NFL Week 8 winners and losers: Matthew Stafford deserves MVP consideration

We have all hammered the ‘parity in the NFL’ nail on the head for weeks, but it seems the league just keeps lobbing up softballs. In two straight weeks football fans have had to sit through a tie — both times involving kickers not doing their jobs. But it goes beyond the ties, as there were three games that needed overtime to decide a winner on Sunday and all but one of them provided a convincing winner. The Cowboys beating the Eagles was rather definitive, whereas the Raiders lucked out beating the Bucs following a tie in London between the Bengals and Redskins.

Needless to say, there’s a difference between parity in the NFL and just plain awful football. Sadly, it appears we might be seeing the latter contributing directly to the former as the quality of the NFL hasn’t been this bad since the late 90s.

Before we start looking ahead to Week 9, let’s live outside of the box score a little, since that’s where the real battles are won and lost anyways.

Loser: Mike Zimmer

Two weeks ago, the narrative was that Mike Zimmer is a lock to be Coach of the Year. Two straight losses and Zimmer is paying the price for having a one dimensional team. The defense is one of the best in football, but for the second straight week we saw what happens when a terrible offense can’t offer the run support needed.

Zimmer’s defense will take the Vikings to the playoffs, but a devastating loss to the Bears has tainted the Super Bowl contending gleam Minnesota had not two weeks prior.

Winner: Kansas City Chiefs

Sure, Andy Reid almost got Alex Smith killed on an inexplicable play call, but all is actually really bright in Kansas City. The team has established themselves as the only real threat in the AFC to the New England Patriots, something that not many people seem to be paying attention to.

While the Raiders continue to luck into wins and the Broncos somehow survive without a quarterback, the Chiefs has honed their skills to become the second best team from a quality standpoint in the NFL. The Chiefs could legitimately beat anyone from the NFC, as Minnesota and Dallas seem t be all bark and minimal bite. Atlanta is dangerous but beatable with the Chiefs defense. Justin Houston is coming back from injury, making their defense even scarier with the prospect of facing Tom Brady in the playoffs looking like an inevitability.

Loser: Matthew Stafford

The Lions are 4-4 and a half game behind both New York and Green Bay for the Wild Card in the NFC. Matthew Stafford is leading Detroit to victory without a star running back and without Calvin Johnson. Yet somehow he’s not at all in the legitimate conversation for MVP this year, despite cooking a gourmet meal with the fixings from a Lunchable.

Tom Brady and Matt Ryan are better quarterbacks, but the fact we’re comparing Stafford to those two in the same sentence is proof that he is an MVP candidate. Some people are starting to come around, but the conversation needs to shift harder than it has.

Week 9 NFL Head Coach Hot Seat

The coaching hot seat is starting to get more than a little warm for these underachievers:

1. Gus Bradley, Jacksonville Jaguars

Offensive coordinator Greg Olsen was the scapegoat after Week 8’s loss to the Titans, but we all know what it really means. Bradley has been living on borrowed time that has officially expired.

2. Mike McCarthy, Green Bay Packers

The more that Green Bay loses, the hotter McCarthy’s seat will get. Aaron Rodgers is in the prime of his career, and he has to take priority over the head coach. The Packers job would easily be the hottest job in years if it were to become available.

3. Chuck Pagano, Indianapolis Colts

When the other coach in a game concusses his quarterback twice and you’re still the one who ends up looking bad, that’s a problem. But that’s where Chuck Pagano is, as the Colts are wasting Andrew Luck and it might be time to start looking for a head coach to lead the team into the future — one that isn’t Pagano.

Trades That Need To Happen (But Won’t)

We have limited time left to ponder these trade fantasies, so let’s not waste any time.

1. Joe Haden to Detroit Lions

The Lions are playoff contenders, and adding a veteran on defense could be a missing piece not many are thinking of when it comes to taking the team to the next level.

2. Brandon Marshall to Tennessee Titans

The Jets need to recoup their losses — literally — and Tennessee can benefit from that. The Titans can legitimately win the AFC South, and adding a veteran receiver for Marcus Mariota to throw to could open up and offense DeMarco Murray has made enticing.

3. Vontae Davis to Oakland Raiders

Derek Carr is a dark horse MVP candidate and Amari Cooper is legit contender. But the defense needs work, and Davis could bring veteran wisdom that might benefit both the team this season and Kalil Mack long-term.

MVP Power Rankings After Week 8

We’re getting to that time of the year where the MVP race is going to narrow from a wide field to the real contenders. Here’s who might survive the thinning of the herd:

5. Ezekiel Elliott — RB, Cowboys
4. Amari Cooper — WR, Raiders
3. Von Miller — LB, Broncos
2. Matt Ryan, — QB, Falcons
1. Tom Brady — QB, Patriots

Things That Will Definitely Happen in Week 9

Let’s close out with a look ahead at some things that will definitely happen next week in the NFL. First, let’s look at Week 8 predictions, which turned out to be pretty alright:

• The Cowboys will beat the Eagles, but the game will be close enough that we begin to take both seriously as Super Bowl contenders. I’d say overtime is close enough. 
• Both the Patriots and Broncos will get revenge over the Bills and Chargers for upsetting them earlier this season. Bingo.
• Green Bay will beat Atlanta, prompting a loading of the hot take cannon about how the Falcons always stat strong then inexplicably fall apart. Leave it to Atlanta to prove me wrong.

Alright, as for things that will happen in Week 9:

• The Raiders will upset the Broncos, forcing people to take them seriously as Super Bowl contenders.
• Ben Roethlisberger will return and get the Steelers back on track to win the AFC North.
• Kansas City will beat Jacksonville to such a pulp that Gus Bradley will lose his job before Week 10 kicks off.

We’ll have to see how right or wrong these are when Week 9 of NFL action kicks off on Thursday.

Stay safe out there, America.