Here Are Our Week 8 NFL Picks Against The Spread

Let’s quickly recap last night’s Broncos-Chargers game. Peyton Manning is good. That’s all. Let’s move on. We have a fun slate of games this weekend including the 9:30 a.m EST game in London with Detroit and Atlanta (Mark Dominik at ESPN.com actually came up with a great idea for how to have games in London). This is great fun for guys because now we can watch NFL games for 14 straight hours this weekend. Make sure to do something nice for your girlfriend or wife on Saturday night because she’s going to hate you after you don’t leave the couch or the bar on Sunday. I hear flowers are a good look.

Locks of the Week:

Detroit -3.5 over ATLANTA
Atlanta’s margin of defeat in the last four games is almost 15 points. This is a neutral field and all, but how are the Falcons not a touchdown or worse underdog‎? Their offensive has no shot of containing the uber-talented Lions defensive front and their defense hasn’t given up less than 27 points in those four losses.

Kyle’s pick: LIONS, BABY. I’ll be drunk by 11 a.m.

Baltimore PK over CINCINNATI
Cincinnati’s season is imploding as quickly as any projected playoff team. They went into New England undefeated and haven’t won since. A.J. Green doesn’t look likely to play and will be extremely limited if he does. Cincinnati’s offense just isn’t talented enough without him.

Kyle’s pick: Baltimore

Indianapolis -3 over PITTSBURGH
The Steelers faced some of the worst starting quarterbacks in their last four games: Mike Glennon, Blake Bortles, Brian Hoyer, and Ryan Fitzpatrick. Despite facing those rejects, they’ve still allowed an average of 243 passing yards a game. Now Andrew Luck comes to town and should wipe the floor with the Steelers secondary and lack of pass rush. The situation is so bad that it makes Steelers’ players throw up. It’s nice to see Indianapolis’ punter isn’t afraid of the game either as he’s already trying to make jokes with Antonio Brown.

Kyle’s pick: Indianapolis

Trap Games of the Week:

Seattle -5 over CAROLINA
This game is hard to figure out since the Seahawks have gone from Super Bowl favorite to fighting for the playoffs in two weeks. They’ve lost two of their road games this year, so covering a five-point spread in Carolina might seem like a stretch especially with locker room issues. But the Panthers aren’t as good as their record looks given that they tied a clearly mediocre Bengals team, beat a clearly mediocre Bears team, and got drilled by the Packers. The Panthers won’t be able to hold Seattle from scoring this week.

Kyle’s pick: Seattle

‎Rest of the Picks:

Miami -6 over JACKSONVILLE
Is it time to give the Jaguars a little respect after they handed it to the Browns last week? Not so fast, my friend. Miami’s underrated defense proved me wrong in Chicago last week and their arrow is pointing up. The offense has been quite effective this year too, so there’s not much to like about the Jags with their turnover prone quarterback and 20th ranked pass defense.

Kyle’s pick: Jacksonville

TAMPA BAY -2.5 over Minnesota
I’m pretty sure this is the game you’ll be the least excited to follow this Sunday unless you’re a fan of either team. This game will come down to the turnover battle and I’ll trust the second-year quarterback off the bye just a tad more for that.

Kyle’s pick: Tampa Bay

Buffalo +3 over N.Y. Jets
You’re probably wondering how a 1-6 team is favored against a 4-3 team. I’m not sure either, but Vegas must think the Jets deserve some love after playing the Patriots tough last week. They certainly do, but they won’t be able to run the ball nearly as well this week against the third-best run defense in the league according to Football Outsiders. And even Kyle Orton can have success ‎against this Jets’ secondary. I’m not worried about the running back injuries for Buffalo since the running game isn’t the focus against the Jets anyway.

Kyle’s pick: Buffalo

St. Louis +7 over KANSAS CITY
The Chiefs are riding high after beating San Diego last week, so there’s a good chance they come out a little flat this week. St. Louis should see an improvement to their running game with Tre Mason and should see a lot of success against the 25th ranked run defense according to Football Outsiders.

Kyle’s pick: St. Louis

Houston -3 over TENNESSEE
I don’t think Zach Mettenberger will be a bad NFL QB. I think he’s got a job to make something happen going forward. It just won’t happen with J.J. Watt and JaDeveon Clowney (in his debut) chasing him this Sunday.

Kyle’s pick: Houston … and this is my lock of the week. 

NEW ENGLAND -6 over Chicago
New England’s defense is hurting after losing Chandler Jones for a month and Jerod Mayo out for the season. Thankfully their offense found their groove at the right time and the Bears won’t be able to do much about changing that. Chicago’s turbulent season is crashing down very fast and their only hope is a shootout where they somehow make one more play than New England.

Kyle’s pick: New England

ARIZONA -3 over Philadelphia
The battle in the desert should be a shootout with neither team doing much to stop passing games this year. No one is giving Arizona credit for what they’ve done so far this year, but let’s remember the defensive players missing from last year and then respect the defensive numbers against the run now. Philly will get the look here because of their flash, but their offense all starts with the run and Arizona should be able to limit that.

Kyle’s pick: Philly

CLEVELAND -6.5 over Oakland
Public opinion on Cleveland is down after they fell flat on their face last week against Jacksonville, but Oakland should be the cure for what ails them. It would, however, be a lot of fun if Hoyer struggled and we san Johnny Football come out for the second half. I’m secretly rooting for that.

Kyle’s pick: Cleveland

Green Bay +1.5 over NEW ORLEANS
Admittedly this game is the season for New Orleans after a tough loss last week to ‎Detroit. Unfortunately I can’t see their defense stopping the red hot Aaron Rodgers. Given that the Saints’ offense still isn’t firing, it doesn’t bode well for the highest projected scoring game of the week.

Kyle’s pick: New Orleans

DALLAS -10 over Washington
Remember when Redskins’ fans wanted to have Kirk Cousins as their starter going forward and we’re fine with trading RG3? That’s pretty funny right now since Cousins got benched for Colt McCoy. Yes, that Colt McCoy. Owner Dan Snyder is clearing drinking himself into oblivion because there’s no way he can handle the losing ways right now.

Kyle’s pick: Dallas

This Week: 1-0
Last Week: 7-8
Season: 58-48-1
Survivor: 6-1
Locks: 11-11-1
Kyle: 57-49-1