Week 8 of the 2025 NFL season is officially in the books. It was a weekend filled with blowouts, and while it might not be the most entertaining thing to watch, these types of weekends can really tell you a lot about the state of the league.

It may not have made for great TV, but we learned a lot this weekend. Here were some of my key takeaways from Week 8.

If the Chargers get healthy, watch out

The Los Angeles Chargers could be a dangerous team if they can get healthy. They have injuries all over the place. Rashawn Slater and Najee Harris are out for the year, but they need guys like Omarion Hampton, Mekhi Becton, and Derwin James to get healthy sooner rather than later.

If they can stay in the playoff hunt while those guys get healthy, which they’re doing a great job of right now, they could be a real threat in the AFC. Justin Herbert has been very impressive this season, and when everyone’s playing, that offense can keep up with anybody.

Justin Fields might’ve just saved his job

Last week, Justin Fields was benched in favor of Tyrod Taylor just last week. While Aaron Glenn kept who would start this week close to the vest, he was saved from making that decision when Taylor was ruled out with a knee injury. Many felt it likely would’ve been Taylor, but Fields got the start, and he may have just saved his job.

Fields played his best game of the season, completing 21 of his 32 passes for 244 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 31 yards. He looked sharp, and while Breece Hall was the main catalyst for the New York Jets’ first win, Fields played his part well. It will be interesting to see how Glenn handles this moving forward.

It’s hard to judge Dillon Gabriel until he gets some real weapons

I feel bad for Dillon Gabriel. I think he’s eventually going to end up losing his job, and it might not really be his fault. The Cleveland Browns just have absolutely no weapons on the outside. Yes, they have two very good tight ends in Harold Fannin and David Njoku, but a quarterback needs some help at receiver to showcase their real talents.

On Sunday, the Browns had one receiver catch a pass, and that was Jamari Thrash, who finished the game with two catches for 31 yards. Jerry Jeudy and Isaiah Bond were the only two receivers who were targeted, and neither of them caught a single ball.

I’m afraid Gabriel is going to lose his job before ever getting a real chance to showcase his true skills. According to Kevin Stefanski, Gabriel will keep the job through the bye week, but who knows what’ll happen after that? Maybe Shedeur Sanders is actually their quarterback of the future, but I don’t think they’ll ever know what Gabriel has unless they give him better weapons.

Is it finally time for TreVeyon Henderson to take over as RB1?

When the New England Patriots drafted TreVeyon Henderson, everyone was ready for him to take over as RB1 right away. He was an electric player in college, but it’s taken a bit longer than fans (and fantasy players) hoped.

Rhamondre Stevenson has been RB1 this year, and he’s played well, but it might be time for the young buck to take over. This week, Stevenson carried it 14 times for just 34 yards, but Henderson totaled 75 yards on just 10 carries. Add in the fact that I think Henderson’s receiving upside is much higher than Stevenson’s, and I think it’s a matter of time before Henderson is RB1.

Will it happen this week? Maybe not, but he should only continue to see more and more carries as the season wanes on.

It’s going to be hard to replace Cam Skattebo

What happened to Cam Skattebo today was just horrible, man. If you didn’t see it, consider yourself lucky. He suffered a pretty nasty ankle dislocation, and his foot was turned in the wrong direction after getting rolled up on. He was taken to the hospital and is having surgery tonight.

Not only will it be hard to replace his production on the field – coming into tonight, he’d had five straight games of 50+ yards and had four touchdowns over that span – but it will be hard to replace his leadership. Despite being a rookie, his teammates love him and look up to him, so losing him is really going to hurt morale.

I just feel so bad for him and the New York Giants. Wish him a speedy recovery!

What is happening in Atlanta?

The Atlanta Falcons got off to a pretty good start to the year. They were 3-2 with a win over the Buffalo Bills heading into Week 7, but have since dropped back-to-back games, and this Sunday, it wasn’t even close.

The Miami Dolphins – yes, the Dolphins – chewed them up, spit them out, then stomped on them, winning 34-10. Tua Tagovailoa threw for four touchdowns, and Bijan Robinson averaged just 2.8 yards per carry. I know Michael Penix was out, but Kirk Cousins isn’t some horrible quarterback. They should not have lost this game, much less by 24 points.

This game just shows the parity in the NFL this year. The Dolphins looked dead in the water a week ago, and now they have some momentum behind them. I think it’s safe to say the Falcons are no longer playoff contenders.

Saints pulling Spencer Rattler was the right move

The New Orleans Saints made a pretty surprising decision, benching starting quarterback Spencer Rattler in favor of second-round rookie Tyler Shough. Rattler threw for 136 yards in the first half, but threw an interception and lost a fumble as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took a 7-3 lead into halftime.

The Saints felt like it was time to make a change, and Shough came in for the second half, completing 17 of his 30 attempts for 128 yards and an interception while rushing for 12 yards.

I think this was the right move. Spencer Rattler is now 1-13 as a starter, and after 14 games in the NFL and 48 college games, you kind of know what you have in a guy. They spent premium draft capital on Shough, and they’d be doing themselves a disservice by not trying to find out what they have in him before the end of the year. They could have a top-three pick, and if he’s not the guy, they need to know now.

We’ll see if they move forward with Shough as a starter, but I think you have to. You don’t pull your starter at halftime for a rookie and then just give him the job back. Then again, this could’ve just been a lesson; if you turn the ball over, you’re going to get benched.

We’ll see what decisions they make, but as a Saints fan, I think you move forward with Shough.

The Bills are back and better than ever

The Bills were kind of forgotten. They lost two straight games before going on their bye, and everyone started talking about Kansas City and Indianapolis as the only contenders in the AFC. I know they still have their issues, but you cannot talk about AFC contenders without mentioning Josh Allen and the Bills.

The Bills came out and absolutely dominated the Carolina Panthers, winning 40-9. Josh Allen only threw for 163 yards and a touchdown, but rushed for two more scores. James Cook added 216 yards and two more scores on the ground. Defensively, they looked great, too. Andy Dalton was sacked seven times, and they forced three turnovers.

I know the Carolina Panthers are worse than their record and were without Bryce Young, but this was still a big win for the Bills. They’ve got some of their swagger back, and next Sunday’s showdown against the Chiefs will be a great litmus test for where this team is through nine weeks.

Yeah, the Cowboys are not playoff contenders

After last week, when it looked like their defense made some strides, I thought the Dallas Cowboys were going to be serious playoff contenders. It looked like their defense turned a corner, and with that offense, they were going to be a tough out. However, after this week, I just don’t see that happening anymore.

Their defense is still a massive issue. They just gave up 44 points to the Denver Broncos, whose offense has struggled greatly at times this season. They have an offense that can keep up with anyone, but if they’re even slightly off, like they were today, their defense can’t do them any favors.

Sorry, Cowboys fans, but just like the last 29 seasons, this is not your year.

Okay, maybe I was wrong about the Packers

I have not been the Green Bay Packers‘ biggest fan this year. Outside of their season-opening win over the Detroit Lions, I had not been impressed with them, but tonight, they showed just how good they can be at their peak.

The Packers fell behind early, but their offense got rolling in the second half, scoring 28 points in the final 30 minutes to erase a nine-point deficit and earn a big road win. Their defense also spoiled Aaron Rodgers’ revenge game. They were all over Rodgers in the second half, recording three sacks and shutting down everything the Steelers’ offense tried to do in the second half.

I still don’t think they’re quite in the same class as the Lions, Rams, and Eagles, but when they’re playing their best, they can beat anyone on any given Sunday. If they can be just a bit more consistent, I’ll feel much better about this team.

Also, minor takeaway: those Steelers uniforms might be the worst of all time. The jerseys aren’t impressive, but don’t even get me started on the helmets. I mean, is it that hard to center the logo? Just awful.