8 weeks in and we’re seeing teams separate themselves from the pack. There’s a lot on the line for several teams in terms of playoff implications this week and we’ll be breaking down each of those matchups. Through 8 weeks, we are 81-42 in predicting matchups.
Houston Texans at New York Jets
The Jets management needs to realize that Robert Saleh was not the issue and there are greater issues at hand. With a team that has such high expectations, dropping to 2-6 and losing to New England is embarrassing. It’s going to get even worse with another loss in prime time at home causing them to be 2-7.
Winner: Houston Texans
Dallas Cowboys at Atlanta Falcons
The Cowboys have problems and it’s highly likely we don’t see them in the playoffs this year. They don’t have a run game, the injuries to the defense, and the poor play calling has been killing them. The Falcons can understand the poor play calling as they have underutilized star running back Bijan Robinson. When he has the ball, he’s dangerous but they need to give him the ball more. Against a Cowboys team that is struggling on defense against both the pass and the run, he’s likely to get more touches than he did last week against Tampa Bay. He won’t be the key to victory as that honor goes to Kirk Cousins. Coming off a 4 touchdown performance, Kirko should light up the banged up Cowboys on his way to another massive performance and giving more hope for the Falcons playoff aspirations.
Winner: Atlanta Falcons
Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills
Tua looked good in his first game back for the Dolphins and they had their best offensive showing of the season. It wasn’t enough to get past the Cardinals as defensive issues & injuries got out of hand. They face a much better offense in Buffalo who always dominates Miami, Tua’s second game back is another loss as the Dolphins stumble to 2-6.
Winner: Buffalo Bills
Las Vegas Raiders at Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals are a disappointing 3-5 and it has Joe Burrow in villain mode. He should have Tee Higgins back and the Bengals should roll past the Raiders who have one of the worst defenses in the league.
Winner: Cincinnati Bengals
Los Angeles Chargers at Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns look like a whole new team with Jameis Winston as their quarterback. They can actually move the ball & do some damage. In 7 games this season, Watson couldn’t put up 20 points or 200 yards in a game which shows how much he just didn’t care. Now Winston did that in just one half, but it was against one of the worst pass defenses in the league in Baltimore. They now face the defense that has given up the fewest points per game in the Los Angeles Chargers. They are allowing less than 200 passing yards per game. The Chargers defense is elite & has yet to allow 20 points in a game this season. They are the real deal and it’s their defense that is going to cause Winston to be the turnover machine that we’re used to seeing.
Winner: Los Angeles Chargers
New England Patriots at Tennessee Titans
If this is the only game that is on in your market, we recommend just not watching football this weekend. It would be more entertaining to watch paint dry than watch a matchup featuring these two teams. Two of the worst offenses in the league are going to make for one of the lowest scoring affairs of the week. We also could see a matchup of the backup quarterbacks in Mason Rudolph & Jacoby Brissett. If that is the case and likely will be, we’re going to give a slight edge to Brissett. With that said, this game could really go either way and it’s going to come down to who makes less mistakes.
Winner: New England Patriots
Washington Commanders at New York Giants
Jayden Daniels is him. The rookie quarterback has himself in MVP discussions and for good reason, especially after the Hail Mary for the win against Chicago. Daniels has the Commanders leading the NFC East with a commanding 6-2 record and about to be 7-2 after they steamroll over the dismal Giants.
Winner: Washington Commanders
New Orleans Saints at Carolina Panthers
Derek Carr is likely to play and if that’s the case, then the Saints should pull off the win. This is a Saints team that has lost 6 straight and should still win by a good margin against a Carolina team that would likely lose to some college teams. Carolina is just bad and with Bryce Young at quarterback, no chance the Panthers are going to be picked to win.
Winner: New Orleans Saints
Denver Broncos at Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens have been a confusing team this year, they’ll win against good teams but lose against bad teams. It was a head scratching day for Baltimore, but we expect them to bounce back. The Broncos have an elite pass defense, but where Baltimore is going to make them hurt is through the NFL’s leading rushed in Derrick Henry. The run game is going to be the difference maker for the Ravens.
Winner: Baltimore Ravens
Jacksonville Jaguars at Philadelphia Eagles
Doug Pederson faces his former team and as each week goes by, it looks like he’ll soon be saying that the Jaguars are a former team of his as well. Things are just not clicking for the Jaguars and they cannot close out football games. They struggle in the second half and are going up against one of the better second half football teams in the league. It’s likely that after a loss to his former team, Pederson’s days in Jacksonville are over.
Winner: Philadelphia Eagles
Chicago Bears at Arizona Cardinals
The Bears might have a winning record but Matt Eberflus needs to go. He’s holding the Bears back from being a team as his poor coaching has cost them. Why would you run with a lineman on 3rd & goal when you have Swift, Johnson or you could use Williams with a sneak. The Cardinals haven’t had to deal with coaching issues but inconsistency with the defense. Their defense can get lit up and the Bears offense should bounce back despite the coaching from Eberflus. This game could very well end up being one of the higher scoring matchups of the week. We’re going to give the edge to Arizona who’s won two in a row and Kyler Murray has been getting in stride lately. He’s looked good and it’s going to be too much for the Bears to handle.
Winner: Arizona Cardinals
Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers
A massive NFC North showdown between the 6-1 Detroit Lions and the 6-2 Green Bay Packers. This game holds significant playoff weight as the winner of this game will hold the lead in the NFC North. Playing in Lambeau is always tough, but the Lions are the hottest team in football and that doesn’t matter for Jared Goff. The Lions pull off a huge win and distance themselves from not only the NFC North rivals, but other NFC teams for their pursuit of home field advantage in the playoffs.
Winner: Detroit Lions
Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks
The NFC West is a wide open race with all teams within one game of each other. The matchup between Rams & Seahawks will hold some significant weight for the playoffs. The Seahawks hold the better record, but one week they look like a contender and the next, they look like they’ve never played football before. For the Rams, without Kupp or Nacua, their offense is dormant. With both healthy, the Rams are the team to beat in the NFC West and they get a win on the road.
Winner: Los Angeles Rams
Indianapolis Colts at Minnesota Vikings
After starting the season 5-0, the Vikings have now lost 2 in a row. Both games were against tough NFC opponents and they play in prime time once again, this time on Sunday Night. This time it will also be different as they play a weaker AFC opponent who has a quarterback that is very inaccurate. Richardson can either throw the ball perfectly 60 yards down the field or miss open targets that are 5 yards away. There’s no telling what he will do and the Vikings defense is good enough to not let the big plays happen and bounce back after those 2 tough losses.
Winner: Minnesota Vikings
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Kansas City Chiefs
With a healthy Chris Godwin and Mike Evans, this game would’ve been a thrilling shootout. Without the two star receivers for Tampa Bay, their offense took a big hit, they played better than expectations against Atlanta, but they now have to go on the road into Arrowhead Stadium on a Monday Night facing a defense that has All-Pro Chris Jones, we don’t expect them to fare as well. Baker will still have a big day and do his best, but it’s not enough.
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