NFL Betting – Week 8 Picks
Tough week for the favorites in the NFL indeed – nice effort on Monday night Baltimore! Hopefully the NFL teams fall back in line and allow the Handicappers to have a little success this week.
There are some intriguing matchups in Week 8, ones that will hopefully boost your bankroll and mine!
WEEK 7 ATS PICKS RECORD: 1-3-0
SEASON ATS PICKS RECORD: 19-14-1
Arizona Cardinals at Baltimore Ravens
Sunday, Oct 30, 1:00 PM ET
NFL Betting Favorite: Ravens -13
I feel sorry for the Arizona Cardinals heading into Week 8, I really do. The Baltimore Ravens were humiliated on Monday night with their anemic offensive effort. Now they face a Cardinals team that has lost five straight games and are travelling across country to take on a team that desperately needs a bounce back.
Arizona is ranked in the mid 20’s in almost every offensive category and on Sunday will likely have to take the field without arguably their best player this season – Beanie Wells who is highly questionable because of injury. The inconsistent Kevin Kolb will have to deal with the league’s 4th best pass defense and LaRod Stephens Howling and Alonso Smith will have to face the league’s 3rd best rushing defense.
Baltimore’s defense was stuck in the mud on Monday night. Even the defensive stars on the team called them out. Ray Rice was colossally underutilized against Jacksonville – something that won’t happen again. Expect a heavy dose of Rice against the league’s 14th ranked rushing defense. Rice can and will dominate this game.
Arizona is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games and is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games on the road. The Cards are 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing Baltimore. The Ravens are 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home and are 9-3 SU in its last 12 games overall.
13 points is a huge spread but a fired up Ravens will not settle for anything less than an easy win on Sunday.
Pick: Baltimore Ravens -13
Jacksonville Jaguars at Houston Texans
Sunday, October 30, 1:00 PM ET
NFL Betting Favorite: Texans -9 ½
Jacksonville’s impressive effort on Monday night in a win against Baltimore has made this game more interesting and more important than most would have thought only a week ago. A win by Jacksonville would close them to within one game of Houston in the “up-for-grabs” AFC South while a win by Houston would pad their lead atop of the division and effectively eliminate Jacksonville as a potential contender on the division.
Sunday’s game is a matchup of Jacksonville’s 31st ranked scoring offense (12 points scored per game) versus Houston’s 5th ranked scoring defense (18.71 points allowed per game). It will be up to Jacksonville to score some points in this game, Houston certainly will – they have averaged 26 points per game this season.
Jacksonville is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Houston but Houston is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Jacksonville. The Baltimore Ravens made the Jags look better than they actually are last Sunday. Matt Schaub, Arian Foster and a healthy Andre Johnson will have their way. Blaine Gabbert and Maurice Jones-Drew may grind the game to a near halt but once Houston gets the ball, they will put the foot on the pedal.
Everything will begin to return to normal for the Jags on Sunday – they will be outclassed all game long against a better team.
Pick: Houston Texans -9 ½
New England Patriots at Pittsburgh Steelers
Sunday, October 30, 4:15 PM ET
NFL Betting Favorite: Patriots -2 ½
This is the marquee matchup of the season. Both teams are expected to be in the hunt for an AFC crown and both have won three straight games. New England however is coming off their bye. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
New England’s offense is top 10 in the NFL is almost every category while the Pittsburgh defense is #1 against the pass and has improved to 12th against the run. Pittsburgh has a middle-of-the-road running game and a top 10 passing offense – something that should be able to exploit New England’s worst ranked passing defense.
New England is 13-2 SU in its last 15 games and is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games on the road. Pittsburgh is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games and is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home.
If Pittsburgh’s running game was operating at a reasonable clip, this game would be easier to call but I still like Ben Roethlisberger to get it done against the Pats brutal pass defense. Tom Brady on the other hand may have issues with his bread and butter passing game. In a game between two high powered offenses, take the better defense to prevail at home.
Pick: Pittsburgh Steelers +2 ½
Washington Redskins at Buffalo Bills
Sunday, Oct 30. 4:05 PM ET
NFL Betting Favorite: Bills -6
The Washington Redskins will try to end a two game losing streak when they take on a Buffalo Bills team that has emerged and is coming off their bye. Washington has been hit hard by injuries particularly on offense while the upstart Bills come into the game relatively healthy.
Washington’s 16th ranked passing game will have a chance to succeed against Buffalo’s 30th ranked pass defense although John Beck is still getting into game form and Santana Moss will miss his first of a possible six weeks with a hand injury. The Skins running game is also banged up. The 20th ranked unit in the NFL goes against the league’s 30th ranked run defense without Tim Hightower who was lost for the season.
Buffalo will hope that an offense ranked fourth or higher in almost every statistical category can pick up where they left off before the bye. The Bills will have their hands full with a Washington defense that has been good this season.
Washington is 0-5 SU and ATS in its last 5 games when playing Buffalo. Washington is 4-8 SU in its last 12 games while Buffalo is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games.
The Washington Redskins, despite all of their injuries and nay-sayers is not out of a playoff position just yet. They are competing hard and may be worthy of better than a 3-3 record. I like the Skins to keep this game close – Buffalo`s defense hasn`t stopped anybody all season long. Take the underdog to cover in a very close game.
Pick: Washington Redskins +6
Good Luck this week!
This is the Week 8 series of free NFL Pick articles by our experts here at CappersPicks.com. Check back with us all NFL Betting season long, and keep on winning those NFL Bets folks!
