Week Eight of the NFL season concludes on Monday when Detroit Lions face Las Vegas Raiders so check out best bet.
NFL betting tips: Week 8
Monday
1pt Detroit Lions (-7.5) to beat the Las Vegas Raiders at 10/11 (Sky Bet)
Detroit Lions @ Las Vegas Raiders
- Tuesday, 0015
It’s a hefty spread on offer for Monday Night Football, but the Lions are more than capable of covering.
They’ll be keen to bounce back after a disappointing display against Baltimore and the Raiders represent an opportunity to get back to business.
Vegas score the third-fewest points in the league on average and covering has been a problem for them. Handicaps of over six points have failed to come to their aid on two occasions already this season, so the 7.5 mark on offer at the moment shouldn’t frighten too much. When the Raiders lose, they tend to lose handedly.
This also isn’t the Lions’ largest spread of the year, as they went into their clash with Carolina as 9.5-point favourites. Detroit demolished the Panthers by 18 on the day, so the evidence is there that the Lions won’t be happy with simply sneaking ahead of their opponents.
The Lions are a considerably better team than the Raiders and with Jared Goff – who has thrown more touchdowns than anyone this season – potentially set to do battle with one of Vegas’ back-up quarterbacks, this isn’t one we need to overthink.
Preview posted at 1600 BST on 28/10/23
Sunday tips
1pt Travis Etienne (Jaguars) to score a touchdown at 10/11 (Sky Bet)
1pt Kareem Hunt (Browns) to score a touchdown at 41/20 (Unibet)
1pt Isiah Pacheco (Chiefs) to score a touchdown at 10/11 (Sky Bet)
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Jacksonville Jaguars
- Sunday, 1700
The Steelers have only conceded four rushing touchdowns this season, but don’t be fooled.
Only four teams have shipped more rushing yards than Pittsburgh this season, which is a real rarity for the traditionally stingy black and gold. Their 4-2 record is pleasing their fanbase at present, but it remains to be seen how sustainable it is to be giving up over 140 yards per game on the ground.
This fact won’t be lost on their opponents this week, who possess one of the form players in the league in the shape of Travis Etienne.
The Jags’ running back has found the endzone at least twice in each of his last three NFL outings and Jacksonville would be foolish to move away from a player on such a hot streak.
The Jaguars’ visit to Pennsylvania is a tricky one to call with a spread of 2.5 points, so I’m much more comfortable backing Etienne to score at an identical – or better – price.
Only two players – Christian McCaffrey and Raheem Mostert – have scored more rushing touchdowns than Etienne this season and there isn’t a single player in the NFL that has carried the ball more. Head coach Doug Pederson knows his bread is buttered when Etienne is leading the Jacksonville attack.
Pittsburgh are sturdy enough inside the five-yard line – explaining their strangely-low ratio of rushing touchdowns to yards given up – but Etienne doesn’t necessarily need short-yardage situations.
The former first-round draft pick has been effective from all over the field and has scored touchdowns in recent weeks from 17, 26 and 35 yards out.
He’s a threat wherever the Jaguars are on the field, he touches the ball at least 14 times every game and – due to how susceptible the Steelers are to giving up chunks of rushing yardage – he’s great value to rumble into the scoring column yet again this weekend.
Seattle Seahawks @ Cleveland Browns
- Sunday, 2005
Without Deshaun Watson and Nick Chubb, Cleveland’s season could have imploded, but reality has been far from the case.
Despite the injury woes of their star offensive performers, the Browns are sitting pretty with a 4-2 record and head to Seattle on a two-game winning streak.
The displays of PJ Walker, filling in at the quarterback position, haven’t been too worthy of extra attention, but the same can’t be said for Kareem Hunt.
Returning to the fold after some time away from the franchise, Hunt has been exactly what Cleveland needed in the absence of Chubb.
Jerome Ford has carried much of the load, but Hunt – even while nursing knocks of his own – has played his part in key moments.
Despite being a game-time decision last weekend, Hunt made the most of his ten carries, picking up two crucial touchdowns which just kept the Browns far enough ahead of the battling Colts.
That backed up his first touchdown of the year, which came a week earlier in the huge win over the well-fancied 49ers.
The Seattle Seahawks have given up six rushing touchdowns so far – one per game – and with Ford questionable to play and Hunt back to something like full fitness, we can expect his most productive game so far.
He’s a great price to score if you get on him early enough and with the Browns struggling to get much going through the air, I suspect a lot of their offensive attention will be around getting Hunt into scoring territory.
With 34 NFL rushing touchdowns to his credit, we can be confident Hunt will do the rest.
Denver Broncos @ Kansas City Chiefs
- Sunday, 2025
The Denver Broncos host the reigning champion Kansas City Chiefs in week eight and you can forgive anyone for expecting a bloodbath.
The Broncos have put up some atrocious performances this season and the Chiefs, well, they’re the Chiefs.
There’s obvious value in backing Kansas City to cover the seven-point spread, but a bet that looks even more comfortable at present is for Isiah Pacheco to score.
The young running back has confirmed himself a key component of Patrick Mahomes’ offence. He’s had at least twelve rushing attempts in each of KC’s games since the season opener and has scored three touchdowns.
He’s gone two weeks without a score now, but his activity has remained consistent and no team offers a better opportunity for an explosive running back than Denver.
Through seven games, the Broncos have given up 1,171 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. For context, no other team in the NFL is into four-figures when it comes to yards allowed.
Denver allow yardage at will and it’s unlikely Andy Reid will be passing up the opportunity to hand the ball often to Pacheco. At a touch below evens, he looks excellent value to add to his touchdown tally with a fourth score on the year.
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