Meanwhile, the Sunday daytime slate for Week 8 is elite — full of important games with playoff implications, top quarterback matchups, and “good on good” battles. Week 8 then ends on a high note, with a terrific Bears-Seahawks tilt on “Monday Night Football.”
The premier matchup at 1 p.m. is the 4-3 Ravens at 5-1 Bills, which CBS is sending to most of the country. This assumes, of course, that Lamar Jackson (ankle), a full participant Wednesday, returns to the lineup after a three-game absence.
Josh Allen is 4-2 against Jackson with two straight wins, and their last battle was a classic — a 41-40 Bills win in Week 1 last year. The Bills, well-rested coming off a bye, will still control first place in the AFC East regardless of the outcome.
But the Ravens badly need a win. They have lost their last two to fall into last place in the AFC North, and were outscored 48-0 in the second halves. Plus, they have a tough Thursday night game against the Jaguars coming next.
“It’s kind of one of those points in the season where you make a decision of the type of team you want to be,” Ravens coach Jesse Minter said. “[I] feel like we have a 10-game season [where] we’re in a good spot. We’re not in a great spot.”
Another scintillating 1 p.m. game is the 6-0 Vikings at 4-2 Lions, a classic battle between the Lions’ No. 2-ranked scoring offense (30.7 points per game) and the Vikings’ No. 1-ranked scoring defense (12.3-points per game). It’s also a prove-it game for Kyler Murray and the Vikings, who have beaten up on the lowly Buccaneers, Dolphins, Colts, and Saints in recent weeks.
Lions QB Jared Goff has 14 touchdown passes and zero interceptions this year, throwing the most passes without a pick to begin a season (223) since Drew Brees (231) in 2018. But the Vikings blitz like crazy — 68 percent, with the next-highest team at 42 percent — and entered Week 8 tied for the lead the NFL in sacks (21) and second in takeaways (11).
“They just create havoc and chaos,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said.
An intriguing 1 p.m. game is an unlikely battle for the top of the AFC North, the 5-2 Browns at the 5-2 Steelers. The Browns took the first matchup four weeks ago, a 27-24 win on Thursday night in which the Browns won on a 56-yard field goal. But the Steelers have won three straight since, and have defeated the Browns at home in the regular season 22 straight times (though the Browns won the lone playoff matchup, in 2021).
The Browns are hungry to start 3-0 in the division for the first time since 1993. But the Steelers will be motivated not just by revenge, but by trash talk from Browns defensive end Jared Verse, who after the Week 4 win said the Steelers were “garbage” and he doesn’t “have any respect for anybody that plays too dirty.”
“Those were words that were said, and they will be addressed,” Steelers defensive end Cam Heyward said. “The AFC North is on fire, and I’m glad I’m in the kitchen because I like it that way.”
An underrated 1 p.m. matchup is the 3-4 Falcons at the 2-5 Buccaneers. Despite their records, both teams are riding momentum, and this game could help settle the NFC South. The Falcons are 3-2 with Michael Penix and coming off a big win over the 49ers, while the Buccaneers got Baker Mayfield back last week and rolled to a 43-13 win over the Panthers, rushing for 258 yards.
The late window has a compelling 4:25 p.m. matchup with the 5-1 Chiefs at the 5-2 Broncos battling for the top of the AFC West. They already played once, a 31-10 Chiefs win in Week 1. But the Broncos have won five of their last six, with solid wins over the Jaguars, Rams and Seahawks, and they have beaten the Chiefs three straight years at home.
The Chiefs are also struggling on offense, losing their first game of the season last week in a 20-3 defeat to Seattle. Kenneth Walker was held to 36 yards on 14 carries, and the Chiefs have another tough challenge with the Broncos’ No. 7-ranked scoring defense.
“If you don’t come ready to play, you can get your tail kicked in this league,” Patrick Mahomes said. “We got a young team. It’ll be about how we respond.”
Week 8 wraps up Monday night with a possible NFC Championship game preview, the 5-2 Bears at the 4-3 Seahawks. It’s another strength-on-strength battle, featuring the Bears’ potent offense against the Seahawks’ stingy defense.
The Bears are 3-1 and average 31 points per game with Caleb Williams, and look like they belong in the short conversation of Super Bowl contenders, especially after trading two first-round picks last week for defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons. But the Seahawks lead the NFL in passing defense (144.4 yards per game) and just held the Chiefs to a field goal. The Bears play in the NFL’s toughest division and need to keep pace with their rivals.
“We’re going to need the best out of everybody,” coach Ben Johnson said.
EARLY UPGRADES
Simmons, Nelson to make big impacts
The NFL trade deadline isn’t until Nov. 10, but two contenders didn’t wait. The Seahawks traded third- and fifth-round picks to the Colts for guard Quenton Nelson, and the Bears went all-in on the 2026 season in trading for Simmons. The Bears clearly are counting on their next two first-round picks being at the bottom of the round.
“We considered the compensation, and it was too good to pass up,” Titans general manager Mike Borgonzi said Thursday.
Nelson, an All-Pro in six of eight seasons entering this year, will immediately start at left guard Monday night, moving 2025 first-round pick Grey Zabel to right guard and Anthony Bradford to the bench. The Seahawks’ run game ranks 23rd at 3.9 yards per carry.
Simmons, an All-Pro in three of seven seasons, is still one of the NFL’s best interior defensive linemen. Per Next Gen Stats, he’s second among defensive tackles in “run stops” (26), fourth in pressure percentage (12 percent), and tied for first in sacks (four). He should immediately upgrade a Bears defense that ranks 23rd in rush yards per attempt (4.4), 19th in pressuring without the blitz (29.5 percent), and 32nd in passing yards per attempt (8.7).
“Jeffery has proven to be one of the most impactful run defenders and disruptive pass-rushers in the NFL,” Johnson said in a statement. “We look forward to the work ahead.”
Wouldn’t you know it, Nelson and Simmons will be on the same field Monday night. They have already faced each other 13 times in their careers as former AFC South rivals.
“I was like, ‘Man, I can’t get away from this guy,’ ” Nelson said. “It’ll be another battle against him this week.”
ETC.
Who else could be traded?
The 2-5 Colts also didn’t wait until the deadline to give up on 2026. They fired general manager Chris Ballard on Oct. 19, then traded two franchise cornerstones last week after losing again — Nelson to the Seahawks, and defensive tackle DeForest Buckner to the 49ers.
The Colts became the third team in the past 10 years (2025 Jets, 2019 Rams) to trade two former first-team All-Pros in the same season. Strangely, they let interim GM Ed Dodds, who may not be long for the organization, make the trades.
“I didn’t sugarcoat it,” coach Shane Steichen, whose time is also running out, said of telling his players. “This is a business.”
The Colts are one of a few teams expected to be sellers over the next nine days. Their other trade chips include running back Jonathan Taylor, cornerback Charvarius Ward, receiver Josh Downs, and defensive tackle Grover Stewart. The Colts need to collect as many draft picks as possible, given that they don’t have a first-round pick next year from the Sauce Gardner trade.
Another seller is the 1-6 Titans, who already traded Simmons. Other players who should be available are receiver Calvin Ridley, offensive tackle Dan Moore, and cornerback Alontae Taylor, who was benched earlier this season.
The loser of Sunday’s Commanders-Eagles game might fold on the season. The 2-5 Eagles are likely to undergo a big rebuild this offseason, and have trade chips in Saquon Barkley, Jonathan Greenard, and Riq Woolen, and may even be willing to listen about DeVonta Smith. The 1-4-1 Commanders may be loath to trade too many players, because coach Dan Quinn and GM Adam Peters are likely on the hot seat. But another loss could prompt them to field offers on Stefon Diggs, Daron Payne, or Javon Kinlaw.
Other names I’ve got an eye on: Chargers linebacker Khalil Mack, Saints defensive end Chase Young, Buccaneers defensive tackle Vita Vea, Cardinals safety Budda Baker, and Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby.
If there is one thing Patriots fans can set their watch to each season, it’s a Sunday 1 p.m. game in Miami. The Patriots’ last eight games in Miami have kicked off in that time slot, and 22 of 26 since 2000. They usually melt in those 1 p.m. games, with an 8-14 record this century and 9-26 all time — it’s hot, humid, and the sun is blaring right on the visitor’s sideline.
Yet the Patriots should have plenty of shade this Sunday, as this one against the Dolphins kicks off at 4:25 p.m. It will be the first late-afternoon kickoff in Miami between the teams since 1996, a Bill Parcells–Jimmy Johnson showdown in Week 1. This year’s Patriots-Dolphins game is only being shown regionally on CBS in New England and South Florida, while the rest of the country gets Broncos-Chiefs.
An NFL scheduling source explained that while CBS has the 4:25 national game on Sunday, it’s not a “standalone” window, so CBS needed another regional game to air at the same time. CBS doesn’t have another west coast game this week — the only one is Chargers-Rams on Fox — so it settled on Patriots-Dolphins as the game with the most relevance on the east coast. CBS’ other options were Steelers-Browns, Colts-Jaguars and Titans-Bengals.
Williams is becoming one of the faces of the NFL this season, but he is clashing with the league office over his footwear. Williams has worn Caddix shoes the last two weeks but didn’t black out the logo, as is required when players wear gear from non-league sponsors. Williams was fined $11,941 for an “unauthorized logo” in Week 6, and it got doubled to $23,882 for Week 7.
Williams said he’s not going to change his shoes, which he calls “smart cleats.” But he needs to put black tape or something over the logo.
“They call them SmartStuds, and they move when you move in these hard plants. They take tension off of your tendons, your joints, and all of that,” Williams said. “They’re science cleats, and they’ve been working for me.”
Rest in peace June Jones, the former Falcons head coach and longtime quarterback coach who revolutionized the run-and-shoot offense in the early 1990s and died last week at 73. Jones also went 76-41 in nine seasons as the head coach at Hawaii, where he was immensely popular.
Longtime Houston-based NFL writer John McClain saw it firsthand.
“Once at the Pro Bowl a group of us wanted to get into a popular restaurant. No way, they said. Too busy and overbooked,” McClain wrote on X. “An assistant who worked for June at Hawaii called back and asked to make a reservation for June Jones. No prob. Seven of us were seated.”
“June was never coming ‘cause he had something else to do. When the owner started to get impatient waiting for Coach Jones, June’s assistant said he just got a call from June saying he couldn’t make it ‘cause a 5-Star QB from LA was coming a day early for a visit. That ruse worked to perfection. I pulled that off several times in Hawaii, making a reservation under June’s name and then apologizing for him having to pick up a hotshot recruit. Worked every time. June was so popular in Hawaii.”
The NFL quietly made an officiating change this week, per Football Zebras, taking Alex Moore’s crew off of the Eagles-Commanders game on Sunday Night Football and swapping it with Shawn Hochuli’s crew, which was supposed to handle Patriots-Dolphins. The report said it was “more optics than a disciplinary action,” but the NFL clearly didn’t want Moore, whose crew made several controversial calls in last week’s Packers-Lions game, officiating another national TV game this week … The Chiefs still can’t find an offensive tackle to protect Mahomes. They took Josh Simmons with the 32nd pick in 2025, but he only played eight games as a rookie due to injury, has yet to play in 2026 due to a back injury, and he was such a distraction in last week’s team meeting that a fed-up Mahomes told him to leave. “You have to have hard conversations at some point,” Mahomes said … Monday’s Eagles-Cowboys game, featuring two teams under .500, drew 10 million more viewers than Game 3 of the World Series … The Cardinals have won four in a row and eight of nine against the Cowboys, dating to 2008 … Drake Maye leads the NFL in deep pass completions (13), deep pass yards (469), deep pass touchdowns (five), and deep pass interceptions (four) … The Ravens are taking “Jekyll and Hyde” to new heights. They entered Week 8 leading the league in first-half point differential (plus-65), and last in the NFL in second-half/overtime differential (minus-63) … Considering Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty is averaging just 3.1 yards per carry, it probably wasn’t the smartest idea to say the Jets have “a couple guys out there that don’t really want to tackle.” … Pro Football Hall of Famer Andre Tippett will be the Patriots’ inductee on Nov. 19 at The Tradition, The Sports Museum’s annual event at TD Garden. He will be presented by longtime Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia. Other honorees include Derek Lowe, Dana Barros, Jim Calhoun, and Olympic gold medalists Charlie McAvoy, Jeremy Swayman, Megan Keller, Aerin Frankel, and Haley Winn. Presenters include Jackie MacMullan and Kemba Walker. For information and tickets, call (617) 480-4257 or visit sportsmuseum.org.
Ben Volin can be reached at ben.volin@globe.com.