The sorting out process of the 2024 NFL season has reached the stage in which oddsmakers are willing to predict blowouts. This appears to be a theme of Week 8, with six games on the docket with spreads of a touchdown or more as of Tuesday, including the biggest line of the year with the Detroit Lions favored by 11 points at home against the Tennessee Titans.
It’s a reflection both of the results through seven weeks of NFL games and attrition at the quarterback position. Teams like the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and the Lions have proven trustworthy at this point facing bad opponents like the Las Vegas Raiders, Cleveland Browns and the Titans.
The New York Jets and Los Angeles Chargers, meanwhile, are both favored by more than a touchdown this week despite coming off losses because the New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints, respectively are in such rough shape after Week 7. Same goes for the Carolina Panthers in their matchup against the overachieving Denver Broncos. The Panthers look so bad after seven games that it almost doesn’t matter the opponent at the moment.
But that also sets the stage for Week 8 to shock to the system, because a reminder of the parity that exists in the NFL today is never far away. There are big games in the NFC and AFC South this week, as well as a potential matchup between the top two picks in the 2024 NFL draft, Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels (if Daniels is healthy enough to play).
A lot is on the line now that the last weekend of October is here, and there are already NFL analysts weighing in on what might happen. Here is an early look at picks and predictions for the games that make up the Week 8 schedule:
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OPINION:Aaron Rodgers is out of excuses. The Jets’ problems point back to him.
Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Tuesday, Oct. 15
∎ CBS Sports: Rams 23, Vikings 20
“Teams flying two time zones or more to the west for a Thursday game almost always lose. Since the return of “Thursday Night Football” in 2006, this has happened a total of 20 times and the Central/Eastern time zone team that flew west has gone 4-16 straight up and 4-14-2 against the spread.”
∎ Arizona Republic: Vikings 27, Rams 19
“How will the Vikings respond to their first loss of the season? We think Sam Darnold and company will bounce back, led by a strong defensive effort.”
∎ Sporting News: Ravens 26, Browns 19
“Baltimore is 0-2 against the spread when favored by seven points or more this season.”
∎ Pro Football Network: Ravens 23, Browns 17
“All the data tells you Baltimore will win easily, but the situation (with Deshaun Watson) could have a galvanizing effect on Cleveland. Therefore, laying 10 points seems risky with the unknowns.”
∎ Sporting News: Lions 31, Titans 17
“This is the largest spread this season — and an indictment of how rough it’s been for Tennessee through six games. The Titans’ season-long bout with turnovers continues, and that minus-9 ratio will be tough to overcome against the Lions’ hot offense.”
∎ Pro Football Network: Lions 23, Titans 13
“The Lions have two games coming up against the Green Bay Packers and Houston Texans, which means they could easily overlook this game. I still expect Detroit to win, but covering more than 10 points is tough to project.”
∎ Action Network: Colts (+6.5)
“The Texans beat the Colts in Week 1 by just two points as 2.5-point favorites, so there’s no reason for this line to move this far. … The Colts, this season, are 5-2 against the spread, while the Texans are 1-6. It’s clear that the loss of Nico Collins has hurt (Houston’s) offense.”
∎ Arizona Republic: Texans 27, Colts 17
“A Colts win in this game would tie them with the Texans for first in the AFC South. But Houston is 3-0 at home this season. Anthony Richardson won’t be able to keep up with C.J. Stroud.”
∎ ESPN: Take the Packers (-4.5)
“The Packers are coming in with momentum after a huge win against the Houston Texans. Jordan Love is 4-1 against the spread in his past five road games and has the arm to pick apart the Jaguars’ horrible secondary.”
∎ Sports Illustrated: Packers (-4.5)
“This game features one of the best passing attacks in the NFL against one of the worst secondaries. Backing the Packers seems like an absolute no-brainer.”
∎ Action Network: Cardinals (+3.5)
“The Dolphins’ quarterback situation is in shambles. Skyler Thompson is hurt, Tyler Huntley left the game yesterday, and who knows what’s going on with Tua Tagovailoa? If he comes back, maybe we’ll get to fade a rusty player who’s returning from injury in an offense entirely predicated on timing and feel. Or maybe we’ll just get Tim Boyle.”
∎ Sports Illustrated: Dolphins (-3)
“With Tua Tagovailoa likely back in the lineup for the Dolphins, I’m going to lay the three points with Miami. The Cardinals’ secondary has been one of the worst in the NFL and while the Dolphins offense has looked bad without Tua, let’s not forget about the weapons the Dolphins have. Now that they are back to having a quarterback who can get the ball in their hands, they’re going to be a dangerous team.”
∎ Arizona Republic: Jets 24, Patriots 16
Davante Adams didn’t do much in his debut with the Jets. We expect that to change for New York against the Patriots this week.”
∎ Pro Football Network: Jets 27, Patriots 17
“Covering close to a touchdown on the road for a league-average team is not ideal. … New York should win with ease, but my faith in them is dissipating quickly.”
∎ Sports Illustrated: Falcons (-2.5)
“The Falcons are a much healthier team and will be able to take advantage of that offensively. Tampa Bay will have to pull something out of their bag of tricks to win this game.”
∎ Sporting News: Buccaneers 31, Falcons 27
“NFC South rivals will revisit the 36-30 shootout in Week 5 where Kirk Cousins passed for 509 yards. The Buccaneers were in position to win that game in the fourth quarter. Tampa Bay is operating on a short week, and the Falcons are coming off a 20-point loss to Seattle. Can Kirk Cousins improve to 3-0 on the road as Atlanta’s starting quarterback? We’ll trust Baker Mayfield at home in the rematch.”
∎ Sports Betting Dime: Bengals (-2.5)
“The porous Cincinnati defense that was to blame for the team’s 1-4 start has played much better the last two weeks.”
∎ Arizona Republic: Eagles 27, Bengals 23
“The Bengals are 3-4 after a rough start, but the Eagles have been rolling since A.J. Brown’s return.”
∎ Pro Football Network: Chargers 21, Saints 14
“The expectation is that Derek Carr won’t be able to return until Week 9, but there’s a chance he plays in Week 8. … The Chargers covering 7.5 points is too rich to bet.”
∎ Sports Illustrated: Chargers (-7.5)
“We saw what happened to the New Orleans Saints last Thursday night when they had to have their backup quarterback go up against an elite defense. It was an abysmal performance by New Orleans that ended in a Broncos rout. Well, we have the exact same situation in Week 8.”
∎ CBS Sports: Seahawks 30, Bills 27
“Although (Josh) Allen has looked like an MVP candidate in Buffalo’s home games, he’s looked like Daniel Jones when Buffalo plays on the road.”
∎ Arizona Republic: Bills 30, Seahawks 21
“The Seahawks ended a 3-game skid last week in impressive fashion, but stopping the Bills’ offense is a much more difficult task.”
∎ Sports Betting Dime: Commanders (+2.5)
“Chicago is a fraudulent 4-2. The four teams they’ve beaten – Titans, Rams, Panthers, Jaguars – have a combined record of 6-20. … Washington’s offense didn’t show any signs of dropping off when Marcus Mariota replaced Jayden Daniels.”
∎ Sports Illustrated: Bears (-2.5)
“The Bears’ defense has been underrated in 2024, especially their secondary. … Their defense will be a huge challenge for whoever it is that play quarterback for the Commanders in this one.”
∎ ESPN: Broncos cover big spread
“The Panthers are almost comically bad this season, on a scale that the lines don’t seem capable of keeping up with. Outside of their Week 3 win over the Raiders, the Panthers have lost all six of their other games by an average of 24.5 PPG! It’s even worse on the road, where their average loss is by 32 points and they have no losses by less than 26 points. The Broncos, meanwhile, have won four of their last five games, three of which by at least 16 points.”
∎ Pro Football Network: Broncos 27, Panthers 10
“The Broncos are proving to be the surprise package of the 2024 NFL season. Their offense is roughly what we expected, ranking in the bottom 10 in the league, but their defense has been incredible … Don’t love laying over seven points on a Bo Nix offense, but Denver has proven its ability in the last three weeks to dominate bad teams.”
∎ Sporting News: Chiefs 34, Raiders 18
“The Raiders are going back to Gardner Minshew, but will it matter? Las Vegas has a minus-9 turnover ratio in its past three games, a stretch in which the Raiders average 15.3 points per game. Yes, the Raiders beat Kansas City 20-14 last season, but the Chiefs have won the past four meetings in Las Vegas by 15.3 points per game.”
∎ Arizona Republic: Chiefs 24, Raiders 15
“The Chiefs are the NFL’s only undefeated team remaining. They’ll stay that way after beating the Raiders in Week 8.”
∎ Covers.com: Lay the points with the Niners
“Dallas is expected to get some bodies back on defense, specifically pass rusher Micah Parsons, and the 49ers watched WRs Deebo Samuel (illness) and Brandon Aiyuk (knee) leave the Week 7 loss to Kansas City. That’s why bookies are giving the Cowboys the benefit of the doubt. However, this Cowboys stop unit is nowhere near the standards of recent seasons, and even those Dallas defenses got ripped apart by San Francisco’s attack.”
∎ CBS Sports: 49ers 24, Cowboys 16
“(Kyle) Shanahan always seems to be one step ahead of Mike McCarthy. The Cowboys and 49ers have faced each other three times over the past 34 months and the 49ers have won all three meetings with the Cowboys averaging just 13 points per game.”
∎ Arizona Republic: Steelers 20, Giants 17
“Russell Wilson was 16-for-29 for 264 yards and two touchdowns in his Steelers’ debut. Maybe Mike Tomlin made the right choice at QB.”
∎ Pro Football Network: Steelers 23, Giants 15
“The Giants’ offense has scored 10 points in the last two weeks, and in Week 8, it faces a top-10 defense. Their defense is fine, but the Steelers should be able to get somewhere in the region of 20-27 points at the very minimum. That should be enough to win and cover close to a touchdown.”
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(This story was updated to change a video.)
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