NFL Week 8 Tuesday Whip-Around: Trading Spaces?

The NFL trade deadline comes at 3 pm today, but if everything plays out as expected the deadline will end on a rather soft note. Not many big deals are expected to go down, as only a few teams can really justify giving up on their season at the halfway point and start giving away assets. Hakeem Nicks was popular trade bait for Giants' fans, but now that the team has won their last two games the organization can claim that their season isn't over yet (and somehow, it actually isn't). Josh Gordon was thought to be next on the block after Trent Richardson for the Browns, but after seeing his dominance the last few weeks, it will take a monster offer for the Browns to move him, and even then, would you trade away that kind of talent? The Vikings are listening to offers on Jared Allen, but if he leaves through free agency this offseason the team will still acquire a conditional pick next year, so their asking price will be probably higher than teams may be willing to spend on an aging pass rusher, who looks like he may already have hit a wall in terms of his play. The deal that makes too much sense to actually happen is Tony Gonzelez to the Chiefs, as he is wasting his final season sticking it out with the Falcons and he could actually have that one last shot at a title by returning to his original team (who could really use solid production at the tight end position right now). Tony has actually expressed openness to a trade, but the Falcons organization remains staunch in their position to not trade him, even though a playoff run seems impossible and Tony's retirement following the season is all but certain. Will that climate change at the deadline? Check at 3 pm to find out!

Now, the big takeaways from each game this week:

Panthers 31, Buccaneers 13

1. The Panthers and Cam Newton's hot streak continues! For Greg Schiano and the Bucs...not so much #still winless
2. The calls for Greg Schiano's head aren't going to quiet down anytime soon, and every week more and more of them seem to be coming from inside the Tampa locker room
3. Rookie Mike Glennon didn't throw an interception this time out, but his yards per attempt is an area in need of MUCH improvement. Without receiver Mike Williams for the rest of the year, he's probably going to struggle in that area for a while.

Lions 31, Cowboys 30

1. Matthew Stafford has guts, I'll tell you that. His last minute drive to give the Lions the win was sheer perfection, and his final QB sneak was pure genius. Pure genius.
2. Oh, and that Calvin Johnson guys kind of had a good day too (14 catches for 329 yards, second most in NFL history). Pretty soon, people may start talking about Calvin/Jerry like we talk about Manning/Brady.
3. There's been plenty of coverage of Dez Bryant's "blow-up" on the sideline during this game, but the actual audio of the event is sadly tame. Dez said he was being all positive with his teammates, and he actually was.

49ers 42, Jaguars 10 (London)

1. The 49ers just keep shoving the ball down team's throats, only passing 16 times but still recording a blowout win overseas.
2. Good news for Jaguars' fans: Maurice Jones-Drew looked good, rushing for 75 yards and picking up another 47 yards receiving.
3. The bad news for Jaguars' fans: They're as good at winning overseas as they are in the U.S.

Cheifs 23, Browns 17

1. The Chiefs had a scare at home for the second week in a row, but their defense clamped down and closed out the game again. Hey look, this team is still undefeated.
2. Starting Jason Campbell was a good choice Rob Chudzinski, a good choice.
3. Josh Gordon seems to thrive when the trade rumors ramp up, catching five balls for 132 yards and a touchdown.

Patriots 27, Dolphins 17

1. It looked like the Dolphins might actually stake their claim in the AFC East when they were up 17-3 at halftime, but an epic collapse in half two showed that they're still not ready to take charge just yet.
2. The Patriots' run game helped them turn things around, as Steven Ridley and LeGarrette Blount led the way to big points in half two.
3. The Patriots suffered another big injury Sunday, losing right tackle Sebastian Vollmer to a leg injury for the rest of the year. All has not gone well in Foxborough during 2013.

Saints 35, Bills 17

1. Rookie receiver Kenny Stills has scary deep ball ability for this offense, because yeah, Drew Brees needed more weapons.
2. Jimmy Graham still got two touchdowns with one bad leg, leading many of us to question why we stay at home when we have the sniffles.
3. The legend of Thad became the legend of Thud Sunday afternoon, as the Saints were able to put plenty of pressure on the quarterback, including two sack fumbles recovered in Bills' territory.

Giants 15, Eagles 7

1. The Giants two game win streak has them just two games out of the NFC East. That's somehow a fact after they started 0-6.
2. Chip Kelly's offense has gone back to crashing and burning, but it's really hard to succeed in this league when you don't have competent quarterback play (re: Vikings, Jaguars, Texans).
3. Matt Barkley actually moved the ball pretty well for the Eagles, but turnovers killed drives. That's life with a rookie, especially one that wasn't supposed to see the field this year.

Bengals 49, Jets 9

1. I dabbled Andy Dalton with faint praise last week, but there was nothing faint about his performance on Sunday. The Red Rocket threw for over 300 yards again and this time managed to add five touchdown passes.
2. Four of those throws went to Bengals' receiver Marvin Jones. I'm still not sure who this guy is, but the Bengals are probably happy to have him.
3. Rex Ryan said after the game that he was going to burn the game tape of this blowout loss. Good call Rex, good call.

Raiders 21, Steelers 18

1. Terrelle Pryor is faster than the Steelers' entire defense. That's why the Steelers are now up to five losses.
2. Give this game to the Raiders' defense. They got virtually no offensive help (and no points) for the entire second half but they still hung on to give this team its third win of the season, more than I thought this team would win all year.
3. The Steelers' offensive line is both bad and beat up, with their backups seeing plenty of game action against the Raiders. That's why rookie runner Leveon Bell could only muster a 1.8 yards per carry average on the day.

Cardinals 27, Falcons 13

1. Yikes, Atlanta. Matty Ice seems to defrost in the desert, as in his last two meetings with the Cardinals he has thrown nine interceptions.
2. Last year it was Alfred Morris. This year's sixth round running back gem is Andre Ellington, whose 80 yard touchdown run, despite minimal blocking, should seem eerily similar to Vikings fans.
3. Steven Jackson has been a pretty big disappointment for the Falcons this year, and the back may have run out of tread on his tires. His stat line Sunday: 11 carries for six yards, with a longest gain of four yards.

Broncos 45, Redskins 21

1. Peyton Manning actually threw three interceptions on two bad ankles Sunday afternoon, and this team still finds a way to put up 45 points. Simply incredible, especially because they only had seven points at halftime.
2. The Denver defense clearly heard their critics this week, putting on their best performance of the season. Von Miller looked like himself again, and that tends to help out a team.
3. RGIII was absolutely pummeled in this game and had perhaps the worst game of his short career before being pulled early. Operation Patience might be wearing thin in the capitol.

Seahawks 14, Rams 9

1. So this game came down to a 4th and one with four seconds left on the Seattle one yard line. Raise your hand if you saw that coming.
2. Outside of one long Golden Tate touchdown catch, the Seahawks had 55 net yards of offense in this game. That's scary bad ineptitude for a title contender, especially because the Rams' defense has bene a rather disappointing group this year.
3. How about rookie Zac Stacy taking it to the Seattle defense? If the rookie stays healthy he's emerging as a workhorse candidate for the Rams, carrying 26 times in this game for 134 yards.