{"id":334962,"date":"2025-10-27T00:42:42","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T00:42:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/334962\/"},"modified":"2025-10-27T00:42:42","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T00:42:42","slug":"can-the-broncos-push-the-chiefs-it-it-over-for-the-tush-push-our-experts-week-8-takeaways","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/334962\/","title":{"rendered":"Can the Broncos push the Chiefs? It it over for the tush push? Our experts\u2019 Week 8 takeaways"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Ted Nguyen, Dan Pompei and Michael Silver<\/strong><\/p>\n

Each Sunday, three of The Athletic\u2019s NFL writers react to the biggest news, plays and performances from the day\u2019s games.<\/p>\n

Wait, the tush push caused a controversy? Yup. Drake Maye and the Patriots piled up points in an impressive win? Also yup. The Falcons\u2019 offense looked out of sorts, the Saints struggled to get in the end zone and the Cowboys failed to keep their opponent out of it? Check, check and check.<\/p>\n

But everything wasn\u2019t comfortable and familiar in Week 8. The Jets won<\/a>.<\/p>\n

NFL writers Ted Nguyen, Dan Pompei and Michael Silver share their thoughts on a week in which several heavyweights regained their footing, while at least one bottom dweller finally rose up.<\/p>\n

The Broncos have now scored 77 points over their last five quarters and are 6-2. Can they challenge the Chiefs\u2019 run of nine straight AFC West titles?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Silver:<\/strong> With that defense \u2026 yes, they can. And, as the 77-points-in-five-quarters stat illustrates, Sean Payton\u2019s offense is starting to pick it up, too. After manhandling the Cowboys Sunday by a 44-24 score, the Broncos have a one-game lead on the Chargers (5-3), who defeated them<\/a> in L.A. last month. And they\u2019re a game-and-a-half ahead of the revitalized Chiefs (4-3), who host the Commanders Monday night. Denver has two games remaining against K.C. and hosts the Chargers on the final weekend of the regular season. There\u2019s a lot still to be decided, but it\u2019s tough to imagine the Broncos not being in the mix come January.<\/p>\n

It is completely understandable that a team quarterbacked by Patrick Mahomes and coached by Andy Reid would be considered the prohibitive favorite to win its division (and more); this is what always seems to happen. Yet the Broncos, quietly, are becoming a force. Defensive coordinator Vance Joseph, whose job was seemingly in jeopardy after Denver gave up 70 points (!!!) to the Dolphins a little more than two years ago, has authored one of the great comeback stories in recent memory. His unit is a force. And Payton has helped second-year quarterback Bo Nix become a productive player and commendable leader at a very early stage. These Broncos are legit.<\/p>\n

Pompei:<\/strong> The Broncos are a balanced team that can win games in different ways \u2014 arguably the most balanced in the division. They showed it Sunday against the Cowboys as Nix threw four touchdown passes, they rushed for 179 yards and the defense came up with two interceptions against a quarterback who had been in the MVP conversation. It\u2019s difficult to envision the Broncos falling out of contention for the AFC West title. But the Chiefs still are the Chiefs, and they are trending up. The Chargers also will have a say in the division. The AFC West almost certainly will be decided over the last two weeks of the season, when the Broncos play the Chiefs and Chargers.<\/p>\n

Nguyen:<\/strong> I still have questions about Nix and how much he can develop. It\u2019s extremely difficult to compete with this version of the Chiefs without a top-10 quarterback, even with an elite defense. Nix was struggling until the final quarter against the Giants last week, and even within that quarter I didn\u2019t think he was particularly impressive as a passer, as the Giants allowed him to dink and dunk and run against soft coverage. He played a much cleaner game against the Cowboys and took advantage of their weak secondary, which was even weaker because of injuries. It also helped that the Broncos dominated on the ground, averaging more than six yards per carry. Nix did throw some beauties downfield. I\u2019m not trying to minimize what he\u2019s done, but if the question is whether the Broncos can challenge the Chiefs, so far, I haven\u2019t seen enough from Nix to believe that. With two games against the Chiefs ahead of them, Nix will have opportunities to shut me up.<\/p>\n

Against a strong Browns defense, the Patriots piled up 32 points and 422 yards while winning their fifth straight<\/a>. What\u2019s their ceiling this season?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pompei:<\/strong> Beating the 2-6 Browns isn\u2019t cause for a parade, but the Patriots have been wonderful, one of the feel-good stories of the season, and a tribute to sound coaching, player development and a young quarterback who has played like a veteran. Their schedule is friendly (only two of their remaining opponents are above .500), and a playoff berth seems reasonable. They surely can keep it going if they stay healthy, but they could be more vulnerable to injuries than most teams because their depth is questionable. Either way, the future is bright for this team.<\/p>\n

\"Drake<\/p>\n

\n Drake Maye and the Patriots are sprinting forward. (Maddie Meyer \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Nguyen:<\/strong> The most encouraging part about the win was that they found ways to run on a Browns defense that hasn\u2019t given up more than 109 rushing yards all season and had yielded only two 100-yard games in seven weeks. The Patriots ran for 177 yards. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniel finally got rookie TreVeyon Henderson involved on perimeter runs. Quarterback Drake Maye also contributed with his legs, running for 50 yards. The offense has shown it can produce in different ways and can adjust to different defenses. Maye is still learning McDaniels\u2019 offense, but he\u2019s already producing like a top-10 quarterback. The Patriots\u2019 ceiling, though, will depend on how much their defense progresses. They spent a lot of money on that side of the ball, but they\u2019ve dealt with injury issues. They have an elite defensive tackle and corner duo. Can they trot out a consistent playoff-caliber defense to complement the offense?<\/p>\n

Silver:<\/strong> Their ceiling is the playoffs \u2014 and, given Mike Vrabel\u2019s track record, a chance to win a game or two in the postseason. The Patriots\u2019 schedule is suitably soft, and thus far they\u2019ve only suffered a pair of 7-point defeats (one, remarkably, to the Raiders in Week 1; another to the Steelers). Only two of their remaining nine games are against teams that appear reasonably formidable: the Buccaneers and the Bills (whom the Patriots have already beaten, on the road). I\u2019m not saying Vrabel\u2019s team will definitely continue to win games against lesser opponents, or that it\u2019s all that great in Year 1, but the Patriots will keep competing \u2014and, presumably, keep improving as the season goes on.<\/p>\n

Should the recent officiating issues convince NFL owners to ban the tush push once and for all?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Silver:<\/strong> I mean \u2026 it\u2019s tough to make a case for not banning it. Missing the obvious false starts is one thing; on Sunday, officials somehow allowed the Eagles to convert a fourth-down play even after the Giants\u2019 Kayvon Thibodeaux ripped the football from Jalen Hurts\u2019 hands<\/a>. Hurts wasn\u2019t down, and no whistle had sounded. Yet the officials allowed the conversion to stand, citing the fact that the quarterback\u2019s forward progress had been stopped. Conversely, officials tend to allow the Eagles\u2019 offense to keep pushing forward in such contexts, long after one might expect a play to be whistled dead. I understand the optics of banning a play<\/a> that can\u2019t be stopped, a play relied on by a team that won the most recent Super Bowl and has a chance to compete for another. That said, I believe we have reached an inflection point. The Brotherly Shove will likely be shoved out of the rulebook after the 2025 season.<\/p>\n

Nguyen:<\/strong> The Eagles shouldn\u2019t get punished for the league\u2019s inability to properly officiate the play. Would officials miss false starts or improperly call forward progress if the Eagles just ran normal QB sneaks? Some offensive tackles get a jump on their pass sets because they know the snap count, and that\u2019s hard to officiate, too. I don\u2019t see how changing the formation would make officials better at officiating it. The Eagles would likely still be the best QB sneak team in the league regardless of the formation.<\/p>\n

Pompei:<\/strong> It was one thing when defenses couldn\u2019t handle the tush push. It\u2019s another thing now that officials can\u2019t handle it either. In the offseason, two more votes<\/a> from owners would have killed it. As of Sunday, it\u2019s officially on life support. The Eagles have probably gotten away with at least three false starts on tush pushes this season. Nobody wants to see a critical game \u2014 especially a postseason game \u2014 decided on a questionable tush push call. The problem with the tush push is it\u2019s become a weekly topic of conversation, and not in a good way. It\u2019s time for it to go.<\/p>\n

Are Aaron Glenn\u2019s Jets turning the corner after a dramatic comeback win against the Bengals? Is owner Woody Johnson actually a master motivator?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Silver:<\/strong> Trash your quarterback publicly<\/a>, only to watch him respond by putting up 39 points and engineering a stirring fourth-quarter comeback from a 15-point deficit, on the road? Yes, Woody, you\u2019re an accidental genius, or something like that. In a game that will likely improve Justin Fields\u2019 flagging Madden rating<\/a>, the Jets showed some serious heart and gave Aaron Glenn his first victory as a head coach. To Johnson\u2019s credit, he apparently (according to him) gives Glenn regular hugs and tells his rookie coach, \u201cI believe in you.\u201d Basically, it\u2019s the opposite of how the owner treats Fields, who likely would have been benched had backup Tyrod Taylor not been hobbled by a knee injury<\/a>. You can\u2019t make this stuff up, but hey, Jets fans are used to it. They \u2014 along with the players and coaches, and especially Fields \u2014 deserve to enjoy this moment. Whether this is the start of something good remains to be seen, but at least it\u2019s something.<\/p>\n

Pompei:<\/strong> The game ball for this one should go to Glenn, not Johnson. What Woody said had been said a million times by sports talkers, social media posters and fans in every section of MetLife Stadium. Words don\u2019t win games. Coaches, quarterbacks and running backs do, and it was an amazing comeback victory for the Jets without two of their best, cornerback Sauce Gardner and receiver Garrett Wilson. It is possible that Glenn\u2019s messages and methods finally are beginning to resonate with his team. It\u2019s also possible the Jets will be a better second-half team than they have been in the first, but they need to clean it up defensively.<\/p>\n

Nguyen:<\/strong> It was a great game for Fields and the Jets offense, but Glenn, who is a defensive coach, has to make his presence felt on that side of the ball. We know Fields is explosive, but he can be great in one game and put up a stinker in the next. They also strangely came back from a two-score deficit by running the ball rather than throwing it. They rushed for 181 yards in the second half. The Jets\u2019 defense was shredded again today, giving up 398 yards and nearly eight yards per rush. They get credit for stiffening up toward the end, but they were terrible for most of the game. This isn\u2019t the type of offense that you want in shootouts every week. A win like this could create some positive momentum, but it came after a strange week, with Glenn seemingly ready to bench Fields only for Taylor to not be able to go. A win is a win, but I\u2019m not sure how much this one tells us about Glenn or his team.<\/p>\n

The Ravens finally looked like themselves in a win over the Bears<\/a> and could get Lamar Jackson back as soon as Thursday night. Do they still have hope to save their season?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nguyen:<\/strong> Yes. The Steelers dropping a game against the Bengals on Thursday night of Week 7 was huge, and then the Ravens went and got a win with Tyler Huntley starting at quarterback. The rest of their schedule is favorable and Jackson should be back. They seem to have figured out some things on defense during the bye week. I loved the trade for safety Alohi Gilman. He\u2019s a smart DB who can play deep and allow Baltimore to move Kyle Hamilton closer to the line of scrimmage. The run defense looked a lot better against a Bears team that has been running wild over the past couple of weeks. If Baltimore\u2019s defense can at least play at an average level, the offense with Jackson can still be elite. With two games against the Steelers left, the Ravens control their own destiny. We\u2019ll see how serious they are this Thursday against a potentially explosive Miami offense.<\/p>\n

Pompei:<\/strong> \u200b\u200bThe Ravens are playing better on defense, which is where it\u2019s always started for them. And they have the potential to play better still on that side of the ball. They have a solid roster and are well coached. It will be a surprise if they don\u2019t continue the turnaround. They can and should go on a tear against five consecutive opponents with sub-.500 records. Then they will have a chance to prove themselves at the end of the regular season with games against the Steelers, Bengals, Patriots, Packers and Steelers. If Jackson and Derrick Henry play like they did a year ago, the Ravens will be in the playoff picture.<\/p>\n

Silver:<\/strong> Because they\u2019re the Ravens, my answer is: Absolutely. This franchise and head coach have a track record of playing meaningful games in December and January, and with a transcendent player like Jackson, there\u2019s a lot of internal belief that they can make a run and elevate when it matters. Losing Sunday (with Huntley at QB) would have put Baltimore in a tenuous position. Now \u2014 beginning Thursday night in Miami \u2014 the Ravens can envision a viable path to AFC North contention. They finish the season against the Steelers in Pittsburgh. By then, we might be watching a pair of playoff teams vying for a division title.<\/p>\n

Is Kirk Cousins done? Should his performance on Sunday end the talk of him being a veteran option at the trade deadline?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pompei:<\/strong> Cousins\u2019 performance against a Dolphins defense<\/a> that has been one of the worst in the NFL will give pause to teams considering a trade for him. There is a trend here, which should not be surprising given Cousins is 37. But it\u2019s not likely that he lost all his abilities since playing well for the Vikings in 2023 before tearing his Achilles. More opportunities for Cousins probably would equate to an elevated performance, but opportunities are unlikely to present themselves in Atlanta, assuming Michael Penix Jr. is ready to play next week against the Patriots.<\/p>\n

\"Kirk<\/p>\n

\n It wasn\u2019t pretty for Kirk Cousins and the Falcons on Sunday. (Todd Kirkland \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Silver:<\/strong> Weirdly \u2014 and this clashes with the opinions of many NFL coaches and talent evaluators \u2014 I\u2019m going to say no. Granted, the Falcons\u2019 offense was completely flaccid against the Dolphins, and Cousins looked nothing like the quarterback who was playing at a productive level for the 2023 Vikings. Yet, as a rebuttal, I\u2019d offer two words: Joe Flacco. At 40, he looked completely cooked while playing for the Browns early in the season. Then he got traded to the Bengals and completely revived their offense, which had been brutal with Jake Browning running the show. So yes, if you\u2019re the Vikings, and you don\u2019t believe J.J. McCarthy or Carson Wentz can get you to the playoffs, you\u2019re still thinking about a potential Cousins reunion.<\/p>\n

Nguyen:<\/strong> Agreed: Flacco looked like he was done at certain points with the Colts and Browns as well. Even though Cincinnati lost today, he\u2019s given the Bengals life, and their offense is producing. Cousins still can produce in the right environment, but I wouldn\u2019t count on him working any miracles. If the Vikings\u2019 offensive line gets healthy, I think Cousins could step in and outplay Wentz and McCarthy. There\u2019s always room in the league for older quarterbacks who know an entire offense and can operate it competently. Minnesota may be the only spot in which Cousins could work \u2014 he\u2019s played at a high level in that system, throwing to Justin Jefferson \u2014 but the Vikings may be committed to seeing what they have in McCarthy. I don\u2019t see another team that would trade for him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Ted Nguyen, Dan Pompei and Michael Silver Each Sunday, three of The Athletic\u2019s NFL writers react to…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":334963,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[6328,532,8997,1544,8998,8999,51,3570,8812,533,4716,5287,50,1232,1105,1545,29618,52],"class_list":{"0":"post-334962","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-atlanta-falcons","9":"tag-baltimore-ravens","10":"tag-cincinnati-bengals","11":"tag-cleveland-browns","12":"tag-dallas-cowboys","13":"tag-denver-broncos","14":"tag-headlines","15":"tag-kansas-city-chiefs","16":"tag-minnesota-vikings","17":"tag-new-england-patriots","18":"tag-new-york-giants","19":"tag-new-york-jets","20":"tag-news","21":"tag-nfl","22":"tag-philadelphia-eagles","23":"tag-pittsburgh-steelers","24":"tag-top-sports-news","25":"tag-top-stories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115443358005188904","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=334962"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334962\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/334963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=334962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=334962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=334962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}