From six teams on byes in Week 7 to no byes at all in Week 8, the NFL schedule is just as unpredictable as the scorelines!
Week 7 was all about the underdog with eight of the 13 games won by the outsiders and if you followed my tips last week, you’ll know we found a few of them.
Week 8 is set to be another huge slate of matchups, a New York derby, four divisional matchups and the top two picks in this years draft will go at it for the first time ever.
I’ve run my eyes over each market, simulated each game in Madden and checked the waiver wire for fantasy studs.
Here is my preview of Week 8 of the NFL.
We’re getting things kicked off this week with two teams that are coming off Week 7 losses.
The Bills are very short at $1.25 to get it done over the Bucs but there is something going on with the Bills at the moment.
Let’s recap their last three games: A 25-20 loss to the Jags (in London), an ugly 14-9 win over the Giants (that could’ve very easily been another loss if the pass interference call is made at the end of the game) and last week’s shock 29-25 loss to the Patriots.
Combine that with the Week 1 loss to the Jets and it’s fair to say that Buffalo is underperforming this year.
You know who’s not underperforming?
Tampa Bay, at 3-3 Baker and the boys have exceeded everyone’s early season expectations.
Mayfield has more pass yards than Burrow and Prescott, the same amount of passing TDs as Trevor Lawrence & Lamar Jackson and less interceptions than both Super Bowl QBs last year Pat Mahomes & Jalen Hurts as well as the man he takes on in prime time – Josh Allen.
Am I talking myself into a Bucs win at $4.00?
I might have a crack but I will definitely be tipping Tampa Bay to cover +8.5.
There’s one player that really stands out in this matchup and it’s Bills Rookie tight end Dalton Kincaid with teammate Dawson Knox requiring surgery on his wrist.
Once Knox left the field last week, Kincaid became Allen’s second most targeted pass catcher with eight receptions on eight targets for 75 yards and I think he truly breaks out in this one.
Kincaid’s yardage line is set at 36.5 and he’s $3.45 for an anytime TD so I will be multi-ing up 50+ Yards Alt Rec Yards ($2.65) and his ATD for a Multi of $5.25
Buccaneers +8.5 @ $1.90
SGM
- Dalton Kincaid 50+ Alt Receiving Yards $2.65
- Dalton Kincaid Anytime TD $3.45
Big Jim sitting next to me keeps reminding me that this is actually a “New Jersey Derby” with the stadium these two share located in an entirely different state to their names.
You’d think for teams that have shared a venue for most of their histories, they would play each other more than 14 times in 53 years, with the most recent game being in 2019.
The Giants have an 8-6 record in this matchup but I wouldn’t read too much into that.
With Tyrod Taylor running the offence, the Giants look greatly improved, he’s thrown for 200+ yards in both of his starts while Danny Dimes has been out.
At the time of writing I’m not sure who’s padding up for Big Blue but the Jets defence should be too good in this one regardless.
The Giants run defence has been poor this season, allowing 137.3 Rushing Yards per game, coming up against Big Bad Breece Hall? The Jets should “run” away with this game.
My Bets
- Jets -3.5 @ $1.98
- Breece Hall 80+ Rushing Yards
- Breece Hall Anytime Touchdown
- Saquon Barkley 60+ Rushing Yards
The Cowboys are mighty short favourites against the Rams and given that the Cowboys are up against a team with a losing record, I think they should get the win here.
Dak and America’s team have won their last 10 games at home, sure they’ve had a few hiccups this year but I like this matchup for the Cowboys and they should get it done.
The Rams are allowing 117 rush yards per game this year but Tony Pollard has burned me so many times this year, even though it is a favourable matchup but I cannot back him.
On paper, it looks like a tough matchup in the pass game. The Rams are ranked 11th in the league for least pass yards allowed (209) but Ceedee Lamb is starting to heat up and should see a heap of work in this matchup.
My Bets
- Cowboys H2H @ $1.36
- Ceedee Lamb 70+ Receiving Yards
- Tony Pollard 60+ Rushing Yards (Tentatively)
They fell agonisingly short against the Browns but Gardner Minshew and the Colts looked incredible last week.
They put 38 points on Cleveland and it looks like Jonathan Taylor is back to his old self.
You know who didn’t look good last week, the Saints.
If your name wasn’t Alvin Kamara, you were not getting the ball thrown your way (or Carr was throwing it out of bounds and screaming at you for not catching it).
The Colts are slight favourites at $1.83 and at home, that’s all the value I need, Saints WR Chris Olave was arrested during the week for speeding.
It looks like he won’t be suspended but the external noise is real.
Colts to win.
My Bets
- Colts H2H @ $1.83
- Jonathan Taylor 60+ Rushing Yards
- Alvin Kamara 40+ Receiving Yards
New year, same Commies/Football Team/R******s – they are a dumpster fire.
This week they host their NFC rivals the Eagles for the second time this year.
Sure the Commanders took the Eagles to overtime last time these two teams met but I think Philly have greatly improved since then.
The line is set at 6.5 and the underdogs have covered the line in eight of the Commanders’ last nine games but I’m not buying it.
Eagles 14+ is the value.
My Bets
- Eagles 14+ @ $3.30
- Jalen Hurts 225+ Passing Yards
- AJ Brown 60+ Receiving Yards
This game is going to be unfairly judged in my honest opinion.
It’s Bryce Young v CJ Stroud and regardless of how both these young QBs play, the narrative will be that the winner deserved/should’ve been the #1 Pick.
Bryce and the Panthers are yet to win a game but the noise that Bryce has played poorly & is a bust is not anything I am subscribing to this season.
Anyone can cherry pick stats to argue for and against whether Young has or has not been poor this season but I challenge you to just watch how he operates in the pocket and give him the eye test.
Bryce has been in the league for seven weeks and has the calmest pocket presence I’ve seen by a rookie and looks way more relaxed than a number vets.
Enough ranting, let’s analyse this game.
The Panthers have been incredibly poor this year and have failed to cover the line in each of their last six games.
The Texans simply have a lot more going for them at the moment and while the Panthers will figure it out eventually, Stroud should get the first win in what should be a long and exciting rivalry.
My Bets
- Texans -3 @ $1.90
- Bryce Young 225+ Passing Yards
- CJ Stroud 250+ Passing Yards
They beat the Bills last week, can the Patriots use that momentum against the Dolphins?
It doesn’t look like that
Miami open as massive 9.5 point, $1.22 favourites against the Pats.
Yes they lost against the Eagles last week but that was probably the kick up the bum Miami needed.
The Dolphins haven’t beaten a team with a positive win record in 400+ days, lucky for them the Pats are 2-5.
New England are ranked 14th and 12th in the league for rushing and passing yards allowed respectively, this Miami offense could blow those numbers out of the water.
The Dolphins have covered the line in each of their last six games against the Patriots, Miami -9.5 is where I’m leaning, 14+ is only 40c more and has let me down a lot this year against the Pats so I’m going to chill out a bit.
My Bets
- Miami -9.5 @ $1.90
- Tua Tagovailoa 300+ Passing Yards
- Tyreek Hill 80+ Receiving Yards
Titans v Falcons, two teams I could care less about at the moment.
The Titans are just an insignificant team, their pass game is garbage, they’re not feeding Derrick Henry.
What is there to get excited about in Nashville?
I refuse to spend anytime researching the Falcons after last week too.
For those that aren’t in the know, the Falcons just didn’t tell anyone that star RB Bijan Robinson was not well, didn’t put him on the injury report and then only used him for 10 snaps vs the Bucs last week.
I could study all the trends in the world for ATL and they could just continue to lie to us punters & football fans.
I hope they lose this game.
My Bets
- Titans H2H @ $2.10
- Derrick Henry 60+ Rushing Yards
Pittsburgh will host Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars in Week 8 and quite frankly, the Jags look like value at $1.70.
The Steelers are coming off a win and have won seven of their last eight games as underdogs but I’m not buying it here, especially against the Jags who are on a four game winning streak.
Lawrence has been incredibly consistent this year, he only has on game under 200 yards, combine that with my boy Travis Etienne who’s fourth in the league for rushing yards and third for rushing TDs.
The Steelers will have their work cut out for them here.
It’s a two point line here but the Jags just flat out are $1.70, I don’t think those extra two points are worth 20c.
Head to head is all I need.
My Bets
- Jaguars H2H @ $1.70
- Trevor Lawrence 225+ Passing Yards
- Travis Etienne 50+ Rushing Yards
NFC North showdown anyone? Don’t mind if I do.
The Vikings showed us on MNF this week that they can still get it done without JJettas while the Packers on the other hand are coming off a loss to the BRONCOS (no that is not a typo).
Both sides are even money at $1.90 but I don’t know how you can back Green Bay with any confidence.
They’ve won each of their last 11 home games against teams that have a losing record but they’ve dropped three on the trot to the Lions, Raiders and Broncos.
I can’t see them getting past Big Kirko and the like of Addison & Hockenson.
My Bets
- Vikings H2H @ $1.90
- Kirk Cousins Over 250+ Passing Yards
- Jordan Addison Over 60+ Receiving Yards
The literal traveling circus that is the Cleveland Browns will head to Seattle for the first of the 6am games (That’s AEST, I’ll be deep in the cold, cold ground before I recognise New South Wales).
Seattle are $1.60 faves here, with all the question marks over Deshaun Watson (and his health) it’s hard to get excited about the $2.35 Browns and Nick Chubb’s replacement Jerome Ford is also out for 1-2 weeks with an ankle injury.
Nothing about Cleveland revs my Tractor, Seattle are value.
My Bets
- Seattle -3 @ $1.90
- Ken Walker 70+ Rushing Yards
Game of the week here and it’s not even bloody close (sorry for swearing).
The 49ers showed us last week that they are indeed human after all, this week they go up against a Bengals side that could either give them a run for their money or cave in like my ribs every time I took a hit up in junior rugby league.
The Bengals are $2.95 could be worth a sniff here but I think I may lean towards them to cover the 5.5 point line.
The road team has covered the line in each of the last four games between the Bengals and 49ers.
5.5 points is a huge line for these two teams, Joey B is another week removed from the calf injury, Tee Higgins should be 100% once again so this should hopefully be a shootout.
My Bets
- Bengals +5.5 @ $1.90
- Christian McCaffrey 60+ Rushing Yards
- Ja’Marr Chase 70+ Receiving Yards
BIRD BOWL BIRD BOWL BIRD BOWL
Josh Dobbs and the Cards will host the red hot Ravens.
I don’t know how, but a lot of people were surprised that the Ravens beat Detroit last week. If you’re an avid reader of my previews, you’d know that we weren’t.
In my opinion as an Australian NFL betting analyst (which obviously carries a lot of weight) if the regular season wrapped up today, the Ravens would be the AFC representatives in the Super Bowl.
Lamar has wound the clock back to 2019 recently and once his receivers started bringing their hands to game day, Baltimore seem unstoppable.
They are 8.5 point favourites here in Arizona against a Cards side that have failed to cover the line in each of their last four games.
This should be an “Impose their will” game for Baltimore.
My Bets
- Baltimore -8.5 @ $1.90
- Lamar Jackson 275+ Passing Yards
- Mark Andrews 60+ Receiving yards
- Zay Flowers 60+ Receiving Yards
Lucky Denver have the nuggets, the Nuggets and Avalanche, otherwise it would be a pretty miserable place to be a sports fan at the moment.
Is that pretty stiff to say after a win over Green Bay? I don’t think so.
The Broncos are a team without any identity at the moment and now they have to host Mahomes and the Chiefs.
If you think Denver are a chance this week, you’ve probably indulged in those other Denver Nuggets (and I’m not talking chicken).
KC continues to improve offensively after a stagnant start to the year, the Chiefs have won each of their last 16 games against the Broncos (that’s eight years of dominance) and the Broncos have failed to cover the line in seven of their last eight games.
Have you figured out what way I’m leaning?
My Bets
- Chiefs 14+ @ $2.55
- Patrick Mahomes 300+ Passing Yards
- Rashee Rice 60+ Receiving Yards
What even are the LA Chargers?
On paper and in Madden they should be/are unstoppable, but theoretical and video game form does not translate to real life form however.
Herbert and the Chargers are 2-4 and just can’t find a way to win with the stacked roster that they have.
They are $1.21 favourites against the Bears and honestly, a tune up game is exactly what they need.
Fields is looking like a no go once again in Week 8 with his thumb injury and the Bears can’t win here with Tyson Bagent right? RIGHT?!
The Bears have failed to cover the line in each of their last 10 games against teams that held a losing record and I refuse to believe that the Chargers are a bad team.
My Bets
- Chargers -8.5 @ $1.90
- Justin Herbert 275+ Pass Yards
- Keenan Allen Anytime Touchdown
Detroit were blown out of the water last week by Baltimore but draw a favourable matchup against the Raiders on MNF.
Jimmy G is expected to play but I’m with the Lions to eat him alive after an uncharacteristically poor game last week.
The Raiders have lost each of their last three road games and the 5-2 Lions have only lost the one game at home so far this season.
The Lions SHOULD continue to lean on the likes of Jahmyr Gibbs & Sam LaPorta here.
I’m with them to win but the Raiders to cover, Vegas has covered the line in six of their last seven games against teams that held a winning record, which suggests they’re good enough to be competitive but not good enough to actually win.
My Bets
- Raiders +8 @ $1.90
- Jahymr Gibbs 60+ Rush Yards
- Sam LaPorta 40+ Receiving Yards
Not going to lie, I’m pretty upset with Josh Jacobs this week.
He fell 25 yards short of us converting another fantasy team multi but that’s probably on me for putting my faith in an RB that hasn’t had a game where he’s finished with a yards per carry avg of over 3.7 this season.
Week 8 is here and that means it’s time for another fantasy multi.
Just to recap in Week 7 we had:
- Quarterback: Jalen Hurts Over 225+ Passing Yards vs The Dolphins ✓
- Runningback: Kenneth Walker 60+ Rushing Yards vs The Cardinals ✓
- Runningback: Josh Jacobs 60+ Rushing Yards vs The Bears X
- Wide Receiver: Tyreek Hill 70+ Receiving Yards vs The Eagles ✓
- Wide Receiver: Amon-Ra St Brown 70+ Receiving Yards vs The Ravens ✓
- Multi: $5.30
Week 8’s Fantasy team looks like this:
- Quarterback: Lamar Jackson Over 250+ Passing Yards vs The Cardinals
- Runningback: Travis Etienne 60+ Rushing Yards vs The Steelers
- Runningback: Breece Hall 60+ Rushing Yards vs The Giants
- Wide Receiver: Ja’Marr Chase 70+ Receiving Yards vs The Eagles
- Wide Receiver: Keenan Allen 70+ Receiving Yards vs The Bears