NFL Week 8 Takeaways: All quiet on the Western Front
"All Quiet On The Western Front" is a book and Academy Award-winning movie from 1930. It's also the current status of those who went into battle for the Arizona Cardinals, as we warned about not getting too excited with a good team not being great just because they were undefeated.
The good news for the Cardinals is there's no reason to downgrade them because we had them rated accurately in the first place. The Packers, meanwhile, are who we thought they were - a team whose range is probably even tighter than we previously thought. As long as Aaron Rodgers is upright, the consistency is real.
| TEAM | RATING | RANGE |
|---|---|---|
| Buccaneers | 78 | 65-85 |
| Bills | 76 | 60-80 |
| Rams | 72 | 60-75 |
| Ravens | 71 | 55-75 |
| Cowboys | 71 | 45-80 |
| Chargers | 68 | 50-80 |
| Cardinals | 68 | 50-70 |
| Packers | 66 | 60-75 |
| Chiefs | 64 | 45-80 |
| Browns | 63 | 55-75 |
| Patriots | 57 | 40-70 |
| Saints | 56 | 45-65 |
| 49ers | 56 | 50-65 |
| Titans | 55 | 50-65 |
| Bengals | 54 | 35-70 |
| Raiders | 53 | 35-55 |
| Vikings | 53 | 45-60 |
| Colts | 52 | 35-60 |
| Steelers | 50 | 40-60 |
| Eagles | 45 | 30-55 |
| Washington | 44 | 40-55 |
| Broncos | 43 | 40-55 |
| Panthers | 43 | 35-55 |
| Bears | 42 | 35-55 |
| Seahawks | 40 | 40-75 |
| Dolphins | 39 | 35-55 |
| Falcons | 39 | 25-50 |
| Giants | 37 | 30-50 |
| Jets | 33 | 20-40 |
| Lions | 32 | 20-40 |
| Jaguars | 30 | 25-40 |
| Texans | 23 | 20-40 |
Spooky, Scary, and Frightful
Sunday's game of the day saw our No. 1 team take a loss. The Buccaneers expectedly played to the bottom of their range as they were on the road without Antonio Brown and Rob Gronkowski (mostly) and had to go up against a team that's shown a history of forcing them into sub-par play. The Saints demonstrated that their above-average rating is certainly a good place to start, but we'll have to see how they adjust without Jameis Winston before moving them up or down.
Turn on the warning beeps; we're backing up the big rig on the Bengals' bandwagon. Some may have thought we didn't move Cincinnati high enough after the win in Baltimore, but the jump to 58 now seems right after losing to the Jets, who were 10.5-point underdogs. The Bengals definitely played to their range's low end after pushing to the top of it last week. This is common with young teams. Mike White put on the most convincing of costumes - serviceable NFL quarterback. We waste no time seeing him again as New York plays Thursday, so a small upgrade goes to the Jets ahead of that matchup, with more room to move if they have another good game.
Cooper Rush wasn't quite as believable, but you'll always be in the contest when you face Mike Zimmer and Kirk Cousins. A couple of good bounces and great plays from their key contributors helped the Cowboys come from behind in Minnesota, and they did it without Dak Prescott, so they get nudged ahead of the Cardinals and Chargers.
Speaking of teams out west that we pumped the brakes on, the Chargers lose to the Patriots. Like the Cardinals and Bengals, we're glad we tempered expectations, which led us to bets on the Packers, Jets, and Patriots. New England might be like a lower-level version of Green Bay - the highs will never be that high and lows won't be that low. That shouldn't be surprising with Bill Belichick at the helm.
Topical Costumes
Like those who dreamed up "Ted Lasso" or "Squid Game" costumes, the teams that think they're better than they are can't help but find themselves moving toward mediocrity.
Two clubs made their cases for last week's vacant position of being the 'most average' team - one in a good way, one in a bad. The Steelers somehow survived their own decision-making in Cleveland to earn a bump back up to where we've had them most of the year. The Colts and Carson Wentz had legitimacy in their hands and then dropped it ... or flung it left-handed directly to the Titans from their own end zone. Tennessee received the worst news imaginable Monday morning regarding its MVP, while Cleveland continues to frustrate on offense when it isn't running the football. Both move down - the Browns with themselves to blame, and the Titans due to misfortune out of their control.
The Golfers
There's nothing lazier than throwing on a golf shirt and shorts or a team jersey and going out for Halloween as an athlete ... unless you're the Lions, Jaguars, and Texans, who are headed for the golf course early. More blowouts for the league's worst teams push the lower limits of how far we can drop each squad. Kudos to Houston for an outrageous cover of the late line, and Tyrod Taylor's return could see the team perform to the top of its limited range. Unfortunately for the winners of these blowouts, we can't give out upgrades for just showing up, even if they put in an effort with their outfits.
Matt Russell is a betting writer for theScore. If there’s a bad beat to be had, Matt will find it. Find him on Twitter @mrussauthentic.