Best and worst of NFL Week 8: Cowboys overpower Rams, Will Levis impresses in debut, Kirk Cousins injured

Week 8 of the NFL season started Thursday night with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers dropping their third straight game, this time to the Buffalo Bills. Can the Buccaneers find a way to turn it around?

On Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys came out of the gate running against the Los Angeles Rams, the 2023 No. 1 (Carolina's Bryce Young) and No. 2 (Houston's C.J. Stroud) draft picks faced off for the first time, and the Minnesota Vikings lost quarterback Kirk Cousins in the fourth quarter to what sources told Adam Schefter is a torn Achilles. In Tennessee, rookie QB Will Levis impressed in his NFL debut and threw four touchdown passes in the Titans' win over the Atlanta Falcons.

The surprises continued in the late-afternoon window, as the San Francisco 49ers suffered their third straight loss of the season, and the Denver Broncos snapped their 16-game losing streak to the Kansas City Chiefs. On Sunday night, the Los Angeles Chargers easily handled the visiting Chicago Bears.

Then, on Monday night, the Detroit Lions rode a breakout performance from rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs to a 26-14 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders.

Our NFL Nation reporters reacted to all the action, answering lingering questions coming out of each game and picking out who -- or what -- is rising and falling for every team. Let's get to it.

Jump to a matchup:
TB-BUF | LAR-DAL | MIN-GB | ATL-TEN
NO-IND | NE-MIA | NYJ-NYG | JAX-PIT
PHI-WSH | HOU-CAR | CLE-SEA | CIN-SF
BAL-ARI | KC-DEN | CHI-LAC | LV-DET



How will the Lions split the workload when RB David Montgomery returns? The Lions' coaching staff has insisted it will ride the hot hand between Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs. So, after a breakout game in which Gibbs finished with 189 yards from scrimmage -- and Montgomery sat with a rib injury for the second straight week -- it would make sense for Gibbs to continue to carry the heavy workload until Montgomery returns to full strength. Then, once Montgomery is back, tailor their usage to each opponent going forward.

Stock up after the win: Defensive tackle Alim McNeill. McNeill had two of the Lions' six sacks on the night. Detroit's defense has now finished with at least five sacks in a game three times this season, which is tied with the Los Angeles Chargers for the second-most such games. Only the Baltimore Ravens have more (four games).

Stock down after the win: Wide receiver Jameson Williams. The second-year wideout is still trying to find his groove after returning from a four-game suspension for violating the league's gambling policy. He made two catches but dropped another from Goff, giving him three drops in his past three games. Last week in Baltimore, the No. 12 overall pick in 2022 finished with zero catches on six targets. -- Eric Woodyard

Next game: at Chargers (Sunday, Nov. 12, 4:05 p.m. ET)

Does Jimmy Garoppolo truly give the Raiders their best chance for success? Garoppolo was playing for the first time since suffering a first-half back injury against the Patriots two weeks ago. And despite his horrid night -- 10-of-21 passing for 126 yards with an end zone interception and six sacks -- the coaching staff and players believe he is still the guy over rookie Aidan O'Connell and 15-year veteran Brian Hoyer, with the New York Giants heading to Allegiant Stadium next week. Still, stay tuned.

Stock up after the loss: Defense. A fumble recovery by linebacker Robert Spillane, the seventh career pick-six by cornerback Marcus Peters and a strip and recovery by defensive end Maxx Crosby gave the Raiders their second three-takeaway game in four games. It's a good trend for a defense that, before this season, did not have a three-takeaway game since Week 6 of the 2021 season, and it kept the Raiders in the game entering the fourth quarter.

Stock down after the loss: Receivers. Of course a receiver cannot be involved unless he is thrown the ball. But not a single first-half touch for a unit that includes an All-Pro in Davante Adams, a former Pro Bowler in Hunter Renfrow and a rising No. 2 WR in Jakobi Meyers is unfathomable. Adams had one catch, on seven targets, for 11 yards. -- Paul Gutierrez

Next game: vs. Giants (Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET)



Is Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert back? After fracturing the middle finger on his left hand in Week 4, Herbert had one of the worst three-game stretches of his career, with career lows in passing yards and completions. But on Sunday, Herbert, no longer sporting a glove on his left hand, looked more comfortable and confident than he has since the injury happened. He began the game with 15 straight completions and finished with 294 yards and three touchdowns as the Chargers' offense cruised against Chicago.

Stock up after the win: RB Austin Ekeler. After missing three games with a high right ankle sprain, Ekeler returned in Week 6 but hadn't played to his standard. That changed on Sunday as he scored the game's first touchdown and led the Chargers in receiving yards. The score was Ekeler's 30th receiving touchdown in his career and also his 400th reception. He's the seventh Charger to record at least 400 receptions and 30 receiving touchdowns.

Stock down after the win: Rushing offense. The Chargers' rushing offense has been among the worst in the NFL all season, and that didn't change on Sunday night, as they finished with 54 yards. The Bears' defensive line closed openings, and the Chargers' rushers were often stopped before passing the line of scrimmage. The running struggles didn't matter on Sunday, but this is an issue the Chargers need to fix moving forward. -- Kris Rhim

Next game: at Jets (Monday, Nov. 6, 8:15 p.m. ET)

Why did the Bears' defense regress after two good weeks? All the goodwill Matt Eberflus' defense built up against the Vikings and Raiders quickly dissipated when the Bears allowed Justin Herbert to complete his first 15 passes and throw for 298 yards and three touchdowns. Chicago did not generate pressure on 30 of Herbert's 40 dropbacks (he completed 86.7% of throws in those situations) and missed countless tackles en route to allowing 202 yards after the catch and 58 yards after contact. The Bears allowed long drives (three TD drives of 92, 55 and 75 yards) and looked completely overmatched by an offense that went 7-of-12 on third down and found a workaround through the air when it couldn't run the ball.

Stock up after the loss: TE Cole Kmet. For a game that featured very few positives, the veteran caught a team-high 10 passes (on 10 targets) for 79 yards. Kmet was the security blanket rookie QB Tyson Bagent needed to keep Chicago's first touchdown drive alive with three catches after a dropped TD and illegal shift penalty threatened to force the Bears off the field without points.

Stock down after the loss: WR Velus Jones Jr. The Bears wide receiver drew a 15-yard penalty for running into Chargers punt returner Derius Davis and dropped a wide-open touchdown when he slipped and fell in the end zone. -- Courtney Cronin

Next game: at Saints (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET)



Having ended the 16-game losing streak against the Chiefs with it, will coach Sean Payton lean more on the run game? The Broncos are better, more efficient and can hang with the best the AFC has to offer if they muscle up and run the ball. There were times Sunday the Broncos controlled every bit of the tempo and the line of scrimmage with a methodical rushing attack that consistently bore first-down fruit. But then Payton will drift into a pass, pass, pass, punt series that is too often a rally killer. The Broncos' run game passes both the eye test as well as the advanced metrics -- they have been among the league's best in percentage of explosive runs and run block win rate all season -- and until somebody stops it they should lean on it.

Stock up after the win: CB Ja'Quan McMillian. McMillian had his first career interception Sunday against Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes and continues to show up with some fire in run defense (he had a tackle for loss as well Sunday).

Stock down after the win: QB Russell Wilson. Yes, he had three touchdown passes, but it was a choppy ride. He had barely crossed 100 yards passing at the start of the fourth quarter -- he had 104 -- had been sacked four times, fumbled twice (losing one) and is holding the ball far too long. -- Jeff Legwold

Next game: at Bills (Monday, Nov. 13, 8:15 p.m. ET)

How damaging is the loss in the bigger picture? It's not ideal. The Chiefs were the only AFC team with one loss entering Sunday but are now in a 6-2 group with the Dolphins, Jaguars and Ravens. It now feels like next week's game against Miami is a must-win for the Chiefs if they are going to claim the AFC's No. 1 seed at the end of the season.

Stock up after the loss: Pass rush. The Chiefs were able to get consistent pressure and sacked Wilson five times. Defensive end George Karlaftis' strip sack late in the first half led to a Chiefs field goal.

Stock down after the loss: QB Patrick Mahomes. He wasn't at his best and couldn't even threaten the Broncos with any kind of late comeback. He didn't get much help as he was held without a touchdown pass for the first time since Dec. 5, 2021, against the Broncos, but the Chiefs were still 0-for-3 in the red zone. -- Adam Teicher

Next game: vs. Dolphins (in Germany) (Sunday, 9:30 a.m. ET)