NFL Week Eight Predictions
According to Adam Schefter, the NFL is currently planning for 20 percent capacity at Super Bowl LV in Tampa Bay. Fans will be in pods six feet apart and masks will be required. With the slow emergence of fans at many stadiums across the league, it makes sense that they would want socially distant fans at the biggest game of the year.
Article by Dave Nguyen, AKSM Sports
News and Notes
Fans at Super Bowl: According to Adam Schefter, the NFL is currently planning for 20 percent capacity at Super Bowl LV in Tampa Bay. Fans will be in pods six feet apart and masks will be required. With the slow emergence of fans at many stadiums across the league, it makes sense that they would want socially distant fans at the biggest game of the year.
Steelers Last Unbeaten Team: After a gutsy win at the Titans last week, the Steelers improved to 6-0 on the season, their best start in franchise history since 1978. Thanks to Stephen Gostowski missing a game-tying 45-yard field goal with 19 seconds left in the fourth quarter, the Steelers take their undefeated record into arguably one of their most important games of the season this week, as they take on their arch rivals, Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. This game will have all the hype and lots of attention heading into this Sunday.
Brady Passes Brees to Make History: In Last week’s 45-20 win at the Raiders, Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady surpassed Drew Brees to become the all-time NFL leader in touchdown passes with 559. Brady threw for four touchdown passes in the win and has the Buccaneers rolling. With both quarterbacks still playing, especially in the same division, this battle will go back and forth for at least the rest of this season and next season.
OBJ Done For Season: After suffering a first half knee injury against the Bengals, it was confirmed that Odell Beckham Jr tore his ACL and is done for the season. The Browns are off to one of their best starts in franchise history, and he plays a major part of their offense. In seven games this season, he had 23 receptions for 319 yards , 17 first downs, and three touchdowns.
Dunlap Traded to Seattle: The Seahawks added help to their defensive line, trading for Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap, exchanging lineman B.J. Finney and a 2021 seventh round pick to the Bengals. Dunlap was a two-time pro-bowler in Cincinnati, and looks to make an immediate impact to the Seahawks defense.
Dez Bryant in Baltimore: Earlier this week, former Pro-Bowler and Dallas Cowboys star receiver Dez Bryant signed to the practice squad of the Baltimore Ravens. He is seeking action for the first time since 2017. He spent eight years with the Cowboys and was released in April of 2018. he then signed with the Saints in week nine of the 2018 season on a one-year deal, but tore his Achilles during practice two days after signing his contract. He hopes to add explosiveness into a Ravens offense to compliment Marquise Brown and Mark Andrews. We’ll see if he plays against the Steelers on Sunday.
Fitzgerald Catches History: In the Cardinals overtime win against the Seahawks, Larry Fitzgerald was able to make history towards the end of the first half in the win. With 43 seconds left in the first half, Fitzgerald caught his 1,400th reception of his career, making him and Hall of Fame Jerry Rice as the only receivers in NFL History to have 1,400 receptions. Fitzgerald has already put together a Hall of Fame resume, as he is second all-time in receiving yards, sixth all-time in receiving touchdowns, and has made 11 Pro-Bowls.
DJ Chark Ties the Knot: During this week’s bye-week for the Jaguars, Pro-Bowl receiver married his fiancé, Chantelle Baker, earlier this week. Baker and Chark were married on a beach, and have known each other since high school. Things are going well for the newly-weds, as they announced a few weeks ago that they were expecting a child back on October 15th. Congratulations to the Charks!
Sunday 1:00 PM
Patriots (2-4) at Bills (5-2): The Patriots are coming off a 33-6 loss at home to the 49ers last week, and Cam Newton was pulled in the second half. He threw for 98 tasing yards, three interceptions, and 19 rushing yards, which was good for about -2 fantasy points depending on what league you play. Newton even told himself that he needs to play better and shared his thoughts on social media. The Bills, on the other hand, had to out-kick the Jets on the road as Tyler Bass made six field goals, four of which from 40+ yards, in an 18-10 win. Josh Allen threw for 307 yards but could not help the Bills offense score a single touchdown, so look for the Bills to find the end zone against the Pats. Prediction: Bills 27-24.
Titans (5-1) at Bengals (1-5-1): Both teams are coming off heartbreaking losses at home in this matchup; Titans kicker Stephen Gostowski missed a game-tying field goal with 19 seconds left in regulation against the Steelers, while the Bengals lost to the Browns on a last minute touchdown drive from Baker Mayfield. It is still a growing year for Joe Burrow, who is finding out how competitive the AFC is this season. The Titans look to put last week’s loss to Pittsburgh behind them and earn their third road victory of the season. If Derrick Henry can have over 75 rushing yards, it gives the Titans the best chance to win, as the Titans are undefeated when he reaches above the 75 yard rushing mark. Prediction: Titans 31-23.
Raiders (3-3) at Browns (5-2): Baker Mayfield will have to finish the rest of the season without OBJ due to his torn ACL. Luckily, he was able to find rookie Donovan Peoples-Jones in the right corner of the end zone with 11 seconds left to pull out the victory against the Bengals. He was flawless after the first quarter, completing 22 of 23 passes and tossing five touchdowns. The Raiders, on the other hand, were torched by Tom Brady and the Buccaneers 45-20. Derek Carr and the Raiders were flying high after beating the Chiefs two weeks ago, but came out flat against Brady. Carr has solid supporting players around him, and has not thrown less than 261 yards this season. If he is able to implement Henry Ruggs more in the offense, that could be a difference maker in this matchup in Cleveland. Prediction: Browns 31-28.
Colts (4-2) at Lions (3-3): The Lions were able to pull off a comeback with no timeouts in the final minute of the game last week in Atlanta, as Matt Stafford’s gun-slinging mentality found Kenny Golliday and then T.J. Hockenson in the end zone to give the Lions a 23-22 victory against Atlanta. They traded for four-time Pro-Bowler Everson Griffin earlier this week to help with their pass-rush, as the Lions are trying to contend in the NFC playoff picture. The Colts are rested coming off a bye-week and are going to have their hands full with this scrappy Lions team. The Colts are 0-2 when Rivers throws at least two interceptions, while 5-0 when he throws less than two picks this season. Prediction: Colts 26-23.
Vikings (1-5) at Packers (5-1): Both teams are headed in opposite directions heading into this matchup. The Packers offense is eighth in total yards/game and second in points per game, as they have scored 30+ points in five of their six games. Aaron Rodgers is first in QBR, tied for second with interceptions thrown, and third in touchdown passes with 17. As the Packers await a healthy Aaron Jones, the Vikings know that they have their hands full defensively. After their Week 4 win at Houston, they lost two straight games against the Seahawks and Falcons. Facing Rodgers out of the bye-week will be difficult for Minnesota to stop as they travel to Lambeau Field on Sunday. Prediction: Packers 35-21.
Jets (0-7) at Chiefs (6-1): While the Jets defense last week forced the Bills to kick six field goals, the Chiefs offense is a completely different animal. Patrick Mahomes leads an offense that is top 10 in total yards/game, total yards, passing yards, rushing yards, rushing yards per game, total points, and total points per game. The Chiefs may score 50 points if Mahomes is on a roll. Prediction: Chiefs 42-10.
Rams (5-2) at Dolphins (3-3): It’s officially Tua time in Miami as the first round pick from Alabama makes his NFL debut on Sunday. His gift for his debut? Aaron Donald, who is second in the league with eight sacks, and a Rams defense that is top 10 in sacks, yards per game, passing yards per game, rushing yards per game, and points per game. This defense made Nick Foles uncomfortable the entire game on Monday Night Football and look to do the same to Tua. Prediction: Rams 26-20.
Steelers (6-0) at Ravens (5-1): This will be the game that everyone will be watching as the undefeated Steelers travel south to take on the Ravens. This game has everything you want in a football game: star quarterbacks, hard hitting running backs, speedy play-makers, and most importantly, hard, tough-nosed defense. The Ravens are coming off a bye-week and welcome Yannick Ngakoue to the defensive line, opposite of his former Jaguars teammate Calaias Campbell. The Steelers are coming off a gutsy victory against the Titans. In a low scoring affair, the team who has the ball last will have the best chance of winning this game. Since 1999 they have split their 46 matchups evenly at 23 wins a piece, with the Ravens averaging slightly better in points per game scoring 20.3 over the Steelers 19.5. This will be Lamar Jackson’s second-ever start against the Steelers and the first with Ben Rothlisberger under center for Pittsburgh. Prediction: Ravens 23-21.
4:05 PM
Chargers (2-4) at Broncos (2-4): Justin Herbert was able to earn his first NFL win last week in the Chargers 39-29 victory against the Jaguars. Herbert has played well so far in his rookie campaign, throwing for 1,542 yards and 12 touchdowns. In fact, he has thrown a touchdown pass and completed 20 or more passes in every game this season. The Broncos, on the other hand, are trying to develop some sort of consistency on offense. They made six field goals against the Patriots two weeks ago in a win, but were unable to defeat the Chiefs at home in the snow. This is an evenly matched game, with both teams having identical records. Prediction: Chargers 24-21.
4:25 PM
Saints (4-2) at Bears (5-2): Two teams with similar records yet have completely different play styles. The Bears are a ball-controlled offense that is slow paced and relies on its defense to prevent its opponent to score as few points as possible. Nick Foles hopes the offense can play better than it did last Monday in their 24-10 loss to the Rams. The Bears offense has only scored 30 or more points once this season, which was in their comeback win against the Falcons. In comparison, the Saints offense has scored 30 or more points four times this year; which is pretty impressive since Drew Brees is not going to have Emmanuel Sanders (COVID) and the status of Michael Thomas is questionable for Sunday. Luckily Brees has Alvin Kamara, who has defined his role as a versatile playmaker in Sean Payton’s offense. In Brees’ career, he has won 73 of 129 games outdoors, a win percentage of 56.5 percent. In comparison, he has 87 wins in 138 games played in a dome (63%). So, while Brees plays better in a dome, he does not play poorly outdoors. Prediction: Saints 24-20.
49ers (4-3) at Seahawks (5-1): Another important showdown in the NFC West as the 49ers travel to Seattle to take on the Seahawks. Seattle suffered its first loss of the season in overtime against the Cardinals, where Russel Wilson threw his first three interceptions of the season. Russel Wilson has the most touchdown passes this season so far thru six games played. The last person to have that same statistic was Peyton Manning in 2013. That year Peyton came back from neck surgery and won the MVP that season, leading the Broncos to the Super Bowl, only to fall to Wilson’s Seahawks that year. It’s no surprise that Wilson is in the MVP discussion, as his touchdown passes are one of many stats as to why he should win it this season. The 49ers have won two straight games after they were embarrassed by Ryan Fitzpatrick and the Miami Dolphins; a key divisional win against the Rams and a 44-6 rout of the Patriots on the road. The last time these two teams met was Week 17 of last year, where the 49ers defense stopped the Seahawks inside the five yard line at the end of the game to give the 49ers the NFC West crown and the number one seed in the playoffs. Prediction: Seahawks 28-25.
Sunday Night
Cowboys (2-5) at Eagles (2-4-1): Carson Wents threw for over 300 yards for the first time this season as he led the Eagles to a fourth quarter comeback victory against the Giants last Thursday. With the amount of injuries the Eagles have had on the offensive side of the ball, particularly their playmakers, Wentz has played with a warrior-type mentality, and turning practice squad players into key contributors like Greg Ward and Travis Fulgham. The Cowboys are coming off a 25-3 loss to the Washington Football team. With Dan Prescott out for the season and Andy Daulton missing Sunday night’s game with a concussion, the Cowboys will turn to rookie Ben DiNucci from James Madison, making his first career NFL start. It will be tough game for the Cowboys who need a major attitude makeover due to their lack of effort last week, Ezekiel Elloitt leading the league in fumbles, and their defense allowing 408 yards and 34.7 points per game. Prediction: Eagles 27-10.
Monday Night
Buccaneers (5-2) at Giants (1-6): Tom Brady threw for five touchdown passes in the Buccaneers 45-20 win over the Raiders. He was able to find Rob Gronkowski for a touchdown, as the two look like their chemistry from New England has transitioned to Tampa Bay. This game will also be the debut of Antonio Brown, who will play in his first game since September 15th of last season against the Dolphins, his lone game as a Patriot. The Giants, on the other hand, are trying to overcome a game where they had an 11 point lead with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter against the Eagles, only to watch Carson Wentz pull off a fourth quarter comeback and lose by one. Expect an easy Buccaneers victory on Monday night. Prediction: Buccaneers 35-10.