The Jets got their first won of the season as their much-maligned quarterback opened up on a tough week, while the Giants lost a cult hero to injury in their loss.
Plus, more debate about the tush push!
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_Read on for that and more in our NFL Wrap from Week 8!_
**MALIGNED QB GETS ‘VULNERABLE’ AFTER OWNER’S ‘COWARDLY’ COMMENTS**
The Jets are finally on the board.
New York snapped its seven-game losing streak with a 39-38 road victory against the Cincinnati Bengals as much-maligned quarterback Justin Fields opened up on his struggles.
The Jets trailed 38-24 midway through the fourth quarter but rallied with a 27-yard touchdown run from running back Breece Hall.
Hall then lobbed the game-winning touchdown pass to Mason Taylor at the back of the end zone in the final minutes to set up victory.
Fields, who had been the subject of widespread criticism and looked set to be benched this week before back-up Tyrod Taylor was ruled out with a knee injury, got “vulnerable” in his post-game press conference.
“This week, I found myself in my closet crying on the ground, lying down,” Fields said.
“Not because of the hardships, not because of the troubles. I felt like I was built to handle that and put in this place to handle this situation, but in that moment, when I was talking to my best friend about how hard it was and not wavering faith-wise, I had just gotten a text from my sister and my stepmum, and it was just an encouraging text to keep going and keep spreading the faith.”
It wasn’t just external criticism that Fields had been subjected to, with Jets owner Woody Johnson also publicly calling him out.
“It’s hard when you have a quarterback with a rating that we’ve got. He has the ability, but something just is not jibing.” Johnson said.
“If we can just complete a pass, it would look good.”
Despite it coming from the team’s owner, Fields labelled it “outside noise”.
“The biggest thing was my teammates believing in me and my coaches believing in me,” Fields added.
While Fields wasn’t in a position to criticise his owner, former NFL quarterback Alex Smith had no problems calling out Johnson for the “cowardly” comments.
“This is absurd,” Smith said on ESPN.
“You’re true. It’s rock bottom, but it’s rock bottom because of \[Johnson\], right?
“Listen. It is impossible to overcome dysfunctional ownership, and this is the definition of it. Woody Johnson.
“Listen, I lived it, trust me, I know. How many head coaches and quarterbacks has this guy mowed through, right? How many of them? And he drove the bus over this kid right here.”
“... It starts at the top and it trickles down, and this is cowardly. This is an owner that’s deflecting because his organisation is terrible, and he drove the bus over a 26-year-old quarterback, right over the back of him.
“I don’t think Justin Fields has played great at all this season. You’re telling me he’s the only problem?”
**‘DEVASTATING’ INJURY, MORE TUSH PUSH DRAMA IN EAGLES WIN**
The reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles overpowered the New York Giants 38-20, with quarterback Jalen Hurts tossing four touchdowns and Saquon Barkley rushing for another.
The Eagles lead the NFC East with a 6-2 record after avenging for a shock loss to the Giants a fortnight ago, while the heavy New York defeat was compounded by a serious injury to running back Cam Skattebo, who was carted off the field in the second quarter with a dislocated right ankle.
“Feel absolutely terrible for the young man,” Giants coach Brian Daboll said.
“You feel for anybody on your team that goes down and has a really bad injury. I know the players feel the same way.”
Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart, meanwhile, was visibly crushed in the aftermath of the injury.
“Yeah, I was devastated,” Dart said.
“It’s my boy, man, so seeing him go down and obviously reacting to what happened, that sucks. It’s the worst part of this game.
“I mean, during him getting carted off, it’s emotional. But you try to go back in the huddle and try to just reload and just try to go down and score.”
There was some drama earlier in the game too, with the NFL’s tush push debate set to reignite after Giants defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux stripped the ball from Jalen Hurts, only for Philadelphia to maintain possession.
That was because the officials controversially ruled Hurts’ forward progress had been stopped before the ball came out.
“He said they called forward progress before he reached the ball out. Sounds like some bulls\*\*\* to me,” Thibodeaux said.
“That’s the hard part about the tush push.”
To compound that, officials later called a neutral zone infraction against Thibodeaux when it looked like Eagles left tackle Jordan Mailata flinched first.
What should have been a false start penalty instead gifted Philadelphia more yards and the drive later ended in an Eagles touchdown.
INSANE 4th Quarter makes NFL history! | 01:39
**SUPER BOWL FANCIES FINALLY ON THE BOARD AGAIN**
Elsewhere, the Baltimore Ravens snapped their four-game losing streak with a 30-16 victory over the Chicago Bears.
Baltimore, who started the season tipped as Super Bowl contenders but who had lost five out of six games heading into Sunday, improved to 2-5 after two rushing touchdowns from running back Derrick Henry.
Tyler Huntley, filling in at quarterback in place of injured star Lamar Jackson, threw for 186 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions as the Bears fell to 4-3.
Huntley had stepped up after controversy surrounding two-time NFL Most Valuable Player Jackson, who was declared fit and available in Friday’s injury report before being ruled out.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh lavished praise on the performance of Huntley, who returned to Baltimore this year after spending last season with the Miami Dolphins.
“The way he played that game,” Harbaugh said of Huntley.
“Ran the offence, ran the ball, completed passes, great poise at critical moments -- that was one of those all-time great performances.”
The Ravens coach, though, acknowledged his team still has an uphill climb to turn around their season, with a Thursday night fixture at Miami just days away.
“By no means does this mean that things are over -- by no means have we accomplished anything close to what we want to accomplish,” Harbaugh said.
“But this is a big game, and Thursday is going to be a big game too. Our guys are keenly aware of that.”
Eagles beat Vikings to end losing streak | 00:48
**DAK’S NIGHTMARE, BILLS’ BOUNCE-BACK AMONG HEADLINES FROM OTHER GAMES**
Elsewhere Monday, the Denver Broncos maintained their impressive recent run of form with a 44-24 demolition of the Dallas Cowboys in Colorado.
Broncos quarterback Bo Nix threw four touchdowns and finished with 247 yards from 19-of-29 completed passes. The Broncos lead the AFC West division with a 6-2 record.
Dak Prescott, meanwhile, had a forgettable game as he completed 19 of 31 passes for 188 yards and two interceptions.
In other games, the Buffalo Bills trampled the Carolina Panthers 40-9, but remain second in the AFC East standings behind the in-form New England Patriots, who improved to 6-2 with a 32-13 defeat of Cleveland.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers tightened their grip on the NFC South with a 23-3 defeat of the New Orleans Saints. The Bucs lead the division at 6-2, with the Carolina Panthers second on 4-4.
The San Francisco 49ers, meanwhile, stumbled to a 26-15 defeat to the Houston Texans on the road. The 49ers, whose season has been disrupted by a slew of injuries, fell to 5-3 for the season.
**WEEK 8 NFL SCORES**
**Chargers 37** Vikings 10
Falcons 10 **Dolphins 34**
**Ravens 30** Bears 16
Bengals 38 **Jets 39**
Panthers 9 **Bills 40**
**Texans 26** 49ers 15
**Patriots 32** Browns 13
**Eagles 38** Giants 20
Saints 3 **Buccaneers 23**
**Colts 38** Titans 14
**Broncos 44** Cowboys 24