NFL betting tips: Best bets, predictions and picks for Week 8
Ross Williams picks out his best bets from across Sunday's NFL action with plenty of games to choose from in Week 8.
NFL betting tips: Week 8
2pts Cincinnati Bengals (-10.5) to beat the New York Jets at 10/11 (General)
2pts Jacksonville Jaguars (+3.5) to beat the Seattle Seahawks at 10/11 (General)
2pts Washington Football Team (+3.0) to beat the Denver Broncos at 21/20 (General)
1pt Jonathan Taylor (Colts) & Derrick Henry (Titans) 100+ rushing yards each at 4/1 (Sky Bet)
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Seattle Seahawks
- When: Sunday at 20:05 GMT
- TV: NFL Redzone on Sky Sports Mix
The Jaguars snapped a 20-game losing streak last time out, overturning the Miami Dolphins in a thriller at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Going to the well again might seem foolish, but I do like their chances in this match-up with the Seattle Seahawks.
In any other season that would be a ridiculous statement, but with Russell Wilson out and the Seahawks in a torrid run of form with Geno Smith at the helm, there should definitely be an opening for the Jags to at least cover the spread.
The Hawks have lost three on the bounce and, although they haven’t been losing big, Smith’s inability to convert possession into points down the stretch is proving to be a massive issue.
In other words, bar a complete meltdown, the Jaguars should be in the hunt in the fourth quarter of this one and now they have that elusive first win under their belt, Jacksonville should have the confidence to have a real go at their opposition.
Teams coming off a bye week traditionally perform better, and I’m willing to add that element to the mix and say that the Jaguars (with 3.5 points in hand) can take down the Seahawks and essentially end their 2021 season early.
Best Bet: Jacksonville Jaguars (+3.5) to beat the Seattle Seahawks at 10/11
Washington Football Team @ Denver Broncos
- When: Sunday at 20:25 GMT
- TV: NFL Redzone on Sky Sports Mix
Washington have disappointed in a big way this season, but they won’t encounter a better opportunity all season to put things right.
The Football Team are on a three-game slide, but things are even worse in Denver. After a positive 3-0 start, the Broncos have collapsed and have now lost four games on the spin, while riddled with injuries.
Quarterback Teddy Bridgewater hasn’t looked fully healthy for a few weeks now and his production has followed suit. His interception record was a clean slate through the first month of the season, but since then the former Minnesota man has reverted to type, throwing five interceptions in three weeks, adding to his team’s woes.
Points have been a real pain point for the team so far, with 27 their current highest score of the year. With this in mind, there’s a real target for Washington to hit this week and, if Taylor Heinicke can play a smart game at quarterback, the Football Team have the offensive talent to get points on the board.
Terry McLaurin is in the form of his life at wide receiver, with three 100-yard games and four touchdowns to his credit this season. Meanwhile, Antonio Gibson is getting healthier and the star running back should have success against a defence that started the season well against the run, but has faltered in the last few weeks.
Denver are falling apart, and it’s time for Washington to step up and take advantage.
Best Bet: Washington Football Team (+3.0) to beat the Denver Broncos at 10/11
Cincinnati Bengals @ New York Jets
- When: Sunday at 17:00 BST
- TV: NFL Redzone on Sky Sports Mix
I don’t usually indulge in spreads of this size, but the lure of the 10.5 point handicap in this game is just too much.
No one expected the Bengals to reach the lofty heights they currently occupy heading into week eight of the NFL season, but what was written on paper in August means little now.
Cincinnati have been sensational in the first half of the year, driving to a 5-2 record that could even be better, had Evan McPherson been able to kick a game-winning field goal against the Packers a couple of weeks ago.
Two dominant wins over the Lions and Ravens later and the Bengals are in the unfamiliar territory of the AFC summit, and conventional wisdom dictates that Zac Taylor’s team will still be there seven days from now.
Their opposition this week is the New York Jets, a 1-5 football team who already have one eye on the 2022 season. This year was already looking like a bust, and that has only been confirmed by the injury to rookie quarterback Zack Wilson.
The Jets’ starter this Sunday will be Mike White, a former practice squad player who made his debut last Sunday, replacing the injured Wilson in the midst of a New England drubbing. It was a baptism of fire for the 26-year-old, and things won’t get any easier this week in his first NFL start.
The numbers tell their own story in this one, and make the prospect of a handicap spread that’s less than two touchdowns seem like an absolute gift.
Cincinnati currently average 27 points per game this season but, over the last three games, that number has been above 33.
As for the Jets, their season-long average sits at a league-worst 13.3 points per game, and that was WITH their promising first-round draft pick at quarterback. Without Wilson, and with the form the Bengals are in, you fear the worst for the Jets.
Best Bet: Cincinnati Bengals (-10.5) to beat the New York Jets at 10/11
Tennessee Titans @ Indianapolis Colts
- When: Sunday at 17:00 BST
- TV: Sky Sports NFL
It may only be week eight, but this is do-or-die in the AFC South, at least for the Indianapolis Colts.
A win for Frank Reich’s team – coming off an impressive Sunday Night Football victory over the 49ers – gives the Colts hope of catching Tennessee in the divisional race, but a Titans win on Sunday should pretty much wrap up the guaranteed playoff spot, barring an almighty collapse.
The spread has shifted substantially in this one, with both teams tasting favouritism over the last few days, and that alone is making me steer clear of backing a result.
Instead, my focus is on the star offensive players of both teams, who happen to be the league’s two leading rushers.
Jonathan Taylor of the Colts – a second-year running back who is fast establishing him as one of the league’s elite – has had a tremendous season so far.
The former Wisconsin star has gone over the century in three of his last four games, and there’s good reason to believe he can do so again this weekend.
Tennessee were, in fact, one of the opponents that has made Taylor fell short of the 100-mark this season, but I’m not worried about that too much. Taylor only carried the ball on ten occasions in the Titans game, his lowest rep-count of the season.
Since then, the Colts’ number 28 has been used far more often, and he’s relished the opportunity, leading to him averaging a massive 5.5 yards per carry for the season.
As for Derrick Henry, 100-yard games have become something of a foregone conclusion.
The Titans’ superstar is on pace to break almost every record in the book this season and is an incredible 290 yards clear of Taylor and the rest of the NFL’s running back talent on the yardage charts.
Only two teams have been able to stop Henry hitting triple figures this year. The Cardinals managed it in week one, and have since gone on to prove themselves as one of the very top teams in the NFL. The other was the Chiefs last week, and we can safely call that an outlier due to the way the Titans obliterated Kansas City in that game.
Henry simply had no need to go off against KC, but in a tight AFC South matchup this weekend with the division practically on the line, you can expect another huge Henry day against a defence that generally gives up 110 rushing yards each week.
Best Bet: Jonathan Taylor (Colts) & Derrick Henry (Titans) 100+ rushing yards each at 4/1
Odds correct at 1400 BST (30/10/21)
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