As much as I want to believe most NFL teams are mediocre at best this season, I find myself looking over the Week 8 schedule and again struggling to pick upsets. Favorites have had a strong two weeks after faltering to begin this season.
We already had an upset on Thursday night, but it would have been nice to get some actual clarity on the health of the Rams’ wide receivers since that clearly makes a difference. I thought Cooper Kupp had a shot to play, but I didn’t know Puka Nacua was even going to be active until 50 minutes before kickoff. Oh well.
But I think this week has taken a hit as the big 49ers-Cowboys game looks less important with both teams struggling and missing so many key players. Might actually make for a better game and give Dallas more of a chance, because the 49ers have been a big roadblock for them in the NFC since 2021. But it’s not quite must-see TV this Sunday night.
Funny enough, Commanders-Bears was supposed to be a great game for Week 8 so much that the league even flexed it into the late-afternoon slot. In any other year, we’d groan at a matchup between these teams being shown to most of the country, but this one actually had us interested with these rookie quarterbacks. Of course, Jayden Daniels has a rib injury and it isn’t looking great for him to play. Guess we’ll see.
But yeah, I have low expectations for this week, which means it will probably be an epic Sunday of close games after so few last week.
This Week’s Articles
- NFL 2024 Quarterback Rankings Week 8 – The return of Russell Wilson and a little study on why the Chiefs are 6-0 despite Patrick Mahomes throwing 6 TD to 8 INT.
- Scott’s Seven NFL Picks Week 8 – A parlay on the final four favorites, trusting Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love, looking for a Trey McBride touchdown on National Tight End Day, and more first quarter props for Falcons-Bucs since they worked well for me last time.
- Cowboys-49ers Preview and Spread Pick
NFL Week 8 Predictions
Like I said, already failed by the Vikings, who lost their second game this week.
Cardinals-Dolphins: Some hedging here with ATS/ML differences. Could be a rough game for the Cardinals, but they’ve also won on the road against the Steelers and Eagles last year under Gannon. But with Tua Tagovailoa coming back, I could see a 3-point win here for Miami. I believe Kyler and Tua played a game like that in 2020 already.
Jets-Patriots: Look, I’m picking the Jets until they end this losing streak. Belichick is gone, so they can start beating the Pats again, and so far NE is their only dominant win of the season. It may not be 24-3 again, but despite Drake Maye getting production in the passing game for this team, let’s not ignore that they still lost by 20 and 16 points in his starts.
Eagles-Bengals: Nice matchup of teams who peaked in 2022. I’m trusting A.J. Brown to have a big game against that secondary, and I trust Jalen Hurts more than Joe Burrow with the game on the line. Both teams look fishy at times, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see it come down to the end.
Packers-Jags: I think Jordan Love has a big game against that defense and Trevor Lawrence struggles against a GB defense that held C.J. Stroud under 100 yards last week. Sweat-free GB win.
Falcons-Bucs: I would absolutely take Tampa in this rematch from Week 5 if Mike Evans and Chris Godwin weren’t out injured. I don’t trust the remaining wideouts for the Bucs, and I think Cousins will bounce back from a bad loss against Seattle against the defense he torched for 509 yards already. Bucs just looked terrible on defense Monday night, leaving receivers open everywhere.
Ravens-Browns: Maybe a trap game for Ravens coming off big road MNF win where they still gave up a lot of points in the end. I think with Kevin Stefanski having Jameis Winston, Nick Chubb, and David Njoku to run this offense instead of Amari Cooper dropping passes from Predator will be good for Cleveland. It just won’t result in a win this week.
Colts-Texans: Indy gave Houston a lot of trouble in Week 1, but the Texans were at their most efficient on offense with Joe Mixon and Nico Collins available. That won’t be the case this time, but Anthony Richardson probably won’t hit a 60+ yard bomb again either. Give me Houston to rebound from last week’s loss.
Titans-Lions: I think this is the biggest spread of the season. I can see Detroit winning a 34-17 game here to cover. The Titans just can’t score much while we know Detroit is rolling right now with big plays.
Saints-Chargers: Very tempted to take Saints ATS but they just looked so bad against the Broncos at home. Harbaugh will have the defense playing tough, and Herbert will get into the end zone this week.
Bills-Seahawks; Good upset spot for Seattle but I just don’t see it without DK Metcalf available. He’s the kind of athletic freak who would be a difference maker in this one as you need to get ahead of Buffalo early and be ready to score a fair number of points.
Bears-Commanders: I think the spread is suggesting bad news for the Commanders getting Jayden Daniels in this matchup. If he plays, you have to worry about an early exit again, and Marcus Mariota likely won’t play as well against a solid defense with an improved offense coming off the bye. But I’m avoiding that game for bets for now until we learn more about Daniels.
Panthers-Broncos: You think Bo Nix getting a 10.5-point spread is funny? It seems crazy, but Bryce Young has scored 13 points in his last 4 starts, the Denver defense is playing great, and the Panthers won’t have Diontae Johnson or Adam Thielen. It could end 20-3 for all we know.
Chiefs-Raiders: I think the Chiefs make up for their Christmas loss to the Raiders with an impressive double-digit win, which would be their third in a row by the way. They like playing in Allegiant Stadium.
Cowboys-49ers: Got the preview link above, but basically I think San Francisco has owned this matchup on both sides of the ball. Dak Prescott hasn’t broke 12 points in his last two games against SF, and the Cowboys won’t have Micah Parsons on defense.
Giants-Steelers: Pittsburgh is 21-0 at home on MNF since 1992. Granted, their last loss was to the Giants in a 23-20 game in 1991. But I am going to trust Russell Wilson to put up some points (not as many as last week), and T.J. Watt to do his best against Daniel Jones.
Captain Comeback: NFL Analysis by Scott Kacsmar 