Vikings, Chiefs and Cowboys beaten - NFL week eight

Vikings, Chiefs and Cowboys beaten - NFL week eight

ByBen Collins

BBC Sport journalist

The Minnesota Vikings became the last NFL team to lose their unbeaten record as the 2026 season continued with a wild weekend.

There were a number of rare occurrences during week eight while two games were settled in overtime.

The Dallas Cowboys and the Kansas City Chiefs were both beaten after being stunned by late fightbacks while quarterback Joe Burrow was involved in six touchdowns as the Cincinnati Bengals won again.

Otherwise running backs shone on Sunday, especially for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as they managed to claim victory without completing a single pass.

And the Baltimore Ravens lost not one but two quarterbacks during their defeat by the Buffalo Bills, including the league's two-time Most Valuable Player, Lamar Jackson.

Here are the top stories from Sunday's action in the NFL.

Two former MVPs went head-to-head as Lamar Jackson returned from three games out with an ankle injury to face Josh Allen's Buffalo Bills.

But that match-up was ruined within moments as Jackson injured his right thumb on the game's first snap, and his back-up Tyler Huntley was then ruled out in the second quarter with a toe injury.

That meant they had to finish the game with undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano at quarterback and Buffalo ran out comfortable 36-10 winners.

The Ravens have lost their past three games and now have a 4-4 record, and Jackson could miss the rest of the season as he is set to undergo surgery.

This is the latest injury blow for Jackson. Although he is one of the most gifted players of his generation, the 29-year-old seems destined not to reach the Super Bowl during his career and the Ravens could miss out on the play-offs for a second straight year.

Huntley could also be out for weeks so the Ravens will have to act fast to bring in an experienced QB or Fagnano will have to start against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday.

Broncos replace Chiefs in top spot

Minnesota put their 6-0 record on the line at their NFC North rivals the Detroit Lions, who won 19-15 to halt the Vikings' unbeaten start.

Jahmyr Gibbs ran for 153 yards and a touchdown as Detroit (5-2) prevailed in one of several key divisional match-ups.

The Denver Broncos (6-2) replaced the Kansas City Chiefs (5-2) at the top of the AFC West after coming from 11 points down in the final quarter to win 28-24.

Patrick Mahomes threw for three touchdowns and 321 yards but that was not enough for the Chiefs as the Broncos' defence made a goal-line stand at the death to clinch victory.

The Jacksonville Jaguars (5-2) are in charge of the AFC South after romping to a 42-7 win over the Indianapolis Colts, who look set for a rebuild.

After firing their general manager and trading two key players in the past two weeks, the Colts are reportedly in talks over trading star running back Jonathan Taylor.

Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2) beat the Cleveland Browns 26-7 to go top of the AFC North.

Burrow firing for Bengals

Another of Pittsburgh's divisional rivals, the Cincinnati Bengals, made hard work of it before beating the Tennessee Titans 43-36 in overtime.

Despite being intercepted three times by Tennessee's Amani Hooker, Burrow became the first player in 75 years - and only the second ever after Norm van Brocklin's 554 passing yards in a 1951 game - to record more than 450 passing yards, five touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown in a single game.

After a mixed start to the season, the former first overall draft pick has also become the first quarterback in NFL history to register a 70% completion percentage plus touchdown passes in three consecutive games.

Burrow and his high-powered offence are in ominous form as they seek a Super Bowl return and host Pittsburgh in two weeks.

Bucs win without making a pass

While Cincinnati's offence relies on its passing game and receivers, many of the NFL's running backs grabbed the spotlight on Sunday.

For the first time since 2003, at least six players had 140 rushing yards on the same day, including Bucky Irving (170) and Kenneth Gainwell (140) as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Atlanta Falcons 16-0.

Torrential rain in Florida made handling conditions difficult so Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield attempted just three passes, completing none of them.

Instead he spent most of the day handing the ball to Irving or Gainwell as the Bucs racked up a team-record 324 rushing yards.

They also became the first team to have zero pass completions since 1974 – and just the second in the Super Bowl era.

'Minshew Magic' stuns Cowboys

Tyler Allgeier was the running back who starred for the Arizona Cardinals, rushing for 147 yards at the Dallas Cowboys.

But it was eccentric back-up quarterback Gardner Minshew who helped turn the game in Arizona's favour after replacing an ineffective Jacoby Brissett with the Cardinals trailing 17-3 late in the third quarter.

After being a late draft pick by Jacksonville in 2019, Minshew has spent most of his career as a back-up and in the off-season Arizona became his sixth team in eight years.

He made a thrilling debut, though, becoming the first quarterback this season to throw three touchdown passes in a fourth quarter.

That tied the game at the death, and although recent hero Chad Ryland failed to kick the extra point, he redeemed himself in overtime with a field goal to win 33-30.

It is only the second time Dallas have ever lost when leading by 10 points inside the final three minutes and leaves them 3-5.

It also heaps pressure on head coach Brian Schottenheimer, with outspoken team owner Jerry Jones saying: "It's an indictment of the whole show".