Contenders flex their muscles as Packers ruin Rodgers reunion

In the eighth week of the NFL, teams with flimsy Super Bowl credentials fought hard to win.

The Indianapolis Colts are now 7-1, but the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots are on their heels.

Running backs had some incredible days, including Breece Hall leading the New York Jets to their first-ever victory and Saquon Barkley helping the Eagles reclaim their favor.

In his first game against the Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rodgers insisted that he had history to play for, as winning would have made him the only quarterback to defeat all 32 NFL teams.

Instead, the Packers won their first game of the season in Pittsburgh since 1970, running out 35-25 winners.

After winning four MVPs and a Super Bowl for his 18 seasons at Lambeau Field, Rodgers wants to retire as a Packer. However, Love was chosen to take his place.

Love led four scoring drives in the second half while completing 20 straight passes, something Rodgers never managed to do.

The Packers look like contenders, but the Steelers need to get their defense in order if they want to compete, and Cheeshead fans who believe in omens will be eager to see the season begin.

Only great Super Bowl teams like the Patriots and Broncos have managed to score 30 points or more in a 38-14 victory over the Colts, which is a lowly 1-7 victory for the Colts.

Running back Jonathan Taylor was the star as he added his fourth touchdown hat-trick of the year to Daniel Jones’ three more touchdown passes.

Taylor leads the charge in making him the first running back to win the MVP since Adrian Peterson in 2012. The Colts are 7-1 for the first time since 2009.

Bo Nix and Drake Maye, both quarterbacks, continued to excel as the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots both stretched their muscles in their fifth straight victories.

In their enraging 44-24 win over the Dallas Cowboys, the Broncos scored their most points at home since 2014 with four touchdown passes.

Dak Prescott and the elite Dallas offense can hang around anyone, but they can’t stop anyone in their defense.

Denver has only lost two games thanks to last-second field goals, which puts them at 6-2.

Maye overcame Cleveland’s ferocious defense to score three touchdowns in yet another impressive performance for the Patriots. He was sacked five times by Myles Garrett.

In the first eight games of the season, he is the only player to have a passer rating of 135 or higher and two touchdowns.

The Patriots remain top of the AFC East, but the Buffalo Bills are still on top after James Cook’s 216 rushing yards and 40-9 victory over the Carolina Panthers kept them in the lead.

The Philadelphia Eagles resurrect their recent comeback against the New York Giants thanks to Saquon Barkley’s monster 150-yard rushing effort.

After last week’s impressive game against the Vikings, Jalen Hurts added four touchdown passes after a dodgy spell, and the Eagles’ offense finally seems to be working.

Even though he left the game with a groin injury, Barkley claimed it was minor and needed a bye next week to recover. However, his breakout might be the key to the puzzle.

The Giants’ star rookie duo had a difficult night as quarterback Jaxson Dart was sacked five times while Cam Skattebo’s season is looking promising as he undergoes ankle surgery.

After a grueling 39-38 comeback victory over the Cincinnati Bengals, the New York Jets finally recorded their first win of the season and it was a memorable one.

The Jets made it four this season, which is by far the most unlikely, despite having lost 135 games in a row when 15 points or more behind to start the fourth quarter.

Hall completed the final 15 minutes of the Jets’ first winning streak with a pair of touchdowns before throwing the winning pass on a crazy trick play.

A couple of unbeaten teams also won their only other games of the season, with Miami cruised to victory over inconsistent Atlanta and Baltimore winning against in-form Chicago.

Baltimore’s defense finally showed up in a surprisingly comfortable 30-16 victory over a Bears side that had won four straight with Lamar Jackson, despite the Ravens still having Lamar Jackson.

The Dolphins’ 34-10 victory over the Falcons was a surprise given that Tua Tagovailoa had only previously defeated them.