NFL Week 8 preview: 5 games you can’t miss this weekend
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Elite offenses meet elite defenses, malfunctioning defenses meet elite offenses, and hapless offenses meet elite defenses in Week 8 of the NFL season, with a potential NFC Championship dress-rehearsal thrown in for good measure.
Chicago's Monday night showdown with Seattle serves as a fitting crescendo to one of the best slates of the campaign so far.
Here's our pick of the top five NFL Week 8 games — and where to watch NFL online and on TV.
The Vikings are the only undefeated team in the NFL, but are they actually any good? Brian Flores' defense certainly is, but with a mere 10 offensive touchdowns, kicker Will Reichard having outscored every other Viking combined , a dip in form is surely coming. Cue Jared Goff and the freewheeling Lions offense. Unfortunately for Detroit, their defense is about as bad as Minnesota's offense and they've lost two straight to their NFC North rivals. This will be fascinating.
A variation on the theme, the Ravens' clash with the Bills has the potential to be a shootout, seeing as both defenses are awful and both offenses are outstanding — if Lamar Jackson plays, that is. The Baltimore star's apparently imminent return from an ankle injury has failed to materialize for a month now, perhaps with this Week 8 fixture in mind. In the meantime, the Ravens have dropped to the bottom of the AFC North after blowing double-digit leads in each of their past two games. Josh Allen and the Bills, meanwhile, are fresh from a bye.
The L.A. derby is shaping up as an expensive box office flop instead of the blockbuster it was supposed to be, but it should be fun regardless. The Chargers are now the only winless team in the NFL, but they've had a full fortnight to straighten things out on the training pitch and prepare for the misfiring preseason favorites. Unfortunately for Jim Harbaugh, the Rams were unrecognizable last weekend, as they tore up the usual game plan and put it all on running backs Blake Corum and Kyren Williams — and it worked so effectively Sean McVay would be bonkers to change tack.
The Chiefs' opening weekend encounter with the Broncos was a total mismatch, but the AFC West rivals are trending in different directions now. KC had no Plan B when the Seahawks shut Kenneth Walker down last week, while the transformative effect of a little bit of self-belief was on full display in Denver's blowout of the Cardinals. Bo Nix, understandably, has been reluctant to run at all after breaking his ankle in January, but his electrifying 62-yard effort blew off the cobwebs and supercharged the Broncos offense.
One of the league's top offenses meets one its meanest defences in the game of Week 8 — which could well be a precursor to the NFC Championship. Caleb Williams has racked up 613 yards through the air since his return from injury and even the Bears defense is beginning to find its feet, while the Seahawks defense annihilated the mighty Chiefs offense last weekend, and reigning offensive player of the year Jaxon Smith-Njigba went off. Chicago have had a few days' more rest, but the reigning champions have won each of their past five primetime games at home. Strap in.
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