What a week 8 we’ve got on deck, coming hot off the back of the league’s two best teams getting absolutely humbled, the Chiefs copping a 20 to 3 flogging from Seattle and the Niners dropping their first game of the season to Atlanta.
Houston, New Orleans, the Giants and San Francisco all have the week off, which gives the rest of us plenty to chew on, from Bryce Young’s bounce back question to a genuine title fight brewing in Seattle.
Here are my tips and predictions for Week 8 of the NFL.
Was last week just a blip, or is this back to the old ways of Bryce Young? I’d like to think it’s the latter. That offensive line didn’t protect him at all, with Taylor Moton out for the season at right tackle.
Sacks were pretty brutal stuff, but it could be a sign of things to come if Carolina can’t find a good enough replacement there. Green Bay, on the other hand, just cannot run the ball, which is something the Panthers can do pretty well.
So I imagine this could end up a bit lower scoring than we’re expecting, with the Panthers looking to establish a run early and Green Bay will look strong on th ground with Jacobs 2 games back.
There’s a lot of mixed messages coming out of the Baltimore rooms at the moment about whether Lamar Jackson will or won’t play in this one. But another week of Tyler Huntley would make me firmly in the camp that we probably don’t see Lamar as a Raven after this season.
You’ve got to think Josh Allen’s going to have a pretty big day here regardless of whether Lamar’s involved at all. Derrick Henry will probably be the key focal point, although he’s had a couple of quiet games lately so unders on his yards could be the play.
The Bills lead the league in scoring at around 33 points a game, which is why I don’t see Baltimore keeping up even with Lamar back.
The last two meetings between these two have both been decided by two points or less, but the Bills just seem hungrier this year and Allen is on another level.
The last undefeated team in the NFL is somehow a 3.5 point underdog heading into Detroit, and I kind of get it, because the way Minnesota’s winning is weird.
Kyler Murray is averaging just 162 passing yards a game with three touchdowns, and the Vikings rank 29th in passing yards, so it’s been all run game, Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason doing the heavy lifting.
But this is the perfect cure for a quiet passing game. Detroit allows a league worst 391 yards a game, teams are converting 48% of their third downs against them, and they’ve given up nine touchdowns to tight ends this year, which has T.J. Hockenson written all over it.
The Vikings swept the Lions last season too. I’m leaning towards taking them to win outright, but I’ll take the line.
If anyone thought these next two teams would be sitting on five and two at this point of the season, they’re a liar.
Two of the quarterbacks that I think no NFL fan really likes, if they’re being honest, are also the most sacked quarterbacks in the league, which is surprising considering both these teams have had success.
Aaron Rodgers is having one of the worst completion percentages of his career, which means the Steelers are leaning heavy on the run game, and it’s kind of the same for Cleveland.
This could be a good old fashioned, low scoring, bash em type of game.
Jaylen Warren is having a great season for the Steelers at the moment, and Quinshon Judkins is primed to score a touchdown in this game as well.
Going to be hard to pick these guys, but I’ll take the Browns with the points in another tight one, while probably expecting the Steelers to get it done at home.
This should be a straight up and down win for the Bengals, who are in the Jonathan Taylor sweepstakes at the moment.
I’m not sure if JT’s going to go to this team, but a big win here is definitely something they’ll want to scrap out. Joe Burrow found some form last week against the Ravens side, granted they were down Lamar Jackson, but he doesn’t play defense, and Burrow’s offense put up some numbers.
I expect it to do the same against Tennessee who have also traded away their best player on defence in Jeffrey Simmons.
The Colts have basically thrown in the towel. They’ve shipped out Quenton Nelson and DeForest Buckner, Daniel Jones has four touchdowns to seven picks and has been intercepted in all but one game, and there’s already chatter about Anthony Richardson or Riley Leonard stepping in.
Jonathan Taylor has been the one bright spot with 587 yards and eight touchdowns, but he’s running into the league’s best run defense, giving up just 3.2 yards a carry, and he’s lost Nelson up front.
Meanwhile Trevor Lawrence is playing like an MVP candidate, 14 touchdowns to four picks, with 331 yards against Philadelphia and 306 with four scores against Houston in London.
The Jaguars have put up 34 and 35 in their two true home games. I’m taking Jacksonville to win and cover.
We’ve got one team coming off a flogging and one dishing it out, and it’s not the ones you would have thought.
I obviously put my faith in the Chiefs last week, and it may shock you, but I’m not doing it again. This one could be harder to pick then it seems, but I still don’t fully trust Bo Nix at the moment.
If there’s one thing we saw last week though, it’s that Seattle defense managing to not only shut down Kenneth Walker, but make Mahomes play one of the worst games I think I’ve ever seen him play. Now he’s coming up against another very good defense in Denver, who have probably learned a bit after licking their wounds from Week 1.
I think this is going to be a real tight one between the Chiefs and Denver, and I’m not confident enough to choose a winner. But I do think the ground game returns to form for Kenneth Walker, I think he scores a touchdown in this one, and I’ll take Jonah Coleman coming back into the backfield for Denver to rack up about 50 plus rushing yards as well. And I’ll even take Bo Nix to get some rushing yards after that big breakaway run last week, quite an exciting play.
Miami will get their second win of the season!!
NA.
This will easily go to New England in this game. It was great to see Miami get a roll on last week against the Jets, but that’s the Jets.
This is a Patriots team that’s bounced back massively from its start to the year, and Drake Maye is going to pass all day here, 250 plus for the big dog.
I don’t care how depleted or who’s catching them, most likely AJ Brown, he’s throwing to him a lot, so give AJ five plus receptions.
And I’ll give Ollie Gordon the only touchdown I’d imagine Miami manages to get against this New England side.
The Cowboys have finally figured out that when you’ve got a bad defense, the best offense is to run the ball. Javonte Williams balled out last week, the highest rushing total from a Cowboys back since Zeke Elliott in 2016.
They now come up against a Cardinals team you’d sit here and say the Cowboys should beat, but Arizona’s beaten Dallas the last four times in a row, three of those in Dallas, so this isn’t a foregone conclusion.
The way Dallas’ defense has been making rookie quarterbacks look like Tom Brady, I’m backing the overs on points for this one, and praying the Cowboys are the ones who finish with the final possession now that the offense actually seems to have its act together,
What is it with the NFC South? It’s always a hotly contested division, usually because all the teams are pretty bad, not to say they’re great this year either, but they are fun to watch.
The Falcons managed to beat the San Francisco 49ers to hand them their first loss of the season, and they were playing really well doing it, so I can’t see them falling apart against a Bucs team.
But like I said, it’s the NFC South, and some weird things tend to happen in this division. I’ll still back the Falcons to win this one, but I say both quarterbacks get themselves two plus touchdowns in this game.
A fascinating stat this week is that if you and your partner had conceived the last time Jayden Daniels won a game, you’d be welcoming a new baby into the world right about now, that’s how long it’s been since he’s tasted victory. But on the other hand,The Eagles are on their first five game skid since 2016.
It might feel that way to Philly fans too given their own skid, but these are two teams so bad it could end up being a really fun game to watch. I’m going to take the Eagles to win this one if Saquon Barkley plays, I think that’s just about the only positive factor I can see in this offense right now, and I don’t trust the Commanders at all.
Give me Philly for an upset here. What a stinker this game’s going to be.
Seattle are the defending champs and they just reminded everyone why, knocking off the previously undefeated Chiefs 20 to 3. That’s the fewest points a Mahomes led Kansas City side has ever scored.
But here’s the thing, Caleb Williams is THAT dude. Back to back 300 yard games since coming back from the hamstring, zero interceptions, and he’s completing 71% of his throws. The Bears average 34 points in their wins, with D’Andre Swift leading the league’s most productive ground game.
Seattle’s pass defense is the best in the league by yards, but Sam Darnold has faced the highest pressure rate per dropback in the league and just lost left tackle Charles Cross, against a Chicago pass rush that’s fourth in pressure rate with 19 sacks AND they’ve added an elite DT with Jeffrey Simmons!. I’m taking the Bears with the points.