The NFL’s Week 8 early window wasn’t awe-inspiring, but we are now guaranteed of no winless teams. And no tush push in 2026.
On Sunday in Cincinnati, the Jets rallied with 23 fourth-quarter points to beat the Bengals, 39–38, giving them their first win of the season and the Aaron Glenn era. For Cincinnati, it’s a brutal loss, dropping the Bengals to 3–5.
Then there was another controversial moment with the tush push, with a would-be turnover that drew the ire of millions across the country.
Elsewhere, the Falcons lost at home by 24 points to the previously one-win Dolphins, while the Texans got a crucial win over the 49ers, with C.J. Stroud throwing for 318 yards and two touchdowns. The Patriots also stayed atop the AFC East standings, as Drake Maye went for 282 yards and three touchdowns in a 32–13 victory against the Browns.
But we start with a general look at the NFL playoff races, which appear to be as murky as ever.
Good: Everyone who likes wild playoff races
Through the early window of Week 8, let’s ask a question: How many teams are definitely going to the playoffs, and how many can you eliminate from the race?
Using the New York Times’s playoff model entering Sunday’s games, the Colts, Bills, Patriots, Chiefs, Chargers, Eagles, Rams, Buccaneers and Packers have at least an 80% chance of making the postseason. That’s nine teams. Conversely, the Dolphins, Jets, Browns, Titans, Raiders, Giants, Vikings, Saints and Cardinals have less than a 10% chance of reaching the postseason. That’s another nine teams.
If those numbers end up bearing out, we’re looking at 14 teams fighting for five spots. Based on Sunday’s results, there’s no reason to think that’s changing soon.
The Falcons have had chances over the past two weeks to make a decisive move after beating the Bills on Monday night in Week 6, but have lost soundly to the 49ers and Dolphins. Speaking of San Francisco, it was handled 26–15 by the Texans, moving both teams toward the middle.
Some years, most of the divisional races are over early. This season, the only divisions that seem sewn up are the AFC South (Colts), NFC East (Eagles) and NFC South (Buccaneers). The others all have multiple suitors, with a few having three teams in play.
There’s more than a half-season ahead, and plenty to be parsed out.
Bad: This entire week for New York football until the Jets won
First, it was Woody Johnson. Then, it was Cam Skattebo. Then, both teams were playing football.
Everything went wrong in Gotham this week, beginning with the league meeting in midtown Manhattan, in which Jets owner Woody Johnson told reporters it’s tough to win games with a quarterback playing as Justin Fields had. Johnson, who has owned the team since 2000 and hasn’t seen a playoff berth since the 2010 season, apparently believes his 1–7 team is a quarterback away from contention.
On Sunday, the Giants lost one of their trio of exciting rookies, when Skattebo went down with a dislocated right ankle injury. Skattebo had the leg placed in an air cast before being carted off with an apparent season-ending ailment, putting him on the sideline along with star receiver Malik Nabers and his torn ACL.
On the field, the Giants fell once more, losing 38–20 in Philadelphia after giving up 33 fourth-quarter points to the Broncos last week. They’re now 2–6 on the year.
However, Gang Green scored 39 points, including 23 in the fourth quarter for a wild 39–38 win. Fields showed his owner what he’s made of, getting to start with Tyrod Taylor’s knee injury and putting up 275 total yards and a touchdown. Sure, it’s not great for draft position, but that’s a conversation for April. For now, it’s a culture-builder for Aaron Glenn, who earned his first win as a head coach.
Ugly: The tush push has to go away ASAP
If history is any indication, two things are true about the tush push. One, it’ll survive this season. Two, it won’t be around in 2026.
On Sunday, we got another look at why. Against the Giants in a 7–7 game, Philadelphia ran the play, and Jalen Hurts looked to be stripped of the ball by edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux, who also had a clear recovery. Instead, forward progress was ruled, with a review also going the Eagles’ way despite what appeared to be clear evidence of a turnover.
Earlier this season, there was ample criticism of the play, with multiple instances of uncalled, false-start penalties.
At this spring’s owners meetings in Eagan, Minn., the play was put to a vote and narrowly survived, with 24 votes needed to eradicate its existence. It only got 22. You can bet the owners will put it to another vote in March of 2026 at the meetings in Phoenix, and it’s going to be banned after all the controversy it’s causing.
The question: Would the NFL, shockingly, break precedent and actually change the rules during the season? It’s doubtful, considering it could open an unwanted Pandora’s box, but with all the ill will surrounding the play, commissioner Roger Goodell could consider it.
Good: Myles Garrett (and not much else) doing historic things
Since becoming a franchise again in 1999, there hasn’t been much to cheer about for Browns fans. One playoff win. A few moments here and there. Joe Thomas and Myles Garrett.
On Sunday, during a 32–13 loss to the Patriots, Garrett authored a game to remember, even in defeat, with five sacks, doubling his season’s total to give him a league-leading 10. He also earned the mantle of most sacks for any defensive lineman under the age of 30.
With his 112.5 career sacks, he’s 27th on the all-time list, passing J.J. Watt. Garrett has a legitimate shot to be third all-time before retiring, needing 38 more to catch Kevin Greene. After that, it’s Bruce Smith at 198 and Reggie White at 200.
Garrett is a future first-ballot Hall of Famer, and much like Thomas, he’s played on one lousy team after the next. This offseason briefly raised the notion that he might leave after a trade request, but Garrett reneged after signing a $160 million contract extension over four seasons.
The Browns are a 2–6 mess, but Garrett is worth watching every week.
Bad: The Bears losing to Snoop Huntley and the reeling Ravens
Chicago entered Baltimore riding a four-game winning streak. It appeared the Bears were finally turning a corner, and then Sunday happened.
Facing the 1–5 Ravens with backup quarterback Snoop Huntley at the controls, Chicago gave up 30 points in a 30–16 loss, including allowing 355 yards and 24 first downs. The Bears came into the game with the league’s worst-ranked defense in yards per play (6.2) and almost matched the figure (6.0) against an offense that has generated 4.3 YPP in the two prior games with Jackson on the sideline.
Meanwhile, Caleb Williams went 25-of-38 for 285 yards. Still, he threw a key interception in his own red zone before leading one of the most perplexing two-minute drives in recent memory, something he also did last season on Thanksgiving in Detroit.
With first-and-goal at the 3-yard line and no timeouts, Williams completed an in-bounds two-yard pass, then ran for no gain, and then threw an incompletion on fourth down. The entire sequence took 54 seconds, with broadcasters Ian Eagle and J.J. Watt left dumbfounded.
Chicago is 4–3 and very much in the playoff race, but they must take advantage of vulnerable opponents in the next three weeks, facing the Bengals, Giants and Vikings, something it didn’t do this weekend.
Ugly: Whatever the Falcons did against the Dolphins
After beating the Bills 24–14 in Week 6 in front of a Monday night audience, Atlanta looked like a team on the rise. Two weeks later, the
Falcons appear to be an also-ran.
Last Sunday night, the Falcons lost 20–10 to the 49ers, with Bijan Robinson rushing for only 40 yards on 14 carries. Michael Penix Jr. also went down with a bone bruise on his knee, forcing Kirk Cousins into action this weekend.
Facing a one-win Dolphins team, both Atlanta and Cousins were awful in a 34–10 loss at home. Robinson was once again a nonfactor, rushing for 25 yards, with a lost fumble, while Cousins threw for 173 yards on 5.6 yards per attempt. It’s the worst home loss for the Falcons since Week 1 of the 2021 season, when they fell 32–6 to the Eagles.
A serious playoff contender doesn’t lose to Miami, a team that was pounded 31–6 by the Browns last weekend. It only gets tougher for Atlanta, which has the Patriots next before traveling to face the one-loss Colts.
Good: The Ravens winning without Lamar Jackson
In two previous games without Lamar Jackson, the Ravens had averaged 6.5 points per game. On Sunday, Baltimore scored 30 in a victory over the Bears.
Baltimore is only 2–5 but suddenly it feels quite possible the Ravens make a run. Jackson practiced in a limited capacity this week, potentially putting him in line to start on Thursday night in Miami against the Dolphins. Looking at the schedule, the Ravens still have two dates with the Bengals along with the Browns, Vikings and Jets. That’s five sub-.500 games, giving Jackson and the Ravens reason to believe.
Another reason to believe? Baltimore’s defense is getting healthy and starting to play much better. Over the last two weeks, Zach Orr’s unit has given up 19 total points. With some lackluster offenses coming off including Tua Tagovailoa’s Dolphins, don’t go to bed in Baltimore yet.
Should the Steelers lose at home to the favored Packers on Sunday night, the Ravens will be two games behind the AFC North leaders with a pair of games against Pittsburgh still on the docket.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as The Good, Bad and Ugly, Week 8: Justin Fields, Aaron Glenn Finally Get a Jets’ Win.