NFL Picks Week 8: Examining Recent Odds and Expert Predictions

Week 8 is set to begin with a number of looming matchups that will help to decide the league's hierarchy heading into the NFL season's midway point.

It's far too early to tell exactly what the postseason outlook is going to be, but we're inching closer and closer to clarity. With a few Week 8 clashes featuring conference favorites and playoff contenders, there will be plenty of chances to make statements over the weekend. 

That's not to say every matchup is up in the air, though, because that simply isn't the case, as you can see below in the predictions of a number of experts.

Here's a look at the latest odds for every matchup as well as expert predictions.

Matchup	Spread	Over/Under
San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos	DEN -8	51.5
Detroit Lions vs. Atlanta Falcons in London	DET -3.5	47
Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans	HOU -2	43
St. Louis Rams at Kansas City Chiefs	KC -6	44
Minnesota Vikings at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	TB -2	41.5
Seattle Seahawks at Carolina Panthers	SEA -3	44.5
Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals	CIN -2.5	46
Miami Dolphins at Jacksonville Jaguars	MIA -4	43
Chicago Bears at New England Patriots	NE -7	50
Buffalo Bills at New York Jets	NYJ -2.5	41
Philadelphia Eagles at Arizona Cardinals	ARI -2.5	48
Oakland Raiders at Cleveland Browns	CLE -7	43
Indianapolis Colts at Pittsburgh Steelers	IND -1.5	49
Green Bay Packers at New Orleans Saints	NO -1.5	56
Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys	DAL -9	49.5

Note: Odds courtesy of Odds Shark.

Expert Predictions

Matchup	Matt Bowen B/R	Matt Miller B/R	Mike Freeman B/R	Michael Schottey B/R	Pete Prisco CBS	Michael Fabiano NFL.com
SD at DEN	DEN	DEN	DEN	DEN	DEN	DEN
DET at ATL	DET	DET	ATL	DET	DET	DET
HOU at TEN	TEN	HOU	HOU	HOU	TEN	HOU
STL at KC	KC	KC	KC	KC	KC	KC
MIN at TB	MIN	MIN	MIN	MIN	TB	TB
SEA at CAR	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA
BAL at CIN	BAL	BAL	BAL	BAL	CIN	CIN
MIA at JAX	MIA	MIA	MIA	MIA	JAX	MIA
CHI at NE	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE
BUF at NYJ	BUF	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ	BUF
PHI at ARI	PHI	PHI	PHI	ARI	ARI	ARI
OAK at CLE	CLE	CLE	CLE	CLE	CLE	CLE
IND at PIT	IND	IND	IND	IND	PIT	IND
GB at NO	GB	GB	GB	NO	GB	GB
WAS at DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL	DAL

Complete Bleacher Report expert picks can be found here. CBS Sports picks are available here, and NFL.com picks are available here.

Analysis

Jack Dempsey/Associated Press

Every week there tends to be—without fail—a game picked practically in consensus for one team that doesn't come to fruition. Which will it be this week?

The six experts above are going unanimous on a whopping five games. They're all quite obvious as to why—especially Denver over San Diego and Seattle over Carolina—but others could crash and burn.

For instance, the Browns are consensus picks to beat the Raiders; the seven-point spread does nothing to quell that. But Cleveland fell to a then-winless Jaguars team a week ago and now faces the only other winless NFL team remaining.

Sunday can't come fast enough for the Browns, and they certainly aren't overlooking the Raiders after what happened last week, per The Cleveland Plain Dealer's Mary Kay Cabot:

The Raiders have been much more competent lately in tight contests against Arizona and San Diego, but there's no way Cleveland will come out flat again at home versus a hapless foe, right? Right?

The experts don't see eye-to-eye everywhere, however, and it can be fun to look closer at why some of the expert picks go against the norm. For example, Pete Prisco of CBS Sports explains why he's going against the grain to pick the Steelers over the Colts:

"

The Steelers came alive late in the second half against the Texans, and I think that will carry over. They looked like a different team, especially on defense. The Colts will be tough to stop for a defense that is not great rushing the passer, but I think Ben Roethlisberger will do enough to find a way to pull this one out.

"

But while the experts often pick similarly, and Week 8 is no exception, this parity-filled league faces a few inevitable tossups over the weekend. 

The most obvious one is a battle of NFC teams with strong starts hoping to validate Super Bowl aspirations, as the Eagles visit the Cardinals. That one is split down the middle, which isn't surprising considering both teams have one loss apiece.

All in all, it's set to be a big-time Week 8 slate that will go a long way toward deciding how the playoff picture will look for each division.