We're pretty much at the halfway mark of the NFL season but Week 8 still left us with plenty to ponder as the play-off picture begins to take shape.
1. Who can stop the Denver Broncos when Peyton Manning is on point?
Well, not the previously undefeated Green Bay Packers, that's for sure. Last night's prime time game featured a pair of 6-0 teams but all the pressure was on Broncos signal-caller Peyton Manning.
The 39-year-old has been under the spotlight after putting up some pedestrian stats through the opening six games, leading many to speculate that his gradual decline had sped into a sudden drop-off and that Denver's resulting offensive struggles would be too much of a handicap to make them a Super Bowl contender.
But Manning sliced and diced the Packers defence last night, locking on to top receiving weapon Demaryius Thomas (season high 168 yards) early to build a 17-0 first-half lead.
The Hall of Fame cert might have ended the night with a season's best 340 passing yards but more impressive than that was the quality to the throws which had been sorely lacking in previous weeks.
https://twitter.com/TreyMojo/status/661013406506426368/video/1
Manning doesn't have to put up the MVP numbers of the past thanks to Denver's incredible defence, which held Aaron Rodgers to just 50 net passing yards, and last night's effort was more than good enough.
https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/661142419115675649
2. Can Seattle keep winning ugly?
The Seahawks are back to .500 thanks to a gritty 13-12 road win over the Dallas Cowboys, but all is still not well in Seattle.
They have yet to record a win over a winning team, with their four wins coming against sides with a combined record of 7-23, and while their defence looks to be rounding into shape, recent successes have come against one of the worst offences in league history in San Francisco and a Cowboys unit starting a quarterback who joined the team less than two weeks ago.
On the other side of the ball, the offensive line managed to keep quarterback Russell Wilson's uniform clean for the first time this season, but was unable to create holes for a running game that averaged just 3.6 yards per carry.
The 'Hawks will be relieved to head into their bye week at 4-4, but are playing catch-up in the NFC play-off race and are two games behind the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC West, but face the Cards in a Monday night game in a fortnight that shapes up as a huge one for both sides.
3. Did we write off the Saints too soon?
New Orleans is another team that has fought back from a rough start, winning three on the spin to get back to 4-4, including a frankly ridiculous 52-49 shootout against the New York Giants yesterday.
Drew Brees tied an NFL record with seven touchdown passes, while the Giants' Eli Manning had six, but when the dust settled, it was kicker Kai Forbath who decided it with a last-second 50-yard field goal.
https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/660935628205514753
https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/660933144674213889
At 1-4, the Saints were written off, but while their defence continues to resemble a pile of smouldering rubble, Brees looks to have found his rhythm again having lost his favourite weapon, Jimmy Graham, to the Seahawks in an offseason trade that yielded stout center Max Unger.
Unger has helped an improved running game, but the big story in the Saints' winning streak is Brees' connection with veteran tight end Ben Watson, who has been dropping some Graham-like numbers.
https://twitter.com/MoveTheSticks/status/661041438042394624
The Saints trail undefeated Carolina and Atlanta (6-2) in the NFC South but a friendly schedule (their return fixtures against those division rivals are their only remaining games against winning teams) makes the Saints live contenders for the postseason.
4. Has the guard changed in the Bay Area?
The answer to this one is a pretty definite yes.
Under Jim Harbaugh, the 49ers set the standard for toughness in the NFC, reaching one Super Bowl and being unlucky not to play in two more, creating the template followed by currently thriving division rivals Seattle, St Louis, and Arizona.
But the acrimonious exit of the head coach and his replacement by the inexperienced Jim Tomsula, combined with the departures of key players via free agency, trade and retirement and the stunning regression of quarterback Colin Kaepernick has put San Francisco smack bang in the middle of the conversation for worst teams in the league.
Their offence is an unwatchable mess and has failed to reach double figures in four of their past six games, with Kaepernick, once heralded among the vanguard of the next generation of quarterbacking talents, now looking lost.
https://twitter.com/SBNationGIF/status/660899519970734080
Across the bay, Oakland Raiders fans are celebrating the mere fact that their team is no longer a joke.
Some big hits in the draft and shrewd free agent pick-ups mean the Silver and Black are now set up to be a factor in the AFC for the next few years.
Yesterday they moved to 4-3 by putting 34 points on the fearsome New York Jets defence, with a huge, four-TD day from second-year QB Derek Carr another sign that he is becoming the franchise leader the Raiders have been crying out for.
5. Is Todd Gurley the best running back to enter the league since Adrian Peterson?
The early returns would suggest that the first-round pick spent by the St Louis Rams to select Gurley, whose college career at Georgia ended with an ACL tear, was excellent business indeed.
Gurley missed the opening three games of the season as he completed his recovery from that injury, but has since landed in the league with an unparalleled thud, racking up 566 rushing yards and three touchdowns in just four games.
It was Gurley who broke a stalemate with the 49ers yesterday, peeling off a 71-yard second-quarter touchdown gallop that opened the door to a 27-6 Rams win.
https://twitter.com/ESPNStatsInfo/status/660943178602782722
It's Monday Night - Indianapolis Colts @ Carolina Panthers
The 3-4 Colts remain atop the atrocious AFC South by default, while 6-0 Carolina are coming off a bye week and are just three weeks removed from a superb comeback win in Seattle.
Panthers quarterback Cam Newton has put himself firmly in the MVP discussion at the season's midway point, while cornerback Josh Norman has been simply untouchable at the back end of a fearsome defence.
In contrast, Indianapolis, beaten by New England in last year's infamous 'Deflategate' AFC title game, thought they were close enough to a ring to focus their draft and free agency plans on expensive veterans and 'luxury' skill players, a strategy which has bombed mightily to date.
To make matters worse, the Colts front office spent yesterday scrambling to cover its arse over allegations that it has been covering up the fact that struggling star quarterback Andrew Luck has been playing through injury for most of the season.
https://twitter.com/JayGlazer/status/660876965595840512
And finally...
Injuries took a huge toll on teams yesterday, from Pittsburgh's star running back LeVeon Bell's likely season-ending knee injury to Reggie Bush's unfortunate slip on the concrete in St Louis, but none hurt as much as Baltimore Ravens receiver Steve Smith.
Yes, the Ravens are pretty much done at 2-6, but watching the 5ft 9in Smith go to work on the league's best cornerbacks made the Baltimore offence watchable.
Former Carolina star Smith, 36, managed to sneak into the top ten in career receiving yards before suffering a torn Achilles against San Diego that ends his season and, unless the fiercely competitive Smith has a change of heart, his career. Let's hope he agrees that yesterday was no way to go out.
On the positive side of the ledger, the Ravens did get back in the win column against the Chargers, although if Justin Tucker doesn't kick another game-winning field goal again it will be too soon if it means we don't have to see these moves again.
Week 8 results: New England 36-7 Miami Kansas City 45-10 Detroit Tampa Bay 23-20 Atlanta Arizona 34-20 Cleveland St Louis 27-6 San Francisco New Orleans 52-49 NY Giants Minnesota 23-20 Chicago Baltimore 29-26 San Diego Cincinnati 16-10 Pittsburgh Houston 20-6 Tennessee Oakland 34-20 NY Jets Seattle 13-12 Dallas Denver 29-10 Green Bay
