What we learned from Week 8 in the NFL

They’ve been banging at the Super Bowl door for half a decade. They’ve had their collective hearts ripped out in new inconceivable ways each January.

Could 2021 be the year the New Orleans Saints break through again? Their 36-27 win Sunday over the defending-champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers must fill this injury-ravaged team with belief that it can be.

When starting quarterback Jameis Winston was carted off the field with a knee injury early in the second quarter, and with backup Taysom Hill still out with a concussion, the Saints had every reason to fold. Instead, they took Tom Brady’s best shots, keeping pace deep into the fourth quarter behind journeyman Trevor Siemian until the defense came up with a game-saving play.

The drama at the Superdome truly started with 5 minutes, 44 seconds left in the fourth quarter, when Brady rainbowed a 50-yard touchdown to a wide-open Cyril Grayson. With three Bucs receivers lined up to the right, two Saints defenders bit on Mike Evans’ route underneath to leave Grayson all alone deep.

Brady has been throwing touchdowns to receivers nobody has ever heard of for a good two decades and Grayson kept that streak alive. Grayson was an All-American track sprinter at Louisiana State University, where he did not even play football. He has bounced around the league with eight different teams since 2017.

Grayson, a Louisiana native, caught his second career reception and first career touchdown to put the Bucs up, 27-26.

Yet, the Saints didn’t flinch.

Siemian drove the offense 70 yards in 12 plays to go back up, 29-27, on a 23-yard field goal by Brian Johnson (the third kicker the Saints have tried this season). Granted, Saints coach Sean Payton’s clock management at the tail end of the drive was ugly. With incompletions on first and second down from Tampa Bay’s 9-yard line instead of running the clock, the Saints appeared to gift Brady 1:41 on the ensuing possession. With a timeout.

It didn’t matter. After Brady attempted a deep shot for Evans on the Bucs’ first play from scrimmage, Saints cornerback P.J. Williams stepped in front of Brady’s next pass for a pick and returned it for a 40-yard touchdown.

The Saints are now 5-2 and thinking big yet again, while hoping to have their quarterback healthy to face Brady and the Bucs when it really counts: in January.

When his offense sputters, Josh Allen can flip a switch.

For two decades, the two franchises toiled in the same misery. The Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins were essentially locked in Brady’s AFC East torture chamber.

After 17 division titles, nine conference titles and six Super Bowl triumphs as quarterback of the New England Patriots, Brady headed south to the Buccaneers and a door cracked open for these two rivals.

The Bills gambled on the strong-armed quarterback few watched at Wyoming, Josh Allen, and then handed him a six-year, $258 million contract extension.

The Dolphins took the Alabama quarterback everyone saw in college: Tua Tagovailoa.

Now, it sure looks like the Bills will own the Dolphins, and maybe the rest of the division, for a while to come. The Bills’ 26-11 victory was their seventh in a row over the Dolphins, and the massive discrepancy at quarterback between the franchises is a major reason.

The game was unexpectedly tight through the first three quarters, with Buffalo’s typical pyrotechnics stalled by sloppy plays. Only one of the Bills’ first six drives traveled farther than 23 yards, and the score was tied, 3-3, at halftime.

One play with under a minute remaining at the end of the first half was particularly ghastly. On fourth-and-4 from Miami’s 44-yard line, Allen thought the Dolphins had jumped offsides and haphazardly pointed to the line of scrimmage while backpedaling midplay. He was hit, threw incomplete and then was flagged for intentional grounding.

Of course, the Dolphins’ popgun offense did nothing with this gifted field position, and fumbled the ball right back to Buffalo.

In the second half, Allen eventually overwhelmed Miami through sheer physical ability. As if sick and tired of this pillow fight, he dissected the Dolphins’ secondary on the Bills’ second possession of the half — a 13-play, 80-yard touchdown drive that ate up 7:06 of game clock.

Allen hit receiver Cole Beasley for four completions on the drive alone, including a 15-yard floater on third-and-14.

On third-and-1, the 6-foot-5, 247-pound Allen bulled his way through the arms of Dolphins linebacker Elandon Roberts to gain 5 yards.

The go-ahead touchdown pass showed the sort of toughness and improvisation Allen makes look so, so routine.

Around the NFL

New England Patriots 27, Los Angeles Chargers 24

Maybe those close losses to Tampa Bay and Dallas will end up costing the Patriots, but Sunday was further proof that coach Bill Belichick’s defense will always give this team a chance. Justin Herbert threw nearly as many incompletions (17) as completions (18) and had two passes picked off by Patriots safety Adrian Phillips, who returned one for a fourth-quarter touchdown. Next up for New England: three extremely winnable games against Carolina, Cleveland and Atlanta.

Seattle Seahawks 31, Jacksonville Jaguars 7

Jacksonville was flagged for having 12 men on the field on back-to-back plays, a befuddling pair of penalties with extra time to prepare given their bye last week. That just about summarizes how Urban Meyer’s first year as an NFL head coach is going.

Denver Broncos 17, Washington Football Team 10

Broncos safety Justin Simmons continues to be one of the best players we don’t talk nearly enough about. He smacked Washington tight end Ricky Seals-Jones to force one incompletion on a fourth-and-1, picked off two passes and had seven solo tackles. The Broncos defense gives them a chance in most games.

Carolina Panthers 19, Atlanta Falcons 13

Carolina stopped the bleeding of a four-game losing streak with 203 rushing yards. After being benched in Week 7, Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold left this week’s game in the fourth quarter with a concussion.

San Francisco 49ers 33, Chicago Bears 22

Neither team looks like a contender, but Deebo Samuel got some recognition. He pulled off a 83-yard catch and run, and his 819 receiving yards through seven games breaks Jerry Rice’s franchise record of 781 yards set in 1986.

Tennessee Titans 34, Indianapolis Colts 31 (OT)

After throwing one interception through Indianapolis’ first seven games, quarterback Carson Wentz threw two in the final 8 minutes Sunday. Tennessee capitalized to gain distance on the Colts, its only threat in the AFC South.

Los Angeles Rams 38, Houston Texans 22

Ho-hum. It was another massive day from Rams receiver Cooper Kupp, who helped the team race to a 38-0 lead through three quarters with 115 yards and a touchdown. It was his fifth 100-yard game of the season.

Pittsburgh Steelers 15, Cleveland Browns 10

It is scientifically impossible for a Mike Tomlin-coached team to die off in October. Ben Roethlisberger continued to own the Browns, even as a shell of his former self, with 266 yards, one touchdown and, most important, no turnovers.

New York Jets 34, Cincinnati Bengals 31

In his first NFL start, New York Jets backup Mike White outplayed the sizzling Joe Burrow, throwing for 405 yards and three touchdowns on a remarkable 37-of-45 passing. Four Jets players caught at least five receptions, and Cincinnati Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase (three catches on nine targets) was neutralized.

Philadelphia Eagles 44, Detroit Lions 6

Philadelphia fans had been clamoring for coach Nick Sirianni to run the ball. Against the winless Detroit Lions, they got their wish. Quarterback Jalen Hurts threw only 14 times as a host of backs bashed away for 236 yards and four touchdowns on a combined 46 rush attempts. At 3-5, though, the Eagles should probably be sellers at the trade deadline.

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