Week 8 NFL Picks: Over/Under Projections, Odds Advice and Line Spreads

Following weekend losses from the Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers, not to mention a tie between the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals, bettors had to love things getting back to normal to end the week.

In other words, the Denver Broncos cruised to a 27-9 victory against the Houston Texans on Monday Night Football.

With any luck, Denver winning in more ways than one (See? No need to pay Brock Osweiler $72 million) gives bettors hope that Week 8 will be more predictable despite tough matchups, including Green Bay vs. Atlanta and Philadelphia vs. Dallas.

Here's an early look at the Week 8 slate and a few odds to jump all over before the lines adjust.

NFL Week 8 Odds

Matchup	Spread	O/U	Predicted Winner
Jacksonville at Tennessee (TNF)	TEN -3.5	44.5	TEN 23-20
Washington at Cincinnati	CIN -2.5	47	CIN 28-27
N.Y. Jets at Cleveland	NYJ -2.5	n/a	NYJ 28-10
Seattle at New Orleans	SEA -3	47.5	SEA 24-23
Arizona at Carolina	E	48	ARI 27-21
New England at Buffalo	NE -4.5	47	NE 34-20
Oakland at Tampa Bay	TB -1	49.5	TB 24-17
Kansas City at Indianapolis	KC -2.5	50	KC 36-30
Detroit at Houston	HOU -2.5	45	HOU 24-21
San Diego at Denver	DEN -6	45	DEN 28-20
Green Bay at Atlanta	ATL -2.5	53	GB 35-30
Philadelphia at Dallas	DAL -5	43.5	DAL 28-20
Minnesota at Chicago (MNF)	MIN -4	40.5	MIN 34-20

Odds courtesy of Odds Shark.

New England (-4.5) at Buffalo

It's revenge-game time. 

Fans might hate the idea of such a thing, but to suggest revenge doesn't play into motivation and later into performance is silly—especially in this scenario.

Rex Ryan and the Buffalo Bills did their usual chatting before their 16-0 victory over the Pats in Week 4. The Bills were fortunate enough to face Jacoby Brissett under center on the road, stopping the New England Patriots from going 4-0 while Tom Brady served the last game of his suspension.

The defeat might be the only game the Patriots lose for a long time.

Buffalo needed the win against the depleted Patriots while it could get it. After beating up on miserable Los Angeles and San Francisco teams, the Bills dropped a 28-25 decision to Miami while finding a way to get star running back LeSean McCoy hurt.

The Patriots haven't had any such problems. Since Brady's return three games ago, the Patriots have yet to lose, despite facing a pair of AFC North contenders. He's thrown for 1,004 yards and eight touchdowns with no interceptions.

In other words, it's back to business as usual for both sides. Buffalo seems back to its iffy ways at 4-3, while Brady is not only back and looking like his usual self but playing angry. This line is going to grow, so bettors who want to take the over should get on it while it's in a comfortable range.

Prediction: Patriots 34-20

Philadelphia at Dallas (-5)

Are you excited for a Carson Wentz vs. Dak Prescott showdown? 

You should be. The two rookies are some of the best things going in the NFL right now after Peyton Manning hung up his cleats and Brady's image went in the toilet with a suspension.

Wentz has his Eagles at 4-2 and second in the NFC East by way of his 63.8 completion percentage with 1,324 yards and eight touchdowns to three interceptions. Prescott has the Cowboys on top of the division at 5-1, completing 68.7 percent of his throws for 1,486 yards, seven TDs and one pick.

This is how prime-time football should be—two unexpected high-flying teams, a historic rivalry and a pair of rising stars on Sunday Night Football.

Given the strength of the teams, this is one of those matchups where locale needs to come into play. At home, the Cowboys should find it easy to control the pace of the game.

While opposing quarterbacks have struggled against the Eagles with six touchdowns to five interceptions, those numbers have come in cupcake matchups against Cleveland and Chicago. What Philadelphia doesn't do well is defend the run—opposing backs average 4.5 yards per carry against their defense.

That's where another rookie comes into the equation. Running back Ezekiel Elliott is on a historic pace with 703 yards, five scores and a 5.1 yards-per-carry average through six games. Like other backs before him, he won't have a problem with the Eagles defense. ESPN's Adam Schefter provided the historical context:

Maybe this pans out with a different winner in Philadelphia later in the season. Maybe the Cowboys have Tony Romo under center (or not). Many things can change, but right now, Dallas' offensive tandem brings more to the table than the Eagles can handle on the road.

Prediction: Cowboys 28-20

Minnesota (-4) at Chicago

As one can see, it's back to normal programming for national games when the Minnesota Vikings visit the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football. 

That's not a bad thing for bettors. This line seems exploitable as is, though it will only grow to favor the road team.

Two factors might have bettors thinking "upset." First, the Vikings went out and lost 21-10 in Week 7 to the Eagles. Second, the Bears are getting Jay Cutler back at quarterback, per the team:

It's easy to poke holes in either line of thinking. The Eagles, as mentioned, are a great team, so Minnesota taking a loss isn't the end of the world. As for the second point, the Bears actually played better offensively with Cutler on the sideline—which makes sense, given the fact he threw for one touchdown and two interceptions before leaving with an injury.

The transition to Cutler back under center won't be easy for the Bears. Their offense has scored more than 20 points only once this season—now the Bears have to face a Minnesota defense that ranks first in the league, allowing only 14 points per game on average. The unit also sits on an impressive 19 sacks and nine interceptions.

Chicago, on the other hand, allows 24.1 points on average and won't have much of an answer for Sam Bradford, who sits on a 67.5 completion percentage, with seven touchdowns and one interception. That doesn't sound like much, but he's backed by a defense that has allowed more than 20 points in a game only once, so it's hard for opposing teams to keep pace.

With Minnesota looking to bounce back after a loss with a divisional win while Chicago still attempts to pick up the pieces, this makes for one of the easiest lines of the week.

Prediction: Vikings 34-20

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus. 

Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.