NFL 2022 Week 8 Prequel
Thursday, October 27, 2022, 8pm
Baltimore Ravens (-1 1/2) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Counting Tom Brady out would be foolish, even after a horrendous loss at Carolina. Yet the one coach who has always schemed well against Brady is John Harbaugh. Brady doesn’t play defense, so he can’t stop Lamar Jackson. If the Ravens can run the ball well, they will win. Ravens cover
Sunday, October 30, 1pm
Denver Broncos at Jacksonville Jaguars (-3.5) in London — The Broncos have a good defense and no offense. The Jaguars are wildly inconsistent but are making strides. The Broncos defense can pressure Trevor Lawrence into mistakes, but the Broncos anemic offense will be the difference. Jaguars win but fail to cover
Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons (-6 1/2) — The Panthers are coming off a major emotional upset win against Tampa Bay. This game has letdown all over it, especially since the Falcons are the better team at home coming off an embarrassing road loss. Falcons cover
Chicago Bears at Dallas Cowboys (-10 1/2) — Forget the Bears big road win at New England. They are not that good. The Cowboys looked awful for three quarters at home against Detroit. The spread is too high given the lack of offensive production from the Cowboys. Cowboys win but fail to cover
Miami Dolphins (-3) at Detroit Lions — Dan Campbell faces off against his old team. He will make fiery speeches. The Lions have a good offense and the Dolphins have a good defense. Tua Tagovailoa is back, and he should shred the awful Detroit defense. Dolphins cover
Arizona Cardinals at Minnesota Vikings (-3 1/2) — The Dennis Green Bowl. The Vikings have very quietly gotten to 5-1 and lead the NFC North. The Cardinals are too inconsistent to trust. Vikings cover
Las Vegas Raiders (-2) at New Orleans Saints — The Raiders offense has finally become smash mouth behind Josh Jacobs. Derek Carr is playing well. Yet the Saints have a good defense and Dennis Allen would love to beat the team that fired him. The Raiders simply aren’t good enough to string together consecutive wins until they prove it. Upset special, Saints win outright.
New England Patriots (-2 1/2) at New York Jets — The Jets have won five games in a row but still cannot get any respect from oddsmakers even after New England suffered an embarrassing 19 point home loss and are playing on a short week. Part of this is Bill Belichick’s constant need to humiliate the Jets until the end of time. Logic says take the Jets. Evidence and the past says take the Patriots. If the Jets win, they may finally get some respect. Go with the Lord of the Rings. Patriots cover
Pittsburgh Steelers at Philadelphia Eagles (-11) — The Eagles are the NFL’s lone unbeaten and they had two weeks to prepare for this game. Forget the high spread. This is the worst team Mike Tomlin has had in his 16 years at the helm. Kenny Pickett is being thrown to the wolves. The Eagles are rested and ready. Eagles cover
4pm
Tennessee Titans (-2) at Houston Texans — The Titans have run the table with four straight wins since their 0-2 start. The Texans are a mess. The Titans can run Derrick Henry down the Texans throats. The Titans have the better defense. Titans cover
Washington Commanders at Indianapolis Colts (-4) — Carson Wentz will not get revenge against his old team since he is out injured. Matt Ryan has been benched for the rest of the season. Taylor Heinecke faces off against Sam Ehlinger, who has never started an NFL game. The Commanders looked good in beating Green Bay. Give them the nod against the new quarterback. Upset special, Commanders win outright
San Francisco 49ers (-2) at Los Angeles Rams — Yes, the Rams beat the 49ers in the NFC Title Game. More accurately, they survived and the 49ers blew it. Outside that game, the 49ers own the Rams, having beaten them six straight times in the regular season. The 49ers have gotten better with the acquisition of Christian McCaffrey. The Rams are not nearly as good as last year. Home field means nothing in this series. The 49ers are living rent free in the Rams heads. 49ers cover
New York Giants at Seattle Seahawks (-3) — Geno Smith faces off against his old team in a game between two teams that are surprisingly good. The Giants are 6-1 and the Seahawks are 4-3. This is one of those games where home field really does provide a significant advantage. The Seahawks can run the ball. Their defense is improving. Saquon Barkley is running lights out, but at some point Daniel Jones has to regress to the mean. This is the week he does. Seahawks cover
8pm
Green Bay Packers at Buffalo Bills (-10 1/2) — Forget the past few seasons. The 2022 Packers are surprisingly bad. Their offense is out of sync. The Bills are clicking on all cylinders. At home, in prime time in front of a raucous crowd, will be rocket fuel for them. The spread is high, but the Packers just can’t seem to do much right this year. Josh Allen will do what he does. So will the Buffalo defense. Bills cover
Monday, October 31, 8pm
Cincinnati Bengals (-3) at Cleveland Browns — After an 0-2 start, the Bengals have gone 4-1 since. The Browns find creative ways to lose heartbreakers on a weekly basis. This should be a slugfest, but go with Joe Burrow and his bevy of playmakers to give the Browns another agonizingly close loss. Bengals cover