NFL Week 8 Schedule: 10 Reasons to Be Excited for the Weekend's Action

The NFL left a bitter taste in our mouths last week. No doubt about it. All across the nation (and for a few hours in London), football just stunk. Teams we thought were bad continued to look bad, and teams that we as fans felt were good didn't look remotely close to good. 

Cleveland and Seattle forgot how to score, Jacksonville's star running back Maurice Jones-Drew forgot how to hold the rock, Oakland had a couple guys throw interceptions like it was their job and Tampa Bay quarterback Josh Freeman forgot that he wasn't supposed to throw interceptions.

Ten of the 13 games last weekend became, at some point, undesirable to watch and almost irrelevant. The only good we had was Denver at Miami, San Diego at New York and Chicago vs Tampa Bay (thanks solely to Matt Forte).

No matter how bad things looked last week, I am expecting a strong bounce back week for the league. Here are the 10 biggest things to look forward to this weekend.  

10. Saints-Rams: Another 62-7 Final?

The fact of the week for both of these teams has got to be this: New Orleans scored 62 points last Sunday, and through seven weeks (six games) St. Louis has only scored 56 points.

St. Louis is as banged up as a team can be, which is disappointing given the preseason buzz surrounding quarterback Sam Bradford and his potential with a healthy offense at his disposal. The Rams are now 0-6, and their biggest concern now is what teams will offer them for the Andrew Luck pick.

On the other side of the field, New Orleans might finally be clicking, even without head coach Sean Payton on the sidelines. I want to know what number is larger this Sunday, the number of points St. Louis scores or the number of hot dogs Payton eats in the box upstairs.

9. Jaguars-Texans: Upset Special?

Jacksonville's defense has become sneaky good lately. Going back to the second half of their game against Pittsburgh, they've held the Steelers and the Ravens to a total of seven points over the last six quarters. They give up the sixth-fewest rush yards in the league, and the 10th-fewest pass yards.

The Texans, on the other hand, continue to be the Texans. Nobody out there for sure knows whether they're the best 4-3 in the NFL or the worst. Quarterback Matt Schaub has been inconsistent to say the least, but after last week's monster performance from Arian Foster, the Texans offense looks scary without Andre Johnson.

Regardless of how many yards the Tate-Foster combination might run for this week, the beauty of Sunday (and Monday night) is that anything can happen. I'm going with the Jacksonville "D" on the road this week because Houston is coming home after a blowout and won't be ready to go thanks to head coach Gary Kubiak being Kubiak.

8. Redskins-Bills in Toronto

There is no way on earth Mike Shanahan didn't overreact two weeks ago by pulling Rex Grossman in favor of John Beck. Now that he has the league's most depleted backfield, he must really be kicking himself (or he is more stubborn than we could possibly imagine).

Buffalo's hot 3-0 start isn't so hot anymore as they've fallen to a good, but not great, 4-2 but they are thankfully coming off a bye. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and running back Fred Jackson both need to be well rested and well prepared for Sunday.

A Washington win, and they're back in contention for "best team in possibly the most overrated division" title (I give you, the NFC East) while a win for Buffalo hands down saves their season (a loss again this soon and they might be done given the strength of the AFC North).

Both teams have a lot at stake this week. 

7. Vikings-Panthers: A Field Day for Cam Newton

I really mean this when I say it, so please don't laugh. Cam Newton has been my favorite player to watch this season. I mean no disrespect to Matt Forte,Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers or Adrian Peterson (when he shows up every other week). Newton is just special.

Minnesota has the fourth-worst pass defense in the NFL, and their secondary in general is going to be spread very thin Sunday. They will be without Pro Bowl cornerback Antoine Winfield and regular cornerback Chris Cook for the second straight week.

Newton won't complain, of course. He is coming off his strongest performance of the season and is primed for yet another big game. I won't be overly ambitious and give him 400 yards in the air, but I think 400 total yards is feasible. Minnesota is in trouble. 

6. Bengals-Seahawks: A Divison Lead at Stake

A lot of Cincinnati's early season success could most likely be attributed to Cam Newton's success down in Carolina. Newton's hot start and ability to capture the spotlight has taken the pressure of Bengal rookie quarterback Andy Dalton and his favorite target, rookie wideout A.J. Green. 

Dalton and Green have been sneaky good this season as has the Bengals defense (fifth from the top in both run and pass defense). They've fought their way to 4-2 going into this Sunday's game against Seattle and with a little help from New England (likely) and Arizona (less likely) they could be alone atop their division.

Newton's numbers would argue against this, but if Dalton and Green sustain their momentum and play on the field one of them will win the league's rookie of the year award. 

5. Lions-Broncos: All About Tim Tebow

If Ndamukong Suh were a villain in a comic book, the superhero would be Tim Tebow. Not only is Tebow one of the few guys in this league I see ready to shut Suh and the Lions up, but the Lions will be heading into Denver without Jahvid Best and with a banged up Matthew Stafford.

Denver will be able to run the ball well despite Willis McGahee's broken left hand (Detroit has the fourth-worst run defense in the league) and the best way to fight fire is with fire. Tebow will be better early on in this game then he was against Miami, and he will use his legs to avoid the Lions' pressure.

Let's face it, Detroit isn't quite who we thought they were, not yet. They have some growing up still to do, and this is the week Tebow grows up himself. 

4. Patriots-Steelers: The Mike Wallace Show

The game of the week, by far. No apology needs to be given to Cowboys or Eagles fans on this one; it's just fact. New England is the worst team in the NFL when it comes to defending the pass, and for those of you who haven't heard, Steelers wide receiver Mike Wallace likes to catch passes.

Wallace is third in the NFL among receivers in terms of total yards, yards per catch and touchdowns. He is also catching more than five passes a game—a number he will surely reach this Sunday.

I am the last person to sit around and doubt the mind of Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, but he definitely has his hands full this week covering Wallace and stopping the Steelers receiving corps.

3. Cowboys-Eagles: Pressure is on Michael Vick

Based solely off their individual records, this game means more for the Philadelphia Eagles (2-4 compared to the Cowboys 3-3). Regardless, both teams will be primed and ready to go—including Eagles quarterback Michael Vick. 

Through seven weeks the Eagles have established the run better than any other team in the league, knocking off 170 yards a game, while Dallas has stopped the run better than any other team in the league, allowing only 69.7 a game. That 100.3 difference is the standout number of the day, around the whole league if you ask me.

Vick is going to have to step up and make plays with his arm, his legs and his head, most importantly. With an extra week for him to rest up and study film, I expect Vick to be ready.

2. Cowboys-Eagles: Pressure is on Tony Romo

To this point in the season, Romo haters (myself included, though I am less of a hater and more of a non-believer) don't have much to gripe about. Sure, the pick at the end of the Jets game was atrocious, and maybe the second-half collapse against Detroit could have only happened to him. Other than that, he's been solid.

He is completing 64.5 percent of his passes, throwing them an average of 8.1 yards and has a quarterback rating of 94.3. More important than the stats is the conscious effort he is making to win games lately. The New England loss was tough, but he did his part and this week against St. Louis he led the Cowboys to a comfortable and impressive win.

Two weeks in a row he has done his part, and not much more can be asked of him. I think he does his part again this weekend but comes up short. The Eagles will fly high Sunday.

1. Patriots-Steelers: A Brady Test

Similar to the Cowboys-Eagles run game versus run defense situation, Tom Brady will step onto the field Sunday in Pittsburgh as the league's highest volume passer (yards per game) and he will be facing off against the league's second-best pass defense.

We already know Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and wide receiver Mike Wallace have a favorable matchup playing at home against a thin Patriots secondary so the pressure, like in the Cowboys game two weeks ago, rests solely on his shoulders.

I don't ever doubt the Golden Boy, but when he's playing in Pittsburgh against Big Ben, I have to just step back and say, you never know. This Sunday, with these two teams, we really don't know anything other than the fact that it is going to be great.