Sunday Rundown recaps the most important developments from the day's action and examines their significance moving forward.
Sunday night spotlight
Seahawks taking flight
The Seahawks dominating the Commanders in front of a national audience should bring the entire football world around on something that's been brewing for a while now: this team is for real. Cooper Kupp's absence bumped Tory Horton into the starting lineup for Sunday's prime-time affair, and the red-hot Seattle passing game didn't miss a beat. Sam Darnold threw touchdowns on four straight drives to open the evening, the first two of which went to the fifth-round rookie. Another incredibly efficient outing from the veteran quarterback (21 of 24, 330 yards) now has him sitting third among all quarterbacks in EPA/dropback, according to TruMedia. The run game hasn't been nearly as efficient to this point, but I'm expecting to see a deal made to upgrade the interior offensive line. And that might not be it. After losing Ernest Jones to a knee injury Sunday night, a big move at linebacker should be on the table, too. This team has a real chance to make a run right now. Why sit back?
An unexpected seller
Speaking of the trade deadline, let's talk about a team on the opposite end of the spectrum. Washington is sitting at a disappointing 3-6 after nine games. Regression always seemed possible, if not likely, after a surprising run to the NFC title game last year. But this has been far beyond what anyone could have imagined. And now, Jayden Daniels appears likely to miss significant time after a gruesome injury to his non-throwing arm Sunday night. All of this has to lead the Commanders to sell off at the deadline. This team can't afford to get caught up in what should have been. The roster - the oldest the NFL has seen since at least 2012 - is filled with big-name veterans who won't be long-term building blocks in Washington. Von Miller, Deebo Samuel, Bobby Wagner, and Zach Ertz are among the many names that could be made available. Passing up the opportunity to replenish draft capital would make it all the more difficult for the Commanders to retool in a timely fashion.
Late-afternoon games
Bills get the Chiefs again
I'll be honest here: I truly thought this game was shaping up to be a convincing win for the Chiefs. As strange as it felt not to expect another instant classic from an incredible rivalry, these two teams simply hadn't been playing the same level of football over the last month or so. But things change. Josh Allen was nearly perfect, completing 23 of 26 passes for 273 yards and a touchdown while adding another pair of scores on the ground. Crucially, a struggling Bills defense also stepped up with its most impressive performance of the season. Patrick Mahomes set a new career-low for completion percentage (44.1%), connecting on just 15 of 34 passes. I'd still like to see the Bills add a receiver before the deadline to maximize what's possible here, but a healthy Dalton Kincaid (6 catches, 101 yards, 1 TD) is a major boost the passing game. Can the Bills take the momentum from this statement win and run off a bunch more before getting their second shot at the Patriots in December? More importantly, can they finally find a way to have one of these wins over the Chiefs in the playoffs?
Stafford as good as ever
The Rams stepping up to keep Matthew Stafford this offseason didn't come without risk. There had to be at least some level of concern about the investment when the 37-year-old missed time over the summer with a back injury. Eight games in, any such reservations are firmly in the rearview mirror. A four-touchdown effort in Sunday's blowout win over New Orleans already puts Stafford up to a league-best 21 passing scores on the year. He also has just two interceptions on the season, and none since Week 2. This was the vision with one of the league's best pocket passers running a Sean McVay offense that features the complementary talents of Puka Nacua and Davante Adams. Nacua is a high-volume superstar, and Stafford's red-zone connection with Adams improves every week. Add in a defense that's tied for second in EPA/play, and this team has a real case as the top dog in the NFC. Even if a more measured approach to team building is what helped put them in position for another Super Bowl run, they should be attacking the trade deadline aggressively.
Bowers is back
Brock Bowers tried for weeks to play through a knee injury suffered in the season opener, but he just wasn't himself. After three straight losses, the Raiders had no choice but to shut him down in an effort to get him back to full strength. Sunday's game against the Jaguars was his first appearance since Week 4, and the time away appears to have done the trick. Bowers looked exactly like the superstar talent we saw as a rookie, immediately reassuming his role as the No. 1 target in the Las Vegas offense while racking up 12 catches for 127 yards and three touchdowns. His third score gave the Raiders a chance to win in overtime, but a failed two-point conversion ultimately saw them come up short. Bowers and Ashton Jeanty (89 total yards, 1 TD) teaming up for this kind of performance at least provides a sense of hope for the future amid an otherwise disappointing first season under a new leadership regime.
Early kickoffs
Vikings stun Lions
J.J. McCarthy's return was the big story of Sunday's game in Detroit, and the second-year quarterback delivered a much-needed win for the scuffling Vikings. It certainly wasn't perfect, as McCarthy went through long stretches of difficulties dealing with pressure and delivering the ball accurately downfield. But a hot start, including two straight touchdown passes to open the game, at least offer a glimpse of what things might look like if he can get things rolling consistently. And just like we saw in a thrilling Week 1 win over the Bears, he stepped up with a big play to help seal the win late. The Vikings may have an outside chance of keeping their season alive if the run defense can build upon its impressive showing against the Lions. But either way, the rest of this season will be about McCarthy's development. Vikings fans will have every reason to be excited about the future if he's able to make those flashes more consistent.
A blueprint for facing the Colts?
The Colts have finally slipped up. There's no reason to panic just yet, as we're still talking about one of the NFL's most consistent teams over the first half of the season. There's a reason they're sitting a 7-2 with a league-best point differential of 109. But Sunday's game in Pittsburgh confirmed that they aren't invincible. If by some chance you are able to build a lead and make this offense play from behind, a Jonathan Taylor-led run game suddenly becomes less of a factor. And as good as Daniel Jones has been this year, this offense couldn't possibly be expected to maintain the same level of efficiency when the game is solely in his hands. That's exactly what we saw play out this week, as the Steelers' pass-rush was able to tee off with Jones dropping back 50 times. The result: five sacks, three interceptions, and two Jones fumbles. Add in another giveaway from Josh Downs, and the Colts became the first team all year to cough up six turnovers in a game. Indy may need some defensive reinforcements at the trade deadline to help disrupt the blueprint Pittsburgh mapped out.
Packers disappoint again
It might be time to start worrying about the Packers' offense. We've seen the explosiveness in spurts, typically when their backs are against the wall and they have no choice but to push the ball down the field, but even crunch-time opportunities weren't enough to make things click Sunday against the Panthers. And now, with Tucker Kraft suffering a potentially significant knee injury, the lack of elite targets becomes an even more glaring issue. I'm not going to throw in the towel just yet, I've got far too much confidence in Jordan Love and Matt LaFleur to figure it out with all they other options they have. And a high-end defense, which held Bryce Young to a season-low 102 passing yards, gives the offense time to figure it out. But the clock is ticking. The Packers have to be able to trade shots with some of the offenses they'll meet in January if they expect to avoid another playoff disappointment.
Monangai breaks out
Who says the Bears need a running back? OK, maybe it was me. It's still easy to see how an established star might take this offense to another level, but a bold move no longer seems necessary. That's because the run-game operation as a whole has finally started to come together after a disappointing first month. D'Andre Swift got the party started with back-to-back 100-yard outings in mid-October, and Kyle Monangai took things to another level with his opportunity to serve as the lead back this week. The seventh-round rookie was the driving force behind Chicago's shootout win in Cincinnati, taking his 26 carries for 176 yards. That's the most by a Bears running back since Matt Forte topped the 200-yard mark in 2011. Swift will remain a part of this offense upon his return from a groin injury, but perhaps he ends up trending more toward a pass-game role. Monangai's unique combination of power and lateral quickness makes him an incredibly appealing option to lead the way on early downs. Either way, the upward trajectory of this unit is an exciting development for the Bears. Their trade deadline business can now focus exclusively on a defense that needs all the help it can get after giving up 42 points to the Bengals. Adding an edge rusher opposite Montez Sweat feels like a must.
Flacco move paying off
The Bengals will say that the Joe Flacco trade was made with an eye on keeping their season alive. That was never really a realistic expectation, but it's at least kept things from going off the rails. Cincinnati had to find a quarterback capable of giving their superstar receivers a chance to produce. Flacco is well past his prime, and his gunslinger ways come with plenty of turnover risk, but he's clearly still capable of pushing the ball downfield in that way. We saw all of that in Sunday's shootout against the Bears, where Flacco threw for 470 yards, four touchdowns, and a pair of interceptions. It didn't lead to a win, because Cincinnati is bad enough everywhere else to surrender 47 points at home. Giving up a 58-yard game-winning touchdown to Colston Loveland with less than 20 seconds to play sums up all their issues in that regard. But nobody can say the Bengals haven't at least found a way to stay interesting.
Chargers can't catch a break
It really felt like this year might be different for the Chargers. After an incredible 3-0 start against division opponents, they seemed like a real threat to the Chiefs at the top of the AFC West. As has so often been the case for this team, though, injuries have really started to pile up. Star left tackle Rashawn Slater was lost for the year in the preseason. Joe Alt made his return to the lineup in Week 7 after missing a few weeks, but he left Sunday's win over the Titans with a second high ankle sprain. This time, he's reportedly facing surgery. Tennessee racking up six sacks for the first time since 2023 tells you everything you need to know about the prospects of this offensive line looking ahead. Even at 6-3, it's tough to feel the least bit encouraged about the Chargers' upside.
Dan Wilkins is theScore's senior NFL writer.