Week 8 of NFL action has arrived. The Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Chargers kicked things off on Thursday Night Football in a battle of Carson Wentz and Justin Herbert. Injuries are stacking up, and bye weeks are here big time. So, let’s dive in and make our Week 8 NFL Confidence Pool Picks.
Last week was a great week for this article, getting eight of the top 10 correct and only missing three of the 15 games on the week. Week 8 lays out interestingly. There are six teams on bye. The Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, and Seattle Seahawks will all get rested up and return to action next week. Leaving us with only 12 games on the weekend, and 11 games if you are in a Sunday-only pool.
Quite a few teams are heavily favored. In at least six games, one team is a full touchdown favorite or more; two of those have spreads bigger than 12 points. So, does the chalk hold up? Are we in for some upsets? There seems to be some potential trap games in this one; it’ll be important to label these correctly as you make your picks. Let’s get those picks in!
Week 8 NFL Confidence Pool Picks
High Confidence Picks
1.Colts Over Titans
2.Bills Over Panthers
3.Patriots Over Browns
4.Falcons Over Dolphins
5.Eagles Over Giants
6.Chiefs Over Commanders
The Tennessee Titans are a historically bad team. They fired Brian Callahan and couldn’t even take advantage of the fired-coach bump that most teams usually get. Now they have to go up against the current #1 seed in the AFC. Colts all day in this game.
The Buffalo Bills come back from their bye week after back-to-back losses. The Carolina Panthers have looked decent lately and may be better off with Andy Dalton, who will start this week. But they catch Buffalo at about the worst possible time. Rested up and ready for revenge, the Buffalo roam in this one.
The New England Patriots are the second-best team in the AFC as things stand after Week 7. This Browns defense has been tough, but Drake Maye has looked the part in 2025. Dillon Gabriel won’t be able to muster up enough in front of a rowdy New England crowd that welcomes back their MVP candidate quarterback after three straight road games.
The Miami Dolphins are another team that just isn’t good. They’ve shown little signs of life, and there’s no reason to believe that changes this week. The Falcons have been great at home and are coming off a tough loss to the 49ers. They’ll get back in the win column in Week 8.
The Eagles over the Giants might be my favorite bet of the week, and was in contention to be my top play in this pool, if not for the other bad teams that just need to be faded. The Eagles lost to the Giants just two weeks ago. There is no way they are going to drop back-to-back games against the Giants in a three-week span. The Giants are scrappy, but Philadelphia is for real. Eagles win easily in this one.
If Monday Night Football is included in your pool, the Chiefs are a great pick this week. They looked good last week, getting Rashee Rice back, and now is the time of year when they need to stack some wins after a slow start. Washington just might not be as good a team as we thought they would be in 2025. Jayden Daniels appears out for Monday’s game, leaving Marcus Mariota to start.
Confident Picks
7.49ers Over Texans
8.Ravens Over Bears
9.Bengals Over Jets
10.Buccaneers Over Saints
11.Broncos Over Cowboys
12.Steelers Over Packers
Houston is another team that just hasn’t lived up to the hype of their young quarterback. His top target, Nico Collins, is in serious jeopardy of missing this week, and it turns out the 49ers are just a good football team. Mac Jones has played like a true starter, and I’m expecting a massive game for George Kittle on Sunday. Calling our shot on the slight underdogs.
The Baltimore Ravens need to get back in the win column. At just 1-5, they host the Chicago Bears on a four-game winning streak. On Thursday, it looks promising that Lamar may return, but even if he doesn’t, I’m rolling with the Ravens here. Baltimore is not as bad as their record shows, and this is a must-win spot for them. They’ll defend their home turf and sneak away with a victory.
Will the real Joe Cool please stand up? Looks like maybe it’s Joe Flacco! Bad offensive line, and all he’s looked good in both starts for the Bengals, and aside from the Titans, the Jets are the worst team in the league. It’s likely to be Tyrod Taylor at quarterback. Is that an upgrade? I’m not sure. They could bring back Joe Namath, and that probably wouldn’t help this team win a game.
New Orleans is a bad team that’s actually looked somewhat competent. However, they are catching Baker Mayfield off a loss, and that’s bad news for them. Baker is going to bring his dog mentality to this one and right the ship of the Buccaneers.
Dallas’s offense has been elite, but it’s another case of Denver being the better team here. With the Mile-High home field advantage, Bo Nix will torch this Dallas defense. The Denver defense is good enough to hold Dallas somewhat at bay, and that’s all they need.
Alright, here’s the big upset in my picks this week. I still have it as the lowest confidence pick, but hey, maybe this is the point you need to win in Week 8. Aaron Rodgers against the Green Bay Packers. If there’s ever a game this man is getting up for, here it is. This Green Bay team also hasn’t quite looked like the Super Bowl Champions that everyone was crowing after Week 2. Rodgers against his former team and Tomlin as a home dog. I’m in.
