the previous week – the 26-year-old also revealed he was emotional on the field as the game came to an end.
“When I was on the field, I was damn near crying,” Fields told reporters. “Not because we won, but just how everything I’ve been through the past week, everything we’ve been through as a team these past seven weeks. Lots of ups and downs.”
Fields threw 21-of-32 for 244 yards and a touchdown, while Hall ran for 133 yards on 18 carries as the Jets had their best game on offense all season; New York had 502 total yards on the day, including a season-high 254 on the ground.
Afterwards, Glenn spoke about the resilience of his team in the face of growing negativity.
“These guys, this staff, this team (were) criticized for so much – and I understand why; we were 0-7, and we brought a lot on ourselves – but a lot of it was unwarranted,” he said. “But it is what it is, and I’m just so happy for those guys, so happy for the coaches.
“But I also know this … we’ve got a long way to go. I’m going to enjoy this win. I’m going to enjoy this with those guys, and my family, and those are the guys who deserve to have this, and we are going to get out of here and enjoy this for the week, (then) get ready for Cleveland.”
We’re used to Josh Allen being productive with both his arm and his legs. But he cemented why he’s arguably the best dual-threat quarterback ever on Sunday.
Although Allen didn’t have to do too much in the Buffalo Bills’ comfortable 40-9 victory over the Carolina Panthers, it was still a historic day for the 29-year-old.
Despite Buffalo being led by running back James Cook – who set a new career high with 216 rushing yards and two touchdowns – Allen had one passing TD and two on the ground in the emphatic Bills win.
It was the 46th game of Allen’s NFL career in which he had at least one touchdown pass and ran for another on the ground, breaking a tie with Cam Newton for the most such games in NFL history.
His two scores on the ground meant he now has 70 rushing touchdowns, just five behind Newton for the most in NFL history as a quarterback.
Allen’s big performance came at the perfect time for Buffalo, which stopped a two-game losing streak and with questions starting to pop up about its Super Bowl aspirations.
“Coming off two losses, it’s been lingering with us,” Allen said. “So wanting to come out here and put our best foot forward and I think tonight we did that.”
Buffalo’s defense, which had been porous to start the season, looked much improved on Sunday, holding the Panthers to 244 yards and forcing thee turnovers.
But Cook’s explosive performance stole the show in Carolina, as he became just the fourth player in NFL history with 215-plus rushing yards and two-plus rushing touchdowns in a game with fewer than 20 carries.
Aaron Rodgers spent most of his NFL career with the Green Bay Packers, winning a Super Bowl ring and multiple MVP awards in Wisconsin.
But for the first time, he lined up against his former team on Sunday, this time leading the Pittsburgh Steelers.
It all seemed to be going smoothly for Rodgers and the Steelers at Acrisure Stadium, with Pittsburgh holding a nine-point lead at halftime, but the tides turned dramatically in the second half – especially the fourth quarter.
Green Bay scored 28 points in the second half – including 21 straight points in the final quarter – to put the result out of reach before a late Steelers touchdown flattered the scoreline, with the Packers winning 35-25.
Rodgers, 41, proved that he’s still a valuable quarterback in the NFL with some of his creative throws against the Packers, but the whole offense struggled against a ferocious Green Bay pass rush.
Too often, Pittsburgh moved the ball into Packers territory but failed to reach the end zone, relying on kicker Chris Boswell to kick field goals; Boswell was 4-of-4 on his attempts.
Although Rodgers’ first time facing Green Bay was the main storyline coming into Sunday Night Football, the game will be remembered for the performance of third-year tight end Tucker Kraft.
Kraft finished with seven catches for 143 yards and two touchdowns, confirming his status as one of the burgeoning stars at the position; notably, Kraft’s performance came on the NFL’s National Tight End Day.
The 24-year-old had many memorable moments on Sunday, with his 59-yard catch and run in the third quarter proving a galvanizing one for a stagnant Packers offense at that point.
His 143 yards are the second-highest single-game mark for a Packers tight end behind Richard Rodgers’ 146 in 2015, per the NFL. He now has 469 receiving yards this season, the most ever by a Packers tight end through seven games.
“Anytime I get the ball in my hands, all I’m thinking about is North-South,” Kraft said. “How can I squeeze every amount of yards out of this play? Those opportunities came to me today, and I just executed.”
He added: “Some stuff happens when you’re slightly taken aback, but these are just opportunities I’ve prayed for, being able to help my team like this. Just making the plays when they come to me, taking everything one play at a time and just trying to stack them, eliminating the bad and moving forward if I do have a bad play.”
Home vs. away (winners in bold)
Atlanta Falcons 10-34 Miami Dolphins
Baltimore Ravens 30-16 Chicago Bears
Carolina Panthers 9-40 Buffalo Bills
Cincinnati Bengals 38-39 New York Jets
Houston Texans 26-15 San Francisco 49ers
New England Patriots 32-13 Cleveland Browns
Philadelphia Eagles 38-20 New York Giants
New Orleans Saints 3-23 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Denver Broncos 44-24 Dallas Cowboys
Indianapolis Colts 38-14 Tennessee Titans
Pittsburgh Steelers 25-35 Green Bay Packers
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