It's fair to say that, eight weeks into the 2022 NFL season, it has been a year of surprises.
The New York Giants have six wins, the Seattle Seahawks lead the NFC West and two preseason NFC favourites, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers, have collapsed to 3-5 starts.
This is a campaign in which to expect the unexpected and, as such, three of the top quarterback displays from Week 8 heading into Monday Night Football are entirely in keeping with the theme of 2022.
While one star still shaking the rust off following an injury lay-off delivered the kind of game most have come to anticipate from him, the degree of accuracy displayed by the trio of signal-callers surrounding him at the top of Stats Perform's well-thrown rate chart by the end of Sunday's action was eyebrow-raising to say the least.
And there was one quarterback who tried and failed to find a new team in the offseason who rose above the rest.
Jimmy G's perfect day
There will never be a game that definitively decides the endless Jimmy Garoppolo debate in the Bay Area, where the San Francisco 49ers' quarterback who was meant to be elsewhere this season remains a beloved but polarising figure.
But nobody could argue Garoppolo was not excellent in Week 8 as the 49ers scored 24 unanswered points to sweep the Los Angeles Rams with an emphatic 31-14 win at SoFi Stadium.
So much of the attention in the immediate aftermath was rightly on Christian McCaffrey, who became the fourth player with a touchdown pass, rushing touchdown and touchdown reception in a single game since the 1970 merger in a remarkable performance just 10 days on from his trade from the Carolina Panthers.
However, Garoppolo also deserves a share of the spotlight following what was, by at least one measure, a perfect game from a quarterback frequently criticised for his volatility.
Garoppolo ended the defeat of the Rams with a 100 per cent well-thrown rate. Each of his 25 passes, excluding throwaways, was deemed to be accurate and well-thrown.
He is the 35th player to achieve such a feat and the second this season following Trevor Lawrence for the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 2 against the Indianapolis Colts.
While Garoppolo averaged only 6.76 yards per attempt, he still completed a host of big-time throws, including a third-down touchdown shot to a leaping McCaffrey and a 56-yard bomb down the left sideline to Ross Dwelley that was followed by a perfectly placed ball to George Kittle in the back of the endzone on a sprint out pass that iced the game.
At 4-4 heading into the bye with a star-studded offense and a series of players still to return from injury on defense, the 49ers are ideally positioned for a surge down the stretch. They won't get perfect every game from Garoppolo, but if he maintains a level close to what he produced in Inglewood on Sunday, San Francisco will be a major threat in the NFC.
Air Marcus has Falcons on top
Marcus Mariota had hardly been trusted to throw the ball over the four games prior to Atlanta's wild win over the Carolina Panthers by head coach Arthur Smith.
Only once over those four games had he registered more than 20 passing attempts, but Mariota was allowed to air it out on Sunday, and the Falcons should be delighted by the manner in which he did so.
The former second overall pick delivered an accurate well-thrown ball on 92.6 per cent of his 27 pass attempts, maintaining remarkable accuracy while pushing the ball down field with consistency in a captivating shoot-out.
Mariota averaged 10.15 air yards per attempt against Carolina. Just five quarterbacks – Josh Allen (12.96), P.J. Walker (12.33), Tua Tagovailoa (11.79), Russell Wilson (11.04) and Jalen Hurts (11.04) – were more aggressive in that respect.
Of that quintet, Tagovailoa (82.4 per cent) and Wilson (84.6 per cent) were the only two signal-callers to even post a well-thrown rate of 80 per cent.
Mariota blended accuracy and deep-ball aggression in a way most quarterbacks struggle to replicate and, though he tossed an overtime interception that should have cost the Falcons the game, his performance may convince Smith to diversify his approach and shift to a more balanced attack as the 4-4 Falcons look to make a surprise run at the NFC South title.
Dak looks all the way back
The case could be made that the Cowboys were still running the 'Cooper Rush' offense in Prescott's first game back from a finger injury in Week 7 against the Detroit Lions.
Dallas laboured somewhat in that one before pulling away and, though the Week 8 performance was not a faultless one from Prescott, it was one to breed hope the Cowboys can legitimately contend to go deep into the NFC playoffs with him at the helm of the attack.
Prescott posted a well-thrown rate of 92.3 per cent in the Cowboys' 49-29 win over the Chicago Bears, with arguably his most aesthetically pleasing throw coming on his first touchdown pass as he split safeties Eddie Jackson and Jaquan Brisker on a 21-yard rope to CeeDee Lamb on third-and-nine.
Third down did not prove a challenge for Prescott at any point. He completed five of his six third-down throws for 85 yards and a touchdown, with a Bears defense ill-equipped to stop the Cowboys consistently frustrated when they got into positions to get off the field.
An interception by Jackson was the sole blemish on the day for Prescott, who also had a rushing touchdown, and the room for improvement he clearly still has after a showing of this calibre should be of great excitement to the 6-2 Cowboys as they attack the second half of the season.
Fields fills Chicago with hope
The Bears did not produce the all-round performance to keep pace with the Cowboys, but it was another effort by last year's first-round pick Justin Fields to boost optimism around his prospects of blossoming into one of the league's better quarterbacks.
After finally building a gameplan around his athleticism in the Monday Night Football win over the New England Patriots, the Bears once again leant on Fields' mobility. He threw seven times on the move, with Chicago also implementing play-action and the quarterback bootleg into the attack.
The results were impressive as Fields finished the game with a well-thrown rate of 90.9 per cent while averaging 9.5 air yards per attempt. On top of that, he did not throw a single interceptable pass, though he did have one pick called back because of a roughing the passer penalty.
Fields was perfect on play-action, with all six of his passes from those concepts well thrown, and he would have had significantly more than 151 passing yards to his name had rookie receiver Velus Jones not dropped an outstandingly placed moonball down the right sideline from the Chicago 47-yard line in the second quarter.
But Fields still accounted for three touchdowns, throwing two and rushing for another in a 60-yard display on the ground. Though the Bears' decision to trade defensive stars Robert Quinn and Roquan Smith will play a role in limiting their wins in 2022, the Bears will be increasingly convinced Fields is the right man to rebuild the team around if he continues in this vein of form.
Premier League MD7: Lucky winners and unlucky losers
There were plenty of thrills and spills across the board in the Premier League as matchday seven ran its course.
Manchester City and Arsenal both had to come from behind to beat Fulham and Southampton respectively at home, while there were eight goals scored as Brentford overcame Wolves 5-3, with six of those strikes coming in the first half in west London.
Liverpool kept themselves ahead at the summit thanks to a 1-0 win at Crystal Palace, while Manchester United stopped the rot by holding Aston Villa, albeit they have now tallied up their lowest points total after seven games of any Premier League season.
Leicester City, meanwhile, grabbed their first win of the campaign, while Anthony Gordon endured a miserable return to Goodison Park with Newcastle United. In the final fixture of the weekend, Brighton stunned Tottenham, forging a second-half comeback to win 3-2 at the Amex Stadium.
So, after all that, who were the unlucky, and lucky, teams based on the underlying metrics?
Lucky winners: Leicester City
Leicester finally got their first top-flight win of the season on the board, as they edged out Bournemouth 1-0 thanks to Facundo Buonanotte's excellent run and finish.
But, it's fair to say it was something of a smash-and-grab for Steve Cooper's team at the King Power Stadium. Leicester had just six shots, with only two of those hitting the target, and they tallied up just 0.79 expected goals (xG).
On the other hand, Bournemouth had 19 attempts, creating five big chances (a tally bettered only by Brentford's eight and West Ham's nine this week) and accumulating 2.16 xG.
Bournemouth only have themselves to blame for wasteful finishing – they got just two of their efforts on target – but the Cherries can still consider themselves unfortunate.
Unlucky losers: Newcastle
Determined to impress against his former club, Gordon fluffed his lines when his big moment arrived as Newcastle drew 0-0 with Everton on Saturday.
With James Tarkowski having conceded a penalty by recklessly pulling the shirt of Sandro Tonali, Gordon stepped up to the spot, but Jordan Pickford guessed the right way.
While Everton wanted a penalty of their own in the second half, the Toffees were largely second-best and that is backed up by the metrics. Even discounting Gordon's spot-kick, Newcastle finished with 1.26 xG and 14 shots. The hosts accumulated 0.67 xG and had eight attempts.
Lucky winners: Man City
It's not often that the champions are given a run for their money at home, but Fulham did just that.
Indeed, Fulham finished with 2.6 xG at the Etihad Stadium, the fourth-highest total across the league this weekend, while they created five big chances.
Pep Guardiola has said he is not concerned by Man City's unusually open defence, but he will want to see better from his team in that regard after the international break.
Going forward, City benefited from three excellent finishes - two from Mateo Kovacic and one from Jeremy Doku. Their 1.57 xG came from 20 shots, though they created only one big chance.
Bengals 'not a championship-level team', says Burrow after dramatic loss to Ravens
Joe Burrow said the Cincinnati Bengals are some way away from championship contention after a botched field-goal attempt saw them suffer a dramatic overtime defeat to the Baltimore Ravens.
Burrow threw for five touchdowns and 392 yards – comfortably his best game of the season – in Sunday's huge AFC North matchup, but it was not enough to lead the Bengals to victory.
They lost a thrilling encounter 41-38 in overtime, Evan McPherson missing a potential game-winning field goal before Justin Tucker did the honours for Baltimore at the other end.
The defeat dropped the Bengals to 1-4, while the Ravens have now won three straight games after opening the season with surprising back-to-back defeats.
Cincinnati's four losses this year have come by a combined margin of just 15 points, but Burrow does not feel their troubles can be explained merely by bad luck.
"We're not a championship-level team right now," Burrow said. "We're not.
"I'd like to think that we'll come back and improve throughout the season to get to that point, but right now we are not and we have to get better.
"I know exactly how we are 1-4. We're not making plays at the end of the game to go and win it. I'm definitely not in disbelief. I know exactly what's happening."
Rookie punter Ryan Rehkow played a role in McPherson's decisive miss, his poor hold causing the kick to skew wide left. Head coach Zac Taylor, however, has backed his team to bounce back.
"People can write us off if they really want to," Taylor said. "I'm not dumb enough to do that."
The Ravens' game-winning field goal was teed up by a 51-yard dash by in-form running back Derrick Henry, who had 92 yards and a touchdown from 15 carries.
Henry also brought up a personal milestone by passing 10,000 career rushing yards in the second quarter, becoming the 32nd player in NFL history to accomplish the feat and the first since Marshawn Lynch (2017). The former Tennessee Titans star also became the 14th running back in league history to reach 100 career scrimmage touchdowns.
Asked what he saw on his huge overtime play, Henry replied: "Just green grass. Green grass and get it as close to the end zone as possible.
"I didn't get in, I should've probably stiff-armed him, but the GOAT got the field goal to win the game, and we're going home with a victory. That's all that matters.
"This win is big because of what happened today. It puts us up two in the division, so we definitely needed this one.
"It was just as important for us as it was for them. We're glad we got the victory. With everything that happened, to show the resiliency of this team. We're going to keep on fighting to the end."
Vikings beat Jets in London to improve to 5-0
The Minnesota Vikings moved to 5-0 for the first time in eight years with a 23-17 victory over the New York Jets at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London on Sunday.
Minnesota built a 17-0 lead over New York (2-3) in the second quarter but needed an interception of Aaron Rodgers at the Vikings’ 26-yard line with 49 seconds left in the game to remain perfect on the season.
Andrew Van Ginkel put Minnesota up 10-0 late in the first quarter with a 63-yard interception return for a touchdown and Will Reichard kicked three field goals to lead the Vikings.
Minnesota quarterback Sam Darnold, who was selected No. 3 overall by the Jets in the 2018 NFL Draft, went 14 of 31 for 179 yards with an interception.
Rodgers completed 29 of 54 passes for 244 yards while throwing two touchdowns and three interceptions. He became the ninth player in NFL history to pass for 60,000 career yards.
Minnesota and the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are the last two unbeaten teams in the league. Kansas City (4-0) hosts the New Orleans Saints (2-2) to close out Week 5 on Monday.
Rookie QB Daniels leads Commanders to fourth straight win
Jayden Daniels passed for 238 yards and a touchdown and added 82 yards on the ground as the Washington Commanders routed the Cleveland Browns for their fourth straight win.
Washington moved to 4-1 for the first time since 2008 behind three rushing touchdowns, including two by Brian Robinson Jr., while Cleveland fell to 1-4 with its third consecutive defeat.
Daniels, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, has completed 77.1 percent of his passes this season for 1,135 yards and four touchdowns. He’s also rushed for 300 yards and four TDs.
Terry McLaurin had four receptions for a season-high 112 yards, and Washington’s defence limited the Browns to 212 total yards.
Cleveland quarterback Deshaun Watson again failed to reach 200 yards passing in a game this season, throwing for 125 with a touchdown, and is near the bottom of the NFL with a 60.2 completion percentage. Despite his struggles, coach Kevin Stefanski said the team is "not changing quarterbacks."
The Browns have yet to record over 300 total yards in 2024 after doing so 13 times in 17 games last season while going 11-6 and reaching the playoffs.
Texans beat Bills on Fairbairn's 59-yard field goal as time expires
Ka′imi Fairbairn booted a 59-yard field goal as the clock struck zero to lift the Houston Texans to a 23-20 win over the Buffalo Bills.
C.J. Stroud completed 28 of 38 passes for 331 yards with a touchdown and the Texans held on to improve to 4-1 after blowing a 20-3 lead in the third quarter.
They also overcame an injury to Nico Collins, who entered Week 5 with an NFL-leading 489 receiving yards.
Collins exited early in the second quarter with a hamstring injury shortly after he scored a 67-yard touchdown, but Stefon Diggs stepped up in his first game against his former team, leading the Texans with six receptions for 82 yards.
Houston's defence frustrated Josh Allen nearly the entire game, and the Bills lost their second in a row after starting the season 3-0.
Allen threw three straight incomplete passes on Buffalo's final drive to give Houston a chance to win it, and he finished the game just 9 of 30 for 131 yards with a TD.
Prescott's late TD pass lifts Cowboys over Steelers
Dak Prescott found Jalen Tolbert just across the goal line for a four-yard touchdown pass on a fourth down with 20 seconds remaining to give the Dallas Cowboys a 20-17 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Prescott threw a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter, and drove the Cowboys 70 yards on the winning drive after the Steelers (3-2) went ahead on a six-yard TD pass from Justin Fields to Pat Freiermuth with 4:56 remaining.
The Cowboys (3-2) outgained the Steelers 448-227 in total yards with Prescott throwing for 352 yards and running back Rico Dowdle rushing for 90 yards and catching two passes for 27 yards with a TD.
Dowdle almost had a costly turnover, however. Two plays before the winning touchdown, he was stripped of the ball by Steelers linebacker Elandon Roberts at the goal line but Prescott was able to jump on it and recover the fumble.
Tolbert, who got hurt the play before the winning score, led Dallas with seven receptions for 87 yards.
The game started nearly 90 minutes later than its scheduled start time because of a heavy thunderstorm producing lightning in the area. The game ended at 12:59 a.m.
Ravens pull out wild 41-38 overtime win over Bengals
Justin Tucker's 24-yard field goal in the final minute of overtime sent the Baltimore Ravens to a 41-38 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.
After both teams scored touchdowns early behind Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow, the game came down to the kickers.
Tucker sent the game to overtime with a 56-yard field goal with 1:35 remaining in regulation, and Bengals kicker Evan McPherson missed a 53-yarder after a fumbled snap on Cincinnati's first possession of overtime.
On the very next play, Derrick Henry rushed 51 yards down to the Cincinnati six-yard line to set up Tucker's winning kick as Baltimore won its third straight game after opening 0-2.
Henry finished with 92 yards running and scored his 100th career rushing touchdown, while Jackson passed for 348 yards and four TDs without an interception.
Burrow threw five touchdown passes, while racking up 392 passing yards, but the Bengals dropped to 1-4.
Love-Kraft connection help Packers rally past Rams
Jordan Love threw a pair of touchdown passes to Tucker Kraft in the third quarter to help the Green Bay Packers to a 24-19 win over the Los Angeles Rams.
The Packers opened the scoring on Josh Jacobs' first touchdown with Green Bay, but then fell behind 13-7 just before the two-minute warning in the first half on Jaylen McCollough's four-yard interception return for a touchdown - the first pick-6 of Love's career.
Love responded by leading scoring drives on Green Bay's next three possessions - including touchdown passes of 66 and seven yards to Kraft.
Love threw for 224 yards in his second start after missing two games due to a knee injury, as the Packers (3-2) won for the first time in a game he started this season.
Green Bay safety Xavier McKinney intercepted Matthew Stafford in the third quarter to become the first player since the 1970 merger to have an interception in his first five games with a team.
Stafford also threw a touchdown and finished with 260 yards, while Kyren Williams rushed for 102 yards and scored for the eighth straight game for the Rams (1-4).
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
