When Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels was ruled out for the Week 8 Monday Night Football matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, it set Marcus Mariota up to make Oregon program history. Mariota combined with Justin Herbert, Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel to break the program record for most former quarterbacks to start an NFL game in the same week. While results varied for the four quarterbacks, former wide receivers Troy Franklin and Tez Johnson each led their respective teams in targets en route to wins.

Herbert leads the Chargers back to the win column

Four days after posting an absurd passing stat line of 37-55 for 420 passing yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions in a Week 7 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, Herbert led the Chargers to a Thursday Night Football win over the Minnesota Vikings. Herbert was 18-25 for 227 yards and three touchdowns in the 37-10 win.

Herbert largely found success with hard, low throws over the middle of the field, often under pressure against a strong Vikings pass rush that sacked him twice and deflected a pass for an interception. He displayed an excellent pocket presence, and offensive coordinator Greg Roman was able to tap into his strengths.

Gabriel struggles in loss to Patriots

After securing his first win as a starter against the Miami Dolphins in Week 7 with a small workload of 18 passing attempts, Dillon Gabriel struggled to stretch out his attempts against the New England Patriots. Gabriel went 21-35 for 156 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in the Browns’ 32-13 loss.

There were positive plays hidden in the messy performance, including both passing touchdowns to tight ends Harold Fannin Jr. and David Njoku. The first came on a well-designed route for Fannin out of the backfield that left him wide open, but required poise under pressure from Gabriel to loft the pass over a fast-approaching pass rusher and ahead of Fannin. The second came on a bullet over the middle that may have been placed dangerously if not for its velocity, which left the defensive back hopelessly flailing trying to make a deflection. 

On the whole, Gabriel will need to show improvement in reading NFL defenses to continue to hold off fellow rookie Shedeur Sanders. On his first interception, he targeted a route that was never open, seemingly failing to acknowledge linebacker Robert Spillane when making the read, and late in the fourth quarter, he took an intentional grounding penalty from the end zone for a safety.

Mariota executes simple offense in backup role but comes away with a loss

After replacing Daniels early in the second half of the Commanders’ Week 7 loss to the Dallas Cowboys, Mariota got his third start of the season in Week 8. Mariota went 21-30 for 213 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions in a 28-7 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Mariota executed a fairly simple offense well early in the game, capitalizing on strong pass blocking in the first half to complete short throws. In the second, his play declined slightly while the offensive line’s cratered, making the Chiefs’ defense’s job easier and allowing the offense to pull away. Mariota’s touchdown pass came on a perfectly placed ball within the sideline, which wide receiver Terry McLaurin converted by dragging his toes. 

Nix and Franklin overcome early interception by a former teammate to lead Broncos to victory

Bo Nix had a nightmarish start to the Broncos’ matchup against the Dallas Cowboys, leaving a throw well behind wide receiver Pat Bryant, which former Oregon teammate Trikweze Bridges was able to secure with a diving catch for his first career interception. Nix recovered to finish 19-29 for 247 yards and a season-high four touchdowns in a 44-24 win.

Troy Franklin led the Broncos in receptions for the first time since Week 2 with six, and tied his career high of 89 yards while surpassing his career high in touchdowns with two. On the first Pro Duck-to-Pro Duck touchdown, Nix floated the ball to the front of the end zone with a quick release, which Franklin was able to come back to, and on the second, he found Franklin wide open along the back line. 

Johnson leads Buccaneers in receptions for the first time and secures a win

Tez Johnson hauled in a career-high five catches and led the Buccaneers in receiving yards with 43 in a 23-3 victory over the New Orleans Saints. It was a fairly quiet day for Tampa Bay’s offense as they coasted to the win with just one rushing touchdown, with the other coming on a pick-six. Still, Johnson’s performance is a sign of the trust he is developing with quarterback Baker Mayfield, which was exemplified by a 14-yard completion late in the third quarter where Johnson came off his route and back toward Mayfield to get open.

Former Oregon quarterback Tyler Shough became the fifth Duck quarterback to appear in a Week 8 game, going 17-30 in his second NFL appearance after Saints starter Spencer Rattler was benched late in the third quarter.