The NFL’s sixth through eighth week of sports called for some interesting gameplay. Already, there are no more undefeated teams. Surprisingly, some of the teams with the worst records beat the teams with the best records, while others didn’t meet expectations. Let’s dive into the past few weeks.
First off, the Cleveland Browns ruined the San Francisco 49ers’ perfect record on Sunday of week 6 in a surprising last-second twist. The game came down to the wire after the Browns were ahead in the fourth quarter. I was on the edge of my seat once the 49ers had the ball. They reached close to field-goal target range and got stopped by the Browns. Kicker Jake Moody got into position and got ready to kick, and it went wide right. With nine seconds left, Cleveland kneels and wins the game. I was shocked they missed. Cleveland lost a lot of stars in previous weeks, like running back Nick Chubb back in week two, but they somehow came out on top 19-17.
In week seven the Browns had another close call against the Indianapolis Colts. The stress was present even though I’m not a Browns fan. The score was 38-33 Colts with 15 seconds left, and Cleveland took the win by scoring a touchdown for a 39-38 win. The pressure was high in week 8, with the Browns wanting to continue their winning streak, but they couldn’t hold on.
While this was going on the 49ers lost during both week 7 and week 8. The 49ers’ quarterback, Brock Purdy, showed signs of a concussion, so during the off time between week 7 and week 8, they checked him and cleared him for the week 8 game against the Bengals.
Another surprising score from week 6, was the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets. The Eagles looked like they had the upper hand all game, especially with the great gameplay they were having, but in the end the Jets ended their undefeated streak. Philadelphia led the entire game but with a late New York touchdown and successful two-point conversion, the Jets had a 6-point lead. The Eagles, in a tough spot, took a timeout after the punt, and with nothing left to lose, the stressed out fans watched as they went for it on fourth-and-eight but the attempt failed, giving the Jets another win.
Philadelphia then came back and ended up winning their next two games. They weren’t strongly noteworthy other than the Tua Tagovailoa and Jalen Hurts meeting from week seven. The two used to play for the University of Alabama together so it was a long-awaited game for them.
The Jets, on the other hand, had a long week 8 against the Giants. The Jets ended up tying the game with a last second field goal in the Fourth and sent it to OT. The Jets won with another important field goal 13-10.
Multiple injuries happened the last few weeks that have impacted games. Starting Las Vegas Raiders Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo suffered a back injury and was pulled from the game in week 6. He played week eight, but only threw 126 yards. Buffalo Bills Running Back Damien Harris suffered a rough neck injury when rushing the ball for a first-down in week 6 as well. He was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. He was then placed on IR. Vikings Quarterback Kirk Cousins started suffering from an achilles injury during week 8 and is now out for the rest of the season.
Another noteworthy game was the Buffalo Bills vs New York Giants game in week 6. The Bills had colorful bracelets light up while players ran out, and showed how interactive the fanbase is. The stats of this game were really interesting. For example, the Bills didn’t score during the first three quarters, yet they still won. Their defense worked well together to make sure the game stayed at a one-score game. After the Bills finally did score a touchdown, they led the game 7-6. With around four minutes left to play, the score was 14-9 Bills, but the Giants were getting close to a touchdown, as in one yard away from the endzone. Backup Quarterback Tyrod Taylor passed but was shut down by the Bill’s defense, resulting in a win for Buffalo.
The Bills ended up losing to the Patriots the next week. It was a chaotic game and made me upset because it ended so close with the last second touchdown from New England. The Patriots are the 4th team in the AFC East, so it was truly surprising to see how one of the better teams lost to them. The Giants had a better week seven, though, then the Bills, since they were able to beat Washington.
Besides some painful injuries and some upsetting losses, I do think these past weeks showed how some teams are not yet ready to be overlooked and still could have a chance in the league to make it into the playoffs. Others need to not let losing get the best of them. There is still a lot more football to be played, though, and it will be interesting to see what happens.
