What We Saw Roundup – Week 8

We watched every NFL Week 8 game so you don't have to — Here's What We Saw!

Brett Ford
What We Saw 4 Hours Ago
Series Navigation
Introduction
Panthers @ Packers
Ravens @ Bills
Titans @ Bengals
Cardinals @ Cowboys
Vikings @ Lions
Raiders @ Jets
Browns @ Steelers
Falcons @ Buccaneers
Colts @ Jaguars
Chargers @ Rams
Chiefs @ Broncos
Patriots @ Dolphins
Eagles @ Commanders

Falcons @ Buccaneers

Final Score: Buccaneers 16, Falcons 0

Writer: Kevan Downs [kdsportsnet on Instagram]

 

Hope you looked at your players’ weather report before this game. The field was a complete slip-and-slide, and the play calling and player performance showed. Both teams went with a heavy run approach, and Michael Penix Jr.‘s mistakes showed why that was necessary. He threw poor balls all game, leading to a handful of interceptions and allowing the Bucs to capitalize on better field position and score field goals. The Bucs managed one touchdown on the day, and the Falcons finished with no points on the board.

Two Up

  • Bucky Irving – Irving’s strong campaign continued through the storms in this game, showing that they can rely on him to take on an even larger load when it’s needed. He had 19 carries in the first half alone and finished out his day with 27. He routinely made positive plays in this one, finishing with over six yards per carry.
  • Kenny Gainwell – The other big benefactor of the field conditions. Gainwell chipped in his own 25 carries in this game and finished with 140 yards. While still firmly behind Irving as the team’s RB1, Gainwell’s usage in the last two weeks could indicate a willingness to get him more involved compared to the first few weeks of the season; but still not a comfortable start barring an injury to Irving given the context of the usage (offensive blowout and weather-induced run-heavy game script). Regardless, Gainwell is a valuable handcuff to hold.

One Down

  • Michael Penix Jr. – Penix is the only player I’m willing to put here based on how the weather affected the play calling in this one. Despite the conditions, he just made plenty of ill-advised throws and poor decisions. In the few weeks prior, the Falcons had been able to call an efficient pass game with Penix, using the influence of Bijan Robinson in the run game to open up the pass, but between the Bucs D holding up well against the run and Penix not being able to punish them through the air, it was a poor game all around for the Falcons.

 

Atlanta Falcons

 

Quarterback

 

Michael Penix Jr.: 8/24, 125 Yards, 4 INT | 5 Rushes, 11 Yards

Penix made a lot of poor decisions in this game. He wasn’t pressured that much, it seemed, but he struggled to get the ball out with his usual quick zip he puts on the ball. At times, he looked slow through his progressions, and overall just seemed unsure of where he wanted to go with the ball. He’d default back to Drake London, but still threw a handful of bad passes his way too; he was targeted on two of his four interceptions.

 

 

Running Back

 

Bijan Robinson: 19 Carries, 76 Yards | 1 Target, 0 Receptions

Bijan and the Falcons’ offensive line weren’t able to dominate the line of scrimmage in this one. At times, it seemed like Robinson would try to bounce it outside too quickly, trying for that home run play, then would end up being tackled near the line of scrimmage for minimal or no gain. These poor runs would put the team in 2nd- or 3rd-and-long situations, forcing a pass play, which also did not go over well for the offense. Despite the weather conditions, it didn’t seem like the Falcons tried running everything through Bijan early in the game, even as much as prior weeks when they didn’t have to play through bad weather. It seemed like a possibility that they wanted to catch the defense being too dialed in on stopping the run and jump on it early, but Penix’s interceptions put a damper on those plays.

Khalil Herbert: 4 Carries, 12 Yards

Not much to report on Herbert, but he remains Bijan’s backup with Brian Robinson Jr. injured. He’ll see a couple touches weekly to give him a breather.

 

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Jahan Dotson: 5 Targets, 2 Receptions, 95 Yards

Dotson seems to be maintaining the WR2 role behind Drake London in the offense. He played 38 snaps compared to London’s 51 but still ran 20 routes compared to 25 for London. Dotson nearly had a touchdown on a nice catch-and-run but he didn’t quite have the afterburners to take it to the house. With how dispersed the targets are beyond London, Dotson will have a low floor and medium ceiling week to week with the low floor being further exaggerated by Penix’s lower passing volume.

Drake London: 6 Targets, 1 Reception, 8 Yards

The weather conditions already limited the passing game in this one, but Penix also made his fair share of poor throws. London was the target on two of his four interceptions. There were times on third and fourth down where I thought Penix would be looking London’s way more, but more often than not, I found myself questioning why he didn’t appear to be the first read. Especially on the 4th and 6, linked below, it looked like London was given a fair bit of cushion at the line of scrimmage, but Penix didn’t look his way until the pressure was bearing down on him and he just had to get rid of it and try to make something happen to avoid a sack and turnover on downs.

 

Kyle Pitts: 5 Targets, 2 Receptions, 6 Yards

Pitts split time with fellow tight end Charlie Woerner, who was called upon more for his run-blocking abilities. Despite playing the same number of snaps, Pitts ran 19 routes compared to 7 for Woerner. Another casualty of the weather, brighter days can be ahead for Pitts as he’ll see the field more in better game scripts. Like Dotson, he’s behind London in target share, but has shown some touchdown upside in the prior few weeks with Penix at the helm.

 

 

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

 

Quarterback

 

Baker Mayfield: 0/3, 0 Yards | 4 Rushes, 14 Yards

Anyone who started Baker off his first week back from injury and thought, “it can’t possibly go lower than 11 pass attempts,” well, you’d be wrong. Only three attempts for Mayfield in this one as the running back duo of Bucky Irving and Kenny Gainwell carried the load through the rain in this one. At the very least, Mayfield and the Buccaneers made NFL history by becoming the first team in over 50 years to win a game without completing a pass. Surely he’ll throw for more next week than the last two weeks combined, right?

 

Running Back

 

Bucky Irving: 27 Carries, 170 Yards, 1 TD

Irving was a man possessed in this game. Nearly every run felt like it went for positive yards as he kept churning out first downs. He has shown again that he can carry the offensive load when called upon. Both backs, Irving and Gainwell, ran incredibly well in this one. Moving forward, I wouldn’t expect a split to be quite as even as it was today, with Irving more likely to shoulder a larger workload.

The only blemish to Irving’s day: after getting set up with great field position following an interception, Baker lost and recovered his own fumble, lateralled it to Irving, who looked like he might have taken it in for a touchdown, but instead it got punched out by Jessie Bates before going out the back of the end zone.

 

Kenny Gainwell: 25 Carries, 140 Yards | 1 Target, 0 Receptions

Once again, the offense called upon both Irving and Gainwell to lead the way. This time, Gainwell matched the snaps that Irving played. With Mayfield just returning from injury and Emeka Egbuka perhaps out for longer, we may see more games like these last two for the Tampa offense. Chances are, they won’t both be getting 25+ carries, if you can believe that, but they’ve been keeping the ball moving, and running them both helps keep each other fresh. Gainwell is at least one of the more valuable handcuffs to hold for the time being.

 

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Chris Godwin Jr.: 1 Target, 0 Receptions

Ted Hurst III: 1 Target, 0 Receptions

Not much to say on this front. Godwin and Hurst were the only two Tampa Bay receivers with a target in this game. If Egbuka is forced to miss time, you could look their way, especially Chris Godwin, as he continues to see most snaps. While there isn’t much of anything to say from a passing perspective, Hurst split snaps about evenly with Tez Johnson and David Sills.

Series Navigation
Introduction
Panthers @ Packers
Ravens @ Bills
Titans @ Bengals
Cardinals @ Cowboys
Vikings @ Lions
Raiders @ Jets
Browns @ Steelers
Falcons @ Buccaneers
Colts @ Jaguars
Chargers @ Rams
Chiefs @ Broncos
Patriots @ Dolphins
Eagles @ Commanders

Brett Ford

Writer, Editor and Podcast host for QBList.com, Ravens fan, Cool Dad