NFL Week 8 Odds Report: Sam Darnold Time In San Francisco?

There will be history made Sunday when Houston visits Carolina as it will be the first game in the common-draft era to feature the top three picks of that year’s draft: Panthers QB Bryce Young (No. 1), Texans QB CJ Stroud (No. 2) and Texans pass-rusher Will Anderson (No. 3). Both teams are off bye weeks so not much change to those game odds, but here are a few that have shifted in Week 8 and why.

Bengals at 49ers (-6 to -4)

A few weeks ago, the 49ers were on a 15-game regular-season winning streak and looked like a historically good team with 17-0 being tossed about. However, injuries are a fact of life in the NFL and that’s a big reason why the Niners have lost two straight with the offence largely going in the tank other than Christian McCaffrey, whose 16-game TD streak is an NFL record. This dropped because Niners QB Brock Purdy was surprisingly revealed to have landed in the concussion protocol Wednesday. Well, we found out about it Wednesday. The former Mr. Irrelevant started showing symptoms on the flight home following Monday’s loss to Minnesota. I don’t believe any player who landed in the concussion protocol has played that same week in the NFL this year. and I’m almost positive that no quarterback has done so. That the Niners are on a short week obviously makes it even more unlikely for Purdy. He did practice Thursday so there is a shot, but him practicing doesn’t mean he’s cleared. Sam Darnold is likely to start. The 49ers under Coach Kyle Shanahan are 9-29 when their starting QB is someone other than Purdy or Jimmy Garoppolo.

Falcons at Titans (+1 to +3)

You are probably getting the drift that most major spread moves involve a quarterback being injured. That’s the case for Tennessee, which comes out of its bye week at a disappointing 2-4 and perhaps ready for a major fire sale ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline. In fact, top WR DeAndre Hopkins postponed a autograph signing at a card store in Tennessee this week until at least after the deadline amid major speculation he will be dealt as Hopkins is on a one-year deal and this franchise is nowhere near contention. Hopkins has never come close to playing in a Super Bowl. The Titans already traded a defensive starter away and that probably played a small role in this line move in that bettors are getting the inkling that the team is already thinking about 2024. QB Ryan Tannehill suffered a high-ankle sprain in Week 6 and those usually are 4-6 week things, so he’s not expected to play Sunday. Rookie second-round pick Will Levis is likely to start but second-year Malik Willis, who started three times last year (1-2 record) when Tannehill was hurt, should also get snaps. 

Vikings at Packers (-1 to +1.5)

This has nothing to do with an injured quarterback as both Kirk Cousins of Minnesota and Jordan Love of Green Bay are healthy. This is more of a recency bias. By that we mean the Vikings looked great Monday night in beating San Francisco. It wouldn’t be accurate to say the Vikes don’t miss injured all-world receiver Justin Jefferson, but rookie Jordan Addison has really stepped up since JJ went down and had 123 yards and two TDs on seven carries on Monday. Cousins is very quietly having a monster year and threw for 378 yards and those two scores. Those early-season trade rumours involving Cousins to the Jets have vanished. The Packers were pre-favoured simply ahead of Minnesota taking the field Monday night. Green Bay also is dealing with some injury issues led by top running back Aaron Jones and Pro Bowl cornerback Jaire Alexander. Starting safety Darnell Savage was placed on IR earlier this week.