My Week 8 NFL Predictions
There are no bye weeks this coming weekend on the NFL schedule, providing us a chance to see all 32 teams for the first time in several weeks. So let’s dive into my week 8 NFL predictions.
Philadelphia Eagles 24 (4-2) , Cincinnati Bengals 17 (3-4)
The Philadelphia Eagles beat some bad competition in the last two weeks. Now comes a tougher test. While the Cincinnati Bengals record puts them near the bottom of the NFL standings, Joe Burrow and Co. have more than enough to win a potential shootout. However, the Eagles defense has performed much better as of late and as long as Jalen Hurts protects the football, the Eagles should come out of Week 8 with a big win.
Baltimore Ravens 35 (5-2), Cleveland Browns 6 (1-6)
With Amori Cooper gone to the Bills, Watson out with a torn acl and Jamies Winston at the helm the Cleveland Browns is poised to take another loss. Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson will control the clock for most of this matchup, and with Winston giving a couple of timely picks for the Ravens defense. Baltimore pulls out an stress-free win and Cleveland falls further into the depths of irrelevancy this year.
Detroit Lions 24 (5-1), Tennessee Titans 7 (1-5)
Even with their premiere pass rusher, Aidan Hutchinson out. The Lions were able to knock off an undefeated Vikings team. Now, they can use this Week 8 matchup against Mason Rudolph and the Tennessee Titans as an opportunity to keep building confidence and add to their momentum. I do expect Tennessee’s defense to prevent this from becoming a blowout, but the Lions are just a vastly superior football team in every regard. Plus, Jared Goff is playing at an MVP-caliber level right now. Watch out for my qb power ranking and see where he ranks.
Miami Dolphins 10 (2-4), Arizona Cardinals 14 (3-4)
If Tua Tagovailoa returns in Week 8. I can see play caller and head coach Mike Daniels being very conservative in his play calling especially since Tua doesn’t know how to keep his head protected. The Arizona Cardinals will be consistent with their pressure on Tua. It’s the perfect opportunity for Arizona to take advantage of Tua’s come back and pull out a big win.
New York Jets 27 (2-5), New England Patriots 7 (1-6)
The New York Jets defense has taken several steps back since the team fired Robert Saleh, but this New England Patriots offense can make anyone look good. Meanwhile, the Patriots have a bottom-5 run defense in the past month This should be a perfect opportunity for Rogers and Devante Adams to get some much needed game time reps while pulling out an easy win.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21 (4-3), Atlanta Falcons 24 (4-3)
The Atlanta Falcons couldn’t stop the run or the pass in Week 7 against the Seattle Seahawks. Fortunately for the dirty birds the Buccaneers lost 2 of their most explosive weapons, Mike Evans and a Chris Godwin, last week in a brutal loss to the Ravens. With either of Baker Mayfield’s go to weapons available the Falcons should bounce back from last week’s loss to a close win against the Bucs.
Green Bay Packers 31 (5-2), Jacksonville Jaguars 13 (2-5)
The Green Bay Packers passed a big test in Week 7, taking out the Houston Texans. It gets much easier in Week 8, facing the second-worst defense in the NFL and a Jacksonville Jaguars offense that can be best described as consistently bad. Trevor Lawerence had a better game last week but that was against the Patriots in its peak stretches. Jordan Love should have a great game in a Packers lopsided win. Within 24 hours after the game, Doug Pederson is fired.
Houston Texans 34 (5-2), Indianapolis Colts 24 (4-3)
Coming off a career-worst performance in a heartbreaking loss to the Packers, C.J. Stroud has a “get right” game in Week 8. The Indianapolis Colts run defense is horrible, which will set up Joe Mixon to have a good game, also opening up the pass game for Stroud. Meanwhile, the Texans’ pass rush will keep Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson scrambling.
Los Angeles Chargers 20 (3-3), New Orleans Saints 13 (2-5)
It seems like the New Orleans Saints have given up on the season, or at least their defense has. In the last five games, opponents are averaging 180.2 rushing yards per game and 6.0 yards per carry against New Orleans. Guess what the Los Angeles Chargers love to do? J.K. Dobbins and the Chargers defense will deliver a hard fought victory for Jim Harbaugh that won’t be as close as the final score indicates.
Buffalo Bills 31 (5-2), Seattle Seahawks 27 (4-3)
It turns out that adding a No. 1 receiver who can beat man coverage and shift secondary pass-catchers into lesser roles has a big impact on quarterback play. Who would have guessed? Josh Allen played like an MVP in his first game with Amari Cooper and the chemistry will only get better from here. This should also be a strong James Cook game against a bottom-five Seattle Seahawks run defense. As for Seattle, its offensive line will be the undoing in this matchup.
Denver Broncos 17 (4-3), Carolina Panthers 6 (1-6)
If there’s one game to avoid in Week 8, it’s probably this one. The Denver Broncos aren’t good offensively right now, but they will be able to use the ground game with Bo Nix and Javonte Williams like they did in Week 7 against the Saints. Meanwhile, the Carolina Panthers will be weighed down by the worst defense in the league and a bottom-5 offense. If you aren’t a Broncos fan, find something else to watch. If you love Denver, enjoy a relaxing Sunday that ends in a Broncos’ victory.
Kansas City Chiefs 35 (6-0), Las Vegas Raiders 3 (2-5)
When I heard of the Chiefs signing DeAndre Hopkins, that old saying “the rich gets richer” came to mind. D Hop will make an immediate impact on the Chiefs offense. We know what happened last season with the Raiders defeating the Chiefs in a game that bolted interim coach head, at the time Antonio Pierce, to the permanent head coach was a fluke and It’s not happening for an offense that features Gardner Minshew and Alexander Mattison.
Chicago Bears 31 (4-2), Washington Commanders 28 (5-2)
This is the game where the Washington Commanders defense comes back to haunt this team. Jayden Daniels (ribs) should play in Week 8. The Chicago Bears have a top-5 pass defense and they now have a franchise quarterback who can go toe-to-toe with Daniels, first round draft pick Caled Williams. This game is going to be decided by defensive stops and I have far more confidence in Chicago’s ability to generate those than I do in Washington’s defense.
San Francisco 49ers 27 (3-4), Dallas Cowboys 17 (3-3)
The Dallas Cowboys should have Micah Parsons and DaRon Bland back in this one, making things quite a bit tougher for quarterback Brock Purdy. However, Kyle Shanahan will take one look at this matchup and decide to just run the football 20-plus times with Jordan Mason. We’ve seen San Francisco blow out the Dallas Cowboys countless times. While the margin of victory might not be as wide this time around, given the injuries to Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk, the 49ers should still win this Sunday Night Football matchup quite comfortably.
Pittsburgh Steelers 28 (5-2), New York Giants 10 (2-5)
Coach Mike Tomlin made the hard d call by benching Justin Fields and starting Russell Wilson and it was a call that at least for now worked out. Wilson does elevate the Steelers passing attack, which opens up the ceiling for the run game. Defensively the Steelers reportedly signed former first rounder CJ Henderson from the practice squad. Pittsburgh’s defense has already proven itself against far better competition than Daniel Jones and the struggling New York Giants offense.
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