NFL Week 8 Recap: That's My Quarterback

In the final days leading to the evening of October 26, 2025, I was expected to get my tissues ready. This was going to be an emotional one. Any time the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers get together, it's always amazing. This one was different, though. It was Aaron Rodgers playing against the team he QB'ed for so so long. The team he won the MVPs with, won Super Bowl 45 with, and won a SB MVP with. We Packers fans had a lot of good memories of him under center, and this one was expected to be very weepy while watching this.

Miraculously, I wasn't. While I did grasp the central story, to me, this was all about the Packers needing to maintain the top position in the NFC that we stumbled into. Steelers struck first with a field goal, but we answered back with a touchdown from Tucker Kraft. 7-3 Packers! The rest of the first half saw the Packers offense stall, as did the Steelers to an extent. They did get to FG range a couple of times and made them. 9-7 Steelers, and Rodgers' TD pass to DK Metcalf made it 16-7. That was the score at halftime after Brandon McManus missed his second kick of the evening.

We were down nine. That's not much, but it seemed like we were down by 14. Steelers started the second half with the ball; stalled. Packers found the end zone again, but Pittsburgh added another field goal. 19-14 Steelers. That's when the Packers went off. Touchdown Josh Jacobs, and Romeo Doubs with the two pointer. 22-19 Packers. Kraft scored again--29-19 Packers! McManus with two FGs to make it 35-19. WOW! Packers went on to win 35-25 to hang on to the #1 spot in the NFC at 5-1-1. As for the Steelers, that's back-to-back losses, and what was once a locked AFC North has become wide open. Here's how:

I mentioned last week that people were trying to call the Packers "frauds." What I didn't mention was that the biggest protesters were, of all people, Bears fans. Bears fans had the nerve to say that the Packers had a "Mickey Mouse schedule"... just days before the Bears would face a dying Ravens team who is still without Lamar Jackson. Bears fans also claimed that the Packers "never beat real teams." Clearly the Lions, Commanders, and now the Steelers don't exist all of a sudden. They've even told me, "Packers barely beat a Cardinals team who didn't have Kyler." At least we won, dumbasses. You guys got mollywhopped by a Ravens team with a shitty defenses, bad coaching, flotsam and jetsam, and most of all, no Lamar!

Bears fans, I have one piece of advice for you, and it comes in the form of two words: shut up! You ever notice that every time Bears fans try to pound their chests and talk shit about the Packers, the Bears get humiliated every time? Let's go back two years. Bears fans boasted about Justin Fields being the best QB in the division, they said the Packers sucked and would suck without Rodgers. Week 1 that year: Jordan Love picks up where Rodgers left off in owning the Bears. Now they are coming off losing to a Ravens team who was on life support and didn't have Lamar. Yet Bears fans still tried to tell me that they should be #1 in the NFC. Maybe you should have beaten the Lions... like we did.

Even though I want to really laugh at the Bears, I can't, because that wasn't the most humiliating loss that week. The Jets actually beat the Bengals. The Jets won. As my CBS affiliate switched to the tail end of Jets/Bengals, I saw that the Jets were about to win, and they did it. Minutes prior to this, I was wondering if the Jets would be the NFL's first-ever 0-17 team. Well, that was kiboshed in such a short time. The Jets picked up win #1, while the Bengals are left humiliated. Seriously, Zac Taylor should have been fired after this loss. Oh, and Ohio's other team, the Cleveland Browns, got thrashed by the red-hot Patriots. As a result, the Ravens were the only AFC North team to win in Week 8. Yeah, business has just picked up in the AFC North.

Week 8 began with a beautiful sight: the Minnesota Vikings trounced. The Los Angeles Chargers picked up a much needed blowout win over the Vikings on Thursday Night Football, and elsewhere, the Miami Dolphins blasted the hapless Atlanta Falcons, who started Kirk Cousins due to Michael Penix, Jr. being out. James Cook ran for 214 yards and a pair of scores, leading the Bills to a 40-9 trouncing over the Panthers, the Niners lost bad to the Texans in a week where everyone else in the NFC West was on bye, and the main piece was the Eagles dominating the Giants, with Saquon Barkley's groove emerging against his old team.

The late window was full of blowouts; the Colts, Buccaneers, and Broncos blasted their opponents badly. In the case of the Broncos, they blasted the Dallas Cowboys, who are trying to keep pace in the conference. Not the division, that's over. The Commanders aren't helping either. They took the field on Monday night as part of the annual Sports Equinox against the Kansas City Chiefs, and it was a mess for Washington. The receivers were back, but Jayden Daniels was out, and that left the Commanders ripe for the picking. A 28-7 win for the Chiefs, who now move above the playoff line for the first time this season.

We are almost halfway, and these are the standings. Philly and Indy pretty much have their divisions wrapped up, while others are still close. It looks like the AFC North will be the trainwreck division this year, which is a huge surprise considering that it was two years ago that every team in that North finished with a winning record. Nearly every division is close, but it's still pretty early. There's 10 weeks to go in this season.

Week 9 will kick off with the Miami Dolphins hosting the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday Night Football. On Sunday Night Football, the Washington Commanders will host the Seattle Seahawks, and Monday Night

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