NFL Predictions Week 8: Picks Guide, Odds Advice and Schedule Info

A week ending with a tough battle between the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs is bound to give bettors a hard time.

Those Chiefs are a great personification of this unpredictable season. They started the NFL's schedule off with an exclamation point by taking down the New England Patriots, rode the momentum to the league's only undefeated mark through five games and then turned around and lost two straight.

That's not exactly what most expected before the season, to say the least. The same thoughts seem to apply to most games each week for would-be bettors.

For those who waited until the last second, here's an odds guide before Sunday's kickoffs.

NFL Week 8 Schedule, Odds

Minnesota (-10) at Cleveland | O/U 37.5

Atlanta (-6) at N.Y. Jets | O/U 46.5

Carolina at Tampa Bay (-1) | O/U 44.5

Chicago at New Orleans (-9) | O/U 48

Indianapolis at Cincinnati (-10.5) | O/U 41

L.A. Chargers at New England (-7.5) | O/U 48.5

Oakland at Buffalo (-3) | O/U 46

San Francisco at Philadelphia (-13) | O/U 46.5

Houston at Seattle (-7) | O/U 45

Dallas (-2) at Washington | O/U 47

Pittsburgh (-3) at Detroit | O/U 45

Denver at Kansas City (-7.5) | O/U 43

Atlanta (-6) at N.Y. Jets

This one is easy, right? Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons coming off a Super Bowl appearance against the hapless, rebuilding New York Jets means—whoops.

If only it were so simple. Instead, both teams could have subbed in well for the Chiefs in the intro. The Falcons have disappointed while failing to use a superstar like Julio Jones well, and the Jets are one of the league's better surprises, rebuilding status or not.

Ryan's Falcons have lost three games in a row, including not looking competitive at all in a 23-7 loss to the Patriots on the road. There, the team fed Jones 13 targets and he scored, but it says quite a lot about the approach that he only has 50 and one respectively on the season.

The Jets have simply done more with less. This isn't even a typical strong New York team led by a defense considering the unit has coughed up 23 points per game on average. But Josh McCown has 10 touchdowns against seven interceptions under center while completing 69.2 percent of his passes. That doesn't sound like much, but here's NBCSN's Ross Tucker with additional context: 

Now try to keep in mind McCown's leading rusher is Bilal Powell and his leading receiver is Robby Anderson.

Exactly.

It's clear the Jets are going to keep playing their game. The Falcons don't know what that is on their side and have something of an identity crisis going on—something apparent enough after a supposed elite passing attack couldn't exploit the Patriots, owners of the league's worst pass defense. At home, look for the Jets to slip past late.

Prediction: Jets 21, Falcons 20

San Francisco at Philadelphia (-13)

This line keeps on growing right up until kickoff, which makes the game more interesting than it has any right being.

Bettors have to decide whether the red-hot Philadelphia Eagles will keep the ball rolling in an extreme fashion against the winless San Francisco 49ers, something that doesn't seem unlikely—though the spread makes it difficult.

The Eagles sit at 6-1, with the lone negative mark on the record a trip to encounter those Chiefs during their hot streak. Otherwise, quarterback Carson Wentz has led the team to wins against notables like the Washington Redskins twice and Carolina Panthers while throwing a smooth 17 touchdowns and four interceptions, with the touchdowns going to eight different targets.

"I just have a ton of confidence in our guys," Wentz said, according to Stats LLC (via ESPN.com). "That's something that makes, I think, our offense tough to defend, that we have guys everywhere that can step up and make plays."

The vibes aren't anywhere near as positive for the 49ers, an 0-7 team coming off a 30-point loss to the Dallas Cowboys despite hoping for more after turning the offense over to third-round rookie C.J. Beathard, who has thrown one touchdown over 74 attempts.

San Francisco has shown up tough in a number of final scores this year, though if we throw out the usual close divisional games, we're left with the team doing so against the miserable Indianapolis Colts and those up-and-down Redskins.

There isn't anything up-and-down about these Eagles. The offense isn't coming to life after traveling across the country to play a defense allowing 20.9 points per game. Nor does the offense have the talent to keep pace once Wentz spreads them out.

Prediction: Eagles 33, 49ers 17

Houston at Seattle (-7)

Bettors might rightfully have a hard time figuring this line out.

The Houston Texans are one of the league's most erratic teams. They have lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars. They came up three points shy on the road against the Patriots. They dropped 57 points in a win. Now there is an off-field situation surrounding the team to boot.

Still, the idea playing the Seattle Seahawks at home is one of the tougher tasks in the NFL still rings true. And any talk about a slow start for Russell Wilson's side has evaporated after three consecutive wins, two of them on the road. Keep in mind that of the team's 4-2 record, the losses were road affairs against the Green Bay Packers and Tennessee Titans.

These Seahawks keep stockpiling talent too. The defense only allows 15.7 points per game yet just added Dwight Freeney to the mix.

"We're going to mix him in and see how he does," Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll said, according to ESPN.com's Brady Henderson. "He's ready to go. He wants to go. He's been working real hard; he's in good shape. The workout showed that yesterday. He's got to make it through the week and all that, but we're expecting him to play, so you'll see him some."

The Texans have had their fair share of surprising plays from rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson, who has 15 touchdowns against five interceptions. But this is a no-fly zone for his offense, and his defense is missing names like J.J. Watt, two factors that weigh heavier than anything else in a pick situation like this.

Prediction: Seahawks 27, Texans 10

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. Odds according to OddsShark.