PFT's Week 8 2024 NFL game previews: Cowboys and 49ers in a must-win game

The new weekly pregame feature has gotten a second week because: (1) you seemed to like it; and (2) I feel like doing it.

Week 8 has no byes. All 32 teams play. Two played on Thursday night, as usual. Here's a snapshot of the remaining 15 games.

Only one unbeaten team remains, the Chiefs at 6-0. It's the deepest a defending Super Bowl champion has made it unbeaten into the next season since the 2019 Patriots, who went 7-0 before ultimately losing in the wild-card round at home to the Titans.

For our official Week 8 game picks, click here.

4-2 Eagles at 3-4 Bengals (-2) Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS (Ian Eagle and Charles Davis)

Receiver A.J. Brown has a touchdown in each of the three games he has played this year, and the Eagles have won all of them. But the story for the Philly offense has been Saquon Barkley, who is averaging 109.7 rushing yards per game.

The Bengals, like the Eagles, have beaten the Giants and Browns in consecutive weeks. They're won three of four since starting 0-3. They're also 0-3 at home this season, but 11-2 against the NFC since 2022.

5-2 Ravens (-8.5) at 1-6 Browns, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS (Tom McCarthy, Ross Tucker, and Jay Feely)

Baltimore has scored an average of 35 points per game during its five-game winning streak. They lead the league with 1,476 rushing yards, an they're averaging 461.4 yards per game on offense. With 150 rushing yards on Sunday, Baltimore will become the first team since the 1960 Packers with 150 or more rushing yards in each of the first eight games of a season.

The Browns will start Jameis Winston at quarterback on Sunday, the first game of 2024 without Deshaun Watson. Winston was curiously dropped to No. 3 last week, for the first of three straight Cleveland home games.

The Ravens (who used to be the Browns) are 25-7 against the reconstituted Browns since John Harbaugh became head coach in 2008.

1-5 Titans at 5-1 Lions (-11), Sunday 1 p.m. ET, Fox (Kevin Kugler and Daryl Johnston)

Jared Goff can become the first quarterback in league history to have a passer rating of 140 or more in four straight games. He'll have to do it without receiver Jameson Williams, who is serving a two-game PED suspension.

And the Titans, as double-digit underdogs, will have another trend working against them. Teams that play the Lions are 0-5 the following week.

The Titans traded receiver DeAndre Hopkins this week, which suggests that they might trade away other veterans before the November 5 deadline.

4-3 Colts at 5-2 Texans (-5), Sunday 1 p.m. ET, CBS (Andrew Catalon and Tiki Barber)

It's a rematch of a division rivalry. Houston beat the Colts in Week 1, 29-17. But if the Texans stumble for the second straight week, the Colts will forge a tie at the top of the AFC South.

C.J. Stroud had a career-low 86 passing yards at Green Bay.

Running back Jonathan Taylor will make his return on Sunday for the Colts, after missing three games with an ankle injury. He's averaging 87.3 rushing yards per game.

5-2 Packers (-4) at 2-5 Jaguars, Sunday 1 p.m. ET, Fox (Kenny Albert and Jonathan Vilma)

Jacksonville returns from a two-game stint in London to face one of the best teams in the league. Green Bay has won five of six games. Quarterback Jordan Love has 15 touchdown passes, despite missing two games due to injury.

Kicker Brandon McManus, who nailed the game winner against Houston in Week 7, returns to Jacksonville; the Jaguars released him earlier this year.

The Packers lead the NFL with 17 takeaways, even though they had none in Week 7. They had 18 in all of 2023.

3-4 Cardinals at 2-4 Dolphins (-3.5), Sunday 1 p.m. ET, Fox (Jason Benetti and Mark Schlereth)

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is back after missing four games due to his latest concussion. The offense has been stagnant without him.

Miami has scored only six touchdowns this season, the fewest in the NFL.

The Cardinals, who beat the Chargers on a walk-off field goal in Week 7, haven't won consecutive games since 2021. Short week plus long flight plus rejuvenated Dolphins offense will combine to create a real problem for Arizona, which is currently tied for second place in the NFC West with the 49ers and Rams.

2-5 Jets (-7) at 1-6 Patriots, Sunday 1 p.m. ET, CBS (Spero Dedes and Adam Archuleta)

The Patriots are off to their worst start since Robert Kraft bought the team in 1994. After coach Jerod Mayo said the Patriots are "soft . . . across the board" following a lackluster loss to the Jaguars in London, will they step up?

The Jets have lost four straight, and they're 0-2 since the surprise firing of coach Robert Saleh. They're going for three wins in a row against New England, which would be the longest streak since winning four from 1999 through 2001. That run ended in the game that featured the Mo Lewis hit on Drew Bledsoe, which launched Tom Brady's career.

The Jets drew allegations from quarterback Aaron Rodgers and receiver Davante Adams of having no energy in a Week 7 prime-time loss to the Steelers. New York faces a Sunday-to-Thursday turnaround for the second time this year; Houston comes to town for a Halloween game.

4-5 Falcons (-2.5) at 4-3 Buccaneers, Sunday 1 p.m. ET, Fox (Adam Amin and Greg Olsen)

Three weeks and change after a Thursday night overtime classic, the Falcons catch the Bucs at a time when they're without their best two receivers. Although the Falcons are coming off of their worst game of the year (a 20-point loss to Seattle), a win puts them in control of the division — one-game lead and head-to-head tiebreaker.

Kirk Cousins had three turnovers against the Seahawks.

The Bucs will be breaking out their popular Creamsicle throwbacks. They'll need to play a lot better than they did for most of the time they served as the team's primary uniform.

2-5 Saints at 3-3 Chargers (-7), Sunday 4:05 p.m. ET, Fox (Chris Myers and Mark Sanchez)

The Saints have a four-day rest edge for this one, after playing on Thursday. The Chargers played on Monday.

And while the Saints are getting healthier, they still don't have starting quarterback Derek Carr.

The Saints slammed the door on a possible trade of running back Alvin Kamara by working out a new contract. Still, a loss might put them in position to start selling off other contracts before the deadline.

If the Chargers are going to compete for a playoff berth in coach Jim Harbaugh's first season, they need to win games like this one. They would have beaten the Cardinals if any of their five field goals had been touchdowns instead.

5-2 Bills (-3) at 4-3 Seahawks, Sunday 4:05 p.m. ET, Fox (Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady)

Josh Allen is putting together a potential MVP season. Receiver Amari Cooper could help that cause. As Allen told PFT after the Week 7 thrashing of the Titans, he'll throw elsewhere if the coverage rotates to Cooper. If it doesn't, he'll throw to Cooper.

The Seahawks, who broke a three-game winning streak, hold a one-game lead in the NFC West. Entering Week 8, Seattle quarterback Geno Smith leads the league in passing yards, with 1,985. Receiver DK Metcalf, third in the league in receiving yards with 568, is week-to-week with a knee injury. He's doubtful for Sunday's game.

Tom Brady is working the regional game; the Bills wanted him to be involved in the production meetings, but the NFL refused to let Buffalo waive the restrictions applicable to the new Raiders minority owner.

Panthers [1-6] at Broncos [4-3] (-9.5), Sunday 4:25pm ET, CBS (Chris Lewis and Jason McCourty)

Bryce Young is back, but only because Andy Dalton has an injured thumb. There's no reason to expect it to go well.

The Broncos can get to 5-3, which would make Bo Nix the winningest rookie quarterback in franchise history, breaking a current tie with John Elway and Drew Lock, at four games.

Denver coach Sean Payton is 25-7 against NFC South teams since 2017 and 2-0 this year.

6-0 Chiefs (-10) at 2-5 Raiders, Sunday 4:25 p.m. ET, CBS (Kevin Harlan and Trent Green)

The Chiefs haven't lost a game since falling to the Raiders on Christmas Day. And while they keep winning, the offense has been far from spectacular. This week, the Chiefs traded with the Titans for receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who will play on Sunday.

The Raiders have turned back to Gardner Minshew at quarterback. His replacement, Aidan O'Connell, is on injured reserve with a broken thumb on his throwing hand.

Andy Reid is 18-4 against the Raiders during his tenure in Kansas City. The Chiefs have never lost in Las Vegas, with four wins over the Raiders and a Super Bowl win against the 49ers.

4-2 Bears (-2.5) at 5-2 Commanders, Sunday 4:25 p.m. ET, CBS (Jim Nantz and Tony Romo)

The Bears will definitely face the No. 2 overall pick in the draft. The question is whether he'll be the second man taken in 2024 or 2015. Jayden Daniels is questionable with a rib injury. Marcus Mariota will get the start if Daniels can't go.

The Bears had a week off to prepare for this one, which was flexed to the major late-afternoon window on CBS. The Bears have won three in a row; during the streak, rookie quarterback Caleb Williams has seven touchdown passes and one interception.

3-3 Cowboys at 3-4 49ers (-4), Sunday 8:20 p.m. ET, NBC (Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth)

It's arguably a must-win game for both teams. Both have been dealing with injuries and uneven play.

The Cowboys had an eventful bye, with owner/G.M. Jerry Jones threatening to fire radio hosts he doesn't employ to Jones criticizing play designs and concepts in his return to the same show to an ESPN.com article delving into the Dallas habit of conducting daily fan tours. (True to form, Jones was happy about the story, since it will get more people to take the tours.)

The 49ers lost receiver Brandon Aiyuk for the season to a knee injury in a loss to the Chiefs. Receiver Deebo Samuel left early due to an illness that turned out to be pneumonia. It left him hospitalized; he's questionable due to the illness and a wrist injury.

2-5 Giants at 5-2 Steelers (-6.5), Monday 8:15 p.m. ET, ABC (Joe Buck and Troy Aikman)

The Giants are 2-17 in prime time since 2019. Quarterback Daniel Jones was pulled for Drew Lock during a Week 7 loss to the Eagles. Jones said that coach Brian Daboll told the team Jones is the quarterback "going forward."

This week, co-owner John Mara said he doesn't anticipate firing Daboll or G.M. Joe Schoen after the season.

The Steelers have a chance to enter the bye at 6-2. Russell Wilson's first game as a Steeler went well (after a slow start) against the Jets on Sunday night. They'll complete the two-pack of home night games against New York/New Jersey teams before starting a nine-game closing run that includes all six divisional games, the Commanders, the Chiefs, and the Eagles.