Column: NFL Week 8: Cardinals’ John Brown turns on jets to smoke the Eagles

The man with the NFL’s most ordinary name was anything but.

Arizona’s John Brown was an arrow through the heart of the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, catching a 75-yard touchdown pass from Carson Palmer with 1 minute 22 seconds left to lift the Cardinals to a 24-20 victory in a showdown of one-loss teams.

On a day when there were big catches by several rookie receivers — Buffalo’s Sammy Watkins, Carolina’s Kelvin Benjamin, Tampa Bay’s Mike Evans — Brown stole the spotlight. His nickname is “Smoke,” which is appropriate considering the vapor trails he leaves on pass routes.

“I’ve seen that gear he has,” Palmer said. “I’ve seen it in practice. I’ve seen it in games. He puts it in fourth, fifth and into sixth gear to go get it.”

When did Brown know that the ball was coming to him?

“When they had the safety in the middle of the field,” he said. “They had two safeties outside and no guy over me and Carson gave me a signal. Carson is always looking for the big play, so I knew I had to turn it on.”

Monikers aside, the Cardinals aren’t smoke and mirrors. They’re 6-1 for the first time since 1974, after surviving a final Philadelphia flurry. The Eagles moved to the Arizona 16 and took three shots at the end zone in the final 13 seconds — all incomplete.

The Eagles dropped to 5-2, and the Cardinals joined the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos, both 6-1, as the only remaining members of the one-loss club. Arizona plays at Dallas on Sunday.

A 50/50 proposition

Typical goofy NFL. New England and Pittsburgh both rang up 51 points at home, with blowout victories over Chicago and Indianapolis.

The Patriots’ 51-23 thumping of the Bears wasn’t completely out of the blue, seeing as New England came into the game ranked fourth in scoring at 29.8 points, and Chicago’s 14th-ranked defense has struggled.

But few could have predicted the Steelers, averaging 22.0 points a game, would clobber the high-flying Colts, 51-34. Indianapolis had won five in a row and was coming off a 27-0 blanking of Cincinnati.

Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger had an unbelievable game, completing 40 passes for 522 yards and six touchdowns, all Steelers records. He came within 33 yards of breaking the single-game record for yards passing (554), set by the Los Angeles Rams’ Norm Van Brocklin against the New York Yankees in 1951.

Still the same

Remember all that speculation about Tom Brady being washed up?

Neither does he.

Brady, making the 100th regular-season home start of his career for the Patriots, completed 30 of 35 passes (85.7%) for 354 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions.

These are pretty specific criteria, but Brady is the only player in NFL history to complete at least 85% of his passes for at least 350 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions in a game. (Roethlisberger just missed, completing 81.6% Sunday.)

And Brady has done it twice, the first time against Tennessee in 2009.

Pride before the fall

It was a beautiful play. Buffalo’s Kyle Orton dropped back on third down Sunday and threw a deep pass to Watkins, racing through the middle of the New York Jets defense.

Watkins didn’t break stride as he slipped past the last line of defense and caught the rainbow, surely on his way to an 89-yard touchdown. Why not add a finishing flourish? Like a rude houseguest, he gleefully pointed into the MetLife Stadium stands . . .

And New York’s Saalim Hakim tripped him from behind.

Hakim with the tackle. Hubris with the assist.

Most with the least

Talk about efficient. Orton completed just 10 passes, but four of them were for touchdowns. He’s the first player to do that since Pittsburgh’s Bubby Brister completed 10 for four touchdowns against Cleveland in 1990.

And just think: Had Watkins successfully finished that 89-yard touchdown, half of Orton’s passes would have been for scores.

Early risers

In a nod to London fans, whose NFL games often last until the wee hours of Monday morning, the league scheduled a 1:30 p.m. kickoff there for the first time.

That meant Atlanta-Detroit started at 9:30 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:30 a.m. on the West Coast, and 3:30 a.m. in Hawaii.

The Lions were definitely sleepwalking in the early going, and were facing a 21-0 deficit at halftime. They came to life in the second half, however, and clinched a 22-21 victory with an unlikely mulligan at the end.

Detroit kicker Matt Prater missed a 43-yard field-goal attempt with four seconds left, but he got a re-do because of a delay-of-game penalty. The Lions moved back five yards, and Prater split the uprights from 48.

The Lions’ Matthew Stafford joins Brady and Drew Bledsoe as the only quarterbacks to start three games in which his team overcame a deficit of at least 21 points to win.

Place your bets

Two coaches who aren’t likely to keep their jobs much longer: Atlanta’s Mike Smith and the Jets’ Rex Ryan.

The Jets have lost seven in a row for the first time since 2005, the last year for Herm Edwards. The Falcons have lost five in a row after a 2-1 start. Their blown halftime lead tied the biggest in their history.

Burnin’ Bruin

Big day for Minnesota rookie linebacker Anthony Barr, a first-rounder from UCLA.

He clinched a 19-13 overtime victory at Tampa Bay by stripping the ball from Buccaneers tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins, scooping up the fumble and returning it 27 yards for a touchdown.

“Initially, I was a little bit upset with [Barr] because he didn’t widen with the tight end enough, and he let him catch the ball,” Vikings Coach Mike Zimmer said. “But now that it’s over, I’m glad he did.”

It was the fourth game in NFL history decided by a fumble-return touchdown, and the quickest of those. Barr’s strip and fumble came just 17 seconds into the extra period.

Three and out

The Jets used two quarterbacks against Buffalo, with Michael Vick replacing an ineffective Geno Smith. Both players had three turnovers.

That marked the first time since 1991 that two quarterbacks on the same team had at least three turnovers in the same game. The last time it happened was with Chris Chandler and Stan Gelbaugh of the then-Phoenix Cardinals.

Sunday, Smith had interceptions on three consecutive possessions in the first quarter. Vick replaced him and had an interception and two fumbles.

Dancing fool

Earlier this season, Detroit linebacker Stephen Tulloch suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament while celebrating a sack against Green Bay.

Sunday, it was Lamarr Houston’s turn. With three minutes left and Chicago trailing by 25, the Bears defensive end sacked Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. Houston hopped around with delight, jumping up and crossing his arms in front of him like a genie. He landed awkwardly, though, and injured his knee. He had to limp off the field, and according to some reports is done for the season.

Hubris strikes again.

sam.farmer@latimes.com

Twitter: @LATimesfarmer