Week 8 NFL Picks: Outlining Pivotal Games on Sunday's Slate

Let's not sugarcoat it: This week's NFL schedule does not feature the best matchups. 

There's no Super Bowl preview in store for the weekend. At best, there are three showdowns featuring potential playoff contenders, and even that is stretching it.

But notice the hesitance to outright label the week as bad. Football isn't played on paper for a reason. 

The New England Patriots were supposed to handle the New York Jets last Sunday, but viewers were instead treated to an upset victory during overtime. There's no Peyton Manning returning home to where he amassed four MVP trophies and 11 postseason appearances, but the wins and losses from this weekend's games still count the same. 

While none of these games threaten to drastically alter the league's landscape, these clashes could turn out to bear massive meaning going into the season's second half.

Away	Prediction	Home
San Francisco 49ers (-15.5)	31-3	Jacksonville Jaguars
Dallas Cowboys	27-26	Detroit Lions (-3)
New York Giants	31-28	Philadelphia Eagles (-5.5)
Cleveland Browns	16-27	Kansas City Chiefs (-7.5)
Buffalo Bills	20-35	New Orleans Saints (-11)
Miami Dolphins	17-21	New England Patriots (-6)
New York Jets	13-20	Cincinnati Bengals (-6)
Pittsburgh Steelers (-2.5)	17-12	Oakland Raiders
Washington Redskins	31-40	Denver Broncos (-11)
Atlanta Falcons	20-27	Arizona Cardinals (-2.5)
Green Bay Packers (-9)	30-13	Minnesota Vikings
Seattle Seahawks (-11)	24-6	St. Louis Rams

New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles

This game should not matter at all. Sadly, it does.

Should the Dallas Cowboys stumble on the road against the Detroit Lions, this game intensifies the NFC East picture regardless of who emerges victorious. The Eagles can even up their record with the Cowboys while the seemingly impossible task of overcoming an 0-6 start would look feasible if the Giants won and crawled just two games behind.

Both teams are bad, and neither deserves to be mentioned in the same sentence as the word "playoffs." Take it up with Dallas, as it's the division's only decent squad. 

The Giants picked up their first win on Monday night, if you can even call that a win. Eli Manning spending the entire day in checkdown mode while the running game collects 2.0 yards per carry won't cut it against a team that can actually move the football.

Their prior bout remained close until Nick Foles replaced Michael Vick and blew the game out of hand during the fourth quarter. Combine that with four more New York turnovers, and the Eagles sprinted to a 36-21 win. This time, Vick, who has not played since that game, will replace Foles and return to action this Sunday, according to Philly.com's Zach Berman.

While Vick burned them with his legs, Foles experienced much more success passing against the G-Men. The Eagles should score plenty of points either way, but the Giants will also fix their woes against the NFL's worst defense in terms of yards allowed.

As long as the Giants stop turning the ball over with regularity, they'll scoop up another win.

Prediction: Giants 31, Eagles 28

New York Jets at Cincinnati Bengals

Are the Jets for real now?

It's hard to discredit them after improving to 4-3 with a win over the Patriots. Perhaps it's a bit easier considering the timely officiating in their favor that lent them two of those wins, but we're not discussing either of those calls if they occurred in the second quarter.

Another tough opponent waits in the Bengals. The simple pattern of win-loss-win-loss-win-loss-win indicates that another loss is coming, but rational analysis can also help us arrive at that conclusion through more appropriate terms.

The Jets have followed impressive wins by looking mighty vulnerable against the Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers, who both boast top-10 passing offenses. Geno Smith suffered from rookie moments in both, firing two interceptions in each outing.

While the Bengals don't quite rank in the top 10, they're not far behind at No. 13 with 236.4 passing yards allowed per game. That's not bad considering they've faced Jay Cutler, Ben Roethlisberger, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady early in the season.

New York's defense is the real deal, which should keep the score dangerously close. But look for the offense to falter enough to lead Cincinnati to another victory. 

Prediction: Bengals 20, Jets 13

Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots

The AFC East would look awfully messy if the Dolphins could top the Pats. That's not as long of a stretch as everyone thinks.

An on-and-off Ryan Tannehill is outperforming Tom Brady this year. While his inexperienced receivers are largely to blame, the future Hall of Famer misfired many times against the Jets during an afternoon in which he completed fewer than half of his passes.

New England has one win over the New Orleans Saints that it can feel great about. Miami beat the Indianapolis Colts, which means a lot more than anyone previously thought now that the Colts have slayed the San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos.

Following two close losses, the Dolphins should play the Patriots tough, making this another nail-biter at Foxborough. But some much-needed reinforcements could save the day.

According to ESPN.com's Mike Reiss, Aqib Talib and Danny Amendola have both practiced during the week and could suit up on Sunday.

Getting the shutdown corner and reliable wideout back in the mix would be just enough to salvage a win for New England.

Prediction: Patriots 21, Dolphins 17