Ben Solak Oct 27, 2026, 06:40 AM ET

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Ben Solak joined ESPN in 2024 as a national NFL analyst. He previously covered the NFL at The Ringer, Bleeding Green Nation and The Draft Network.

Are you excited for NFL Week 8 ? This is our first loaded slate of the season. Ravens at Bills. Vikings at Lions. Browns at Steelers. Chiefs at Broncos. Bears at Seahawks. Even the not-so-great games (Falcons at Buccaneers and Colts at Jaguars) mean a lot for divisional standings.

Every Tuesday of the NFL season , I'll turn the page from the previous week to the upcoming one with seven things I think. These aren't full-scale predictions. They aren't concrete takeaways from the past week of NFL action, either; those are fired off Sunday or Monday. Instead, these are the uncertain topics. They are things that might be true, but it'll probably take the next few games to find out. And at the bottom, you'll find a few extra half-thoughts ...…