NFL Week 8 Odds and Predictions: Best Picks Against the Spread

No international games in the NFL this week and back to a single Monday night game. The bye weeks take a break even though several teams have yet to get theirs.

Check out our full listing of NFL odds.

Minnesota Vikings at Los Angeles Rams, Thursday

Minnesota had been the NFC’s last unbeaten but lost in one of the most entertaining back-and-forth-games of the season on Sunday, 31-29 at home on a last-second field to Detroit to fall into a first-place tie in the NFC North with the Lions.  The Vikes trailed for more than 33 minutes on Sunday after trailing for barely more than three minutes this season entering. The Rams came out of their bye with a 20-15 win over Las Vegas to snap a two-game skid but the offence continued to struggle. Help is reportedly on the way Thursday, though, as receiver and former Offensive Player of the Year Cooper Kupp will return from the injured list. 

Pick ATS: Minnesota (alternate line of -2.5)

Philadelphia Eagles at Cincinnati Bengals

Two Super Bowl-calibre rosters, but both teams have played inconsistently in the early going. Both are trending up with the Eagles winning two straight and the Bengals three of four. Philadelphia is the first NFC team with zero first-quarter points in the first six games of a season since Detroit in 2008 when the Lions went 0-16. Cincinnati’s defence has surrendered 21 points combined in the past two games after allowing 29 points per in the first five. Believe it or not, two of the past four meetings in this series ended in a tie. 

Pick ATS: Cincinnati (alternate line of -2.5)

Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns

The Browns got worse last week and seemed to signal their intentions for the rest of the season by trading No. 1 WR Amari Cooper to Buffalo for draft picks. Then Cleveland went out and lost 21-14 to Cincinnati and lost starting QB Deshaun Watson to a season-ending injury. Jameis Winston is the likely starter going forward. It’s a short week for Baltimore after winning a fifth straight game on Monday night in Tampa, 41-31, behind five Lamar Jackson TD passes and another huge game from tailback Derrick Henry. The Ravens have scored at least 28 points in each game during this run. These AFC North rivals split last year, each winning on the road. 

Pick ATS: Cleveland

Tennessee Titans at Detroit Lions

The Titans are truly hard to watch offensively and that was the case again Sunday in a 34-10 loss in Buffalo after Tennessee jumped out to a 10-point second-quarter lead. Backup QB Mason Rudolph got the start with Will Levis bothered by an injury to his right throwing shoulder, not that Levis had been playing well. The Lions played their first game since losing superstar pass-rusher Aidan Hutchinson to a season-ending injury and they knocked off unbeaten Minnesota, 31-29, on a last-second field goal to tie the Vikings for first in the NFC North. The Lions have scored 120 points in their past three games, their most in a three-game span since 1997.

Pick ATS: Detroit

Arizona Cardinals at Miami Dolphins

It’s a short week for Arizona after a last-second 17-15 home win over the LA Chargers on Monday. QB Kyler Murray had his 12th career game with a passing touchdown, rushing touchdown and at least 50 rushing yards, which is the third-most such games all-time. Two defensive starters, Sean Murphy-Bunting and Dennis Gardeck, left injured. Miami has fallen to pieces since quarterback Tua Tagovailoa went down with another concussion in Week 2, but Tua has been cleared to return to practice on Wednesday and trending toward a return as long as he also clears the league’s concussion protocol. The Fins are last in the NFL in scoring at 11.7 PPG. 

Point spread: Dolphins -3

Pick ATS: Miami (alternate line of -2.5)

New York Jets at New England Patriots

The Jets made a big trade for Pro Bowl receiver Davante Adams last week and it didn’t make a lick of difference on Sunday night when New York lost its fourth in a row, 37-15 in Pittsburgh. At age 40, Aaron Rodgers simply is not a top QB in the NFL these days and he threw two more picks, both crushing. Adams was largely a non-factor with three catches for 30 yards. First-year Patriots coach Jerod Mayo called his team “soft” after a sixth straight loss Sunday, 32-16 in London to Jacksonville. Rookie QB Drake Maye was a bright spot in his second career start. 

Point spread: Jets -7

Pick ATS: New York (alternate line of -6.5)

Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Crucial game in the NFC South and concludes the season series after the Falcons beat the visiting Bucs 36-30 in overtime in Week 6 on a Thursday night. Kirk Cousins set a franchise record with 509 yards passing, and there was nearly 900 yards of total offence. Atlanta had a three-game winning streak snapped in a surprisingly one-sided 34-14 home loss to Seattle on Sunday. Kirk Cousins threw two picks and is now 4-22 career when having at least two in a game. It’s a short week for the Bucs after losing 41-31 at home to Baltimore on Monday to conclude Week 7. To make matters worse, Tampa’s top two receivers, future Hall of Famer Mike Evans and former Pro Bowler Chris Godwin, both appeared to suffer major injuries. 

Pick ATS: Atlanta

Green Bay Packers at Jacksonville Jaguars

Jacksonville comes off back-to-back games in London in which the Jags split – looking bad in a Week 5 loss to Chicago but then trouncing a terrible Patriots team 32-16 on Sunday to potentially save Coach Doug Pederson’s job for one more week at least. With No. 1 Jags running back Travis Etienne out injured (day-to-day), Tank Bigsby blew up with 118 yards and two scores on 26 carries, and he’s starting to perhaps push aside Etienne regardless. Green Bay had been 1-21 in its past 22 games with a turnover differential of minus-3 or worse, but the Packers were minus-3 on Sunday and still beat Houston 24-22 on a walk-off 45-yard field goal. 

Pick ATS: Green Bay

Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans

This concludes the AFC South rivalry for this season as Houston won in Indianapolis, 29-27 in Week 1 behind two Stefon Diggs TD receptions. The Colts got starting QB Anthony Richardson back from a multiple-game injury absence on Sunday and rallied to beat Miami 16-10 for its fourth win in the past five games. Richardson was just 10-for-24 passing for 129 yards, but he makes such a difference with his legs. No. 1 running back Jonathan Taylor missed another game. The Texans were 24-22 losers in Green Bay on a walk-off field goal playing without star WR Nico Collins, who is on injured reserve. Without him, CJ Stroud had a career-low 86 passing yards.

Pick ATS: Houston

New Orleans Saints at Los Angeles Chargers

It’s moderately surprising that Saints head coach Dennis Allen still has his job with the team on a five-game losing streak and embarrassed at home in the past two. Starting QB Derek Carr missed both with an oblique injury and not clear if he’s back this week. The Saints’ two top WRs missed the 33-10 loss to Denver on Thursday in Week 7. Chris Olave could return this week but Rashid Shaheed, a Pro Bowl returner, is done for the year. It’s a short week for the Chargers after a last-second 17-15 loss in Arizona on Monday despite a season-high 349 yards passing from Justin Herbert, but he couldn’t find the end zone as the Bolts settled for five Cameron Dicker field goals. Los Angeles has gone 16 consecutive offensive drives without a touchdown.

Pick ATS: Los Angeles (alternate line of -6.5)

Buffalo Bills at Seattle Seahawks

Buffalo trounced Tennessee on Sunday, 34-10, after trailing 10-0 in the second. In his 100^th career start, Josh Allen threw for 323 yards and two scores and improved to 68-32 as a starter, matching four players — Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers — for the sixth-most wins in a quarterback’s first 100 starts. The Bills last week acquired former Pro Bowl receiver Amari Cooper from Cleveland, and Cooper had a TD catch in his debut. Seattle snapped a three-game skid with a 34-14 win in Seattle on Sunday as clearly 50 is the magic number for the Seahawks. They are 4-0 this season when QB Geno Smith has fewer than 50 dropbacks and 0-3 when he has more. Top WR DK Metcalf was banged up and in doubt for this one. 

Pick ATS: Buffalo (alternate line of -2.5)

Carolina Panthers at Denver Broncos

Could the 2024 Panthers be worse than the 2023 team that won two games? It’s honestly possible after the Cats were laughable again Sunday in a 40-7 loss at Washington. I’m still not sure how Carolina won in Las Vegas in Week 3 as otherwise it has been beaten by double digits in each game. The Cats have allowed at least 34 points in four straight games, the longest streak in franchise history. Denver is off a mini-bye as it trounced the Saints in New Orleans on Thursday in Week 7 by a score of 33-10. The Broncos rushed for 225 yards, their most since 2013. 

Pick ATS: Denver

Kansas City Chiefs at Las Vegas Raiders

Kansas City is now the NFL’s lone unbeaten as it won 28-18 at San Francisco on Sunday in a rematch of Super Bowl LVIII. It was the Chiefs’ first game this year decided by fewer than one score. What is making this unbeaten run so unusual is that Patrick Mahomes is not playing well as he had two more picks Sunday without a TD. Mahomes has the worst touchdown-to-interception ratio (-2) among 24 QBs to start all of their team’s games this season. The Raiders are truly inept offensively right now as they dropped a third straight game on Sunday, 20-15 at the Rams. QB Aidan O’Connell, who recently was re-inserted back into the starting lineup, suffered a broken thumb in the first quarter and will miss 4-6 weeks.

Pick ATS: Las Vegas (alternate line of +10) 

Chicago Bears at Washington Commanders

If Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels is healthy, this will be really fun to watch if as it features the two NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year favourites and the top two picks in this year’s draft in QBs Caleb Williams of Chicago and Daniels of the Commanders. Daniels was knocked out of Sunday’s blowout win over Carolina early with a rib injury, but it’s not serious and Coach Dan Quinn is hopeful for this one. Another former Heisman winner, Marcus Mariota, is Daniels’ backup and played great in relief vs. the Panthers. The Bears are out of their bye week on a three-game winning streak and Williams looking better each week after a slow start. 

Pick ATS: Chicago

Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers

Sunday night game. The Cowboys are off their bye week and probably thrilled to not be at home, where they have lost four straight games in dominating fashion. Owner/GM Jerry Jones was asked all last week about the job status of embattled coach Mike McCarthy. Dallas has played the past two without arguably the NFL’s best defensive player in pass-rusher Micah Parsons, and he’s unsure about Sunday. The Niners lost 28-18 at home to Kansas City and lost Pro Bowl receiver Brandon Aiyuk to a season-ending injury. QB Brock Purdy had the worst game of his career against the Chiefs with three picks and a rating of 36.7 but also was missing another to WR in Deebo Samuel, who was unable to play through what turned out to be pneumonia so he’s iffy this week.  

Pick ATS: Dallas

New York Giants at Pittsburgh Steelers, Monday

Sadly, we are forced to watch that inept Giants offence in a standalone game yet again. New York was routed 28-3 at home by Philadelphia on Sunday with QB Daniel Jones throwing for only 99 yards before he was pulled – but Coach Brian Daboll says Jones remains his starter. Neither will be with the team next season. Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin made the controversial decision to bench starting QB Justin Fields despite his team at 4-2, but it worked on Sunday as Russell Wilson played great in his Steelers debut with two passing TDs and a rushing score in a blowout win over the Jets. The job is clearly Wilson’s now. 

Pick ATS: Pittsburgh