NFL picks, predictions, odds for Week 8: Favorites win in midseason dog days

NFL Week 8 kicks off with an intriguing Thursday Night Football matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams. The former is looking to rebound from its first loss of the season while the latter may be showcasing its best players for trade deadline deals if rumors are correct. So, who comes out on top? We’ll predict that outcome and more here in our ClutchPoints NFL Week 8 picks, predictions, and odds column.

Last week started the dog days of the NFL season. Sure, a football Sunday is still better than pretty much any other day of the year, but from now until Thanksgiving, everything is a little low-key. We know the good teams and the bad teams, which makes the games still fun to watch but less consequential than the beginning or end of the campaign. Injuries will still happen and can shake the foundation of the league, but until the Holiday Season begins, most weeks will be status quo.

NFL bye weeks actually take a pause in Week 8 as no teams get the extended weekend off. We get back the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys for a full 16-game (all in the United States) slate.

With that, the NFL Week 8 lineup will include a shockingly traditional schedule that includes a Thursday game, eight 1 p.m. ET games, five games in the late Sunday window, a Sunday nighter, and, mercifully, just one Monday night meeting.

After an absolutely brutal Week 6, we rebounded a bit in Week 7. Overall, we went 8-7 on winners and 7-8 against the spread. Still not good enough, though. After that performance, our record stays pretty good straight up at 57-50 and still underwhelming at 45-62 versus the Vegas number.

With that, let’s get right into the NFL Week 8 picks, predictions, and odds.

Previous Weeks: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6| Week 7

Courtesy of DraftKings, here are the NFL odds.

Minnesota Vikings (-3) at Los Angeles Rams

There are rumors swirling that Cooper Kupp is on the trading block and maybe his quarterback, Matthew Stafford is, too. The former is more likely than the latter, and if that happens it means the Rams are waving the white flag on the season and maybe even beyond. Kupp and Puka Nacua are back for this Thursday Night Football matchup, though, which adds some intrigue.

On the flip side, the Vikings played the Lions in a tight one in a game that seemed to officially match the two best teams in the NFC this season. That means that, even in LA, the Vikings should get back to their winning ways and take down the Rams on Thursday.

Pick: Vikings 28-24

Arizona Cardinals at Miami Dolphins (-3.5)

This may be the week that Tua Tagovailoa comes back from concussion, which will upgrade the Dolphins offense. However, there is a chance he may not play yet, and last he did play, the Bills were whooping the ‘Phins well before Tua went out.

The Cardinals not only hung with the Bills but when they are healthy and playing their best Kyler Murray and company can keep up with or beat anyone. No matter who plays QB in Miami on Sunday, the NFL Week 8 picks, predictions, and odds column will take the Cards and the points.

Pick: Cardinals 21-16

New York Jets (-7) at New England Patriots

Wouldn’t this be delicious if the Patriots roared to life for just one more week and stuck it to the Jets? With how New England has been playing, though, it’s easy to envision Aaron Rodgers and company getting it together for at least one week and blowing their rivals out.

This game opened at Jets -4.5 and now it up to a touchdown. It wouldn’t be a shock if the Jets blew the Pats out, but going on recent history, it seems like NY might find a way to screw it up, especially if NE tries to use this as the platform to rebuke its own coach’s “soft” comments. We’ll take a Gang Green win but a closer one than the touts think.

Pick: Jets 19-17

Philadelphia Eagles at Cincinnati Bengals (-3)

Shootout alert! Both these defenses struggle and both offenses are electric at times, so this matchup has a chance to provide the most points of any game we pick here in the NFL Week 8 picks, predictions, and odds column.

Both these teams can look like world-beaters one week and bottom-feeders the next. This should be the most entertaining game on the board, and it won’t be a shock no matter how it plays out. That’s a long way of saying I have no idea who will win this game, but I do have a little more faith in Joe Burrow than Jalen Hurts, so let’s go Bengals.

Pick: Bengals 35-31

Green Bay Packers (-4) at Jacksonville Jaguars

Everyone is up in arms about Jordan Love’s interceptions, but with three touchdowns last game, he played well enough to win. We have to remember that even though he’s been in the league for years, he is still a QB with just one true season under his belt.
The Jaguars got a win in London last week, but it was unimpressive at best. They are still a disappointing, underperforming team, and that will show up against a tough NFC North foe.

Pick: Packers 25-19

Atlanta Falcons (-2.5) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

After the Buccaneers collapsed and lost in overtime in these two team’s last meeting, this would be a perfect spot to take them to win in the topsy-turvy NFC South. However, the loss of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin may just be too much to overcome.

Yes, the Falcons looked terrible last week (when we picked them!) but they are an up-and-down team, so this could be another up. Nothing should shock anyone in this division, so it doesn’t feel great, but we’ll take the Falcons to cover.

Pick: Falcons 21-16

Baltimore Ravens (-8) at Cleveland Browns

The Browns are finally starting the best quarterback on their roster in Jameis Winston. That said, Winston wouldn’t be the best QB on most NFL team’s rosters. And no matter who plays QB, the Browns still stink.

For the Ravens, Derrick Henry has changed the equation, and they finally have a trusted running game to support Lamar Jackson. Pair that with more than one skilled pass-catcher (also, finally!) and the Ravens are arguably the best team in the NFL right now. So, in the NFL Week 8 picks, predictions, and odds column, we’ll take them by a lot.

Pick: Ravens 27-16

Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans (-5)

This should be a solid AFC South matchup, pitting two of the most intriguing young QBs against each other. C.J. Stroud has been good this year but hasn’t quite captured the magic of his rookie season. Anthony Richardson, on the other hand, is wildly physically talented but equally as unpolished.

In the end, Houston is the better team, even without Nico Collins, and as long as they can establish the run game, they should be good. Also, since Richardson played well last week, it stands to reason that the Law of Inconsistent Quarterbacks says he should have a rough week in Week 8.

Pick: Texans 23-14

Tennessee Titans at Detroit Lions (-11.5)

This game pits one of the best three teams in the NFL against one of the worst three teams, and this shouldn’t be close. The Lions are great, and as long as they don’t show up sleepwalking like the Bills did last week, this should be over early. And like the Bills, even if the Lions come out sluggish, this should be a two-touchdown game or more by the end.

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Pick: Lions 28-10

New Orleans Saints at Los Angeles Chargers (-7)

To keep this short and sweet, the Saints are done until Derek Carr returns. So, since the QB is almost certainly out this week as well, we’ll take the Chargers here. And just to be clear, this isn’t an endorsement of the average at best Chargers. This is a bet against the Saints.

Pick: 35-15

Buffalo Bills (-3) at Seattle Seahawks

The Bills seemed to right the ship last week after letting the Titans hang around for a half in Western New York. Now they fly to the Western United States and a slow start seems inevitable. That said, the Bills seem like a team that defies expectations — good or bad — every week.

This will be another offense-heavy game as neither team can seem to stop good running backs. No matter what you take as the score, you should probably also take the overs for Kenneth Walker II, Zach Charbonnet, James Cook, and Ray Davis. The difference in this game, though, will be Amari Cooper’s emergence while DK Metcalf is banged up.

Pick: Bills 33-27

Chicago Bears (-3) at Washington Commanders

Unfortunately, it seems like NFL fans may be robbed of the Week 8 matchup between the Nos. 1 and 2 picks in the 2024 NFL Draft. The Caleb Williams vs. Jayden Daniels heavyweight fight may now be a far less interesting Caleb Williams vs. Marcus Mariota bout.

This line seems to represent Daniels not playing, so we’ll roll with that, although if he does play, getting the points here would be great. Even if the QB is out, these are still two similar teams, and for that reason taking the points and the home team makes sense.

Pick: Commanders 16-15

Carolina Panthers at Denver Broncos (-10)

It is nerve-wracking to lay double-digit points with a rookie quarterback like you have to do here with Bo Nix and the Broncos (although you can get this at 9.5 in some places). But when Bryce Young gets his job back due to an Andy Dalton car accident, that’s just what we’ll do here in the NFL Week 8 picks, predictions, and odds column.

Pick: Broncos 28-10

Kansas City Chiefs (-9.5) at Las Vegas Raiders

The Chiefs are the last undefeated team in the NFL, and that won't change on Sunday. The only question is, will Kansas City go 7-0 by squeaking by in Las Vegas or will they continue to roll emphatically? Because the Raiders haven't shown any sign of life yet and are now without their one small glimmer of hope — young QB Aidan O'Connell — let's pick the Chiefs to romp in the desert.

Pick: Chiefs 35-9

Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers (-4)

The 49ers have been struggling without Christina McCaffrey this season, and now that Brandon Aiyuk is out for the year, this offense will continue to have problems. Still, there is a ton of talent on this squad, and if there is any team to get right against, it’s the Cowboys.

Dallas is coming off its bye, but Jerry Jones kept the team in the news by going off on some local radio hosts and then claiming that Derrick Henry wouldn’t fit in the team’s system. The Cowboys are a mess, and against a good team on the road, they’ll be in trouble.

Pick: 49ers 27-20

New York Giants at Pittsburgh Steelers (-6)

The Steelers may have shot themselves in the foot long-term by not continuing to develop Justin Fields, but right now, it looks like Russell Wilson is the better QB who can win games in 2024, even if it’s just by throwing the ball straight up into the air in George Pickens’ general direction.

Plus, the Steelers D is still a force to be reckoned with and they will make life miserable for Daniel Jones and the makeshift offensive line in front of him. This could be an ugly game to end the week on.

Pick: Steelers 30-13

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