NFL Week 8 Predictions
For the league’s sake I hope there are some better games this week than in week 7’s blowout fest. Brett Favre returns to Green Bay, the Saints and Broncos face legitimate challengers to their perfect records, while the Rams play a game of “who’s more irrelevant” with the Lions.
Seattle Seahawks 21, Dallas Cowboys 28
Once again people are making injury excuses for the Seahawks. Sure, it might be a significant factor for their terrible performances over the past two seasons, but other teams get by with injured stars and seem to do just fine.
Denver Broncos 20, Baltimore Ravens 17
This is probably the toughest test for Josh McDaniels yet. The Ravens are much better than their record suggests, but can be beaten at home by unlikely challengers. The Broncos’ formula for success should be familiar to the Ravens- it won them a Super Bowl in 2000.
Miami Dolphins 21, New York Jets 23
When will Rex Ryan shut his mouth? The Jets aren’t as impressive as they were in the beginning of the season and now their head coach is mocking players out for the year due to injury. I’m no expert, but that’s kind of low.
San Francisco 49ers 14, Indianapolis Colts 31
The Colts will probably have trouble stopping Frank Gore until they build a big enough lead that Alex Smith has to throw the ball. That’s definitely not the situation the 49ers want to be in.
Cleveland Browns 3, Chicago Bears 37
Chicago will be looking to vent about their 45-10 thrashing by Cedric Benson in week 7. What better team to do it against than one of the worst teams in the league?
St. Louis Rams 10, Detroit Lions 28
Someone has to win this one, and I honestly am beginning to think that the Rams and the Bucs will not get a win this season. As bad as the Lions are, they’re not at the bottom of the food chain anymore.
New York Giants 24, Philadelphia Eagles 31
Another loss should throw the pundits through a loop as they scramble to figure out what’s wrong with the Giants. They won’t be able to blame Plaxico Burress this time around.
Houston Texans 14, Buffalo Bills 17
Ryan Fitzpatrick has won his last four starts and the last five games he’s played in. If I could choose one word to describe Gary Kubiak’s Texans, it would be “inconsistent.” The Bills are at home coming off of two somewhat improbable road wins… if the weather is bad and the Texans can’t throw to a banged-up Andre Johnson, the Bills have a chance to keep it close.
Jacksonville Jaguars 27, Tennessee Titans 13
This is a fairly good chance for Jeff Fisher to feel like a winner, but I doubt they’ll take advantage. The Jaguars are sitting quietly at 3-3, but it’s always tough to say which team will show up. Is it the team that beat the Titans 31-17 in week 4, or the team that got shutout 41-0 in Seattle in week 5?
Oakland Raiders 7, San Diego Chargers 34
Jamarcus Russell, contrary to any shred of logic or reason, remains Oakland’s starter. Give it a quarter and we’ll see if that’s the case next week.
Minnesota Vikings 28, Green Bay Packers 31
Brett Favre threw 51 passes against the Steelers. Huh? The Vikings should hope that the weather turns bad so they can rely on their running game.
Carolina Panthers 21, Arizona Cardinals 38
Panthers fans are bracing themselves for a repeat of Jake Delhomme’s last game against the Cardinals.
Atlanta Falcons 38, New Orleans Saints 52
The Saints might be the NFC’s best team, and at home they’re as tough an opponent as you can find. Matt Ryan struggled last week against Dallas; in semi-familiar territory he should do better, but probably won’t be able to keep up with Drew Brees.
