NFL Week 8 Picks: Bengals vs. Seahawks and the Most Appealing Over/Unders

After Vegas was killed by the over for the first quarter of the season, they’ve finally adjusted to the point where the under went 7-6 in Week 7.

Now that everything is back to normal, it’s safe to start taking the over once again. Especially when it comes to these two Week 8 contests:

(Spreads courtesy of Covers.com)

Cincinnati Bengals @ Seattle Seahawks OVER 38 Points

The Seahawks are coming off one of the most gruesome games of the season where Charlie Whitehurst couldn’t even reach the 100-yard passing plateau.

The good news for Seattle is that starter Tarvaris Jackson is scheduled to begin practicing Wednesday and should be the starter on Sunday.

At home they average over 20 points a game, as the home crowd provides the sort of advantage not seen in any other home stadium.

The Bengals are coming off a bye and will be without suspended RB Cedric Benson. That means QB Andy Dalton will be asked to throw the ball more often than he has in any previous game this season. That’s good news considering the team had already put up at least 23 points in the last three games.

With the offense getting better by the week, and a defense that has touchdowns in consecutive games…it’s hard to imagine the Bengals not scoring at least 24 points.

Prediction: Bengals 26 Seahawks 20

Key Trends:

Over is 5-1 in Bengals last six games overall.

Over is 5-1 in Bengals last six vs. a team with a losing record.

Over is 5-1-1 in Seahawks last seven games after scoring less than 15 points in their previous game.

Over is 14-3 in Seahawks last 17 vs. a team with a winning record.

Cleveland Browns @ San Francisco 49ers OVER 38.5 Points

Another small point total that has yet to adjust, the 49ers offense is better than you think.

Aside from a 13-point effort against the Bengals, the 49ers have scored 33, 24, 24, 48 and 25.

That’s almost enough to cover the spread by themselves!

Factor in that they’re coming off the bye and get Braylon Edwards back and the 49ers are going to put up some big points on a banged-up Cleveland defense.

There is nothing positive to say about a Browns offense averaging 16 points a game. Let’s say they reach their average…that means the 49ers would only have to put up 23 points to exceed the over.

Sounds good to me.

Prediction: 49ers 28 Browns 17

Key Trends:

Over is 4-0 in 49ers last four games as a home favorite.

Over is 5-0 in 49ers last five home games.

Over is 5-0 in 49ers last five games on grass.

Over is 4-0 in 49ers last four games as a favorite.

Over is 7-3 in Browns last 10 vs. a team with a winning record.