Looking back at the 10 most impressive and impactful individual performances around the NFL in Week 8.
A running back going from afterthought to afterburners, a wide receiver taking a roadtrip visit to the hospital during a game only to return in an ambulance and hop back on the field and a 38-year-old quarterback continuing to defy expectations highlighted some of the wildness of the NFL’s Week 8.
Ranking The Best Performances In Week 7 Of The NFL Season
Before turning the focus to the start of Week 9 on Thursday night, let’s first look back at the 10-ish most superlative individual performances from around the league last week and hand out some “Game Balls.”
1. Arizona Cardinals RB Tyler Allgeier
The Cardinals’ free agent signing of running back Tyler Allgeier seemed questionable in hindsight after the team then committed top draft capital to select RB Jeremiyah Love with the No. 3 overall pick while also bringing veteran RB James Conner back for another season.
Well, Conner has predictably been sidelined by injury and Love is now on injured reserve with a high-ankle sprain. Add in some struggles at the QB positions and Allgeier is suddenly the focal point of Arizona’s offense.
He proved up to the task Sunday in a 33-30 overtime win over the Cowboys, rushing for 147 yards and a touchdown on just 11 carries while also catching 5 passes for 44 yards and a score in one of the wilder games of the week.
Arizona trailed 24-10 early in the fourth quarter before rallying back to win with backup QB Gardner Minshew and Allgeier leading the way.
Allgeier had just 176 rushing yards and 1 TD all season entering the game before his career-best performance and just his second 100-yard rushing game since he had two his rookie season in 2022 with the Falcons.
2. Tampa Bay Buccaneers RBs Bucky Irving and Kenneth Gainwell
The Buccaneers became the first team since 1974 to win a game without completing a single pass Sunday when they beat the Falcons 16-0 despite QB Baker Mayfield going 0-for-3 passing.
In fact, the 1974 Bills are the only other team in the Super Bowl era to finish a game without a pass completion.
Tampa Bay leaned on its defense and set a franchise record with 324 rushing yards with Bucky Irving rushing for 170 yards and a TD on 27 carries and Kenneth Gainwell adding 140 yards on 25 carries.
The Bucs used a similar formula the previous week in blowing out the Panthers 43-13 despite Mayfield throwing for just 64 yards.
Irving has topped 100 rushing yards in three of the last four games after not hitting that mark in any game last season. The third-year back is up to 728 rushing yards and 5 TDs while on pace for a career-best season.
And suddenly, after an 0-4 start, Tampa Bay is 3-5 and just a half game out of the lead in the NFC South.
3. Las Vegas Raiders QB Kirk Cousins
High on the list of biggest surprises this NFL season is the play of 38-year-old Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins.
He’s come down a bit since the Raiders’ stunning 3-0 start with the team losing its next four games, but Cousins was back in control Sunday in a 38-33 road win over the Jets.
Cousins completed 19 of 26 passes for 247 yards, 3 TDs and 0 INTs while also rushing for a score.
With the Raiders trailing 23-14 at halftime, Cousins led three straight touchdown drives to open the second half and ultimately a game-winning field goal drive late.
Cousins has passed for 2,124 yards, 19 TDs and 5 INTs, ranking third in the NFL in passing yards and second in passing TDs.
Who saw that coming?
4. Pittsburgh Steelers RB Jaylen Warren
Pittsburgh’s Jaylen Warren hasn’t taken his foot off the gas in what has become a belated breakout season for the fifth-year running back.
Warren rushed 17 times for a season-high 143 yards and a TD in the Steelers’ 27-6 win over the Browns on Sunday, notching his fourth 100-yard rushing effort in the last six games.
He’s sixth in the NFL with 704 rushing yards, tied for second with seven runs of at least 20 yards and has 294 receiving yards with 3 total TDs overall.
Warren is on pace to blow past his career-high for rushing, which he set last year with 958 yards, while his top receiving total was 370 yards back in 2023.
5. Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow and WRs Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase
Joe Burrow threw 3 interceptions Sunday and had his Bengals trailing late vs. the lowly Titans, and ordinarily that would be too much to overcome for a spot on the exclusive Game Balls list.
But … Burrow also finished with the most passing yards in any game this NFL season with 462, threw for 5 TDs, rushed for another and led Cincinnati to a thrilling 43-36 overtime win.
Leaving him off the list here would be like the Baseball Hall of Fame not including the all-time hits or home runs leaders. Oh …
Nonetheless, Burrow makes the cut and shares the spotlight with his top two receivers after Tee Higgins caught 10 passes for 155 yards and 2 TDs and Ja’Marr Chase had 11 grabs for 141 yards and a TD.
Burrow led Cincy on two long fourth quarter touchdown drives with a 25-yard score to TE Mike Gesicki and an 18-yard game-tying strike to Higgins with 1:17 remaining, and the star QB then went 4-for-4 passing for 61 yards on the Bengals’ overtime drive while capping it himself with a 9-yard rushing TD.
Burrow leads the NFL in passing yards per game at 302.1 and passing TDs with 20 (with 6 INTs).
Meanwhile, Higgins is having a career year for the 5-2 Bengals with 43 catches for 726 yards and 4 TDs in seven games, pacing to easily surpass his career-high 1,091 yards set way back in 2021.
6. Detroit Lions RB Jahmyr Gibbs
A “Game Balls” staple, Jahmyr Gibbs had his third 150-yard rushing performance of the season Sunday while rumbling for 153 yards and a TD on 23 carries to lead the Lions to a 19-15 win over the previously unbeaten Minnesota Vikings.
That was especially impressive coming against one of the league’s top defenses.
Gibbs is firmly in the NFL Offensive Player of the Year conversation with 773 rushing yards, 285 receiving yards and 10 total TDs in seven games.
7. Seattle Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Regular readers know how rare it is to make the Game Balls list in a loss, but then again, Jaxon Smith-Njigba is a rare talent indeed.
JSN carries more of the burden for the Seahawks offense than any star player in the league for their respective team, so it’s not his fault Seattle got humbled by the Bears in a 34-17 loss on Monday night.
Smith-Njigba had 6 catches for 118 yards and a TD, which is a modest output by his standards, but considering Seattle only had 252 yards of offense as a team it’s quite an impressive tally.
The reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year is up to 64 catches for 985 yards (261 more than any other receiver in the league) and 9 TDs (3 more than any other WR).
8. Tampa Bay Buccaneers LB Alex Anzalone
Tampa Bay deserves a defensive representative this week after holding the Falcons to 224 yards, just 8 first downs and 0 points while forcing 4 turnovers.
Linebacker Alex Anzalone, the NFL Defensive Player of the Week, accounted for two of those turnovers with a pair of interceptions — on Atlanta’s second and third possessions to set the tone for the game — and also had 6 tackles and a tackle for loss.
9. Jacksonville Jaguars RB Bhayshul Tuten
Bhayshul Tuten had by far the best game of his two-year NFL career Sunday with 104 rushing yards and a TD on 16 carries and 2 catches for 55 yards and a score in the Jaguars’ 42-7 win over the Colts.
It was the first 100-yard rushing game of his career as his previous career-high was 74 yards.
10. Green Bay Packers WR Christian Watson
Christian Watson had 8 catches for 113 yards in the Packers’ 27-19 win over the Panthers last Thursday, which is impressive — but especially so when considering he left mid-game in an ambulance to the hospital, returned in an ambulance and went back out on the field.
Watson was shaken up and sent to get checked out after landing hard on a 53-yard reception early in the second quarter, but he returned later to finish off the Packers’ win and his third 100-yard game of the season.
Watson has been one of the NFL’s top receivers with 42 catches for 708 yards and 6 TDs.
Honorable Mentions
New York Jets RB Braelon Allen: Allen has done a commendable job filling in for injured starter Breece Hall and rushed for a career-high 147 yards and a TD on 21 carries in the Jets’ loss to the Raiders. He has 445 rushing yards and 2 TDs over the last four games in place of Hall.
Jacksonville Jaguars S Rayuan Lane III: Lane had 4 tackles, 3 passes defended and a 92-yard interception return for touchdown in the Jags’ blowout win. He was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week.
Tennessee Titans QB Cam Ward and RB Tony Pollard: The poor Titans. Even in Ward’s best performance of the season they came up short. Ward completed 26 of 40 passes for 304 yards, 2 TDs and 0 INTs (with a lost fumble) and rushed for 41 yards on 7 attempts. That marked the first 300-yard passing game of his two-year career. Pollard rushed 117 yards and 2 TDs on 21 carries for his second straight 100-yard game.
Kansas City Chiefs RB Emmett Johnnson: The rookie RB doesn’t get a lot of work behind star Kenneth Walker III, including just 1 carry for 15 yards in the Chiefs’ 28-24 loss at Denver last week, but Johnson left his mark nonetheless with 5 catches for 128 yards and a TD.
Cleveland Browns TE Harold Fannin: The Browns struggled offensively in a 27-6 loss to the Steelers, but their tight end was an exception. Fannin hauled in 10 of 12 targets for 154 yards, setting career-highs.
