NFL Week 8 Picks: Denver Broncos & More Teams That Will Have Encouraging Losses

In the world of the NFL, it's tough to be encouraged with a defeat. In college, it's a little different. When a school with a tiny recruiting budget and high academic standards goes against a National Championship threat, a close loss is something to be encouraged about.

That doesn't quite apply in the pros, as they are all professionals whose one job is to play their sport. In this case, that's football.

But just because the players are professionals doesn't mean that there aren't mismatches. These games are all mismatches, but the losing team will come out of the game with reason to be encouraged.

Sure, they will have plenty to work on. But more importantly, they will have plenty to build on.

Denver Broncos

This is mainly around their quarterback. Frankly, the Lions are just too powerful a team to think that Tim Tebow will lead the Broncos to another miracle win, even in Denver.

Calvin Johnson is still the best receiver in the game, going against a poor secondary. The Lions still have a dominant defensive line. But I see Tebow running around well and moving the offense at times.

Earlier in the week, I predicted the Lions to win in a blowout. I stand by that prediction, but I also see enough from Tebow for the team to know that they have a quarterback to build on.

Kansas City Chiefs

Unlike the Broncos, the Chiefs are actually in the playoff race, which is amazing given their 0-2, 89-10 start.

This is a weird game, as I think the team that loses will come out with a more positive outlook than the one that will win. The Chargers are 4-2, which is good. But they have been less than impressive in getting to that record.

Still, I like them to pull this one out. In the end, they just have too much power for an injury-riddled Kansas City team to overcome. But the Chiefs have shown that they have a lot of heart. When their injured players return next year, they are a serious AFC West threat.

Jacksonville Jaguars

This team, particularly the defense, is just not getting enough praise for their win on Monday. I know that the Ravens stunk, but just about everyone (myself included) picked the Ravens to win easily.

That didn't happen.

I don't like their chances two weeks in a row. The Texans found something last week against Tennessee. But this will be closer than many people seem to think. Bodog has the Texans as 10-point favorites.