NFL Week 8 winners and losers: Tight ends celebrate, Bears stunned by Hail Mary

It's been a busy Sunday in the NFL.

From celebrating two holidays (one official, one unofficial) to a handful of last-minute wins, there was no shortage of action in the early window of Week 8. There were eight games in a loaded slate, including four divisional matchups.

The later window had a mixture of close games and blowouts, though one matchup featured a stunning Hail Mary at the death.

So, let's break it all down -- the good, the bad and the ugly.

Here are all the winners and losers from Sunday's games:

WINNER: Tight ends on National Tight Ends Day

It was a great day to be a tight end.

On the NFL's annual celebration of National Tight Ends Day, players at the position visited the end zone early and often. Here are all the tight ends that scored on Sunday:

• Kyle Pitts (twice)
• Cade Otton (twice)
• Tyler Conklin
• Brock Wright
• Sam LaPorta
• Mark Andrews
• Tucker Kraft
• David Njoku
• Evan Engram
• Dalton Kincaid
• Adam Trautman
• Nate Adkins
• Travis Kelce

LOSER: Jets hit rock bottom

The New England Patriots have had a brutal season -- but there was at least one shining light with rookie QB Drake Maye. That light was dimmed in Week 8 when the No. 3 overall pick suffered a head injury.

Maye, 22, played well to open his third career start on Sunday against the New York Jets. He went 3 of 6 for 23 yards, but scrambled for 46 yards and a touchdown to give New England an early 7-0 lead. Then, on a rush late in the first quarter, he was hit in the head by a Jets defender. Though he finished the drive, that was the last time he saw on the field.

All hope seemed lost for New England, but the team fought back for a gutsy 25-22 win in the final minute. The Jets, who have now lost five straight, surrendered a 12-play, 70-yard touchdown drive in the final three minutes to seal their latest loss. Now at 2-6, the Jets could be out of time to make the playoffs as they keep throwing away victories. They've already fired their coach, traded for a star receiver, re-signed a disgruntled pass-rusher and changed their offensive play-caller, so there aren't many levers left to pull.

WINNER: Browns' backup QB magic continues

Last year, the Cleveland Browns went on a miraculous playoff run with Joe Flacco when Deshaun Watson got hurt. In the first game after losing Watson this season, the Browns pulled off a 29-24 upset win over the division rival Baltimore Ravens.

Credit goes to Jameis Winston, who stepped in and put on his best Flacco impersonation. The former No. 1 overall pick went 27 of 41 for 334 yards and three touchdowns in the win, culminating in a 38-yard score to Cedric Tillman in the final minute to put Cleveland ahead.

For the Ravens, it's a rare setback after winning their last five games. It was the first time since Week 3 that Baltimore didn't score at least 30 points, proving that divisional games can be wonky at times.

LOSER: Tua Tagovailoa's return is spoiled

Tua Tagovailoa came back from his concussion on Sunday, but that wasn't enough to turn the Miami Dolphins' season around.

The Arizona Cardinals went down to South Florida and walked away with a 28-27 win after Chad Ryland's third game-winning field goal of the season. Things fell apart for Miami on the final six possessions of the game, which resulted in 18 points for Arizona with two touchdowns, a field goal and a safety.

The Dolphins are now 2-5, though it was at least encouraging to see Tagovailoa back in action. The offense was much improved compared to previous weeks -- a sign that the Dolphins could still have a run in them. It has to start soon though with their season quickly ticking away.

WINNER: Texans and Falcons take control of their divisions

The season is still young, but the Houston Texans and Atlanta Falcons made statements against divisional rivals in Week 8.

In Texas, C.J. Stroud and Co. defeated the Indianapolis Colts 23-20. Not only did the win put Houston (6-2) two games ahead of Indy (4-4), it also secured the season sweep and an all-important tiebreaker. Stroud had a steady performance (285 yards, one touchdown), while his fellow second-year QB Anthony Richardson couldn't get anything going (10 for 32, 175 yards, one touchdown, one interception).

Down in Florida, the Falcons secured the season sweep against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31-26. Both squads entered the game at 4-3, so the result now puts Atlanta in sole possession of the NFC South lead. Kirk Cousins put together a masterful effort (276 yards, four touchdowns), while the Falcons' defense forced three turnovers.

LOSER: Bengals go down quietly

Just when you start to believe in the Cincinnati Bengals, everything falls apart.

After going from 0-3 to 3-4, the Bengals suffered a 37-17 home loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. Cincy raced out to a 10-3 lead in the first half, but Philly closed the game on a 34-7 run to seal an easy victory.

The Eagles, now 5-2, got contributions from playmakers on both sides of the ball. Jalen Hurts had four total touchdowns, including three on the ground, while Saquon Barkley added 108 rushing yards. On defense, C.J. Gardner-Johnson had an interception.

WINNER: James Cook dominates as Bills rout Seahawks

The Bills had little problems routing the Seahawks in Seattle, coming away with a 31-10 win. While Josh Allen's interception-less streak finally concluded, James Cook flourished on the ground, rushing for 111 yards on 17 carries (6.5 average) and two touchdowns.

Buffalo is now on a three-game winning streak with a divisional game against the Dolphins up next. But for Seattle, it failed to stay on track in a tight NFC West.

The Seahawks dropped to 4-4, level with the Cardinals and now just a game ahead of the San Francisco 49ers, who could leap them in the standings with a win later on Sunday. Geno Smith's flaws as QB1 against elite teams continued to show.

LOSER: Saints lose sixth straight

New Orleans' season may be over. After a hot and promising 2-0 start, the Saints dropped six games in a row after losing to the Chargers in Los Angeles 26-8. With Derek Carr still sidelined, rookie Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener each had their opportunities, but neither could make anything stick.

Los Angeles meanwhile moved to 4-3, with rookie Ladd McConkey enjoying his best day of his young career, logging 111 receiving yards on six catches for two scores.

But for the Saints, while they have a prime chance to return to the win column next time out against the Carolina Panthers, the rest of their schedule isn't exactly favorable. Even if Carr returns, it likely doesn't move the needle enough.

WINNER: Chiefs stay unbeaten with close win vs. Raiders

Raiders players won't be playing with Kermit the Frog puppets anytime soon. Patrick Mahomes entered Las Vegas and completed 27 of 38 passes for 262 yards, two touchdowns and a pick as his turnover issues continued, though it was enough for the win.

Travis Kelce also caught his first touchdown of the season, going for 90 receiving yards on 10 catches.

Las Vegas fell to 2-6 despite Gardner Minshew's relatively solid game, but leading rusher Alexander Mattison had just 15 rushing yards on 14 carries. It's near impossible to win with that type of production.

LOSER: Panthers fall to 1-7 as Bo Nix shines

Bryce Young returned under center for Andy Dalton, who was involved in a car crash midweek that kept him out of the trip to Denver. Young threw for 224 yards on 24 of 37 completions to go with two touchdowns and two picks, doing so without his top-two wideouts (Diontae Johnson, Adam Thielen).

The 28-14 loss to the Broncos dropped Carolina to 1-7, but Denver improved to a promising 5-3 mark as its defense continued to excel in a game it should've.

However, Bo Nix was the bigger storyline, as the rookie completed 28 of 37 passes for 284 yards, three touchdowns and no picks. Nix had a slow start to the season but is showing more flashes of true QB1 potential. He'll need to keep that consistency against better opposition.

WINNER: Jayden Daniels completes Hail Mary

In a highly anticipated matchup between the top two overall picks from the 2024 draft, it was the No. 2 selection Jayden Daniels who came out victorious over Caleb Williams.

A late Roschon Johnson touchdown gave the Chicago Bears a vital 15-12 road lead against Daniels and the Washington Commanders, but a last-second Hail Mary attempt somehow fell into the hands of Noah Brown.

The win moved Washington to 6-2 while Chicago fell to 4-3 in a game where Williams struggled, completing just 10 of 24 passes for 131 yards, no touchdowns and no picks.