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10 key takeaways from Week 8

L to R (Getty Images): D. J. Moore/B. Weiss/Icon Sportswire

Sunday Rundown recaps the most important developments from the day's action and examines the significance of those events moving forward.

Bears deserved to lose

The Bears, who've experienced more kicking-related heartbreak than any other NFL team in recent seasons, decided a 41-yard field-goal attempt on a windy afternoon in Chicago gave them their best shot to win.

Trailing the Chargers by a point, the Bears found themselves with a first down on L.A.'s 21-yard line, 43 seconds on the clock, and a timeout in their pocket. As fans in the stadium screamed for the team to grind out a few more yards with David Montgomery, who emerged as a workhorse with 27 carries for 135 yards on the day, the Bears decided to take a knee and let time run down.

The decision not to try and make things easier for first-year kicker Eddy Pineiro, who missed a 33-yard attempt earlier in the afternoon, was baffling. It was borderline coaching malpractice.

Pineiro's 41-yard attempt curled left - he said after the game that it got caught in the wind - as time, and effectively Chicago's playoff hopes, expired.

"What happens if you take a sack or there's a fumble?" Matt Nagy told reporters postgame. If he truly has less trust in his offense's ability to gain a few yards and not fumble the ball away than he does in his kicker, the Bears might as well wave the white flag on their season.

A solution for Chicago

We've thoroughly covered Mitchell Trubisky's shortcomings around these parts in recent weeks, so here's a potential solution: The Bears should trade for Marcus Mariota.

The Titans have moved on to Ryan Tannehill and would surely love to recoup an asset for Mariota before he departs in free agency next spring. Mariota's college head coach, Mark Helfrich, is now employed as the Bears' offensive coordinator, so it likely wouldn't take long for Mariota to get up to speed on the team's scheme. (With four different offensive coordinators and five different play-callers in his five NFL seasons, Mariota's surely gotten the hang of picking up a new playbook.)

The Bears are built to win now on defense. They've surrounded Trubisky with weapons, but he's not getting them the ball. The time to try something else isn't next season, it's now.

Patriots' offense might be an issue

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The Patriots are a perfect 8-0 at the halfway point of the season, putting yet another Super Bowl title well within reach. Ho-hum for the dynasty that just refuses to fall apart.

But this is a much different team than the last few that have ended the season raising the Lombardi Trophy. In some ways, it's a positive difference. The defense, as we've seen on a weekly basis, is historically elite. It's truly incredible to watch.

The offense, on the other hand, is more of a negative difference.

Nobody will want to talk about this with the Patriots having steamrolled through the first two months of their schedule, and maybe the defense is so good that it won't end up mattering in the playoffs, but you're lying to yourself if you're entirely comfortable with what we've seen offensively.

New England is averaging 7.3 yards per pass attempt (19th), 3.2 yards per rush (T-last), and 5.2 yards per play overall (T23rd) over a not-so-small eight-game sample against a cupcake schedule.

We're not about to tell you Tom Brady is washed up, but he's certainly no longer among the league's top three or four quarterbacks. The loss of longtime No. 1 target Rob Gronkowski is having the expected crushing impact on the passing game, and a wild lack of continuity at receiver, outside of Julian Edelman and Phillip Dorsett, certainly isn't helping. The offensive line isn't the same, due in part to injuries, and Sony Michel isn't exactly creating plays for himself in the running game to make up for the Patriots' blocking deficiencies.

Again, this may not end up mattering. Football is a team game, and New England's defense is certainly doing its part to carry the load. But before the Patriots finally head into a challenging stretch of their schedule, and eventually the playoffs, it's at least worth noting that the offense is nothing like it used to be.

Eagles change everything with a win

The Eagles entered this week in desperation mode. Having stumbled to a 3-4 record, a road win over the red-hot Bills was an absolute necessity to save a season that had quickly begun to slip away.

Not only did Philly get the job done, keeping its hopes alive in the NFC East, but getting back to .500 in such convincing fashion could significantly change the course of the team's season.

Parting with future assets at Tuesday's trade deadline would've been a tough sell had the Eagles put together another stinker and dropped to 3-5. It sounds silly to suggest one win could change a club's outlook so dramatically, but it's much easier to justify making short-term moves at 4-4 coming off an impressive win. That's how small the margin of error is in the NFL.

Howie Roseman has long been one of the NFL's best, and most aggressive, general managers. Knowing that Philadelphia's secondary issues remain, and will continue to be exposed against half-competent passing attacks, he could take the deadline as an opportunity to get creative.

The Eagles should trade for Broncos cornerback Chris Harris, and they shouldn't stop there. They should get themselves two defensive backs and really go for this thing. The rest of the roster still has "contender" written all over it.

Andy Reid appreciation week

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The absence of Patrick Mahomes saw the Chiefs enter Sunday night's game at Arrowhead as a fairly sizeable underdog. Despite the home-field advantage, nobody really gave Kansas City much of a chance to beat Green Bay without its star quarterback.

It's a fair assumption, really. The Packers are one of the best teams in the league, led by a Hall of Fame quarterback, and Matt Moore has been a career backup for a reason. But the Andy Reid factor changes things.

The creativity of Reid's offensive system continued to shine through with Moore forced into action against a strong Packers defense, as the unit was constantly making plays to keep pace with Aaron Rodgers throughout the night. Moore finished the game 24-for-36 for 267 yards and two touchdowns.

It didn't lead to a win in the end, but that's not really the point. Kansas City hanging with Green Bay despite the absence of Mahomes shows just how strong of a foundation Reid has established with his offense. It's almost unfair that such a phenomenal system has one of the most talented passers in league history to light up opposing defenses. Reid and Mahomes are going to do some great, great things for a long time.

Jets descending to new lows

This was supposed to be a year of rebirth for the Jets. They hired a new head coach, overhauled the front office, spent a fortune in free agency, and even redesigned their uniforms.

Instead, the 2019 edition of Gang Green somehow looks worse than a 2018 unit that finished 4-12 and got the head coach and GM fired.

Adam Gase has been a disaster and is already covered in the looming stench of one-and-done. Prized free-agent addition Le'Veon Bell, whom Gase reportedly didn't even want, has one touchdown on the season and just five catches over his last three games combined - less than his per-game average over five seasons with the Steelers.

Most worryingly, sophomore quarterback Sam Darnold, now over a bout of mono, is simply not developing. As the Jaguars broke out costumes and songs to troll Darnold for his recent "seeing ghosts" admission, he indeed looked like he doesn't trust what's in front of his eyes. The former No. 3 overall pick was thoroughly outplayed by sixth-round rookie Gardner Minshew, throwing three interceptions and getting sacked eight times in a loss to Jacksonville.

At least the new uniforms are nice.

How long does Kitchens last?

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After adding some superstar talent to an already impressive roster that really began to emerge late in 2018, the Browns were the darlings of the offseason. Who would've thought this is where they'd be at the end of October?

Now 2-5 following Sunday's loss to the Patriots, a game where Cleveland turned the ball over on three consecutive snaps, it's fair to call this team the disappointment of the league. And it's not particularly close.

When an organization takes such a monumental step back in its once-promising development, despite having such an impressive roster in place, it's only fair that the finger is pointed at the coaching staff. Handing the keys to Freddie Kitchens was a questionable decision at the time, and it looks even worse now. Cleveland is the latest in a long line of teams to find out that success as a coordinator doesn't necessarily translate to a lead job.

The question now, as frustration continues to mount, is whether Kitchens even makes it through this season. It may seem rash to pull the plug on a coach so quickly, but the Browns can't afford to waste this much talent.

Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks would be the obvious interim candidate in the event the Browns choose to make an in-season change, and a Kitchens departure would finally give offensive play-calling duties to coordinator Todd Monken. Such changes wouldn't provide a guaranteed fix, but it's worth a shot and becomes an increasingly appealing option for as long as this disaster continues.

Bring back Cam

Remember all the debates about the Panthers sticking with Kyle Allen? Yeah, forget that.

We detailed a few weeks back why it seemed possible that Allen could end up keeping the job even after Cam Newton makes his return from injury. But make no mistake, that wasn't to say we were on board with the idea. Not then, and certainly not now.

The Panthers have yet to be faced with that decision, as Newton is still working his way back from a foot injury, but this has to be the former MVP's job when he's ready. A disastrous performance from Allen in a 51-13 loss to the 49ers showed exactly why the Panthers can't afford to bench the face of their franchise for a young, and still very much unproven, passer.

Carolina's winning streak with Allen under center was extremely impressive. He was playing better than anyone could've reasonably expected and, naturally, he got a ton of credit for leading the way. But that run of success was always about much more than the quarterback.

This is a good team on both sides of the ball and, as much as people will rush to declare that the new thing is the better thing, the ceiling is unquestionably higher with a healthy Newton running the show. Here's hoping Ron Rivera and the rest of his staff see it that way, too.

Foles should be shopped

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Nick Foles' tenure as the Jaguars' starting passer lasted all of 11 snaps. Perhaps that should be all we ever see of Foles in teal.

Gardner Minshew has been a revelation since taking over after Foles' broken clavicle in Week 1. Following a college career that started at Northwest Mississippi Community College and ended with gaudy numbers in Washington State's pass-friendly scheme, few draftniks saw Minshew as a special prospect or more than a career backup.

Instead, the mustachioed Minshew has emerged not just as a folk hero, but as a legitimately dangerous NFL arm. The Jaguars are a surprising .500 club and Minshew's 1,976 yards passing, 13 touchdowns, and two interceptions are the reasons for it. A playoff berth is probably unrealistic for this team, but the future is suddenly bright.

Foles will be cleared to return from injured reserve next month, but will he have a job to return to? If not, might the Jaguars look to trade him?

The $88-million contract Foles signed in March will make him difficult to move. He'll earn nearly $31 million this year and almost $16 million next year, but with few guarantees beyond 2020, the financial risk for any team looking to acquire the former Super Bowl MVP is palatable.

If the Jaguars are willing to eat the money they've already paid Foles this year, they could perhaps flip him for a Day 2 draft pick and use that asset to build around Minshew.

And which team could trade for Foles? How about the Broncos, who can't be happy with the returns on their Joe Flacco experiment.

Rookie Bosa making case for DPOY

The incomparable Lawrence Taylor is the only player in NFL history to win Defensive Player of the Year as a rookie. Nick Bosa might be next.

The second overall pick has been the best player on the undefeated 49ers and he just keeps getting better. The younger brother of the Chargers' Joey recorded three sacks Sunday, bringing his total on the year to seven.

Bosa also embarrassed Kyle Allen on a second-half interception, bursting through the line to snatch a lobbed swing pass and take it back almost 50 yards.

Bosa was criticized by some for sitting out most of his junior season at Ohio State to ensure he entered the NFL at peak health. Perhaps he should serve as an example for future top prospects.

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