NFL Week 8 Picks – Who Ya Got?

Now that my team has established itself as a great candidate for a 14-game losing streak, I can spend my time pursuing fantasy wins and rooting for my college teams. The trade deadline is coming up on November 2, so we’ll see what happens there. Meantime, there are some juicy matchups for week 8. Let’s get to it.

Green Bay at Arizona – The Packers will be without their top 2 WRs, who are on the COVID list, and the Cards will be without JJ Watt, out for the year with a shoulder injury. Arizona is going to lose one of these days, and if Green Bay was 100%, I’d pick this week. But without those wideouts, I think the Arizona defense will be enough, even without Watt. Cards 23, Packers 17

Cincinnati at NY Jets – It looks like the Life Certainties List has grown to 3 – death, taxes, and JaMarr Chase getting 100 yards receiving and a TD. NY is really trying, but there are way too many holes left to fill here. The defense is quite young, and good offenses can exploit that. Bengals 38, j-e-t-s jets jets jets jets jets jets jets jets jets jets jets 10

LA Rams at Houston – I am only marginally relevant in my fantasy league, and Cooper Kupp is the only reason I’m even that good. He scored almost half of my team’s points last week. He’s doing some insane stuff. He and his mates should put up big numbers against this questionable group. Rams 44, Texans 21

Miami at Buffalo – There is rampant gossip that Deshaun Watson is headed to South Beach, and rumors are beginning to gain steam that the Panthers will rid themselves of Darnold in favor or Tua. This Panthers fan hopes this is false. The Bills had a bye week to stew over their last-second loss to the Titans. That anger should result in a stellar performance, especially on defense. Buffalo, NC 28, Fish 7

Philadelphia at Detroit – If Crying Dan Campbell can shed tears over a close loss, what is he going to do when they actually win a game? We could find out this week against one of the NFL’s most dysfunctional organizations. Lion cubs 20, Eagles 19

Pittsburgh at Cleveland – Pittsburgh looked bad at first but has stabilized. Not sure what to make of the Browns, especially without Mayfield. At least he has managed to push Flo, the most obnoxious commercial character ever, off the Progressive ads. Cleveland looked much better on defense last week, and they’ll need another effort like that to win. I think they will get it. Browns 23, Steelers 20

San Francisco at Chicago – The Bears have a rookie QB and a terrible offensive line. Not a good situation when you’re welcoming a good defense to town. Whatever the weather is for this game, SF will consider it an improvement over last week. They’ll settle in and take care of business. 49ers 24, Bears 17

Tennessee at Indianapolis – Indy’s offense exploded in the SF monsoon. The Titans have quietly ascended to the top of the conference. Which one is the real deal? It’s hard to argue with what Henry and Tannehill are doing. Titans 27, Colts 24

Jacksonville at Seattle – If you have any friends or family members that hate football with a fiery, burning passion, they will point to this game as a reason why. Hard to blame them. We now remember why Geno Smith was invisible the last 7 years. Jags 17, Seahawks 10

New England at LA Chargers – No one is more up-and-down than the Pats. They will have home field advantage this week, even though the game is in LA. Chargers games are the only ones that rival Panthers games for road teams’ fans packing the stadium every week. Patriots 27, Clippers 23

Tampa Bay at New Orleans – Are the Saints back to their old selves? I’m not convinced. Are the Bucs as good as last year? As much as I despise admitting it, I am convinced. It will be competitive, but I don’t think New Orleans can stay with them. Bucs 31, Aints 27

Washington at Denver – There’s a lot of chatter about the Panthers going from 3-0 to 3-4. Denver has done the same thing, to a lot less scrutiny. I think Rivera is the better coach and will find a way to make that work for his squad. The Team Formerly Known As Redskins 24, Donkeys 13

Dallas at Minnesota – Adam Thielen is the other reason my fantasy team is still mathematically alive for a playoff spot. He and Kupp generally score about 60% of my team’s points. No way he lights up the scoreboard again against a top secondary. This is probably the game of the day and should go right down to the wire. Cowboys 30, Norwegians 23

NY Giants at Kansas City – Leave it to my Panthers to make this Duke QB look like Aaron Rodgers. I can’t imagine he does that well again, even against a defense with lots of holes in it. Mahomes has thrown more picks in the last month than he did all of last year. That can’t possibly be a trend, right? I’m betting that it isn’t. Chiefs 27, Little People 17

Carolina at Atlanta – In 2010, when the Panthers went 2-14, I tweeted regularly that the offensive line was the worst in the history of the sport of football, at any level, in any era. The 2021 Panthers offensive line is almost as bad. Forget Run CMC or whether Sam Darnold is a franchise QB. This o-line, and the severely injured defense, has no chance to beat any NFL team. Falcons 27, panthers 6

Last week’s record: 10-3

Season: 71-36

Bye: Baltimore, Las Vegas