Week 8 is here, and since there are no bye weeks, there are plenty of bets to be made, and the following four selections have the best odds of paying off.
The 4 Best Week 8 NFL Bets
Week 7 Review
The “any given Sunday” saying in the NFL proved itself once again in Week 7, both on the field and in the betting world. Something that will hopefully be turned around here in Week 8 Best Bets. Last weekend gave us a little bit of every outcome one could think of. The New England Patriots and Minnesota Vikings came through with two major upsets to potentially save their season. Cleveland Browns versus the Indianapolis Colts shocked everyone with a 39-38 exciting shootout, a game many thought would be low-scoring. Most impressively though, the Baltimore Ravens took it to the Detroit Lions 38-6. Lamar Jackson re-entered himself in the MVP discussion with over 400 yards and four touchdowns.
Unfortunately, on the betting side of things, it wasn’t so great of a week. From the NFL Week 7 Best Bets blog, only one winner prevailed. The Browns did win, but only by one point instead of where the spread was at -3. Surprisingly, the worst loss of last week was the Buffalo Bills falling to the Patriots. Josh Allen continued to look shaky as they lost the spread by 14 points. Against all odds, Bill Belichick silenced critics once again, at least for this week. At least there is one silver lining from last week and that would be the Kansas City Chiefs. They might be back now with Mecole Hardman returning to the mix. Led by Travis Kelce’s monster day, the Chiefs won 31-17.
Week 8 Best Bets Build Up
This Sunday is setting up for yet another fantastic day of NFL football. Not only will there be four divisional games, but two non-divisional games against some of the league’s best. The San Francisco 49ers, potentially without quarterback Brock Purdy, will take on the rising Cincinnati Bengals. If Purdy is unable to go, it puts the whole system quarterback chatter to the test. In an all-AFC battle, the Jacksonville Jaguars showdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers. That one could come back and prove to be a huge game at the end of the season. If you needed any more reason to watch outside of those two games, two words, Lamar Jackson. It looks as if he has taken the next step, who knows where his level of play will elevate to? Now time to see who makes an appearance here on Week 8 Best Bets.
Houston Texans @ Carolina Panthers – Pick, Texans -3
The Texans rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud has been ever impressive to start his career. He’s put up over 1,600 yards, 9 touchdowns, and has only thrown one interception. Opposing him is fellow rookie quarterback Bryce Young for the Carolina Panthers. He has unfortunately not had the same success to start his campaign in the NFL. Not only is he still under 1,000 yards and has a 3:2 TD-to-INT ratio, but the Panthers are 0-6. To go along with that, the Texans have a superior run game and young talent scattered around their defense. Hopefully, Texans -3 can be a good start to Week 8 Best Bets.
Cleveland Browns @ Seattle Seahawks – Pick, Over 38.5
This is presumably a showdown of two of the league’s top defenses, which it is. However, 38.5 total points seem doable. The Browns will be without starting quarterback Deshaun Watson once again. Although he will be out, the Browns offense seemingly might be better with backup P.J. Walker right now. Coming off a week in which they put up 39 points as a team in a win, Walker will be looking to carry that to this week’s game in Seattle. For the Seahawks, their offense has been up and down the last few weeks. Through the struggles, however, Kenneth Walker and the offensive line have played tremendous. And although they both have great defensive units; this one can still go over 38.5 and those units still have a good day.
Minnesota Vikings @ Green Bay Packers – Pick, Vikings -1.5
After what seemed to be a great start for Jordan Love as the Green Bay Packers quarterback, the last few weeks have been somewhat of a regression. The exact opposite can be said for the Minnesota Vikings through a little more than a third of the season. With Justin Jefferson on the injured reserve, most people wrote this team off. In his absence, nevertheless, rookie Jordan Addison has stepped up big. He had his breakout game last week with 123 yards and two scores. To medley Kirk Cousins’s new weapon, running back Alexander Mattison has improved his level of play over the last three weeks. Although the Packers do look set up for the future as far as key offensive and defensive pieces, it’s just not their time yet. Give me the Vikings -1.5 and catapulting themselves right back in the middle of the playoff race.
Honorable Mention
Pick – Christian McCaffrey Anytime Touchdown Scorer
It would be and has been a huge mistake leaving this off of NFL’s Best Bets every week. The last 16 times Christian McCaffrey has played a game he has been able to find the end zone. No matter what odds you can get this at, it’s most likely going to be worth it. Even though he wasn’t at his best last week due to a lingering oblique injury, he was still able to punch one in. As long as McCaffrey is capable of playing, chances are he’ll be dancing after a touchdown. Hopefully, this will be a nice addition to Week 8 Best Bets.
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Main Photo: Jasen Vinlove – USA Today Sports
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