NFL Week 8 Picks: Final Overview of Consensus Picks

It's hard to believe that upon the conclusion of the 14 remaining Week 8 contests, the 2014 NFL season will have reached its midway point. While that thought can bring a frown to your face, there's plenty of reason to smile if you're a bettor.

At this point in the season, we know what practically every team is made of—with a few exceptions. The on-field products teams are delivering are pretty fair examples of what we'll see for the remainder of the season. By now, good teams know they're good, and bad teams know they're bad.

This makes deciphering game odds a little easier, as we have a better understanding of forthcoming matchups. As we wait for Week 8 to continue, let's take a look at each matchup, the associated game line and corresponding public-consensus pick.

Matchup	Spread	Consensus Pick
Detroit Lions vs. Atlanta Falcons	DET -3.5	Lions, 63%
Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals	BAL -1	Ravens, 59%
Minnesota Vikings at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	TB -2.5	Bucs, 51%
Seattle Seahawks at Carolina Panthers	SEA -5.5	Seahawks, 63%
Buffalo Bills at New York Jets	NYJ -3	Jets, 60%
Chicago Bears at New England Patriots	NE -5.5	Bears, 53%
St. Louis Rams at Kansas City Chiefs	KC -7.5	Chiefs, 60%
Miami Dolphins at Jacksonville Jaguars	MIA -7	Dolphins, 63%
Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans	HOU -3	Texans, 70%
Philadelphia Eagles at Arizona Cardinals	AZ -1	Eagles, 59%
Indianapolis Colts at Pittsburgh Steelers	IND -3	Colts, 72%
Oakland Raiders at Cleveland Browns	CLE -7.5	Raiders, 54%
Green Bay Packers at New Orleans Saints	NO -1	Packers, 61%
Washington Redskins at Dallas Cowboys	DAL -10	Cowboys, 55%

All betting information courtesy of Odds Shark and current as of October 25.

Consensus Pick Analysis

Indianapolis Colts (72 percent) at Pittsburgh Steelers

AJ Mast/Associated Press

It's pretty easy to see why the majority of the public likes the Colts giving up three points to the Steelers here.

Indianapolis is suddenly an extremely well-rounded football team. We already knew this offense was incredibly prolific with Andrew Luck at the helm, but the team's defense has been stepping up in a big way in recent games.

After allowing just 135 total yards of offense to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 7, the Colts now have the league's fourth-ranked pass defense and ninth-ranked run defense—good enough to rank third overall in yards allowed and fourth in points allowed.

Considering this team has the league's most prolific passing attack and now a dangerous running game since the emergence of Ahmad Bradshaw, we could be looking at the NFL's most complete team. Even with veteran receiver Reggie Wayne out of commission, Hakeem Nicks has the ability to fill his shoes, according to the Colts' official Twitter account:

The Steelers may be coming off a victory over the struggling Houston Texans but not before falling behind 13-0 and needing several Texans' errors to ignite a scoring frenzy at the end of the first half. In Pittsburgh's three previous games, it was trounced by the Cleveland Browns, barely escaped the Jacksonville Jaguars and lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

That's not a good track record.

Expect the Colts defense to give Ben Roethlisberger and Co. fits on Sunday while Luck and his weapons rack up the points once again to win by a substantial margin.

Houston Texans (70 percent) at Tennessee Titans

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

This game sets up very well for J.J. Watt and the Texans defensive front. Houston has accumulated 13 sacks so far this season, but that number can grow exponentially on Sunday when they take on a Titans team starting rookie quarterback Zach Mettenberger.

The Titans offensive line hasn't been very good in terms of pass protection so far this season, accumulating a minus-18.6 grade in that department by Pro Football Focus (subscription required). That's not a good sign for a young quarterback who may have a tendency to hang on to the ball a little longer than he should.

We should expect some rookie mistakes from Mettenberger on which the Texans defense will be able to capitalize. In fact, the Titans are already bracing for some hiccups, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport:

While Houston feasts on the young signal-caller, expect running back Arian Foster to do the same against the Titans' 22nd-ranked run defense, which allows an average of 123.7 yards per game. He should help get points on the board quickly, causing Tennessee to rely on the passing game more than expected.

This game must come with one warning, however: Rookie quarterbacks do have a tendency to catch lightning in a bottle in their first NFL starts, and Mettenberger does have a cannon for an arm. While the Texans should take this game, don't be surprised to see a different result.

Detroit Lions (63 percent) vs. Atlanta Falcons

Rick Osentoski/Associated Press

These two teams are headed to London, England, to play at the historic Wembley Stadium in Sunday's morning hours (9:30 a.m. ET). While this contest is viewed as a "home game" for the Falcons, don't expect them to feel Georgia Dome-like comfort—especially against a brutal Lions defense.

The Falcons offense has seemingly fallen apart due to constant injuries along the offensive line. This team is riding a four-game losing streak due to the defense's inability to stop almost anyone and the offense's inability to move the ball efficiently.

Atlanta boasts the league's 30th-ranked defense and has given up at least 24 points in all but one contest so far this season. Meanwhile, quarterback Matt Ryan can't get enough protection to get points on the board, coming off of two performances in which me managed 13 and seven points, respectively.

On the other hand, Detroit's defense is legit. This unit has accumulated 21 sacks and eight interceptions through seven games and is poised to have a field day with a decimated Falcons offensive line. Here's a look at how dominant the Lions defense has been, via Tim Twentyman of DetroitLions.com:

Even though wide receiver Calvin Johnson will be a game-time decision this week, Golden Tate, Joique Bell and Reggie Bush have been able to pick up the slack in his absence, allowing for enough points to come into this Week 8 contest riding a two-game winning streak.

Expect Ryan to be pressured early and often as the Lions win the field-position battle and take this game in a low-scoring affair.