NFL Week 8 top plays: Bills beat Packers; 49ers, Seahawks roll

Week 8 of the NFL season has featured some incredible football.

Sunday concluded with the Buffalo Bills topping the Green Bay Packers in a surprisingly competitive game. Earlier, rookie quarterback Malik Willis made his first NFL start in the Tennessee Titans’ win over the Houston Texans, the new-look San Francisco 49ers stomped the Los Angeles Rams, and the division-leading Seattle Seahawks handed the New York Giants their second loss of the season.

In the morning, Russell Wilson and the Denver Broncos narrowly defeated the Jacksonville Jaguars at London’s Wembley Stadium in the third game of the 2022 International Series. Elsewhere, the Dallas Cowboys dominated the Chicago Bears, while the Minnesota Vikings outlasted the Arizona Cardinals and the Atlanta Falcons locked down first place in the NFC South with a wild overtime win over the Carolina Panthers.

Here are the top plays from Sunday’s action.

Buffalo Bills 27, Green Bay Packers 17

Big runs set up Buffalo TD

Running back Devin Singletary ripped off a 30-yard run on Buffalo’s second possession, getting the Bills in the red zone. Quarterback Josh Allen then picked up a first down with his legs on third-and-14. Two plays later, Allen scrambled and found tight end Dawson Knox for a touchdown, giving the Bills a 7-0 lead.

17 to 14

One of, if not the best quarterback-wide receiver duo in the NFL did its thing on Buffalo’s third possession. On the fourth play of the drive, Allen hit Stefon Diggs for a 26-yard touchdown. The Bills took a 14-0 lead.

The Pack arrive

You know who won’t be getting his reps cut? Romeo Doubs. The rookie receiver hauled in an impressive 19-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers, cutting Green Bay’s deficit to 14-7.

Pretty TD

Isaiah McKenzie took a handoff from Allen and finessed it into the end zone, giving the Bills a 21-7 lead.

Bills steal another score

The Bills were able to get more points on the board before halftime. On the first play of what became the last possession of the half, Allen hooked up with Diggs on a 53-yard pass. That paved the way for a Tyler Bass field goal, putting the Bills up 24-7 at halftime.

Entertaining but low scoring half

The second half began with a lot of parity. Green Bay and Buffalo traded field goals, which was followed by the Packers turning it over on downs and both quarterbacks getting picked on back-to-back possessions. Then Allen was picked again near the goal line in the fourth quarter.

Packers capitalize

The Packers turned Allen’s second interception into points. An eight-play drive was capped off by Rodgers hitting Samori Toure for a 37-yard touchdown. The score trimmed Buffalo’s lead to 10 with 6:32 remaining but didn’t spark a comeback, as the Bills went on to win 27-17.

San Francisco 49ers 31, Los Angeles Rams 14

Tricks and treats!

The Rams were first on the board, thanks to a diving score from Matthew Stafford, but the Niners knotted things up soon after with a wild 34-yard trick pass from Christian McCaffrey to Brandon Aiyuk.

Dynamic duo

Stafford connected with Cooper Kupp for a second-quarter score to take the lead headed into halftime.

What can’t he do?

With a passing touchdown already on the books, McCaffrey made an acrobatic TD catch to give the Niners a lead, followed by a rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter to complete the trifecta. CMC became just the fourth player in NFL history to register a opassing, rushing and receiving TD in the same game, and the first since LaDainian Tomlinson in 2005.  

Seattle Seahawks 27, New York Giants 13

Finding a rhythm 

Seattle snagged the first score of the game, as Geno Smith found DK Metcalf in the back of the end zone.

He’ll take that!

The Giants defense came up with a clutch turnover at Seattle’s 2-yard line, which quickly turned into a game-tying touchdown ahead of the break, but they couldn’t keep it up, and the Seahawks came out with the win.

Washington Commanders 17, Indianapolis Colts 16

Taking charge

In the first half, Terry McLaurin broke off a 42-yard reception, which helped set up Antonio Gibson’s ensuing touchdown to give Washington the lead.

Chaos in Indy!

The Commanders put together an absolutely wild final drive to secure the road win. The Colts were leading until the final few minutes, when Taylor Heinicke tossed back-to-back 20-plus-yard throws to get the offense to the 1-yard line. After the score, Washington took a one-point lead with 22 seconds to spare!

Tennessee Titans 17, Houston Texans 10

Too tough

Derrick Henry took off for a 29-yard touchdown, giving the visiting Titans the lead in the second quarter.

Henry added another score in the second half, marking his fourth straight game with two or more touchdowns versus the Texans.

Dallas Cowboys 49, Chicago Bears 29

Hot start

Dallas was clicking on all cylinders early. After getting the Cowboys on the board first with a sneaky run, Dak Prescott extended Dallas’ lead with this smooth connection between Prescott and CeeDee Lamb.

Making a statement

The Cowboys added their third score of the day thanks to a high-flying pickup from Michael Gallup and a big run from Prescott that set up a clear route to the end zone for Tony Pollard.

Right on the money

The Bears defense picked off Prescott near midfield just ahead of the break, which allowed Justin Fields & Co. to take advantage and punch in a score to keep things close.

Chaos!

The second half was a wild one in Dallas. The Cowboys picked up a third-quarter touchdown on a 36-yard fumble recovery from Micah Parsons to extend their lead. Then, with momentum on its side, Dallas came up with a game-icing score in the final frame — a monster 54-yard rush from none other than Pollard.

Minnesota Vikings 34, Arizona Cardinals 26

Wheels!

Kirk Cousins jetted into the end zone on the Vikings’ first drive of the game, popping off for a 17-yard score.

History made

After coming up with a huge sideline grab in the first quarter to help move the Cards downfield, DeAndre Hopkins followed that up with a wild one-handed touchdown to keep things close ahead of the half.

Hopkins now joins Julio Jones as the only active NFL players with 800-plus career catches.

Atlanta Falcons 37, Carolina Panthers 34 (OT)

One-handed pick

The Falcons struggled right out of the gate, as Marcus Mariota turned the ball over on their first drive of the game. Panthers cornerback Donte Jackson came up with a jaw-dropping interception early in the first quarter.

Showing out

Tyler Allgeier, who stepped up for the injured Cordarrelle Patterson, turned a short pass into a clutch 25-yard touchdown to extend the Falcons’ lead in the third quarter.

Hail Mary!

The Panthers were down with 12 seconds to play, so PJ Walker threw it up for grabs, and DJ Moore came down with the ball in the end zone for a 62-yard game-tying score.

However, that was just the beginning. The game headed into overtime after Carolina missed the extra point, which was pushed back due to an excessive celebration penalty on Moore for removing his helmet after the score.

The Falcons ended up coming away with the win via a game-ending field goal in OT.

Philadelphia Eagles 35, Pittsburgh Steelers 13

The Eagles came out strong on their first drive of the game. Jalen Hurts connected with star receiver A.J. Brown for a monster 39-yard touchdown, which brought Lincoln Financial Field to its feet!

Trickery!

The Steelers knotted things up at seven with a trick-play touchdown that stunned the Eagles defense.

Always. Open.

The Hurts-Brown chemistry was strong in Philly, as the pair came up with two more first-half scores to help the home team cruise to an easy victory.

New England Patriots 22, New York Jets 17

Sharp throws

Zach Wilson launched one to Garrett Wilson for a 54-yard pickup to get the Jets in the red zone, where they picked up a field goal to take the first lead of the game.

Follow the leader

N.Y. took the lead early in the second quarter, 10-3, after Wilson found tight end Tyler Conklin for six.

In the end, the Jets weren’t able to hold off the Patriots’ five-field goal, one-touchdown performance, and the home team came up just short.

Miami Dolphins 31, Detroit Lions 27

Cashing in

After coughing up the ball on their first drive of the game, the Dolphins bounced back on their second possession. Tua Tagovailoa found Tyreek Hill for a 36-yard gain that set up a Jaylen Waddle touchdown.

Double trouble

Hill pulled in a dazzling 42-yard grab to help move the Dolphins downfield, and they were able to close the gap slightly when Waddle picked up his second score of the half. Miami went on to secure the win.

New Orleans Saints 24, Las Vegas Raiders 0

Ground game strong

The Saints took the lead in the first quarter, thanks to the fancy footwork of none other than Alvin Kamara.

No quit

After having no touchdowns in 2022 heading into Sunday, Kamara picked up his second of the first half, followed by a third score to open the second half.

Just like that, the Raiders were shut out for the first time since 2014.

Denver Broncos 21, Jacksonville Jaguars 17

Dropping dimes

The Jags were first on the board, as Trevor Lawrence found tight end Evan Engram for six right out of the gate.

Battling

Jacksonville led the entire first half, but Denver had a few tricks up its sleeve in the third quarter, when the Broncos took their first lead of the game. 

Then, Travis Etienne gave the Jags back the lead in the fourth quarter, but it was short-lived, as Broncos wideout K.J. Hamler moved his team downfield and Latavius Murray came up with the score to make it 21-17.

Sealing the deal

The Jags got the ball back with less than two minutes to play, but Lawrence was immediately picked off on Jacksonville’s own side of the field, and things ended there.

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