Key events
SACK! Vikings 7-3 Lions 3:10, 2nd quarter
Andrew van Ginkel is making Jared Goff’s life a living hell right now. The Lions punt again after Van Ginkel records a third sack of Goff.
Vikings 7-3 Lions 5:06, 2nd quarter
Since the pick of Jared Goff the Vikings have punted twice and the Lions are back on offesnse at midfield.
It’s NO GOOD! Ravens 7-13 Bills 7:37, 2nd quarter
Doink. Tyler Loop hits the left upright as this madcap first half just gets madder. Baltimore having no luck right now as they are now running with their third-string quarterback rookie Joe Fagnano.
SACK! Ravens 7-13 Bills 7:49, 2nd quarter
Baltimore have an excellent chance of scoring with a short field after a 60 yard return on the kickoff from Rasheen Ali.
Rookie QB Joe Fagnano is in the game for the Ravens as Snoop Huntley has hurt a foot. The young passer throws a 15 yard strike and the Ravens are 1st and Goal. Landon Jackson delivers the sack on the next play. Welcome to the NFL.
This game is all over the place. Amazing.
It’s GOOD! Ravens 7-13 Bills 9:51, 2nd quarter
Another solid defensive effort from Baltimore is keeping the Ravens well in the fight. Can the offense respond?
TOUCHDOWN! Raiders 14-20 Jets 6:17, 2nd quarter
Where is the defense in New York? Shootout is in session.
TOUCHDOWN! Cardinals 0-14 Cowboys 5:16, 2nd quarter
TOUCHDOWN! Colts 0-14 Jaguars 7:14, 2nd quarter
Ravens 7-10 Bills 12:14, 2nd quarter
Scrap that. James Cook has now been ruled not short. 1st and Goal Buffalo.
Vikings 7-3 Lions 11:21, 2nd quarter
Detroit back on offense after a 3 and out from Minnesota. Only 92 yards for Jared Goff for travel after the brilliant punt. Good luck. Rather you than me.
Ravens 7-10 Bills 11:34, 2nd quarter
The Bills go for it on 4th and short. Josh Allen looks like he sneaks it but throws the lateral to James Cook. Cook reaches out and is ruled SHORT. Turnover on downs. How about that?! Huge stop from Baltimore.
FUMBLE! Ravens 7-10 Bills 14:01, 2nd quarter
Snoop Huntley is smashed and fumbles the ball to Buffalo. Josh Allen taking over in the red zone and gets five yards on a scramble. 15 yards to go.
PICK! Vikings 7-3 Lions 12:49, 2nd quarter
Jared Goff is intercepted by James Pierre who gets the ball to midfield for the Vikings. Cracking start from the best defense in the NFL. Would you expect anything less?
TOUCHDOWN! Raiders 14-13 Jets 10:44, 2nd quarter
A classic clanger from the Jets as they let Dylan Laube run almost the length of the field and instantly put the Raiders back on top.
TOUCHDOWN! Titans 13-7 Bengals 13:20, 1st quarter
Cincinnati on the board after a lovely deep ball to Ja’marr Chase.
TOUCHDOWN! Vikings 7-3 Lions 14:25, 2nd quarter
Minnesota take the lead after a 15 yard rush put the Vikings on the goal line. A short pass to their star receiver gets the job done on the 74-yard drive.
TOUCHDOWN! Raiders 7-13 Jets 10:56, 2nd quarter
It’s GOOD! Browns 0-10 Steelers 14:05, 2nd quarter
Pittsburgh’s red zone offense struggles, as it often does, as Aaron Rodgers throws a couple of balls away on 1st and 2nd and Goal. On 3rd Jaylen Warren is stuffed well short of the goal line. Chip shot is good but chance wasted for Pittsburgh.
Vikings 0-3 Lions 0:51, 1st quarter
Minnesota in the red zone after a 29-yard strike from Murray to TJ Hockenson. Wonderful shake and bake from the tight end to get into space.
TOUCHDOWN! Ravens 7-10 Bills 3:18, 1st quarter
The Ravens are 1st and Goal and only three yards out after an 11 yard rush from Derrick Henry. That interception from the Baltimore defense is exactly what the doctor ordered and they have the score through Henry who rumbles through the middle. Boy did they need that.
It’s GOOD! Vikings 0-3 Lions 2:18, 1st quarter
Jared Goff is frustrated as he walks off but the Lions will be happy to have something on the board against the Vikings.
Lamar Jackson will not return
Brutal for the Baltimore Ravens who will be without quarterback Jackson for the remainder of the game against Buffalo.
… meanwhile the Ravens pick off Josh Allen! Game on!
TOUCHDOWN! Cardinals 0-7 Cowboys 2:33, 1st quarter
Dallas ahead as they chase getting to 4-4 on the season.
Ravens 0-10 Bills 4:17, 1st quarter
The Ravens quickly are forced to punt. Buffalo on top and then some with Lamar Jackson on the sidelines.
Vikings 0-0 Lions 4:27, 1st quarter
Andrew van Ginkel has his second sack of the day already in Detroit. The Lions think they have a touchdown to Amon-Ra St Brown but it is chalked off due to it being ruled incomplete. 2nd down and 25 yards to go for the Lions to draw first blood.
It’s GOOD! Ravens 0-10 Bills 12:51, 1st quarter
Slice of luck for Tyler Bass who hits a post and it still goes through. Meanwhile Lamar Jackson has injured the thumb on his throwing hand. Waiting to see if he will be able to return.
TOUCHDOWN! Browns 0-7 Steelers 7:57, 1st quarter
The big back gets the nod and fights into the end zone to give Pittsburgh an early lead in the battle for the AFC North.
TOUCHDOWN! Titans 10-0 Bengals 12:51, 1st quarter
Tennessee pick up where they left off from last week’s defeat using the skills of Tony Pollard. Another hat-trick this week might secure a much-needed win.
TOUCHDOWN! Raiders 7-3 Jets 7:23, 1st quarter
TOUCHDOWN! Colts 0-7 Jaguars 5:30, 1st quarter
Great start for Jacksonville who are looking to put their disappointing loss in London to Houston behind them after their bye week.
Jackson EXITS after first play
Ravens 0-7 Bills 10:00, 1st quarter
Oh no. On the opening play for Lamar Jackson hits his hand on Greg Rousseau and is out of the game. Tyler Huntley in at QB as Jackson goes straight to the locker room. Bills bring up an early 3rd down.
SACK! Vikings 0-0 Lions 9:28, 1st quarter
The Lions are punting after a pair of sacks from Andrew van Ginkel and Eric Wilson. Minnesota take over from their 10-yard line.
TOUCHDOWN! Ravens 0-7 Bills 10:10, 1st quarter
Wow. Khalil Shakir is in for the touchdown but it is ruled out as the receiver just put his foot out of bounds before being tackled into the end zone.
Buffalo have to go back to it on the one-yard line. Josh Allen goes for the sneak but goes way too wide to the left and the Ravens get the stop.
On 4th and Goal Allen goes again and is met by a huge mass of bodies. He rises above the sea of muscle and reaches the ball in for the score! Very strong start from Buffalo, they were not going to be denied.
Ravens 0-0 Bills 11:38, 1st quarter
No such problems for Josh Allen. Buffalo cruise to 1st and Goal on the back of 18 and 25-yard passes to Khalil Shakir.
Vikings 0-0 Lions 13:08, 1st quarter
Minnesota are finding some offensive production immediately against Detroit. A short pass from Kyler Murray to Ben Yurosek goes for 24 yards. Shortly after two incompletions and the Vikings miss a 57-yard field goal. Early chance for the Lions on the way.
Ravens 0-0 Bills 15:00, 1st quarter
Great to see Lamar Jackson going through his warmups. The NFL isn’t the same without his extraordinary talents. The Bills defense will likely be a little nervous as they sit comfortably as the worst in the NFL.
Fortunately for them Josh Allen will take over on offense for the Bills at the 40-yard line aster the Ravens boot it out of play to start. Oops.
Kick-offs on the way very shortly! Don’t want to jinx it but I am getting very good vibes that there are going to be some thrillers on the way. Blue 52, blue 52, hut … hut … HIKE!
One of the biggest surprises of the season has to be the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers juking it out at the top of the AFC North both on 5-2. I had both down to struggle mightily but strong defenses have kept the Ws flowing for both franchises.
The rivalry between the two is serious. Browns edge rusher Jared Verse caused a stir earlier this season when he criticised for the Steelers for playing dirty after Cleveland’s 27-24 win from week four.
“I don’t got no respect for anybody that plays too dirty, and that does too much extra shit after the game,” he said.
“I can’t wait until we see them again,” Verse added. “I’m going to put that one on the calendar. I can’t wait to get my hands on them again.”
Pittsburgh’s defensive lineman Cam Heyward fired back this week.
“Double teaming, sliding, chipping, are those not allowed in our game?” Heyward said. “Yeah, I got the bruises to prove it. But we don’t whine about it, baby. It’s part of the game. And so, I’m looking forward to this game. It’s gonna be a fun game.”
The Steelers are heavy home favourites but Verse leads a Browns defense with the power to spring a surprise.
Something has to give in Detroit today as the NFL’s best defense meet an offense scoring more than 30 points per game. Minnesota’s defensive coordinator Brian Flores has unbelievable stopping power at his disposal and will need to unleash all of it to stop the Lions’ impressive offense.
If the unbeaten Vikings do have any struggles in shutting down running back Jahmyr Gibbs and their strong receiving crew then it will be fascinating to see if Minnesota’s quarterback Kyler Murray can find some joy against a poor Lions defense. Murray and company have only nine offensive touchdowns so far but will have opportunities to flex their muscles today. Some more confidence and offensive production will certainly be needed in the postseason.
A pair of quarterback heavyweights?! Yes, just a bit. Lamar Jackson returns from a three-game absence for the Baltimore Ravens to face Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. Jackson’s two MVP awards play Allen’s one but Allen is very much the favourite to add to a second to his trophy cabinet after a scintillating start to the season.
After their own hot start with Jackson at the controls the Ravens have slumped to 4-3. Two defeats in succession leave Baltimore bottom of the AFC North. So they will be hoping Jackson can jump back in and stop the slide. Unfortunately the omens aren’t great. The Bills have beaten the Ravens on three straight occasions at home, the latest being last season’s thriller from the opening week as Buffalo scored 16 unanswered points in the final four minutes to overturn a 15-point deficit in their 41-40 victory.
Let’s hope for another epic today.
Preamble
Hi and hello football fans! With Halloween in the rearview mirror and the season’s halfway point almost upon us the race to the playoffs is beginning to take shape. Who can overcome early struggles for a spot in January? Who will maintain their searing run to the postseason? Week eight might just provide a couple of answers in an exciting early window of eight games from 12pm CST/1pm EST/5pm GMT (home teams listed second):
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(4-3) Baltimore Ravens v Buffalo Bills (5-1)
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(1-6) Tennessee Titans v Cincinnati Bengals (4-2)
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(2-5) Arizona Cardinals v Dallas Cowboys (3-4)
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(6-0) Minnesota Vikings v Detroit Lions (4-2)
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(2-5) Indianapolis Colts v Jacksonville Jaguars (4-2)
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(3-4) Las Vegas Raiders v New York Jets (2-5)
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(5-2) Cleveland Browns v Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2)
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(3-4) Atlanta Falcons v Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-5)
There is a potential classic between two QB heavyweights in the AFC as the Ravens take on the Bills, then the Browns and Steelers battle it out for top spot in the AFC North with the main event coming from the NFC North as the unbeaten Vikings take on the Lions in Detroit. It could be a very fun afternoon. Strap in!
