NFL Week 8 winners and losers

USA TODAY

Week 8 winners

Ben Roethlisberger: The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback fell just shy of two hallowed single-game passing records with 522 yards (32 shy of Norm Van Brocklin's record) and six TDs (one short of the mark shared by seven players). However Big Ben did become the first player in NFL history to eclipse 500 passing yards in one game on multiple occasions.

Arian Foster: He may only be the second-best back in Texas this season, but that could also be good enough for No. 2 league-wide. Foster closed the gap on league rushing leader DeMarco Murray with a 151-yard day and posted a trio of TDs as the Houston Texans cruised by the Tennessee Titans while making up ground in the wild-card chase.

John Brown: The Arizona Cardinals' speedy rookie wideout got behind the Philadelphia Eagles secondary to snare a game-winning 75-yard TD pass as the Cards temporarily equaled the Cowboys for the NFC's top record at 6-1.

George Iloka: The Cincinnati Bengals safety may be a better thespian than defensive back. It appeared Baltimore Ravens WR Steve Smith beat Iloka for a game-winning 80-yard TD with 32 seconds remaining. However what seemed little more than incidental contact from Smith before his catch sent Iloka, who's 7 inches taller and 25 pounds heavier, flying while also earning a pass interference flag on Smith. Game, set and match to Iloka and Cincinnati.

Tom Brady: Since notions of his demise hit a fevered pitch in last month's blowout loss at Kansas City, the New England Patriots quarterback has gone 4-0 with 14 TDs and 0 INTs after a 354-yard, five-TD passing day in a 51-23 laugher over the Chicago Bears.

Dolphins secondary: DBs Louis Delmas and Brent Grimes each returned Blake Bortles INTs for TDs in Miami's 27-13 defeat of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Delmas also recovered a fumble from Bortles.

Mark Ingram: In his second game back from a broken hand, the New Orleans Saints back bolted to a career-best 172 yards and a TD in a 44-23 victory against the Green Bay Packers that may have saved the Saints' season ... and earned Ingram a fat new contract (from someone) in 2015.

Vikings rookies: One of their first rounders, QB Teddy Bridgewater, orchestrated a game-tying field goal drive at the end of regulation in Tampa. The other Round 1 pick, LB Anthony Barr, ripped the ball from fellow rook Austin Seferian-Jenkins on the first play of overtime and returned it 27 yards for the game-sealing TD.

Lions kicking game: Detroit kickers were a collective 6-for-16 on field-goal tries entering Sunday's game in London. But it seems Matt Prater has finally stabilized the position after converting all three of his attempts, including a 48-yard game winner at the gun to beat the Atlanta Falcons. But he did make it interesting, missing his first crack at the decisive kick from 43 yards — in fairness, the snap was poor — before it was nullified by a delay of game penalty.

Kyle Orton: He's now 3-1 as the Buffalo Bills' starter after posting four more TD passes in a 43-23 pasting of the New York Jets. (And Orton would have had five TDs had rookie Sammy Watkins not been tackled while showboating after an 84-yard completion.)

London: The Brits witnessed the closest of the 10 NFL contests staged at Wembley Stadium since 2007 with Prater's last-second kick flipping the script Sunday. Though it seems marquee games are rarely exported across the Atlantic, six of the 10 have been decided by single digits.

Jamaal Charles and Justin Houston: The Kansas City Chiefs stars had huge days — Charles produced 117 yards from scrimmage and two TDs while Houston had three sacks — as Kansas City decisively claimed the battle of Missouri 34-7 over the St. Louis Rams and went above .500 for the first time this season.

Week 8 losers

Jets QBs: Geno Smith had five completions Sunday, two to his teammates and three to the Bills. Michael Vick chipped in with three more turnovers (INT, 2 fumbles) in relief of Smith, making them the first pair of quarterbacking teammates to each give the ball away three times in the same game since 1991.

Colts defense: One week after blanking the Bengals, Indianapolis surrendered 51 points and 639 yards — the most in the Colts' 62-year history — to the Steelers, a performance that renews questions about the Colts' viability as a serious Super Bowl contender.

Bears' big guns: After a week of scrutiny over WR Brandon Marshall's locker room tirade — and whether or not it was directed at his buddy, QB Jay Cutler — they were part of a Chicago offense that was on the wrong end of a 45-7 score in the third quarter at New England before adding some cosmetic points and yards. Marshall finished with three catches while Cutler, who called the team's showing "agonizing," ended the day on the bench. Windy City playoff hopes are on the verge of blowing away with the Bears now 3-5 in a deep conference.

Zach Mettenberger: The Titans rookie quarterback passed for 299 yards and a pair of TDs in his first NFL start. But most of those stats came well after the game was in doubt, and Mettenberger could be characterized as dazed and confused at times by the Texans defense. Maybe save the Matthew McConaughey costumes until you get a few seasons (or at least wins) under your belt, kid.

Lamarr Houston: It's fair to assume the Bears did not give the defensive lineman a five-year, $35 million contract in March so he could celebrate a sack while his team trailed by 25 points and suffer a potential season-ending knee injury in the process.

Eagles red-zone offense: Three trips inside the Arizona 20-yard line produced three points for Philly. Makes those 521 yards and 20 points seem like empty calories in a four-point loss.

Falcons' game management: Coach Mike Smith has long come under fire for his decisions in crunch time, particularly on the fourth downs Atlanta so frequently fails to convert. More questions will likely follow after the Falcons, leading 21-19, tried a pass on third-and-10 with 1:50 to go even though the Lions were out of timeouts. Sure, a first down would have allowed Atlanta to kill the clock and keep its ineffective defense off the field. But the failed pass (dropped by WR Julio Jones) only ran 4 seconds off the clock and provided Detroit enough time to drive from its own 7-yard line for the game-winning field goal.

NFC's 2013 top seeds: The Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers, who earned the No. 1 and 2 playoff seeds in the NFC last year, respectively, were wholly unimpressive in a 13-9 Seattle win. Much better chance they both miss the postseason this year than return.

Matt Schaub: Finally asked to throw his first pass as an Oakland Raider, he was picked off as the Silver and Black faked a field goal in Cleveland. Just another unfortunate chapter for the NFL's only winless team.