Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills showed why they are Super Bowl favourites with a dominant 27-17 victory over Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.
The unbeaten Philadelphia Eagles were also impressive as they battered the Pittsburgh Steelers 35-13 to secure just their second 7-0 start.
There was also an eye-catching display from the San Francisco 49ers’ new signing Christian McCaffrey, while Bill Belichick achieved another huge landmark as the New England Patriots beat the New York Jets.
Allen also showed why he is fancied to replace Rodgers as the league’s MVP this season with another impressive all-action display, but he was not the only NFL star to shine in week eight.
AJ Brown caught three first-half touchdowns for the Eagles, Derrick Henry had another record display for the Tennessee Titans against the Houston Texans and Tony Pollard’s hat-trick gave the Dallas Cowboys an emphatic win over the Chicago Bears.
Earlier on Sunday, the Denver Broncos fought back to beat the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley in the final London game of the 2022 season.
Allen presses MVP claims for Brilliant Bills
Bills quarterback Allen could just be the best player in the NFL at the moment, with his combination of size, speed and arm strength unlike anything we have seen before in the league.
He has a rocket of an arm and can fire passes downfield with the mere flick of a wrist, as he did with two touchdown passes, but he also ran for 47 crucial yards and at 6ft 5in, running at such speed he is a real problem for defenders.
A seventh straight home win, coming by a combined 157 points, moves the Bills to 6-1 and top of the AFC standings and looking like the team everyone has to beat.
Green Bay slipped to 0-7 in Buffalo as the only team they have never grabbed an away win against, and while there were some bright spots it is more doom and gloom for reigning MVP Rodgers as his side dropped to their fourth straight loss to go to 3-5.
Unbeaten Eagles lead NFC charge
Philadelphia’s 10th straight home win against their local rivals Pittsburgh moved them to 7-0 for the first time since 2004, with quarterback Jalen Hurts throwing a career-best four touchdown passes.
Three of those TD passes came to receiver Brown, all of them in the first half, as he showed he’s the X-factor in this Eagles squad that looks to have very few weaknesses.
Not many had Nick Sirianni’s squad down as Super Bowl contenders, yet they are the NFL’s only remaining unbeaten team and their next four games are all against sides who currently do not have a winning record.
Fumbling issues saw the New York Giants drop to 6-2 for the season with defeat in Seattle, to leave the Minnesota Vikings as a surprise next best in the NFC at 6-1 after they forced three second-half turnovers and two sacks to hang on to a 34-26 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
It is not pretty for the Vikings but they are finding ways to win.
Belichick goes second on all-time wins list
Speaking of winning, only one head coach in history, the great Don Shula, has more wins in the NFL than Bill Belichick’s 325 after his Patriots beat the Jets 22-17 for a 13th straight victory over their big rivals.
“I’ll have a thought on that when it’s over,” was Belichick’s typically understated response to breaking a tie with George Halas. “I’ll add them up in the end. I appreciate all the great players that have won those games.”
It was a win in typical Belichick fashion as his Patriots defence flummoxed Jets QB Zach Wilson and forced him into making “some boneheaded plays”, as he called them himself.
At 4-4, the Pats are still bottom of the AFC East behind the Bills, Jets and the Miami Dolphins, who rallied from two 14-point deficits to beat the Detroit Lions 31-27.
Tua Tagovailoa threw three TD passes, two to Jalen Waddle, who along with Tyreek Hill combined for 294 receiving yards as they continue to grow into the most dynamic wideout duo in the league.
McCaffrey does it all but DJ plays wrong tune for Panthers
The San Francisco 49ers traded for star running back Christian McCaffrey from the Carolina Panthers, and he showed just why with an extraordinary performance in their 31-14 win over rivals the Los Angeles Rams.
McCaffrey became just the 11th player in NFL history and the first since 2005 to run, catch and throw a touchdown in the same game, with his 183 total yards the second most of all those players to achieve the feat.
“Both of my little brothers are quarterbacks, so I learned a lot from them,” joked McCaffrey, who has only spent about 10 days with his new team. Imagine what he will do when he settles in.
Derrick Henry was another big performer on Sunday as the Titans running back haunted the Houston Texans yet again with his fourth straight 200-yard game against them.
Henry recorded his sixth career 200-yard rushing game, the joint-most ever, and scored two TDs in Tennessee’s 17-10 victory that pushed them to 5-2. The Texans will go away once again having nightmares about their nemesis.
Tony Pollard ran in three scores as the Dallas Cowboys hammered the Chicago Bears 49-29, and Alvin Kamara scored a rushing and receiving touchdown in the New Orleans Saints’ 24-0 shutout of the Las Vegas Raiders.
On Halloween weekend, it was a case of trick but no treat for the Carolina Panthers as receiver DJ Moore went from hero to villain in an instant – seconds after catching an incredible 62-yard touchdown pass with 12 seconds left.
The extra point would have won the game, but Moore went over the top with his celebrations and was hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that pushed the kick back to a 48-yarder, which kicker Eddy Pineiro promptly missed.
Pineiro missed a kick again in overtime before Atlanta Falcons counterpart Younghoe Koo got his chance and slotted a 41-yarder to give his side an improbable victory and an even more improbable first place in the NFC South.
