by Welcome back for another week of Best Bets! If you tailed last week’s picks you’re probably feeling pretty good right now after a 3-1 week. Before diving into the Week 8 slate, let’s take a quick look at how everything shook out last weekend.
The Chiefs not only covered on the road at San Francisco (+1.5), they won outright 28-18. It was ugly, Mahomes and Purdy combined for five interceptions and zero touchdowns, but a win is a win. Ravens-Bucs ended up being a shootout and the over 49.5 hit with ease, as Baltimore won 41-31. The Commanders put up 40 points but luckily they were playing the Panthers, cashing a somewhat close under.
Our lone loss last week came at the hands of the New York Jets. A 1.5-point favorite, they laid an egg against the Steelers losing by 22. I have learned my lesson, no more betting on the Jets.
We’re officially over .500 on the year (14-12-2), so let’s dive into another loaded NFL weekend. As always, I’ll pick a favorite and underdog against the spread, along with an over and an under. Here are my Week 8 NFL Best Bets!
Favorite
Green Bay Packers (-4) @ Jacksonville Jaguars Sun. 1 pm FOX
The Packers are off to a 5-2 start and Jordan Love is a big part of the reason why, sitting second in the league with 15 touchdown passes. The bad news is he is also tied for the league lead with eight interceptions. If it were a more difficult opponent that might be a problem, but this is Jacksonville we’re talking about. If the Packers are one of the best teams in the league, which I think they are, they should win this one handily.
Underdog
Philadelphia Eagles (+3) @ Cincinnati Bengals Sun. 1 pm CBS
Though the offense has yet to find its footing, the Eagles defense has held opponents to under 20 points per game (19.2). On the other side, the Bengals are giving up 23.7, including a whopping 24 to the Panthers who average 15.7. I feel like this is the week for the Philadelphia offense to get rolling. Every week it feels like there is a number that’s off and this is it. Eagles moneyline at +124 could be the lock of the week, responsibly.
Over
New York Giants @ Pittsburgh Steelers O36.5 Mon. 8:15 pm ABC/ESPN/ESPN+
I’ll admit it, through one week I have been wrong about Russell Wilson. The Steelers put up 37 on a Jets defense that ranks 11th in scoring defense and Wilson looked good in his return, throwing for 264 yards and two scores. Najee Harris has found the endzone in back-to-back weeks and is top ten in rushing yards (478). Do I think the Giants can score more than once? Probably not, but this total is so low they might not have to for this one to hit.
Under
Carolina Panthers @ Denver Broncos U41.5 Sun. 4:25 pm CBS
Let’s be clear from the jump, this probably won’t be a fun game to watch. Through seven games, the Panthers are giving up 34.7 points per game. If they were playing a good team and this was the total, I’d probably hammering the over here. But their opponent is the Denver Broncos. Bryce Young is back under center for Carolina so there’s a good chance Denver can take advantage of him. But I still don’t see either of these offenses being capable of putting up points.
Record: 14-12-2
There you have it, my NFL Week 8 Best Bets. Feel free to sound off in the comments with your own picks or to tell me where I went wrong. Enjoy another great NFL weekend and, as always, bet responsibly.
