NFL Week 8 Observations and Analysis

The biggest surprise on Sunday was the Saints losing to the Rams in St.Louis 31-21. It was a very bad loss for Drew Brees and the rest of the Saints.

The Saints' defense was exposed once again and they could not stop Steven Jackson at all. Jackson had 159 yards and two TDs on the day.

The offensive line was horrible for the Saints as they could not protect Brees at all. No Mark Ingram hurt New Orleans too as he was injured and the Saints' running backs only totaled 57 yards for the whole game.

The Saints will face a tough Bucs' team next week at home. I would not be surprised if the Bucs upset the Saints again. They played a few weeks ago in Tampa and the Bucs won 26-20.

The Eagles looked great after a bye week and destroyed the Cowboys 34-7. Eagles are now 3-4 and will face a talented Bears' team at home on Monday night.

I expected the Chiefs to beat the Chargers last night at home but they were lucky they won the game in overtime. The Chargers should have won the game in regulation but Philip Rivers fumbled a snap which was recovered by Kansas City. The Chargers were in field goal position and ready to win the game when the turnover happened.

The referees in this game were just horrendous. They called stupid ticky tack flags on the Chargers a few times during the game. I could not believe one of the officials called a flag on Antonio Gates for offensive pass interference when he caught a TD pass in the end zone in the second quarter. Even the ESPN announcers were disagreeing with the questionable flags.

The 49ers continue to win as they are now 6-1 and I don't see a way they can not clinch the NFC West title soon.The only thing that can stop them now is an injury to QB Alex Smith. The 49ers will be a tough team to play in the playoffs because they have a great defense and their offense can run the ball.

Rookie quarterbacks continue to impress as Andy Dalton, Christian Ponder, and Cam Newton all had good games for their respective teams. Blaine Gabbert of the Jaguars is the only starting rookie QB that has struggled mightily so far.

The Giants beat the Dolphins 20-17 in a very close game. The Dolphins' secondary is horrible and Eli Manning took full advantage by throwing for 349 yards and two TDs. Do the Dolphins or the Cardinals have a weaker secondary? Both are very bad.

Best games next week are Jets vs Bills, Giants vs Patriots, Packers vs Chargers, Ravens vs Steelers, and the Bears vs Eagles on Monday Night.