What’s Hot and What’s Knott in Football – Week 8

By Rhys Knott

We’re halfway through the 2026 NFL season, and there has already been plenty to talk about. But the standard of football has rarely been one of those things.
 
Week 8 delivered some clunky offensive line play, a horrible drop and, yet again, some questionable officiating. And, is Christian Watson Jesus? Because he has also risen!
 
Week 8 might have also provided the greatest hilarious interception that never happened, thanks to Shaun Hochili’s officiating crew.
 

What’s Hot in Football – Week 8

Halloween isn’t technically hot; it’s pretty average, really, but when your kids are getting dressed up as the Eagles’ injury crisis, it’s pretty funny.
And Budda Baker attending his Week 8 press conference in his full costume is hot too. It definitely scared the Cowboys offense.
We’re always the first to jump on the officials when they stink (every week then), so we need to point out the officials when they’re being hot too. This is one of the refs in the CFL who sounds like he’s about to burst into song. Everyone loves the playoffs after all.
Ja’Quan Brisker excoriating DeShaun Watson is something we can all get behind. Spitting fire at a divisional rival is definitely hot.
Talking of hot divisional rivalries, the Lions not taking any of the Vikings’ crap is hot too. These teams meet again in seven weeks; let’s see if Brian Flores’ defense is this chesty come December.
You might think that Joe Burrow’s 462 passing yards are hot, but you’d be wrong. When you throw three picks (to the same safety) and get sacked three times by a Titans team that just traded away their best player, you’re not all that hot.
 
In words that nobody ever thought they would have to type, Gardner Minshew (remember him?) is hot in Week 8.
Jordan Love is hot in Week 8, partly because no quarterback had completed 30 passes in a game before Week 8, but also because the Panthers were missing four defensive backs and four more from their defensive line!
Chuba Hubbard’s Lambeau leap is hot too, and so is the reaction of the Packers fans who seem pretty pleased to see him. Proof, were it needed, that everyone loves Canadians.
Caleb Williams choosing his body over his bank balance is super hot. It should be pointed out that as many as 100 NFL athletes, including Cooper Kupp and Dalton Kincaid, have also worn the cleats that feature a stud pattern that’s designed to reduce rotational torque on joints. Caleb’s the only one who seems to have made the news for wearing them, though.
But back to the running backs: in Week 8, Tyler Allegier, you are one hot man. Why would anyone even try to pass the ball against the Cowboys?
That Derrick Henry bloke is hot again. The Ravens might be one of the saddest things to happen in 2026, but King Henry is officially a legend.
Jahmyr Gibbs might be eight years younger than King Henry, but he is another legendary running back. When your name appears alongside Jim Brown’s, you are so hot that you’re thermonuclear!  
Emmett Johnson is smoking hot in Week 8. At least he was until the Chiefs got to the goal line in the dying moments of their game in Denver. In his infinite wisdom. Andy Reid decided to give the ball to Kenneth Walker III and just hope Patrick Mahomes could pull a rabbit out of his proverbial hat. He couldn’t, but in the quarterback’s defense Xavier Worthy had run out of bounds for no apparent reason!
A team finally taking the most “smoke and mirrors” defense in the league to the cleaners warms the cockles of your heart. Drew Petzing’s offense is hot in Week 8.
Bhayshul Tuten isn’t quite that hot (and my God, are the Colts bad), but the youngster had himself a hot Week 8.
And who would have thought that Trevor Lawrence’s name would be appearing alongside Tom Brady’s anytime soon? Nobody, unless they were in the same shampoo advert.
The only catches we usually only highlight in the hot section are interceptions, but check this out from Chig Okonkwo! The Commanders are a rough watch, but the NFC East is an absolute dumpster fire, so they’ve got a 25% chance of winning it!
Another tight end is hot in Week 8. Brock Bowers might play for one of the least fashionable teams in the league, but he is smoking hot in 2026!
While we’re on the topic of big guys with extraordinary skills, check out the Cardinals’ centre Hjalte Froholdt dominating! Now that is very hot, unless you’re a Cowboys defender.
But defense is more fun than offense, so let’s talk about Amani Hooker. Some defensive backs think three interceptions in a season is a decent effort; Hooker nabbed three against the Bengals in Week 8. That’s hot, but what makes it even hotter is the interception bonus in his contract!
The hilarious interception club is back, and boy do we have some absolute doozies this week! First up, Bryce Young. In the WNBA, this one would be called a “me-bound”, IYKYK. Take a bow, Ty’Ron Hopper (more like Ty’Ron Leaper, amirite?)
Rayaun Lane III might be the Jags’ backup free safety, but this dude can run.
Denzel Ward is having a hot season in a Browns defense that seems even better since Jim Schwartz left. But this pick is squarely on D.K. Metcalf, who has been terrible in 2026.
We’re not the biggest Jacoby Brissett fans, but this interception is on Elijah Higgins.  Shemar James’ reactions are hot, but this is Eli-nah!
The Ravens are falling apart at the seams, and they’re down to a third-string “emergency” quarterback. But Davison Igbinosun grabbing this tip while Zay Flowers just watches on is hot.

What’s Knott in Football – Week 8

We simply have to talk about the Josh Jacobs situation. While all of the domestic abuse allegations remain unproven and are just allegations, the way the NFL has handled it seems muddled at best. How can you remove someone from the Commissioner’s Exempt List while they are being investigated for something this serious?
 
When even more allegations come to light after that person has been activated, the league looks unprepared and like they really don’t care about women.
In the same week that the Chiefs decided to sign Justin Tucker, the NFL’s toxic masculinity meter is off the charts in Week 8, and it’s all very Knott. One thing we can say is eff the Chiefs! Karma made sure that Harrison Butker missed a field goal that would have all but ended KC’s game in Denver. The Broncos took over at their own 44-yard line and scored the game-winning touchdown two plays later.
 
While everyone celebrates the Chiefs tripping over their own hubris, the Broncos coaches losing their minds on the sideline is also Knott. A head coach yelling at an assistant because the players on the field can’t count to 12 seems foolish at best.
 
Nothing could possibly be more Knott than a Falcons team that looked surprised by a rainstorm in Florida. Michael Penix Jr., who went to high school in Tampa, epitomised the absolute shambles that is Kevin Stefanski’s team. 8/24 for 125 yards with four picks is earth-shatteringly Knott.
 
Why the Falcons thought attempting 24 passes when the home team attempted just three is quite another question.
t’s not just the Falcons that suck in Tampa, though. Winning might be hot, but when you win without completing a pass, you should really refund all the tickets you’ve sold!
It’s not just the Falcons and Buccaneers that need to take a long, hard look in the mirror this week. The Cowboys have been very Knott in their last two home games!
How do we feel about officials coaching up players instead of throwing a flag when they slap someone’s facemask? It seems Knott to us.
And what do we think about the Jags’ fit? It’s a Knott for us, dawg (or big cats).
We need to talk more about Matthew Golden’s hands (or lack thereof) in Week 8; he dropped a stonewall touchdown just like he did last week.
The Packers are on a heater when it comes to Knott decisions in Week 8. In a season where the Eagles told their quarterback to play a game despite his blood clot diagnosis, you would imagine player safety would be front of mind. Not in Green Bay, though, where players go straight from the hospital to the field.
Sticking with the NFC North, Brian Flores’ constant blitzing is hot when it works, but just like Michael McIntyre, we’re over it now. Blitzing 89.7% of the time and losing is the last, desperate act of a scoundrel.

The NFL tacitly agreeing that Alex Moore’s officiating crew weren’t up to snuff in Week 7 without actually saying that they weren’t good enough is pretty Knott too.

Would it hurt you to release a statement on the situation, guys? Still, mustn’t grumble, Shaun’s gang provided us with this hilarious interception that never happened.
But we can’t leave Week 8 without checking out all of the kickers who doinked a kick off the posts. Nothing says football season quite like a deafening ricochet off the uprights, but it is still very Knott.

RHYS KNOTT

NFL/FANTASY FOOTBALL ANALYST

Rhys has been watching the NFL for 30 something years and still hasn’t managed to pick a team to support. When he’s not fixatED on pass rushers you can find him blithering on about most sports on Twitter @wrhys_writes

Rated 5 out of 5
BoyleSports NFL