NFL Week 8 Picks: Game-by-Game Over/Under Predictions

Predicting the over/under scores for NFL games is one way to tempt the fates—and master schemer Bill Belichick—on a weekly basis.

The league is coming up on the halfway point of the season in Week 8, so there is plenty of information on each team, and predicting the scores each team is liable to put up this week shouldn't be a problem, right?

Well, attempting to sift through the deluge of stats, advanced stats and matchup histories and then nailing the scores from each Sunday showdown is a whole new level of frenetic football fandom.

It can be immensely satisfying when a well-researched pick comes through, but trying to detect the signal in the noise of 60,000-plus screaming fans, coaches and players at NFL stadiums across the country is, well, kind of difficult.

Here is a look at the over/under picks for each Week 8 game, along with a closer look at the toughest matchups to peg.

Matchup	Over/Under	Pick
San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos (-8)	51	Over
Detroit Lions (-3.5) at Atlanta Falcons	47	Under
Seattle Seahawks (-5) at Carolina Panthers	44.5	Under
Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals (even)	46	Under
Miami Dolphins (-7) at Jacksonville Jaguars	43	Over
St. Louis Rams at Kansas City Chiefs (-7.5)	43.5	Over
Chicago Bears at New England Patriots (-7)	50	Over
Buffalo Bills at New York Jets (-2.5)	41	Under
Minnesota Vikings at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-2.5)	42	Under
Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans	N/A	N/A
Philadelphia Eagles at Arizona Cardinals (-2.5)	48	Over
Oakland Raiders at Cleveland Browns (-7.5)	43	Over
Indianapolis Colts (-2.5) at Pittsburgh Steelers	49	Over
Green Bay Packers at New Orleans Saints (even)	55.5	Over
Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys (-10)	49.5	Under

Note: Spreads and over/under lines courtesy of Odds Shark and updated as of October 22 at 12 a.m. ET.

Baltimore Ravens (5-2) at Cincinnati Bengals (3-2-1)

Gail Burton/Associated Press

Rivalry games are always ripe for scoreline-altering shenanigans, but the fact that Ravens-Bengals Week 8 is a matchup between the top two teams in the AFC North isn't the only reason why this game is such a dicey over/under pick.

This pick is intriguing because there is no telling which version of the Bengals is going to show up Sunday.

In Week 6, the Bengals managed to get into a shootout with the Carolina Panthers, who are tied with the San Francisco 49ers for the 16th-ranked scoring offense and were playing with a banged-up Cam Newton under center. The contest ended in a 37-37 tie, much to the surprise of some players involved in the game. At least Dalton threw for over 300 yards without A.J. Green on the field, and Giovani Bernard averaged 7.6 yards per carry.

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

Fast-forward to Week 7 against the Indianapolis Colts, and the Bengals were shut out 27-0. Dalton threw for just 126 yards, although he did manage to hit tight end Jermaine Gresham 10 times—for a measly 48 yards.

Head coach Marvin Lewis didn't think the team did enough to attack the Colts defense Saturday, so it's possible they could open up the bag of tricks to get Bernard and wideout Mohamed Sanu more involved.

"It's my responsibility and our responsibility as coaches to put a plan in place all the time to utilize the guys we have and to be effective in attacking the opponent," he said, via Paul Dehner Jr. of The Cincinnati Enquirer. "I didn't think we did a very good job attacking yesterday in any phase of football and that led to our demise big time."

The over/under is set at 46, and it seems like the under is fairly safe thanks to the Ravens D, which is giving up just 14.9 points per game, fewest in the league.

However, Baltimore is liable to go off in this game if the Bengals defense isn't up to the task. Cincy has given up 107 points over the past three games. Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith has three touchdowns in the past two weeks, and 35-year-old wideout Steve Smith has been a revelation. When he strikes, he strikes big, as Yahoo Sports' Scott Pianowski noted:

Don't forget, Joe Flacco has a five-touchdown game already this year—Week 6 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The under is probably the safer bet here. It's a midseason contest that could easily have playoff implications down the line, which could result in some tentative play at first. But it wouldn't be all that shocking if the Bengals clicked on offense again—they will enjoy home-field advantage Sunday—and turned this game into a close contest with each team scoring in the mid-20s and pushing it over the betting line.

Buffalo Bills (4-3) at New York Jets (1-6) 

Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

This Empire State showdown has the potential to be one of the more intriguing NFL lower-class contests of the season. The line is set at a lowly 41 points, which in most cases makes taking the over fairly easy, but the Bills have injury issues to overcome and the Jets could have a shiny new toy to play with in this contest.

The Bills are coming off a comeback victory over the Minnesota Vikings, but they lost some offensive firepower in the process. C.J. Spiller suffered a broken collarbone and is on injured reserve with a designation to return, per ESPN.com's Mike Rodak. Fred Jackson picked up a groin injury earlier in that same game and could be out of commission for up to a month, per Rodak.

This leaves the Bills with either running back Anthony Dixon—an all-bass, no-treble power runner—or Bryce Brown, whom they acquired in a trade with the Philadelphia Eagles during the 2014 NFL draft. Brown is a more dynamic runner than the wide-bodied Dixon, but the latter picked up 51 yards on 13 carries against the Vikings.

Head coach Doug Marrone has been non-committal regarding which back will get the lead role, per the Bills' official Twitter account:

The Bills rushing attack ranks 19th in the league, but it stands to reason that the offense will suffer some without the top two tailbacks on the field.

Heading over to the Big Apple, there is quite a buzz surrounding the Jets after they acquired wideout Percy Harvin from the Seattle Seahawks in a rare high-profile midseason trade.

Harvin is a versatile Swiss army knife of an offensive weapon, but he will be hard-pressed to rescue the Jets' moribund offense, which ranks tied for 28th in the league in points per game. In five games with the 'Hawks in 2014, Harvin racked up 133 receiving yards, 92 rushing yards and one touchdown.

Hardly eye-popping numbers, but Harvin was an absolute freak on offense and special teams while a member of the Minnesota Vikings and is still a welcome addition to a Jets offense that is trying to develop a young quarterback in Geno Smith and had one high-profile wideout in Eric Decker on the roster before his arrival.

Jim Rogash/Getty Images

Decker, who moved to the Jets as a free agent after four seasons with the Denver Broncos, has struggled to produce this season. He's been hampered by injuries and the ineffectiveness of Smith, picking up 24 receptions for 323 yards and three touchdowns in six games.

He stands to benefit greatly from the addition of Harvin, who can draw attention into the box with quick-hitting routes, allowing Decker to work the seams.

It's going to take time for Harvin to absorb the Jets' offensive system—let's go ahead and assume Jets offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg already has tons of plays designed for Harvin scribbled into his dream journal—which makes it tough to tell if he is going to make an impact against the Bills.

The Jets could be fine without him, as they did manage to put up 25 points on the New England Patriots in Week 7. However, it could be a much tougher day for powerful running back Chris Ivory, as the Bills are giving up just 3.2 yards per carry, via ESPN.com. If the Jets go down early, the score from this game shouldn't reach the over/under line.