Teams coming back from the bye in Week Eight; who is best placed?
Week Eight sees four contending teams return to action from their bye week, following victories in Week Six. All four teams have challenging home games to overcome, though for the Rams a win is arguably more important for them than any of the other three teams.
Buffalo Bills
The Super Bowl favourites have lived up to their billing so far, dominating both sides of the ball to lead the conference at 5-1. Josh Allen is playing at an MVP level, with Stefon Diggs, Gabriel Davis and Dawson Knox proving hard to slow down.
The defense has stepped up despite injuries in the secondary; Von Miller proving worthy of his contract to help lead a defense able to make stops in crucial games like at the Chiefs. Their only loss was 21-20 at the Dolphins, which infamously came down to the final play of the game, despite having a depleted squad. The victory at Arrowhead is as much psychologically important as well as seeding importance for the playoffs.
At time it seems the only thing stopping the Bills is themselves. They have contended with injuries well but could use a free agent signing or trade to secure an upgrade to the rushing attack or depth elsewhere, which explained the strong Christian McCaffrey rumours. This Sunday: a home welcome to an out of form Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. Will the double-digit underdogs spring an upset?
Los Angeles Rams
There is a real danger that L.A misses the playoffs this season due to an aging squad underperforming. Mathew Stafford is taking too many sacks and committing too many turnovers, with the offense struggling to put up points. In the 24-10 home victory against the Panthers, Allen Robinson had his best game of the season; an overreliance on Cooper Kupp hinders balance to the passing attack, so Robinson needs to be used more.
With Cam Akers on the trade block, the running game has been out of sorts. The defense has played admirably, sometimes keeping the Rams close in games that they could have been blown out in. If the offense can step up with an improved running game and reducing the turnovers, then L.A can bounce back despite the difficult schedule.
Fixing the offensive line and adding a receiver would help significantly. Pushing above .500 by overcoming the 49ers as home underdogs would be a great start to gaining some consistency.
Minnesota Vikings
Under first year head coach Kevin O’Connell, the Vikings sit atop the NFC North at 5-1, in pole position to extend that advantage this weekend. With the Packers struggling on both sides of the ball, their main competition for now is not a concern. However, Vikings fans would probably like to see some more convincing wins.
Besides the 21-9 Victory in Week One, the other four wins have been by one possession scores, something that may not be sustainable later in the season. Letting inferior opponents creep back into the games they were comfortably winning is a concern, with most analytics having the Vikings as an average team.
Still, there more positives than negatives, so the Vikings are set up well to earn a division title if they have more consistency. As ever, Kirk Cousins is quietly going about his business well, with Justin Jefferson top three in receiving yards. A home game against an improving Cardinals is a great measure of if we can expect more of the same from the Vikings, or perhaps their fortunes in close games may run out.
Philadelphia Eagles
So far, so good for the Eagles, who have perhaps even surpassed expectations at this point. The league’s only undefeated team are primed to win the NFC, proving impressive on both sides of the ball. They have won in multiple ways, with all three phases stepping up when necessary.
The AJ Brown trade has worked wonders, as he is leading the team in receiving and relieves the pressure on Devonte Smith. Jalen Hurts has improved his passing significantly, as Philadelphia possesses a young but elite offensive line to protect him. The secondary has been the best in the league, with free agent signing C.J Gardner Johnson proving a shrewd addition.
General manager Howie Roseman is not afraid to be aggressive with trades to help his team where needed to put them over the top. The rush defense is an area for improvement, ranking 28th in YPC. They traded for DE Robert Quinn from the Bears this week, and are supposedly looking at Alvin Kamara as well to improve the running back position.
The NFC East is not a certainty due to the rise of the New York Giants along with expected rival Dallas. A Pennsylvania home grudge game with the Steelers will likely be close, but with the Eagles leading in average time of possession, another win seems likely.
