NFL Week 8 Predictions: Early Projections for Vegas' Odds, Lines and Spreads

The NFL is a week-by-week learning process for fans and bettors alike, and those willing to battle the Las Vegas lines will look to apply Week 7's lessons to Week 8's games.

We learned there won't be an undefeated squad this season after the Minnesota Vikings offense seemingly forgot to travel with the rest of the team to Philadelphia. However, there may be a winless team after the Cleveland Browns dropped their seventh game in seven tries, four of which came by double digits.

We learned on Thursday that all Aaron Rodgers needed to look like one of the best quarterbacks in the league again was the hapless Chicago Bears. We also learned the Pittsburgh Steelers will need their own version of an elite quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger to compete against the NFL's best after dropping a home game to the New England Patriots.

With those lessons and more in mind, here is a look at the slate of Week 8 games bettors can attack as the season approaches its halfway mark.

Point spreads are courtesy of Odds Shark as of Monday at 12:30 a.m. ET.

Date	Time (ET)	Matchup	Point Spread	Prediction Against Spread
Thursday, Oct. 27	8:25 p.m.	Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans	TEN -3.5	Titans
Sunday, Oct. 30	9:30 a.m.	Washington at Cincinnati Bengals (in London)	CIN -2.5	Bengals
Sunday, Oct. 30	1 p.m.	Kansas City Chiefs at Indianapolis Colts	KC -2.5	Chiefs
Sunday, Oct. 30	1 p.m.	Oakland Raiders at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	TB -1	Raiders
Sunday, Oct. 30	1 p.m.	Seattle Seahawks at New Orleans Saints	SEA -3	Seahawks
Sunday, Oct. 30	1 p.m.	Detroit Lions at Houston Texans	HOU -2.5	Texans
Sunday, Oct. 30	1 p.m.	New York Jets at Cleveland Browns	NYJ -2.5	Jets
Sunday, Oct. 30	1 p.m.	New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills	NE -4.5	Patriots
Sunday, Oct. 30	1 p.m.	Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers	Even	Cardinals
Sunday, Oct. 30	4:05 p.m.	San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos	DEN -6	Chargers
Sunday, Oct. 30	4:25 p.m.	Green Bay Packers at Atlanta Falcons	ATL -2.5	Falcons
Sunday, Oct. 30	8:30 p.m.	Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys	DAL -5	Cowboys
Monday, Oct. 31	8:30 p.m.	Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears	MIN -4	Vikings

Week 8 Matchup to Watch: Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys

It is a marquee game whenever the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles square off because of how heated the NFC East rivalry is between these two teams with large, passionate fanbases. The impending clash is the game to watch in Week 8 because the winner will have bragging rights and a spot in first place in the division.

The Cowboys are off to a 5-1 start thanks to an impressive rookie backfield, while the Eagles are 4-2 and fresh off a defensive gem in a 21-10 victory over the Vikings.

Dallas should be fresh entering this division showdown after enjoying a Week 7 bye. It also has five straight wins after starting the season with a narrow one-point loss to the New York Giants and has a chance to create separation in the NFC East if it defends home-field advantage against the Eagles. It gets the winless Browns after that in what should be a straightforward victory.

Everything starts with the rushing attack when it comes to the Cowboys.

Coming into Sunday's action, rookie Ezekiel Elliott led the league with 703 yards on the ground. The team as a whole led the NFC with 967 rushing yards, largely thanks to an offensive line that Football Outsiders ranked as the league's best run-blocking unit.

Elliott has been the one on the nightly highlight shows with elusive jukes and the athleticism to hurdle defenders, but he credited those up front, per Charean Williams of the Star-Telegram: "I've got to thank my O-line and those guys. They work their tails off, and they make it easy for me. I just have to go out there and compete and run the ball."

The Ohio State product deserves some of that praise as well. Williams said he became the first rookie in NFL history to run for 130 or more yards in four straight contests. He torched the Bears for 140, San Francisco 49ers for 138, Cincinnati Bengals for 134 and Green Bay Packers for 157.

Dallas' rushing attack could get even better, as Darren McFadden—who ran for 1,089 yards last year—said he is ready to return after undergoing offseason elbow surgery, per Drew Davison of the Star-Telegram.

Stopping the ground game will prove daunting for an Eagles defense that ranked a middling 18th in the league in rushing yards allowed per game coming into Sunday's action. What's more, Dak Prescott can take advantage if they devote too many defenders to the box against Elliott considering the signal-caller has seven passing touchdowns, three rushing touchdowns and just one interception.

However, that Philadelphia defense was strong during Sunday's victory over Minnesota and held the Vikings to 93 yards on 27 carries (3.4 yards per attempt). No Vikings rusher finished with more than 55 yards on the ground, and quarterback Sam Bradford fumbled four times (he lost two of them) and threw an interception.

The Eagles should be riding a confidence wave, and Kevin Negandhi of ESPN reacted to the performance:

The issue for the Eagles is replicating that type of outing when they hit the road.

They allowed 10 points to the Browns, three points to the Steelers and 10 points to the Vikings at Lincoln Financial Field, but it is a different story away from home:

Opponent	Result
Chicago Bears	29-14 win
Detroit Lions	24-23 loss
Washington	27-20 loss

Only the 1-6 Bears struggled against the Eagles when the game wasn't in Philadelphia.

Sunday's contest is in Dallas, and the Cowboys offensive line will set the tone early and often. Look for Elliott to score twice on the ground, and rookie quarterback Carson Wentz will struggle to keep up after he threw for a season-low 138 yards with two interceptions against the Vikings.

Things won't get much easier against a Cowboys defense that was seventh in the league in points allowed per game as of Sunday.

Prediction: Cowboys 28, Eagles 17