Top five storylines from week eight of 2021 NFL regular season

Adrian Peterson (Google Images)

This is a busy time in the National Football League with the trade deadline set for Tuesday. Here are the top five storylines from week eight. 

5) Cooper Rush dazzles for the Cowboys.

In only his first career NFL start, Cooper Rush came in for Dak Prescott and was fantastic. Rush completed 24 of 40 passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns, in a 20-16 Cowboys win over the Minnesota Vikings. Prescott, who missed the game because of a calf injury, was seen on the sidelines strongly supporting Rush. With the win, Dallas improved to 6-1. Rush meanwhile only became the second Cowboys quarterback to have 300 yards in his first NFL start. The other according to ESPN, was Gary Hogeboom, who had 343 yards passing for the Cowboys in a 20-13 win over the Los Angeles Rams on September 3, 1984.

4) Jets pull off a massive upset.

The 1-5 New York Jets are now 2-5 after a stunning 34-31 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. New York was in fact a 11.5 point underdog and money was rolling in big time before the game was about to begin. However, we saw a fantastic and unexpected brilliant performance from quarterback Mike White to give the Jets the win. The Jets only other win this season came on October 3, when they upset the Tennessee Titans 27-24 in overtime.

3) Jameis Winston out for the year with a knee injury.

The New Orleans Saints came away with a stunning 36-27 upset win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, but the win came at a cost. That is because quarterback Jameis Winston suffered a season-ending torn ACL. The Saints ended up going with Tevor Siemian at quarterback, who was respectable, in completing 16 of 29 passes for 159 yards and a touchdown against the defending Super Bowl champions. However it seems that Siemian may not be the long term solution for New Orleans. That is because rumours are emerging that the Saints are considering signing Cam Newton, who was released right before the season began by the New England Patriots.

2) Calvin Ridley leaves NFL for mental health reasons.

Right before the Atlanta Falcons were to play the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, it was reported that Falcons wide receiver Calvin Ridley would take a leave of absence from the NFL to work on his mental health issues according to Ben Morse of CNN. It has been an off year for Ridley, who only has 31 catches for 281 yards and two touchdowns. Last season, Ridley had 90 catches for 1374 yards, and nine touchdowns. It was stunning he was not selected to the Pro Bowl.

1) Adrian Peterson joins the Titans.

Adrian Peterson, who has 14820 total rushing yards, (which is fifth all-time), joined the Tennessee Titans practice squad on Monday, after Tennessee lost star running back Derrick Henry to a broken foot in their 34-31 overtime win over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Henry is expected to be out six to 10 weeks. Jeremy McNichols is projected to be the Titans starter at running back in the short term, until at least Peterson gets comfortable with the Titans playbook.

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