Week 8 Observations

This article is part of our NFL Observations series.

I can't say I survived in Survivor because (a) in one pool, where I sent in a team I had already taken and then got defaulted to the highest available point spread left (Bengals), I lost; and (b) I picked the Chiefs who play tonight in my other two. But avoiding the Bengals, in those pools, one of which is for $6 million was cause for joy. Dalton Del Don, who co-owns the big Circa contest entry, fought for the Chiefs and wants credit for it -- which he deserves -- but I also signed off on it even though the Chiefs play my favorite team, something I was loath to do. I really did think the Chiefs were the riskier play, though, and when the ownership was only narrowly in favor of the Bengals, I actually thought we made the wrong call. 

We also went 4-1 on SuperContest picks, and I had a good fantasy day, so it was one of the better Sundays I can remember. Provided the Chiefs beat my favorite team tonight, that is. 

• The Cowboys are so much better than the Vikings, the disparity in quarterback and the venue simply didn't matter.
• Cedrick Wilson throws a nice ball -- he's a better passer than anyone the Jets have had since Joe Namath.
• The Vikings took away the run and the occasional deep ball, but happily conceded the first down on 3rd-and-long all day.
• The Jaguars are so bad they don't even target their receivers in a blowout loss. I don't understand the purpose of that team. They made Geno Smith look like Drew Brees.
• The Patriots (4-4) almost always get better as the season goes on. Justin Herbert had nowhere to go with the ball for most of the day. I'm getting a 2001 vibe from New England.
• Tom Brady pulled a Rivers™ on the penultimate drive, throwing the game-sealing pick six and effectively destroying his chances of making the Hall of Fame. Through eight games, Brady is on pace for 5,300 passing yards and 50 TDs in a 16-game season, and I think the team will do what it can to get him Peyton Manning's single-season records.
• Trevor Siemian seemed to have evolved since we last saw him, doing his best Alex Smith impression. Jameis Winston looks like he might be done for the year, which means Taysom Hill is probably the QB, once he gets unconcussed.
• The Saints are 5-2 with wins over the Packers and Buccaneers, but losses to the Giants and Panthers.
• I keep taking the points with the Football Team, and they keep costing me. Red-zone offense is a thing apparently, and they don't have it. They were gifted one last chance at the end when Melvin Gordon fumbled, but Taylor Heinicke threw a fourth-down Hail Mary way out of the back of the end zone. God forbid you throw it into a crowd, and the defense intercepts it.
• If you faded the Bengals in Survivor, you can thank me for making the Jets win possible:

Not everyone can tell the difference between an intentional quantum-reality splitting reverse jinx and a bad hot take, but I knew the risk when making the post.

• Remember Jets fans, even if Mike White turns out to be better than Zach Wilson, stats Twitter can assure you Wilson was still a better pick than, say, Kyle Pitts because Wilson's a quarterback. And no amount of subsequent performance by either player can possibly change that because that would be engaging in results-oriented thinking!
• Seriously, though, White and the Jets showed up to play from the opening kickoff. Even after the early turnovers and missed field goal, they didn't let up for a second. I thought it was a letdown spot for the Bengals because they had just beaten up on the Ravens, but I didn't think the Jets had it in them to sustain competitiveness for 60 minutes.
• If White plays well against Indy next week, the Jets can always trade Wilson to the Panthers (who desperately need a QB) for a 2, 4 and 6.
• Michael Carter (15-77-1, 14-9-95-0) was worth the six or seventh round pick you spent on him, that is, if you didn't drop him in the meantime.
• Ja'Marr Chase (9-3-32-1) was averaging 14.8 yards per target, but now is down to 13.1 (still absurd.)
• The one SuperContest pick we lost was the Colts. Carson Wentz looks healthy, he's moving well, and there's nothing wrong with his arm, but he's playing hero too often and not hitting the easy checkdown. The game-losing overtime pick was a case in point -- he had Jonathan Taylor wide open in the flat, but elected to throw into coverage instead.

• Jonathan Taylor (16-70-1, 4-3-52-0) produces almost every week, but Wentz and the Colts are still underusing him.
• Only injuries could stop AJ Brown (11-10-155-1) from being a top-five wideout, and he's healthy enough for now.
• Derrick Henry (28-68-0) seemed to hurt his ankle early in the game, but played through it. It's only two inefficient games, so it's probably noise, but at some point the workload catches up to everyone.
• Who knew Miles Sanders' absence would be bad for Kenneth Gainwell? Actually Gainwell saw 13 carries, but had only 27 yards, and didn't get a target.
• The Eagles -3.5 should have been my best bet -- it was obviously too many points on the road against a strong-for-0-7 Lions squad, so in reality it was too few. Luckily, I had the Panthers, so it didn't matter.
• The Steelers are hilarious, getting their kicker destroyed on a fake field goal and having to go for it the rest of the game.
• It's a tough economy, but Najee Harris (26-91-1, 3-3-29-0) isn't hurting for work.
• Justin Fields (10-103-1, 27-19-175-1) finally looked like an NFL quarterback. Allen Robinson (4-3-21-0) wasn't in on it, though.
• Elijah Mitchell (18-137-1) was the correct FAAB all-in six weeks ago, only the payoff was delayed due to a stringer and the team's bye week.
• Deebo Samuel (9-6-171-0) is still the No. 1, but Brandon Aiyuk (7-4-45-0, 2-pt conversion) is relevant again.
• Josh Allen always gets his, even in a low-scoring game where it looked otherwise for three quarters.
• I feel bad dumping on poor Sam Darnold for four years, and then he takes a concussion to pick up a key first down to keep my best bet streak alive. It was awfully strange rooting both for Darnold and the Jets yesterday, and I'll be rooting for the Chiefs tonight. Real man gets his soul dirty, apparently.