Every week, NFL fans around the league will overreact to games that just happened on Sunday.
So, what are fans overreacting to after Week 8 games? Here are three of the biggest ones out there.
1. Kansas City Chiefs Will Not Be the AFC #1 Seed
The Kansas City Chiefs looked about as bad as it can get in Sunday’s loss against the Denver Broncos. They had five turnovers and only scored nine points. Plus, it was the first time in eight years that the Broncos beat the Chiefs.
Because of this loss, the AFC race for the top seed just got a lot more interesting. Currently, every AFC division leader is sitting with a 6-2 record. Kansas City plays Miami in Frankfurt, Germany, next Sunday.
The winner of this game will likely be the frontrunner to get that #1 seed. They will also secure an important head-to-head tiebreaker.
Do not overreact to the Chiefs losing yesterday. They are still the betting favorite to win the Super Bowl despite that loss.
Some may even argue that there is a Taylor Swift effect, considering she was not in attendance for yesterday’s loss.
However, the more likely culprit is the flu. QB Patrick Mahomes was dealing with this leading up to yesterday’s game. It likely had an impact on his poor performance yesterday.
At the end of the day, Kansas City is still one of the best teams in the NFL. Almost every team has one really bad performance at some point during the regular season. I expect them to bounce back.
2. New York Jets Will Make the Playoffs
The New York Jets walked away with an ugly win in the MetLife Bowl against the New York Giants. Thanks to some last-minute heroics by QB Zach Wilson and some costly errors by the Giants, the Jets now sit with a 4-3 record. This puts them in a tie for the final AFC wild-card spot.
However, fans should not start punching their tickets to the playoffs just yet. Despite the win, the Jets looked awful in that game.
The Giants set a record for fewest passing yards in a game. Plus, there were 24 combined punts.
On top of this, the Giants were still able to have 203 rushing yards despite playing with practice squad QB Tommy DeVito for the majority of the game.
The Jets should be happy they got that win, and they have a decent record right now, being over .500. However, yesterday’s performance should tell you that this team is still very much flawed.
3. San Francisco 49ers Will Lose the NFC West
There is a concerning trend for the San Francisco 49ers. They have lost three straight games after starting the season 5-0.
What is worse is that they are finding different ways to lose. The defense gave up 31 points yesterday and 22 points the week prior. Plus, the offense has only scored 44 points combined in their last three games.
Part of this is due to injuries. WR Deebo Samuel has been out due to a hairline fracture in his shoulder. RB Christian McCaffrey and QB Brock Purdy have also not been 100% healthy in this stretch.
Because of this, they have now lost the NFC West division lead to the Seattle Seahawks. However, they are still the betting favorites to end up winning this division.
The 49ers could use a breather and are getting a bye week at the right time. This should give them time to regroup and get healthy.
They have a tough schedule coming out of the bye. San Francisco faces Seattle in three of their next five games. However, I still believe they will overcome this stretch and capture the NFC West title.
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