NFL Week 8 Opening Odds: Packers, Patriots Favorites at Sportsbooks

The five undefeated teams left in the NFL will get their toughest tests yet in Week 8 of the season, which is highlighted by the Sunday night matchup between two of them in the Green Bay Packers (6-0) and Denver Broncos (6-0).

Both the Packers and Broncos were on byes last week, with the former led by Aaron Rodgers and listed as consensus 2.5-point road favorites at sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark against host Peyton Manning. The two future Hall of Fame quarterbacks will be meeting for just the second time in their illustrious careers.

The only previous time Rodgers met the elder Manning came during the 2008 season when the Packers defeated the Indianapolis Colts 34-14 as one-point home underdogs at Lambeau Field.

Rodgers has squared off with New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning—Peyton’s younger brother—and split four meetings, including a 37-20 playoff loss in 2012 when Green Bay was the NFC’s top seed and an 8.5-point home favorite.

But first another future Hall of Fame quarterback will kick off Week 8 when the New England Patriots (6-0) welcome the Miami Dolphins (3-3) to Gillette Stadium in the Thursday night game.

Tom Brady led the Patriots to a 30-23 win over the New York Jets last Sunday with 355 passing yards and two touchdowns while also running for another score.

New England ended up pushing on the closing number as a seven-point home favorite against the Jets, and the team has failed to cover the spread in its last four Thursday night appearances at home with an 0-3-1 mark.

The other two unbeaten teams are the Cincinnati Bengals (6-0) and Carolina Panthers (6-0), who each will be facing desperate opponents in Week 8.

The Bengals also had their bye last week and visit the Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3), who are coming off a road loss to the Kansas City Chiefs and hope to have starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger back on the field after missing the last four games with a knee injury.

There was no line on this AFC North matchup as of Monday, but Cincinnati has gone 2-8 straight up and against the spread in the past 10 meetings, according to the OddsShark NFL Database.

The Panthers knocked off the Philadelphia Eagles 27-16 in last week’s Sunday night game and will be playing in prime time again Monday night when they host the struggling Indianapolis Colts (3-4). Carolina is 5-1 ATS this year while Indianapolis is 2-4 but has gone 6-2 versus the line in its past eight road appearances on Monday night.