NFL Week 8: Bold Predictions and Outcomes for Every Game

Now that baseball season is officially over, every bit of focus is on football.  More specifically, Week 8 is only a day away.

Even this far into the season, we've got several teams who are just conundrums—as I think about it, most of them come from the AFC West.

Still, there are a 13 games this weekend, including a stellar matchup between the Steelers and Patriots.  Each game will all be broken down in my Week 8 edition of predictions.

Baltimore Def. Arizona, 21-10

The Baltimore Ravens have been my prediction to be the top-seeded AFC team all year.  After last week's defeat against Jacksonville, I've had to rethink that.

Yes, the game was that bad.

Fortunately, the Ravens get some relief because they play the lowly Arizona Cardinals in Baltimore.  I'm not calling for an offensive outburst by either team, but let's face it, Arizona is bad on both sides of the football.

Just for the sake of reiterating the fact I've been discussing since July, Kevin Kolb is a bad quarterback.  Lucky for him, he's making big-name money.

Still, the Ravens defense is clearly aging, but not quite finished yet.  They'll hold the Cardinals down for the entire game, and the offense will do just enough to get by a bad Arizona defense.

I see Ray Rice touching up the defense for a good 125 yards.

Carolina Def. Minnesota, 28-27

This match is a tale of two teams who are in a bit of a rebuilding year.  I see this game coming down to who does better: Adrian Peterson or Cam Newton.

The Panthers have a less than talented rushing defense, and the same goes for the Vikings pass defense.  If Peterson runs wild as we all know he can, the Panthers can let an otherwise easy victory slip away.

Given how poor both defenses have been this season, it is going to be a high-scoring affair.  Newton will throw for over 300 yards yet again and have a few touchdowns in the process.  Christian Ponder wasn't brilliant against Green Bay in Week 7, but he showed signs of having a good future.

It's going to stay close, but Cam Newton gets the better of the Vikings, and the Panthers pull out the victory at home.

Houston Def. Jacksonville, 27-7

Last week, Houston obliterated Tennessee, and that's a far better team than the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The fortunes are looking much the same this week for the Texans, as they are playing at home against a bad team.  The Jaguars snuck away from Jacksonville with a victory over the powerful Ravens on Monday night, but now they'll have to contain an active and talented offense.

Houston's defense is nowhere near the top defense, especially without Super Mario.  However, they're good enough to contain a poor Jacksonville offense whose only suitable player at the moment is Maurice Jones-Drew.

Simply put, Houston wins in a laughter.

New York Giants Def. Miami, 31-14

Don't look now, but Eli Manning is quietly putting together a pretty good season.  He's thrown for nearly 1,800 yards with 11 touchdowns and five picks, good for a 101.1 passer rating.

The Giants are one of those teams that experts hesitate to try to analyze, mostly due to the fact that they always crumble down the stretch.  For Week 8, I don't see that happening.

They're playing a poor Dolphins team at home.  The Dolphins have little to no talent on defense and you can't say much more about an offense led by Matt Moore. 

Yet another mismatch in this game, so expect the Giants to go crazy and crush the Dolphins.

New Orleans Def. St. Louis, 41-6

Time is a very valuable thing to me, so let's not waste any by going into too much depth.

The Saints have a historically powerful offense—Drew Brees has thrown for over 5,000 yards in a season, if you've forgotten.

As for the Rams, they're in cellar in terms of offensive ranks, although Steven Jackson can't save this team single-handedly.

Even in St. Louis, the Saints are going to be dominant.

Tennessee Def. Indianapolis, 24-14

Tennessee is one of the conundrums I mentioned in the first slide.  The offense has been sort of up-and-down, as has been the defense. 

Matt Hasselbeck is trying to revive his career, if only for a couple more seasons.  After last year's injury-plagued season, everyone thought he was finished.  As it turns out, he's been key in the Titans' three wins this season.

Chris Johnson has yet to come out of his shell, and is falling into obscurity very quickly.  The Titans are 31st in rushing yards per game.

Fortunately, the Titans play the winless Colts this week, thus helping their cause to make a surprising run towards the playoffs.  Watch for the offense to come back to life and roll right through Indy's subpar defense.

Buffalo Def. Washington, 21-19

Offensively, these teams are mismatched.  The 'Skins have a team full of misfits and castoffs, while the Bills have the agile Fred Jackson and the newly re-signed Ryan Fitzpatrick.

However, the Bills' have been one of the worst defensive teams this season.  In terms of total yards, they're 31st in the league, while the Redskins are 12th. 

If the Redskins can contain this powerful Bills offense, they'll stay in the game at least.  That may not be enough, however, given the status of their offense.  John Beck is their starting quarterback, and although he didn't have a bad Week 7 game, he's not going to be a long-term answer.

Ryan Torain is going to be a key player in this game, as Tim Hightower's season is over.  He's had good games over the last couple seasons, and he could go crazy against a bad Buffalo rushing defense.

Still, the Bills will sneak by and get back on the right track.

Detroit Def. Denver, 31-13

All things considered, the Lions are just a better team than the Broncos.  Now that I look at it, that actually is a trend this week.

Still, the Lions offense has been almost unstoppable this season, except for the last couple games.  What I've learned over those games is that they have flaws—flaws that weren't seen through five games.

The Lions will catch a break this week, as they come into Denver and face Tim Tebow.  It appears that if you beat the winless Miami Dolphins, you're suddenly worth taking a look at.  This is so not the case.

Simply put, Matt Stafford (or Shaun Hill) LARGELY outplays Tim Tebow and the Denver offense, winning their sixth game of 2011.

New England Def. Pittsburgh, 24-21

Statistically speaking, this would be considered an upset, but I'm not about to call a Patriots' victory an upset.  They will take their top-ranked offense into Pittsburgh to face the defending AFC champions.

This is not a knock at the Steelers by any means, as they are definitely going to prove how good they are by matching up to the Pats.  Ben Roethlisberger is a much better quarterback when he's playing in Pittsburgh, so he'll be at his best. 

What the Steelers must do to prove me wrong is slow down Tom Brady.  Keep in mind that the New England defense is the worst in football.

Unfortunately for the defensive Steelers, Tom Brady is going to get by them in this one.  In a possible preview of the AFC title game, the Pats are going to hold on for a slim victory.

San Francisco Def. Cleveland, 17-9

It's very possible that the Browns could be caught up in yet another low-scoring saga, as they were last week in their 6-3 victory over the Seahawks.

Now, the Browns go to California to face the 5-1 49ers.  Neither team is that good on offense, although they both show signs of having some potential.

Coach Jim Harbaugh is finally figuring out the correct way to use Niners' quarterback, Alex Smith, and Frank Gore certainly has the talent to make this one a blowout.

This game will be about who can pull out the best defensive card, and I'll give that to San Francisco.

Cincinnati Def. Seattle, 20-14

Not that I believe Cedric Benson is a savior in Cincinnati, but with him being suspended for Week 8, the offense is weakened.

Seattle has a bad situation going on pretty much all over the field.  It's unclear right now who will be the starting quarterback tomorrow.

As for the Bengals, they'll be going into Seattle to face a bad offense while having one of the league's top defenses.  Andy Dalton is quietly having a good rookie season, as is fellow rookie, A.J. Green.

Overall, the Bengals defense winds up being too much for the 'Hawks to manage. 

Philadelphia Def. Dallas, 27-21

For me, this game is all about the Eagles' top-ranked rushing attack going against the Cowboys' top-ranked rushing defense. 

LeSean McCoy is quietly one of the league's better running backs and he may have his biggest test come Sunday night.  Obviously, Michael Vick contributes to that rushing attack, but McCoy is going to need to be the leader.

How Tony Romo performs is also going to be interesting.  We all remember Week 1 when he managed to "fumble" away the game against the New York Jets on Sunday night.

Vick and McCoy outplay Romo, winning a key game for the "Dream Team."

UPSET: Kansas City Def. San Diego, 20-17

If you look at stats, there's absolutely no reason to believe that the Chiefs have a chance against their division foes. 

However, they're on Monday Night Football at home.  Despite a great San Diego defense, the Chiefs are going to come out firing on all cylinders.  They've won three games after an abysmal start to the season.

Not that Matt Cassel and Jackie Battle are tremendous athletes, but both of them are going to perform well-above standards on Monday.

The Chargers are just too up and down to judge.  They had the Jets on the ropes and couldn't get it done.  The disappointment is going to carry over into Monday night.

Kansas City will seize the opportunity and upset the division favorites.