NFL: Week 8 - Shock Defeat For Tampa Bay, Cowboys Win Again

The NFL returned for week 8 action with some mouthwatering fixtures on display, including a shocking defeat for Tampa Bay.

The Buffalo Bills made light work of their matchup against the Miami Dolphins winning 26-11 while the San Francisco 49ers finally picked up a long-overdue win against the Chicago Bears after 4 straight defeats.

The Big Story was at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers lost 27-36 to the New Orleans Saints. It was an error-filled performance by the Bucs on both ends of the field. From giving up needless penalties to three uncharacteristic turnovers from Tom Brady of all people. Saints quarterback Jameis Winston injured his knee in the first half and had to leave the game.

Third choice quarterback Trevor Siemian performed out of the ordinary to basically will the Saints to victory. The Bucs did well to overcome a 23-7 deficit in the third quarter. They enjoyed a narrow lead but couldn’t hold on to it in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

Tampa bay legendary quarterback Tom Brady had a chance to lead a game-winning drive in the final minutes. He attempted a second-down pass but it was off target. The pass ended up with Saints safety P.J. Williams instead of Bucs Chris Godwin. Williams then found his way to the end zone for a game-winning pick-six.

Dallas Cowboys 20-16 Minnesota Vikings

News of the injury to Dallas start quarterback Dak Prescott dominated proceedings. That news meant backup quarterback Cooper Rush was pushed into his first career NFL start and he performed admirably. He did struggle early on but he connected excellently with Amari Cooper for the winning touchdown pass.

For the night, Rush completed 60 percent of his passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns for a 92.2 pass rating. Both Cooper and CeeDee Lamb topped 100 receiving yards, totalling 122 and 112 respectively, with seven players overall recording a catch.

It was a deserved victory for the Dallas Cowboys. Performing so well in the absence of Prescott. That victory moved the Cowboys to 6-1 on the season.