NFL Picks Week 8: Cincinnati Bengals and Teams Who'll Dominate in Must-Win Games

The Packers, Patriots and 49ers are seemingly early locks for the playoffs, while the Cardinals, Dolphins, Colts, Rams and a number of dejected teams have already watched their playoff dreams go down the toilet. Meanwhile, teams in between are entering a must-win scenario this week.

For the victors, their playoff hopes will remain alive and well. For teams like the Browns and Eagles in Week 8, they will leave their must-win game with yet another loss.

Here are a few teams who won't just emerge victorious, but they'll dominate in must-win games.

Cincinnati Bengals

Don't worry about running back Cedric Benson's status, as Bernard Scott is more than capable of carrying the workload. And against a Seattle Seahawks defense allowing 250 YPG through the air, thag opens the door for rookie Andy Dalton to carve up their porous secondary on the way to a big afternoon.

The Bengals have a Top 5 run and pass defense. While their offense will have no problem torching the Seahawks, their defense grossly outmatches Seattle's lackluster offense.

Seattle ranks 28th in passing yards and 31st in rushing yards. They can't move the ball in any fashion, and facing the No. 2 defense in the league will make this a likely blowout.

The Bengals will share first place in the division after this week if the Steelers lose to the Patriots.

Who would have thought at the beginning of the season we would be talking about the Bengals in the playoffs at mid-season rather than what they would do if they landed the No. 1 overall pick?

Tennessee Titans

The Colts are still licking their wounds after their 62-7 beatdown by the New Orleans Saints. This is a great week for Chris Johnson to get back on track and turn the run game around. Despite being 3-3 and having one of the most electrifying players in all of football in their backfield, the Titans rank dead last in rushing YPG.

Not to worry, though, the Colts give up over 150 rushing YPG, and if ever there was a week CJ2K needs to rebound, it's now. The Titans are in the wide open AFC South, and with the Jaguars re-entering the race and the Texans surging, they can't afford to drop a game at home against a team who hasn't won a single game this season.

Baltimore Ravens

The loss to the Jaguars on Monday Night last night was humiliating. The Ravens are coming off a short week after a frustrating outing, but there is no way the Cardinals come away with a victory in this game.

Arizona is in an unfortunate position of standing in the Ravens' way of the playoffs. The one-time AFC favorite is now seen as a fringe playoff team by many. Luckily for the Ravens, however, they still have the No. 1 defense in the NFL and their struggles are a quick fix.

Ray Rice is going to get more touches this week. When Rice gets over 15 carries, the Ravens are undefeated. When he doesn't they are 1-2, with their lone victory coming over the Rams. Their shut-down defense can't win the game for them entirely. Put the ball in Rice's hands and a middle of the road Cardinals run defense will buckle.