Must watch games in Week 8: Colts vs. Texans, Eagles vs. Bengals, Falcons vs. Buccaneers, Bears vs. Commander, Cowboys vs. 49ers

Last weekend offered up a healthy portion of must watch games. We had the Lions and Vikings in a battle of NFC North giants, a Super Bowl rematch in San Francisco and a Monday night shootout between the Ravens and Bucs. This week we have to go digging a bit, and calling all five of these games “must see” might be a little bit of a stretch, but these are the most intriguing match ups coming up in Week 8.

Indianapolis Colts (4-3) vs. Houston Texans (5-2), Sunday, October 27th @ 1:00 p.m. ET

Like I said above, not the juiciest match up we have ever previewed but this is a big divisional match up coming out of the AFC South. It’s a match up of a couple of second year quarterbacks who have had very different starts to their careers. No. 4 overall pick Anthony Richardson missed most of his rookie season with a shoulder injury while having to watch C.J. Stroud and the Texans win the division while the No. 2 overall pick won Rookie of the Year in a historic season. This year Colts are flying under the radar, but they are 4-3 and quietly having a good season. They seem intent on playing Richardson at QB despite Joe Flacco filling in while Richardson was injured, and playing well. The Texans are coming off of an narrow loss in Green Bay on a day that C.J. Stroud struggled like we have never seen him struggle before. He will look to bounce back and give his team a two game cushion in the division with a win on Sunday.

Philadelphia Eagles (4-2) vs. Cincinnati Bengals (3-4), Sunday, October 27th @ 1:00 p.m. ET

After slow starts for both of these teams, are they finally starting to hit stride? The Bengals had a dreadful beginning to the campaign, losing their first three games, but they have won three of their last four and it seems like Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase are starting to play like we are used to them playing. They still haven’t had a statement win, but this would certainly give them a midseason boost that they need to believe they can hang with some of the NFL’s better teams. The Eagles are coming off of an absolute drubbing of the New York Giants. Saquon Barkley ran wild against his old team as the Eagles offense showed just how good it can be when Jalen Hurts has all his weapons around him. This one is going to be good from Paycor.

Atlanta Falcons (4-3) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-3), Sunday, October 27th @ 1:00 p.m. ET

Another division match up between two teams that will likely be the ones gunning for the top spot in the NFC South at the end of the season. The Atlanta Falcons are coming off their worst loss of the season as the Seattle Seahawks stormed Mercedes Benz Stadium and stomped the Falcons. Kirk Cousins and the offense are going to have to bounce back against a tough Tampa defense that will have an added level responsibility on their shoulders for the rest of the season. The Bucs didn’t just lose to the Ravens on Monday night. They lost their top to receiving options as Mike Evans and Chris Godwin went down with serious injuries that are going to keep them sidelined for a long time. The Falcons won the first match up fro Atlanta, so the Bucs will be looking to avenge that loss in Tampa this weekend.

Chicago Bears (4-2) vs. Washington Commanders (5-2), Sunday, October 27th @ 4:25 p.m. ET

It’s the battle of the rookie quarterbacks. Or that’s what we will be hoping. After getting picked No. 1 vs. No. 2 in this year’s NFL Draft, both Caleb Willams and Jayden Daniels have got off to fantastic starts to their careers. Caleb Williams took a little while to get off the ground, but he has had back-to-back games where he led his team to victory. He had four touchdowns in the Bears last game against the Jags from London. Chicago returned home and went on their BYE week as the Commanders hosted the lowly Carolina Panthers and demolished them with Jayden Daniels on the sidelines for nearly all of the game. Daniels suffered a rib injury on the Commanders first series and sat the rest of the way, and now we will all sit and wait with our fingers crossed that Daniels will be ready for this rookie QB duel in the nation’s capital.

Dallas Cowboys (3-3) vs. San Francisco 49ers (3-4), Sunday, October 27th @ 8:20

Which team needs a win more? The Niners or the Cowboys? Two teams who have been desperately underwhelming square up on Sunday in the Bay. The Niners are coming off a disappointing loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, in which they were without three or their top receivers. Despite not having Jauan Jennings, or Deebo Samuel or Christian McCaffery and losing Brandon Aiyuk for the year, Brock Purdy had his team in a position to make it a game in the second half, but an interception in the end zone ended the Niners chances at a comeback on the Chiefs and they dropped to below .500. The Cowboys have had injury problems of their own, on the defensive end, but with the money that Jerry Jones splashed around this offseason, the offense should more than be making up for it. That hasn’t been the case. They went into their BYE week on the heels of a 47-9 beatdown by the Detroit Lions, and after a long week off they have to head west which may actually be a blessing considering they have 119 points in their three home games.