Three of the best player showdowns in Week 8 of the NFL season

Week 8 is a measuring stick for some of the NFL’s best. Games in this league are often decided by a play, or two, from an impact player. 

DAZN News’ Gavin Babbitt breaks down the top matchups of the NFL slate this week. 

NFL offer: Watch Week 8 with Game Pass for just 99p / €0.99

Watch every game of Week 8 - Thursday, October 23 - Monday, October 27, 2025 - for just  99p / €0.99! Not already a Game Pass subscriber? Well, get the DAZN Weekly Pro Regular Pass, reduced from £15.99  / €18.99 to just  99p / €0.99 for this week only.

Click here for more information and to buy a weekly pass for only 99p / €0.99.

Ja’Marr Chase (WR, CIN) vs. Sauce Gardner (CB, NYJ) 

Ja’Marr Chase is staying productive despite playing with three different quarterbacks this season. He leads all receivers in targets (79), with five touchdowns and 629 receiving yards. 

Much of this output is coming against zone coverage, a scheme that Sauce Gardner is playing in 60% of the time. 

Gardner must stay near the line of scrimmage at the snap, even if he’s assigned a zone at intermediate depth. Chase is catching nearly 90% of his targets on routes under 10 yards, and half of his yardage on those plays is after the catch. 

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Letting Chase run with the ball is a recipe for disaster. The good news for the Jets is, while playing zone, Gardner is allowing receptions once every 26 snaps and has not missed a tackle this year.

Gardner has three inches on Chase. This will help on contested catches; Chase leads the NFL in the category (10). Chase has been kept at bay on deep routes without Joe Burrow. 

If Gardner stays home when the Bengals send Chase downfield, and executes at the point of attack underneath, he can slow down the star receiver in the middle of drives. 

All things considered, look for Chase to come out on top. The Jets are 0-7, and a top-10 team in passing touchdowns allowed. Chase’s ability to find the end zone has been sublime since his rookie season. 

Trent Williams (LT, SF) vs. Danielle Hunter (ED, HOU) 

Danielle Hunter is still dominating in his 10th NFL season. He is the league leader in win rate on passing downs (38.0%), with four sacks. 

At 37 years old, Trent Williams is in the top five among tackles this season in pass-blocking snaps (305). He has one penalty this year, and has allowed only two sacks. 

This will be a test of conditioning for Williams. Hunter has a quick get-off, and endurance on his pass-rushes. On his sacks this season, Hunter is averaging over five seconds between the snap, and when he brings the quarterback down.

Williams must be consistent moving his 330-pound body, especially with Houston’s ability to cover receivers on the back end. If not, Hunter will have opportunities for coverage sacks. 

• Read next | Why the Chiefs’ offense is erupting and a look at the solid Vikings defense

Hunter’s quarterback pressure rate is down from last year, but he posted his second-best mark of the season last week against the Seahawks. 

Williams looks great in the running game, where Hunter has mid-level production in play-stopping tackles. 

With the potential return of Brock Purdy and George Kittle, Hunter must be at his absolute best to win this matchup. Expect Williams and the San Francisco offense to prevail on the road. 

Dak Prescott (QB, DAL) vs. Denver Broncos Secondary (CB, S) 

Dak Prescott is having his most accurate season as an NFL quarterback. His passer rating is a career-high 107.6, and he is second in the NFL in touchdown passes (16). 

The Broncos’ secondary has faced the pass on 60% of plays this year. Denver has allowed only seven touchdowns through the air, and is neutralizing opposing quarterbacks with the NFL’s best pass-rush. 

Prescott will make quick throws in this game. In order to get Pat Surtain out of his normal depth, CeeDee Lamb will be used closer to the line of scrimmage. 

Surtain is excellent at forcing incompletions. There will be limited chances to push the ball downfield to Lamb, especially if Surtain shadows him. 

Utilizing Jake Ferguson is key for Prescott against the Broncos. Ferguson has been fantastic this year, and has caught 27 of 30 targets on short routes. 

• Read next | Five NFL quarterbacks on the brink of being benched

Playing out of the slot, Ferguson will draw matchups against rookie Jahdae Barron, and Ja’Quan McMillian, where he has a significant physical advantage. 

When Prescott does get a chance to throw deep, he must be careful with free safety Talanoa Hufanga. Hufanga is essential for Denver to take away George Pickens, and Lamb, on deep routes. 

Hufanga has a forced-incompletion rate of 31% on the targets he covers. That is fourth overall among all NFL safeties and corners this season. 

The Broncos will hold the Cowboys to one of their slowest throwing days of the year. The Denver secondary is deep, and its pass rush has a jaw-dropping 34 sacks this season.