Week 8 NFL Picks: Tips for Vegas Odds and Over/Under Score Predictions

Week 8 of the NFL season is the most difficult yet.

Folks might hear such a statement every now and then from friends or fellow bettors, but take a look at the table below listing all of the odds.

Notice anything? Oddsmakers have played everything extremely safe this week, with only one line coming in at a full touchdown. Everything else is mostly spreads of three points, making the decisions quite difficult. 

Luckily for bettors, the over/under remains around and is a good way to balance bets. Better yet, it's something gleamed while doing general research on a spread. Here's an odds guide including lines and each over/under to help bettors navigate the trap-filled week. 

NFL Week 8 Odds

Matchup	Spread	O/U	Predicted Winner
Washington at Cincinnati	CIN -3	47	WAS 28-27
N.Y. Jets at Cleveland	NYJ -3	n/a	NYJ 28-10
Seattle at New Orleans	SEA -3	47.5	NO 24-23
Arizona at Carolina	CAR -3	48	ARI 27-21
New England at Buffalo	NE -7	47	NE 34-20
Oakland at Tampa Bay	OAK -1	49.5	TB 24-17
Kansas City at Indianapolis	KC -3	50	KC 36-30
Detroit at Houston	HOU -2	45	HOU 24-21
San Diego at Denver	DEN -4	45	DEN 28-20
Green Bay at Atlanta	ATL -3	53	GB 35-30
Philadelphia at Dallas	DAL -4.5	43.5	DAL 28-20
Minnesota at Chicago (MNF)	MIN -6	40.5	MIN 34-20

Odds courtesy of Odds Shark.

Arizona at Carolina (-3)

Bettors who have played the entire season might find this line a little odd. 

Indeed, it seems odd (get it?) to suggest the 1-5 Carolina Panthers as favorites against the Arizona Cardinals. Granted, the 3-3-1 Cardinals have had their problems, but not like the hosts.

Look at it this way—Carolina only has a single win on the season, a triumph, if one can call it that, against the 1-6 San Francisco 49ers. The team has lost against any legitimate competition, including Denver, Minnesota and Atlanta.

Carolina doesn't pass the ball well. When he's been healthy, Cam Newton has only completed 57.8 percent of his passes with eight touchdowns to six interceptions. The offense doesn't run the ball well, either, not with Newton leading the way with three rushing scores despite missing time.

This rematch of last year's NFC Championship Game will come down to defense. Arizona holds an edge here, as the unit only allows 289.6 yards and 15.7 points per game. By comparison, Carolina sits at 371.5 and 29.3.

How the times have changed. Carolina advanced to the Super Bowl last year, then let key pieces such as Josh Norman walk to obvious results. Carson Palmer (49 attempts, no picks in last week's tie to the Seattle Seahawks) won't have many problems slicing through a weak defense and controlling the overall pace of the game.

Prediction: Cardinals 27-21

Oakland (-1) at Tampa Bay

Sunday offers a showdown between the future of the quarterback position when Derek Carr's Oakland Raiders visit Jameis Winston's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

One could argue Carr's team enters with a major advantage—and rest assured bettors have heard this number plenty of times while doing research this week—because the team has yet to lose on the road.

While a nice feather in the cap for the Raiders, let's look at the road schedule—New Orleans, Tennessee, Baltimore and Jacksonville. Or in other words, no team with a winning record and only one at .500.

Carr, as expected, has been the most impressive part of the Raiders. He's completed 65.9 percent of his passes with 1,808 yards, 13 touchdowns and three interceptions.

His defense, though, could let him down against the Buccaneers.

The Oakland defense ranks last in total defense and passing defense. It coughs up 430.4 total yards per game, 302.1 passing yards and 25.6 points. Call it a boon for Tampa Bay's Jameis Winston, who leans on the incredible Mike Wallace (545 yards, six touchdowns) for production.

Evans shared an interesting status with Oakland's Michael Crabtree, as Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times pointed out: 

Oakland doesn't have anyone who can run with Evans, nor does the defense seem capable of stopping a rejuvenated Jacquizz Rodgers, who has a 4.7 per-carry average so far while playing in place of Doug Martin.

Look for Winston to win this battle of rising quarterbacks through sheer force of will against one of the most exploitable defenses in the league.

Prediction: Buccaneers 24-17

Minnesota (-6) at Chicago

Bettors might hear hype for the Monday Night Football encounter between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears because the hosts will have starting quarterback Jay Cutler under center.

Cutler has missed time with an injury, but in reality, backup Brian Hoyer was playing better until he went down with an injury and forced Chicago's hand. Otherwise, it seems likely Cutler won't even be with the team next season.

How odd is the situation in Chicago? Cutler dropped this quote to Rich Campbell of the Chicago Tribune:

Indeed, the headlines might suggest it's Minnesota with the problems because the team lost a Week 7 encounter with the Philadelphia Eagles to ruin a perfect season.

Please. The Vikings still only permit an average of 14 points per game. Sam Bradford still sits on a 67.5 completion percentage with seven touchdowns to one pick. Back to the defense, it's the only unit in the league with four players sitting on three or more sacks.

Chicago? The offense has scored more than 20 points in a game once. The team lost that game. The defense has allowed less than 20 points in a game just twice.

The worst thing Chicago needed was facing an angry Minnesota team at home under the national microscope. With an injury-plagued roster, breaking in another quarterback under center and arguably facing the best team in the league, the Bears won't be able to keep pace.

Prediction: Vikings 34-20

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

Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.