With a stacked Week 8 schedule and a ton of trade deadline movement underway, the football on the field has become immensely important on the first Sunday of November. There were plenty of points as fantasy players feasted on big days from the likes of Joe Burrow while the Dallas Cowboys gave back all of their big gains from Week 7 with a disastrous home loss.

The North also gained some clarity through key divisional matchups in both conferences while the 1972 Dolphins got to pop some champagne as the final NFL team picked up their first loss of the season. Read on for a look at who else ranked among the biggest Winners and Losers of Week 8, with Burrow's big day for the Bengals leading the way.

Biggest NFL Winners in Week 8

Joe Burrow

In a year where we don't really have a clear-cut MVP front runner yet, Burrow put himself squarely in the conversation by putting the Bengals on his back against a surprisingly feisty Tennessee team. Burrow was simply unstoppable, throwing for 462 yards and five touchdowns while adding another rushing score in overtime to help Cincinnati escape with a 43-36 victory to keep pace in the AFC North.

It wasn't a flawless day for Burrow, who did toss three interceptions to the Titans' defense, but he was able to elevate his game on an afternoon where the Cincinnati defense had no answers for Cam Ward or Tony Pollard. Both Tee Higgins (10 catches for 156 yards and two touchdowns) and Ja'Marr Chase (11-141-1) feasted alongside Burrow as Cincinnati improved to 6-3 on the season.

1972 Miami Dolphins

The most impressive number for a team in NFL history remains the perfect 17-0 season that the 1972 Dolphins posted, a mark that was only seriously threatened in 2007 by the Patriots. The surviving members of that team usually like to pop champagne when the last undefeated team of the current season drops a game, which they got to do on Sunday when Minnesota fell 19-15 at Detroit to fall to 6-1.

The immortal status of the 1972 Dolphins will last another year but long-simmering issues for the Vikings came to the surface again as the Kyler Murray-led offense generated only 10 points against a putrid Detroit defense. Justin Jefferson, who has been frustrated by inept quarterback play over the past two years, declined comment after the game, which certainly feels ominous.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Renovations at Everbank Field led the Jaguars to enter an unusual stretch of schedule where Sunday's home date against the Indianapolis Colts marked the team's only game in Jacksonville over an eight-week span. Jacksonville made their home cooking count, obliterating the Colts 42-7 to extend the Curse of Duval County another year, as Indianapolis hasn't won at Everbank since 2014.

The display the Jaguars gave their home fans was one of utter dominance, racking up 183 yards on the ground on 33 carries while forcing three turnovers. Jonathan Taylor, who will be a frequent presence in trade rumors for the next 10 days, was held to just 23 yards on 8 carries and lost a fumble.

Pittsburgh Steelers

The new king of the AFC North is the Steelers, who avenged an earlier loss to Cleveland with a 27-6 shellacking of the Browns to improve to 6-2 on the season. Defense was the story of the day for Pittsbugh, which sacked Deshaun Watson eight times and forced two fumbles that they recovered to stifle potential Cleveland comeback drives.

The Steelers have also been utterly unbeatable at home against the Browns, who haven't won at Acrisure Stadium since 2003 in the regular season (Pittsburgh fans will want to forget about the Baker Mayfield-led road playoff win during the 2020 campaign for Cleveland). With a victory over Cincinnati in their back pocket and a slew of quarterback injuries for Baltimore, it looks like Pittsburgh is in the driver's seat here.

Denver Broncos

With a Week 1 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs hanging over their heads, Week 8 marked a must-win spot for the Broncos if they wanted any hope of defending their AFC West crown. Things looked dicey early, but Denver showed some real guts rallying from an 11-point deficit in the second half to steal a 28-24 win from the Chiefs.

The defense also came up huge in the final seconds, stonewalling Kansas City at the goal line to preven the game-winning score. A victory for the Chiefs would have given them a commanding lead in the AFC West and a head-to-head sweep of Denver, but the Broncos' valiant comeback should make the division a two-team race the rest of the way.

Biggest NFL Losers from Week 8

Dallas Cowboys

Even with the NFC East as weak as it is there are plenty of reasons not to trust the Dallas Cowboys. Things may have reached a boiling point on Sunday afternoon as the Cowboys' defense managed to cough up a 27-17 lead with 3:54 to go in the game, losing 33-30 in overtime to take a very damaging loss.

Arizona was sparked by a quarterback change as Gardner Minshew caught fire against the suspect Dallas D, who went 17-of-23 for 188 yards and three touchdowns in relief of an ineffective Jacoby Brissett. Blowing a game like that is an inexcusable display of incompetence from Brian Schottenheimer's group, which has such a leaky unit that it may be impossible to back them to win a division as bad as the current NFC East is.

Lamar Jackson

2026 is starting to shape up as a lost year for Jackson, who returned to the field on Sunday after missing three games with a high-ankle sprain. That return lasted just one play as Jackson smashed his hand into Bills' pass rusher Gregory Rousseau on his first attempt, leading to a gnarly dislocation that will send the former NFL MVP to injured reserve.

#Ravens QB Lamar Jackson will have surgery on his thumb and will go on Injured Reserve, per coach Jesse Minter. “We’ll see” if it’s season ending. pic.twitter.com/dhhW7pOUWS

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 1, 2026

The timing of the injury was brutal for the Ravens, who also saw backup Tyler Huntley go down in the game as they prepare to host the Jaguars on Thursday night. Undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano finished the game for Baltimore, which may need to trade for a quarterback in short order, but if Jackson is out for the rest of the year, the Ravens are probably cooked.

Ashton Jeanty

Despite being a Top 10 pick two years ago, it looks like Jeanty has completely lost the trust of the Raiders' coaching staff. After creating a stir with his comments about the Jets' tackling prior to the game, Klint Kubiak essentially demoted Jeanty, handing the backfield responsibilities to Mike Washington, who dominated touches with 25 carries compared to just two for Jeanty.

Jeanty did get to work in third down situations, racking up an impressive 45-yard catch-and-run in the second half, but he has clearly been replaced as Las Vegas' top rushing option. It wouldn't be surprising to see the Raiders shop Jeanty prior to the trade deadline since the running back market is hot, which could turn this into a new-age Trent Richardson situation.

Atlanta Falcons

A driving rainstorm in Tampa Bay proved to be a complete deterrant to the Falcons, who had no idea how to move the football in the adverse weather conditions. Michael Penix was particularly brutal, completing just 8-of-24 passes for 125 yards with four interceptions, as the Bucs won 16-0 and became the first team in 52 years to earn a victory without completing a pass.

Buccaneers beat Atlanta 16-0 without completing a pass.

They are the first NFL team since the 1974 Buffalo Bills to win a game without completing a pass.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 1, 2026

Baker Mayfield only dropped back four times as Tampa Bay relied on their ground game, using Bucky Irving and Kenny Gainwell as their offense on a day they gained 324 yards on 56 carries. The fact that the Falcons couldn't stop the Bucs even though they knew what was coming or adapt to the reality of the game they were in doesn't speak well to their chances of seizing a weak division.

Aaron Glenn

It feels like we're picking on Glenn here, but he continues to demonstrate new ways of how unqualified he is to be the Jets' head coach. Despite finally getting the two-minute drill right and scoring on their last six possessions (prior to a desperation heave into the end zone), New York lost 38-33 as Glenn's defense was completely incapable of stopping the Raiders in the second half.

Las Vegas scored 24 points after the break, but the Jets still had a great chance to steal a win, having 1st-and-10 at the Raiders' 35 with 14 seconds to go. Instead of taking a more manageable chunk to set up a shorter throw into the end zone, Geno Smith immediately threw into triple coverage and was picked to end the game, which Glenn revealed after the game was by design.