Two-minute drill: Ravens-Bills face off in huge AFC battle, divisional rematches, Colts clean house and more

The Minnesota Vikings are now the lone unbeaten team in the NFL after seven weeks. Here is what to watch as we head into Week 8 and what stood out the most in the past week.

Ravens-Bills, Vikings-Lions face off in pivotal showdowns

After missing each of the last two games with a left high-ankle sprain, all eyes will be on the status of Baltimore Ravens (4-3) quarterback Lamar Jackson going into this huge AFC clash with the Buffalo Bills (5-1), who are rested up coming off a Week 7 bye.

Getting Jackson back is important, but the Ravens cannot afford to keep blowing leads after giving up 35 unanswered against the Cincinnati Bengals (4-2) on Sunday. The Bills have the league’s best scoring offense (32.8 PPG) and the 30th-ranked scoring defense (28.5 PPG), so points could be aplenty in a game that could have massive implications in the AFC playoff picture going forward.

The Vikings (6-0) head to Ford Field for an NFC North clash with the Detroit Lions (4-2) as the league’s only unbeaten team remaining. While Brian Flores’ defense has been the catalyst to Minnesota’s success with just 74 total points allowed, the offense needs to step up with the fewest TDs (10) by a 6-0 team since the 1933 Chicago Bears.

For Detroit, this will be the second of back-to-back divisional games after walking off the Green Bay Packers (4-3), 20-17, on Sunday, despite head coach Dan Campbell’s bold fourth-down call backfiring and some controversial penalties handed down to Green Bay. That said, this was the first time all season the Lions have allowed fewer than 20 points in a game, which could serve as a preview of the type of game that could be in store again this week.

Browns-Steelers, Broncos-Chiefs set for rematches

After kicking off October with a Thursday night showdown, the Cleveland Browns (5-2) and Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2) are set to face off exactly one month later following a 27-24 Browns win on Oct. 1. It has not always been flashy, but the Browns have arguably been the most surprising team of the entire season with QB Deshaun Watson putting together five game-winning fourth-quarter drives in seven games.

Don’t look now, but the Steelers have won three straight and have a chance to avenge that earlier-season loss to the Browns with another rematch against the Bengals to follow. While pass protection has been an issue, a star-studded pass rush and solid play from QB Aaron Rodgers have provided a nice balance on both sides of the ball.

When the Kansas City Chiefs (5-1) and Denver Broncos (5-2) faced off in Week 1, it was a 31-10 rout by a Chiefs team that only surrendered nine total first downs. Although Kenneth Walker III has had a phenomenal start to his first season with Kansas City, he was completely shut down in his return to Seattle on Sunday night as the Chiefs failed to get inside the red zone for the first time with Patrick Mahomes under center.

Slow starts and a lackluster offense that averages the third-fewest yards per game (270.1 YPG) have plagued Denver all season, but that did not stop QB Bo Nix from breaking free for a 62-yard TD run in a 30-16 win over the Arizona Cardinals (2-5) and emerging as one of the biggest winners of the weekend. The Broncos could certainly use more of that against a Chiefs team that is going to be hungry for a bounce-back win. 

Bears-Seahawks cap off the week in prime-time affair

Although the Bears (5-2) limped through a three-week stretch without QB Caleb Williams (right hamstring) earlier this season, they have won their last two games since he made his return and have looked like a team that is ready to build off last season’s playoff run that ended prematurely in the divisional round.

Williams became just the third Bears QB in franchise history to record at least 300 passing yards in consecutive wins (Sid Luckman, 1947, Billy Wade, 1962) when he outdueled Drake Maye and the New England Patriots (4-3) in Week 7. While this team has had some questionable defense and RB Kyle Monangai (turf toe, thumb) remains questionable, it is as explosive as any in the league when Williams and the backfield duo of Monangai and D’Andre Swift are healthy. 

The defending champion Seattle Seahawks (4-3) finally stopped the bleeding by completely shutting down Mahomes and the Chiefs on Sunday night. Although the offense made some key plays and QB Sam Darnold only had one turnover in the game, the defense stole the show and used some extra motivation to hold Walker “under 100” rush yards in his return to the Emerald City.

They will need another performance like that if they want to slow down the explosive Bears offense and keep Williams under duress. The key in this game and going forward for the Seahawks is going to be limiting the turnovers offensively and playing the type of suffocating defense they were known for during their Super Bowl run last season.

Colts begin cleaning house after latest loss

With the trade deadline looming on Nov. 10, a lot of players are going to be on the move between now and then. For the Indianapolis Colts, that has already started after trading eight-time Pro Bowl guard Quenton Nelson and three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner on Tuesday.

The fire sale began when Nelson was shipped to the Seahawks in exchange for a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 fifth-round pick. Buckner, meanwhile, reunites with the San Francisco 49ers (6-1) after a prior trade to the Colts in 2020, while Indianapolis will receive a 2027 fourth-round pick.

Buckner was the latest Colt shipped out of town, but with former general manager Chris Ballard ousted already and several more players likely to be traded as well, the Colts may only be getting started amid a 2-5 start.