NFL Week 8 Recap – Division Leaders Continue to Win 

Have to start my NFL Week 8 recap by touching on one of the broader points. Six of the seven division leaders won this weekend, and New England can make it seven winners when they play at Buffalo on Monday Night Football. The Patriots (-14) are the biggest favorite in Week 8 action, and favorites are 10-3 SU and 7-6 ATS thus far in Week 8. Scoring has averaged 50.5 points per game through 13 Week 8 games; just above the record-breaking scoring this season.

Surprising Division Leaders Heading In To Week 9

The Bears (4-3) took advantage as the only NFC North team to win in week 8. Chicago shut down the New York Jets at Soldier Field 24-10, holding the Jets to a week-low 207 yards. Other division winners included Pittsburgh’s 33-18 win over Cleveland, as the Steelers out-gained the Browns 431-237. Houston fried the fish on Thursday night with a 42-23 win over the Miami Dolphins. And Washington (5-2) remained the surprise division leader in the NFC East with a perfectly balanced 360 yards offense to beat New York 20-13 and send the Giants (1-7) further into the NFC basement. An NFL Week 8 recap that includes downtrodden news on the Giants should come as no surprise. New York had just 38 rushing yards, all by prized rookie Saquon Barkley, and the Giants did not score a touchdown until the final minute of the game.

Vikings Fall To Saints In Rematch

The Vikings (4-3-1) were the only division leader to lose its grip on first place in Week 8, as the NFC North-leading Minnesota had a pair of very untimely turnovers to lose to NFC South-leading New Orleans Sunday night, 30-20.

The New Orleans Saints were out-gained by the Vikings 463-270 and Drew Brees passed for just 120 yards and one touchdown. But the Saints used a long fumble recovery in its own red zone to set up a touchdown just before halftime to take a 17-13 lead. That was a huge swing in the game, as was the 45-yard pick-6 of Vikings QB Kirk Cousins midway through the 3^rd quarter to extend the Saints lead to 27-13.

While the mistakes highlighted in my NFL Week 8 recap frame the Vikings in a negative way, polishing up the edges may have allowed them to compete with one of the best teams in the NFC. Cousins is throwing for massive gains, but has to get some help from the team's running attack.

Mahomes Continues MVP Campaign

The AFC’s best record belongs to Kansas City (7-1) and record-setting QB Pat Mahomes, who continued to roll as the Chiefs swept the season series by beating the Broncos 30-23. Denver had a good game plan running the ball often and a balanced offensive attack including 189 rushing yards and 222 passing yards to out-gain the Chiefs, who had only 49 rushing yards. But Mahomes added to his MVP numbers with another strong performance passing for 303 yards and 4 touchdowns to lead the Chiefs to a non-covering victory as a 10-point favorite.

Saints and Rams Win to Setup Week 9 Showdown

The Saints (6-1) return home following a pair of road wins to host the LA Rams (8-0) in Week 9 on Nov. 4. The Rams remained the only undefeated team after holding off the Green Bay Packers 29-27 in a back-and-forth contest in Los Angeles. Despite a perfect record, the Rams have covered just one of its last five games while winning three of them by 3-points or less. The Rams have been at least a 6.5-point favorite or more in every game this season, but the opening line is Pick ‘em between the Saints and Rams in New Orleans on Nov. 4.

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Fairway Jay is a professional handicapper based out of Las Vegas. He focuses primarily on the four majors along with college football and college basketball. You can follow him on Twitter @FairwayJay.