What a doozy we had in Week 7 as some big underdogs pulled off the upsets. Now it’s time to look ahead to Week 8’s action and set our NFL confidence pool picks. There are a lot of close betting spreads this week, but also some big favorites. The question is, who can we trust, and in what order? Four teams are on bye in Week 8: the Texans, Saints, Giants, and 49ers.
Can’t Miss – High Confidence Picks
1. Patriots Over Dolphins
2. Bengals Over Titans
3. Jaguars Over Colts
4. Cowboys Over Cardinals
5. Rams Over Chargers
Let’s kick things off in New England. The Patriots are coming off a loss last week against the Bears, but they played them tough. They have extra rest and get a very bad team now. Miami won their one game; this will be an easy Patriots win.
Cincinnati is the chalk pick of the week as they host the Tennessee Titans and for good reason. Tennessee may have snuck in a win against a subpar Colts team, but don’t let that fool you. This is a bad football team. Bengals roll.
Jacksonville may be one of the best teams in the league. Indianapolis proved with their loss to Tennessee that they are not. They’ve also started to sell, sell, sell. As I touched on in the Week 8 biggest line moves, this divisional matchup isn’t close that often. The Jaguars will destroy the Colts this week.
Dallas welcomes the Arizona Cardinals to AT&T Stadium. Dallas’ season hasn’t gone the way they’ve wanted it to, but they’ve still been a solid squad and are coming off a big win Monday night. The Cardinals aren’t a team to sleep on, as they’ve shown quite a few times this season. This is a good spot for Dallas, who desperately needs another win in their tally.
The battle of Los Angeles is a little more nerve-racking than it probably should be. The Chargers have been terrible this year. Every week I keep thinking it’s the Chargers week. They are coming off a bye, but as the only remaining winless team, it’s hard to see them getting the win over this Rams team.
Feelin’ Good – Confident Picks
6. Raiders Over Jets
7. Chiefs Over Broncos
8. Bears Over Seahawks
9. Vikings Over Lions
Raiders and Jets is a bit of a gross game, but I feel really good about the Las Vegas Raiders in this spot. The Jets pulled the wool over our eyes with some weird wins early on. But they’ve fully shown their colors now. Their stars are yelling at their coach on the sidelines, and the wheels are falling off. Vegas has been playing respectable ball this year.
Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes off a loss? Yes please. Denver is a tough place to play, but I expect a solid game out of Kansas City this weekend.
Going into Seattle is never an easy task, and the Chiefs learned about that last week. But I believe Caleb Williams and this Bears team is the real deal. Give me the Bears in a battle.
Minnesota is undefeated, and eventually the other shoe has to drop, right? Maybe, but the way this Vikings defense is rolling. I’d be scared to be a Lions fan right now. Minnesota is firing on all cylinders, and Detroit has shown some cracks in the armor. Ride the hot hand.
Hold Your Breath – True Toss Ups
10. Buccaneers Over Falcons
11. Steelers Over Browns
12. Eagles Over Commanders
13. Bills Over Ravens
14. Panthers Over Packers
Tampa Bay and Atlanta is the perfect game to kick this off. These two teams both seem to be a little bipolar. But they are coming off huge wins last week and need to get more wins in the win column. I’ll take the home team, but it’s going to be a close one.
There’s nothing harder to predict than AFC North games. Cleveland has been a darling this year, and we’re an easy hit near the top of last week’s picks. But Pittsburgh’s defense gives me the edge here, I’ll ride the Steelers.
It’s tough in Eagle land. But then again, it’s tough in Washington as well. These are two teams that just can’t be trusted. Philadelphia has to figure out how to win without Jalen Hurts at some point. Maybe they’ll even get lucky, and the Commanders will have no idea what’s going on in their own game. Wouldn’t be the first time this year.
Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, who appears to be on his way back this weekend, should be a great shootout Sunday. Buffalo is the better team and has home field, so they get the edge here.
Thursday night is the truest of toss-ups. Carolina is a Close Your Eyes Special and has looked good at times this year. Green Bay has also had a lot of good flashes. I’ll ride Carolina, but it’s my least confident game this week.
