NFL Predictions Week 8: Last-Minute Picks and Advice for Sunday's Schedule

As we approach the 2014 NFL season's halfway mark, there is a better understanding of what every team brings to the table. At this point in the year, we know every squad's strengths and weaknesses, making weekly picks a little easier.

After all, who would have predicted the Detroit Lions defense, not offense, would be propelling the team to victories? How could we have conceived the Cincinnati Bengals would suddenly have one of the league's worst defensive units or that the Denver Broncos would have one of the best?

Now that we have a good idea of what kind of on-field product we can expect, predicting Week 8 victors becomes a little easier after assessing matchups, current trends and injuries. That said, let's take a look at some late-minute picks for Sunday's schedule, followed by the full outlook for the game of the day.

Matchup	Spread	Pick ATS
Detroit Lions vs. Atlanta Falcons	DET -3.5	Lions
Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals	BAL -1	Ravens
Minnesota Vikings at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	TB -2.5	Buccaneers
Seattle Seahawks at Carolina Panthers	SEA -5.5	Seahawks
Buffalo Bills at New York Jets	NYJ -3	Jets
Chicago Bears at New England Patriots	NE -5.5	Patriots
St. Louis Rams at Kansas City Chiefs	KC -7.5	Rams
Miami Dolphins at Jacksonville Jaguars	MIA -7	Dolphins
Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans	HOU -3	Titans
Philadelphia Eagles at Arizona Cardinals	AZ -1	Cardinals
Indianapolis Colts at Pittsburgh Steelers	IND -3	Colts
Oakland Raiders at Cleveland Browns	CLE -7.5	Raiders
Green Bay Packers at New Orleans Saints	NO -1	Packers

All odds courtesy of Odds Shark and current as of October 25.

Game of the Day

Philadelphia Eagles at Arizona Cardinals

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

This battle of 5-1 teams could easily have division and playoff implications. The Cardinals have a comfortable lead atop the NFC West, but a loss could see their lead over the 4-3 San Francisco 49ers (on bye this week) close to just one game. Meanwhile, Philadelphia is in a tight battle with the Dallas Cowboys and needs a win to keep pace with one of the league's hottest teams.

NFL on ESPN tweeted these teams' winning ways since the midway point of last season:

The Eagles enter this game riding a two-game winning streak and coming off a Week 7 bye. The team's last contest was a 27-0 shutout victory over the New York Giants. It was Philadelphia's most complete game to date.

Head coach Chip Kelly brought a high-octane look to the Eagles offense, but this season hasn't produced the same kind of results from what we saw out of this unit in 2013. LeSean McCoy has struggled to get going through six games, and quarterback Nick Foles lost his efficiency, throwing seven interceptions in 2014 so far.

ESPN NFL Nation tweeted its thoughts on the quarterback's issues with ball security.

"

Nick Foles needs to regain 2013 turnover form http://t.co/E5B9R7RyN6

— ESPN NFL Nation (@ESPN_NFLNation) October 20, 2014"

This offense will get a true test Sunday against the Cardinals. Arizona boasts the league's second-ranked run defense, allowing an average of just 72.5 yards per game on the ground. That could make it rather difficult for the Eagles to create a balanced offensive attack. While the Cardinals do have one of the NFL's worst pass defenses, they are tied for third in the league with eight interceptions this year.

Philadelphia's defense hasn't been stellar against the run or the pass this season, ranking 23rd in both categories and 24th overall. While the Eagles are allowing just 22.0 points per game in 2014, the Week 7 shutout performance against the Giants makes that number a little deceptive. In the Eagles' five previous games, they gave up less than 26 points just once—Week 1 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

With Carson Palmer back under center for the Cardinals, this team has become significantly improved on the offensive side of the ball. In the quarterback's two games following his return, Arizona scored 30 and 24 points, respectively.

The quarterback wasn't even fazed under pressure during the team's win over the Oakland Raiders, according to Bleacher Report's Shaun Church:

The combination of a reliable signal-caller with a strong arm, a wide receiver duo featuring Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd and a versatile running back in Andre Ellington could be too much for a porous Eagles defense to handle in the desert.

Expect points to be plentiful Sunday, but an unbalanced Philadelphia offense makes too many mistakes to overcome an efficient Cardinals attack.

Prediction: Cardinals 27, Eagles 23