There are no NFL teams on bye in Week 8, which means we’ll get a jam-packed, 16-game slate that features a number of intriguing matchups.
Looking at the NFL coverage map, let’s see which games will be broadcast in different areas of the country in Week 8 while also previewing each contest.
NFL Coverage Map for Week 8
The people at 506 Sports provide fans with weekly NFL coverage maps. They color-code the maps based on where each game will air across the major networks, and these maps are subject to change during the week.
CBS Early NFL TV Coverage Map
Red: Philadelphia Eagles (4-2) at Cincinnati Bengals (3-4)
Since 2022, the Eagles have been the best team in Weeks 1-9 (20-3, 87% win rate) but rank 12th in win percentage after Week 9 (9-8, 52.9% win rate). Jalen Hurts is coming off of a double Tush Push game, his 13th regular season game with multiple rushing scores since 2021, the most in the league.
Offensively, the Eagles are still the only team yet to score in the first quarter this season. Philly’s six-game streak without scoring in the first quarter is tied for the longest streak to begin a season since 2000 (done most recently by the 2021 Jets). Defensively, the Eagles allow 9.3% of passes to the slot to result in a touchdown, the third-highest rate in the league (only the Texans and Colts have been worse).
The Bengals are 3-3 over their past six games, with their three wins coming against teams with five combined victories this season (the Panthers, Giants, and Browns). The three losses came against teams on the other end of the spectrum (the Chiefs, Commanders, and Ravens).
Joe Burrow wasn’t himself when active last season – he completed just 29.4% of his deep passes with a 59.3 passer rating on such passes after consecutive seasons with at least a 50% completion rate and 107 passer rating. Through seven weeks this season, he’s completed 57.6% of his deep passes with a 129.1 passer rating.
The Bengals are blitzed at the second-lowest rate in the league (17.3%). Defensively, the Bengals have the third-lowest sack rate in the NFL (4.6% of dropbacks) through seven weeks.
Blue: Indianapolis Colts (4-3) at Houston Texans (5-2)
One team this season is giving away at least five minutes in time of possession per game, and it’s the Colts (at -7:34 per game). Anthony Richardson’s 48.5% completion percentage is the lowest through a team’s first seven games since Josh Freeman in 2013.
The Colts are allowing pressure on just 27.9% of dropbacks, the third-lowest rate in the league. Defensively, Indianapolis has allowed a touchdown on just 2.2% of deep passes, the fourth-lowest rate in the league.
A win would be Houston’s third straight over Indianapolis, tying their longest win streak ever vs. the Colts (also done from 2015-16). C.J. Stroud ranks second in EPA per dropback against man coverage (0.36) but only 24th against zone (-0.11). The Colts play zone coverage at the third-highest rate of any defense (78.7%).
The Texans allowed a 51.7% pressure rate in Sunday’s loss to the Packers, their second-highest in C.J. Stroud’s 22 career starts. Defensively, the Texans have allowed a touchdown on a league-high 7% of opponent passes.
Green: New York Jets (2-5) at New England Patriots (1-6)
The Jets were 4-3 through seven games last season and scored on 29.4% of their drives. They are 2-5 this season, scoring on 30.3% of their drives. The quick hitters that Aaron Rodgers has thrived on in the past are gone. He’s thrown 123 passes in 2.7 seconds or less over the past four games, and none of them have resulted in a touchdown (four interceptions).
During their four-game losing streak, the Jets have scored 61 points, including the Hail Mary to end the first half of Week 6 against the Bills. Defensively, only the Falcons (3.9) allow fewer yards per reception after the catch than the Jets (4.3).
The Patriots have lost four of their past five games by at least 16 points, and they lost four of their previous 56 regular-season games by at least 16 points. Drake Maye has multiple touchdown passes and at least 15 rushing yards in each of his first two career starts – he joins Drew Lock (2019) and Bruce Gradkowski (2006) as the only QBs to do that over the past 20 seasons.
The Patriots’ rushing success rate has been 8.8% since Maye became the starting quarterback two weeks ago. No other offense has had a lower rate than 20% in that span. Defensively, New England allowed 30 points in regulation through the first two weeks this season. In the games since? 28.4 PPG.
Yellow: Baltimore Ravens (5-2) at Cleveland Browns (1-6)
The Ravens play three divisional games over the next four weeks – Week 11 will mark the end of their road divisional games this regular season. Lamar Jackson completed 11-of-14 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns in the first half on Monday night in Tampa Bay. The reigning MVP has a first-half touchdown pass in five straight games, matching the second-longest streak of his career (he had nine straight games bridging the 2019-20 seasons).
Offensively, the Ravens have scored 30-plus points in four straight games, the third time they’ve done that in a single season since the start of 2000. A fifth straight game would match their longest streak over that stretch (Weeks 7-11 in 2023, Weeks 7-12 in 2019). Defensively, Baltimore entered Week 7 with three interceptions – they picked off Baker Mayfield twice in the stretch of three first-half passes.
MORE: Simulate the Rest of the NFL Season With PFN’s Playoff Predictor
The Browns have lost five straight games and haven’t scored more than 16 points in any of them – that’s the longest such streak within a single season since the 2017 Texans (Weeks 12-17). Deshaun Watson’s season is over – no QB who kept his job through seven weeks was averaging fewer yards per pass this year (5.3).
The Browns have punted on most of their drives this season (50.6%, pacing for the highest rate since both the Rams and 49ers punted on 50.8% of their possessions in 2016). Defensively, the Browns have allowed the second-lowest completion percentage this season (58.8%) but also have the third-worst interception rate (0.5%).
CBS Late NFL TV Coverage Map
Red: Chicago Bears (4-2) at Washington Commanders (5-2)
The Bears give away just one first down via penalty per game this season (tied for the third-fewest; only the Steelers and 49ers allow fewer). The scheming hasn’t been effective for the Bears, as only the Browns are averaging fewer yards per play in first quarters than Chicago this season. Defensively, the Bears are the only defense in the league this season to have allowed a touchdown to the slot.
Caleb Williams took a few games to look like the prodigy he was sold as, but we are moving in that direction. In Weeks 1-3, he posted a 59.3% completion percentage, 5.3 yards per attempt, a 65.3 passer rating, 13.7 pressure passer rating, and a 0.5 touchdown-to-interception rate. In Weeks 4-6, he’s posted a 74.1% completion percentage, 8.5 yards per attempt, a 122.8 passer rating, 109.6 pressure passer rating, 7.0 touchdown-to-interception rating.
The Commanders lead the NFL with a plus-66 point differential. It’s Washington’s best point differential through seven games since 1991, the season of their last Super Bowl title. Jayden Daniels is averaging 8.4 yards per pass this season, a rate only Brock Purdy topped in 2023.
Last week was the third time the Commanders have posted at least a 52% success rate in a game this season. The rest of the NFL has done that six times combined, and no team has done it more than once. Defensively, the Commanders allow 9.4 yards per fourth-quarter pass, the second-most in the league (behind only the Jaguars).
Blue: Kansas City Chiefs (6-0) vs. Las Vegas Raiders (2-5)
The Chiefs haven’t lost consecutive games vs. the Raiders since 2011-12 (three straight). Kansas City’s last loss before its current 12-game win streak (including playoffs) was at home to the Raiders on Christmas Day 2023.
This season, 23 quarterbacks have started all their team’s games. Patrick Mahomes’ TD-INT ratio (6-8) is tied for the worst out of that whole group (Matthew Stafford has thrown 3 TDs to 4 INTs for the Rams).
.@DeAndreHopkins is joining the defending champs 👀 pic.twitter.com/Q8dkq6QsGq
— NFL (@NFL) October 23, 2024
Are the Chiefs a smashmouth offense now? Kansas City has run by design on 48.8% of its plays, far and away its highest in any season since Mahomes became the starting QB (the prior high was 38.9% in 2018). That includes a 57.9% run rate on the first down, and in the first season with Mahomes, they’ve been above 50% on the first down.
The Chiefs have allowed a touchdown on just 47.4% of red zone trips, pacing them for their best rate since the 2014 team (38.9%).
The Raiders own the worst per-game turnover differential in the league this season (-1.9). Gardner Minshew has two more games with multiple interceptions than multiple touchdown passes this season and misfired on 19-of-34 passes last week against a vulnerable Rams defense.
Brock Bowers has received 25.1% of the Raiders’ targets this season. That’s on track to be the highest target share by any rookie tight end since at least 2000 and the highest by a TE period since Mark Andrews for the 2021 Ravens (25.9%). Defensively, the Raiders own the fifth-highest sack rate on play-action attempts this season (8.9%).
Green: Carolina Panthers (1-6) at Denver Broncos (4-3)
The Panthers have created pressure on just 21.9% of their blitzes this season (the NFL average nets out around 41%). Carolina allows 34.7 PPG (243 total points allowed). That’s tied with the 2020 Cowboys for the most points allowed through seven games in the last 50 seasons.
Andy Dalton has failed to average even six yards per pass attempt in all four games since that shocking performance, throwing an interception in each of those contests (held without a touchdown toss in two of them). The Panthers have scored 37 points in three October games (they are allowing 38 PPG in those games).
The Broncos are seeking to improve to 5-3. They haven’t been above .500 through eight games since 2016, when they were 6-2.
Bo Nix scrambled on 21.2% of his dropbacks in Week 7 vs. the Saints, tied with Jayden Daniels for the highest scramble rate in a game this season. The Broncos averaged 6.1 yards per rush in Week 6 vs. the Chargers and 6.4 yards per rush in Week 7 vs. the Saints. It’s the first time Denver has averaged at least six yards per rush in consecutive games since 2011 (Weeks 8-9), during Tim Tebow’s stint as their starting QB.
The Broncos had a season-high 21 pressures in Week 7 vs. the Saints. That included six pressures from Zach Allen, who has accounted for 35% of Denver’s pressures this season (third-highest among interior linemen behind Chris Jones and Kobie Turner).
FOX Single NFL TV Coverage Map
Blue: Green Bay Packers (5-2) at Jacksonville Jaguars (2-5)
The Packers have won three straight games and are seeking their first four-game win streak since December 2022. Jordan Love has thrown multiple TDs in eight straight games. That’s the fourth-longest streak by a QB age 25 or younger, behind Patrick Mahomes (14), Brett Favre (12), and Dan Marino (10).
The Packers are explosive, but since 2022, they have ranked 23rd in red zone offense (54.2% this season, ranking 18th behind the Panthers, Titans, and Jets). Defensively, Green Bay is allowing the fourth-lowest third-down completion percentage (46.7%) and has yet to allow a third-down touchdown pass.
The Jaguars return from London to begin, without question, their most difficult four-game stretch of the season (vs. Packers, at Eagles, vs. Vikings, and at Lions). Trevor Lawrence has posted three straight passer ratings north of 90 on the heels of three straight under 90 (Jacksonville is 2-1 after an 0-4 start).
By EPA per game, Jacksonville has the worst offense in the league (7.6% worse than the Panthers). Defensively, the Jaguars own the league’s worst red zone defense, allowing a touchdown on 78.3% of such drives.
Yellow: Atlanta Falcons (4-3) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-3)
The Falcons have the league’s worst average starting field position (their own 26.8-yard line). Is Kirk Cousins getting a hang of this system? Over the past three weeks, he’s completed 70.4% of passes when blitzed (Weeks 1-4: 46.7%).
Despite the one-sided loss to the Seahawks last week, the Falcons have improved their third down conversion rate in four straight games. In Weeks 1-3, they converted 22.2% of third downs, a rate that has improved to 46.2% since. Defensively, the Falcons (50.7%) and Panthers (55.8%) are the only teams in the league allowing points on most drives this season.
Baker Mayfield tops the league in touchdown passes this season. 👀#WeAreTheKrewe pic.twitter.com/x73nGy9Qhk
— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) October 22, 2024
This is Tampa Bay’s fourth home game in a six-week stretch – they go on the road for five of seven contests from Weeks 9-16. Baker Mayfield’s fourth red zone pass of Week 7 was intercepted by Marlon Humphrey. In Weeks 1-6, he was nearly perfect inside the 20-yard line: 20-of-25 with 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions.
The Buccaneers have scored on their opening drive in four straight games, allowing this team to play with a lead more often than not. Defensively, Tampa Bay has been outscored 44-7 in second quarters over the past two games (in the other three quarters of those games, they’ve outscored the opposition 75-24).
Orange: Tennessee Titans (1-5) at Detroit Lions (5-1)
The Titans have only trailed at halftime in one of their six games this season. However, Tennessee is outscored 94-43 (-51) in the second half, which is the worst second-half point differential of any team this season. At quarterback, Will Levis’ decision-making has been an issue, but his completion percentage is 15 points higher this season than last when under pressure (55.6%).
Think things are working better with Mason Rudolph instead of Levis? The Titans are averaging -0.19 EPA per play with Levis on the field, which would rank 30th. With Rudolph on the field, the Titans are averaging -0.17 EPA per play, which would rank 28th. Defensively, the Titans are allowing a league-low 5.7 yards per play-action pass this season.
The Lions have a plus-62 point differential through six games played. It’s their second-best point differential through six games in the last 40 years. Jared Goff has posted at least a 140 passer rating in three straight games. That’s tied for the longest streak in NFL history, along with Aaron Rodgers (2011), Kurt Warner (1999), and Roger Staubach (1971).
The Lions didn’t average more than 2.36 points per drive in any of their first three games this season. Since, however, they’ve been at 2.82 or better, averaging a difficult-to-comprehend 3.53 points per drive over that stretch. Defensively, in Weeks 3-6, the Lions blitzed on just 28.4% of opponent dropbacks, spiking to 38.9% last week in Minnesota without Aidan Hutchinson.
Light Blue: Arizona Cardinals (3-4) at Miami Dolphins (2-4)
Sunday will mark the final game of a four-game run that saw Arizona play in a different city in four straight weeks (they return home in Weeks 9-10 before going on bye in Week 11). Kyler Murray entered October without a touchdown run longer than 22 yards in his career – he had a 50-yarder in Week 5 against the 49ers and added a 44-yarder to his resume on Monday night against the Chargers.
James Conner was either handed the ball or targeted on 12 of Arizona’s first 25 plays from scrimmage on Monday night against the Chargers. Defensively, no team in the NFL forces three-and-outs at a lower rate than the Cardinals this season.
By EPA, the Dolphins have the fourth-worst special teams in the NFL through seven weeks (on the bright side, the bottom five is loaded with viable teams: Bills, Jets, Ravens, and 49ers). Tua Tagovailoa might return this week, and that provides hope. However, let’s not forget that he has had multiple touchdown passes in just one of his past eight games (playoffs included).
Remember when the Dolphins scored 70 points in Week 3 last season against the Broncos? They’ve put 70 points on the board this season. Defensively, just 2% of passes against the Dolphins have resulted in a touchdown, the lowest rate in the league.
Red: Buffalo Bills (5-2) at Seattle Seahawks (4-3)
This is an important stretch for the Bills. They have the Seahawks this week, the Dolphins in Week 9, and the Colts in Week 10. After that, they play three Super Bowl contenders in their next four games (Chiefs, 49ers, and Lions).
Josh Allen has thrown 12 touchdowns with zero interceptions this season. He’s the second QB to throw at least 12 TDs with no picks through seven games in NFL history (Alex Smith had 15 TDs and zero interceptions in 2017 on the Chiefs).
KEEP READING: 2024 NFL Quarterback Rankings
The Bills have the best turnover differential in the league through seven weeks (+1.43 per game). Defensively, Buffalo allows just 4.2 yards per fourth-quarter pass, the second-lowest rate in the league (behind only the Cowboys).
Seattle has a pair of home games before its Week 10 bye. It comes out of the bye with three divisional games in a four-game stretch. Geno Smith’s in-pocket touchdown rate is trending down for a second consecutive season, while his interception rate is ticking up again.
The Seahawks are averaging 4.9 offensive penalties per game (only the Browns average more). Defensively, Seattle allowed a league-low 5.4 yards per pass to the slot this season (NFL average: 7.7 yards).
Green: New Orleans Saints (2-5) at Los Angeles Chargers (3-3)
The Saints have lost five straight since starting 2-0. They’re the first team since the 2015 Dallas Cowboys to lose at least five in a row after starting 2-0 (that Cowboys team fell to 2-7 after starting QB Tony Romo was injured in Week 2).
The Saints have won the past 11 games played in Week 8, out-scoring opponents 361-227 (+12.2 PPG) during that run. In the first two weeks of this season, Derek Carr completed 61.5% of his deep passes with a 113.0 passer rating on such passes. His numbers since (45.4 passer rating and 35% complete) look more like Spencer Rattler than an MVP candidate.
Defensively, the Saints have allowed 502 rush yards in the last two games, their most in a two-game span since 1980. For the first time since 2012, New Orleans has given up 200+ rush yards in consecutive games; the last team to allow 200+ rush yards in three straight games was the 2019 Jacksonville Jaguars.
The average NFL game this season has seen 44.8 points scored – not a single Chargers game has reached 40 points yet. JK Dobbins was the story of the first two weeks this season (27 carries for 266 yards, 9.9 yards per carry), but he has failed to average even 4.0 yards per carry in the four games since, checking in under 3.0 in three of those games.
Los Angeles allows a score on just 25% of drives this season, the lowest rate in the league and 13 percentage points better than the league average.
NFL Week 8 National TV Broadcasts
Thursday Night: Minnesota Vikings (5-1) at Los Angeles Rams (2-4)
The Vikings have held a double-digit lead in all six games they’ve played this season, and they are the only team to do that in every game this season (after holding a double-digit lead in just five games last season). Sam Darnold has one touchdown pass on 58 attempts in October after throwing one touchdown every 9.6 pass attempts in September.
The Vikings are averaging a league-high 9.7 points per first quarter this season. Meanwhile, defensively, Minnesota is creating pressure on a league-high 41.7% of non-blitzing opponent dropbacks.
The Rams have seen each of their past four games decided by six points or fewer, and now they are facing a Vikings team that has played three straight such games to open Week 8. Matthew Stafford has thrown an interception in three straight games and doesn’t have consecutive games with a touchdown pass all season long.
The Rams have six first-quarter points this season, the second-fewest in the league behind only the Eagles (who have yet to score in the first 15 minutes of a game). Defensively, Los Angeles is allowing 15.3 yards per deep pass this season, the fourth-highest mark in the NFL.
Sunday Night: Dallas Cowboys (3-3) at San Francisco 49ers (3-4)
Dallas beat Cleveland by 16 points in Week 1. Since then, they have a 2-3 record with a -58 point differential. Defensively, the Cowboys have the worst run defense in the league by EPA this season. Dallas has converted just 37.5% of its red zone trips into touchdowns, putting it on pace to be the worst Cowboys team of the 2000s (current low: 38.5% in 2002).
Cowboys Week…
Throwback to week 5 of last season as Brock Purdy throws 4 touchdown passes to lead the 49ers past the Cowboys 42-10 pic.twitter.com/AonDBZVMMF
— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) October 23, 2024
Don’t forget that it took a little time for this team to get into form last season – they opened 5-3 before rattling off six straight wins after their Week 9 bye. After this game, San Francisco takes their bye. Brock Purdy threw 17 passes on Sunday with Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, and Jauan Jennings all off the field. He only had 14 career pass attempts with his top three WRs off the field before that, including playoffs.
Purdy’s yards per pressured pass attempt are down 18.3% from a season ago, and he faces off against a defense this week that ranks fifth in pressure rate. The 49ers have converted just 45.2% of their red zone trips into touchdowns this season, their lowest rate since 2018 (41.2%).
Monday Night: New York Giants (2-5) at Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2)
The Giants haven’t won a Week 8 game in a decade (seven straight losses), but their last such win came in the state of Pennsylvania – the three-headed monster of Eli Manning, Peyton Hillis, and Victor Cruz led New York over Matt Barkley’s Eagles in 2013.
Daniel Jones’ out-of-pocket completion rate sits at a career-low 44.4%, with just 16.7% of such attempts resulting in a first down. The Giants have scored a touchdown on just 11.8% of their possessions this season (12.6% last season), putting them on pace for their worst showing since the 2003 team scored a touchdown on 11.2% of drives. Defensively, the Giants have intercepted just 0.5% of passes this season, a rate that is better than only the Jaguars (0.4%).
The Steelers are starting drives, on average, on their 32.4-yard line, the fourth-best average starting field position in the NFL. Russell Wilson averaged 0.23 EPA per dropback in his Steelers debut. Justin Fields has hit that mark just five times in 46 career games (his high-water mark in his six Steelers games was 0.17).
The Steelers have scored 32 and 37 points in the last two weeks after averaging 18.4 PPG over their first five weeks. Pittsburgh will try to score 30+ points in three straight games for the first time since 2015 (they had a six-game streak from Weeks 9-15 that year). Pittsburgh’s D has yet to allow a point in the third quarter this season (outscoring teams 46-0).
