Sports
NFL Predictions Week 8: Top Underdogs Picks, Vegas Odds and Score Predictions
Alastair Grant/Associated PressUnderdogs have been the betting story of the 2019 NFL season. Through eight weeks, they are 61-43-2 against the spread, and a good chunk of them have won straight up as well. In Week 7, Arizona, Baltimore and New Orleans led the charge with outright road victories, while Miami and Washington covered double-digit spreads. A few…
Alastair Grant/Associated Press
Underdogs have been the betting story of the 2019 NFL season.
Through eight weeks, they are 61-43-2 against the spread, and a good chunk of them have won straight up as well.
In Week 7, Arizona, Baltimore and New Orleans led the charge with outright road victories, while Miami and Washington covered double-digit spreads.
A few more road teams could be in line to extend the trend into Week 8, including a squad coming off the bye week and another looking to bounce back from a deflating loss.
NFL Week 8 Schedule, Odds and Predictions
All Times ET
Odds via Caesars; predictions against the spread in bold.
Thursday, October 24
Washington at Minnesota (-16) (Over/Under: 42.5) (8:20 p.m., Fox/NFL Network)
Sunday, October 27
Seattle (-3.5) at Atlanta (O/U: 54) (1 p.m., Fox)
Philadelphia at Buffalo (-1.5) (O/U: 43.5) (1 p.m., Fox)
Los Angeles Chargers at Chicago (-4) (O/U: 40.5) (1 p.m., Fox)
New York Giants at Detroit (-6.5) (O/U: 49.5) (1 p.m., Fox)
Denver at Indianapolis (-6) (O/U: 44) (1 p.m., CBS)
New York Jets at Jacksonville (-5.5) (O/U: 41.5) (1 p.m., CBS)
Cincinnati vs. Los Angeles Rams (-13.5) (O/U: 48) (1 p.m., CBS; Game in London)
Arizona at New Orleans (-10) (O/U: 48) (1 p.m., CBS)
Tampa Bay at Tennessee (-2.5) (O/U: 45.5) (1 p.m., Fox)
Carolina at San Francisco (-5.5) (O/U: 41) (4:05 p.m., Fox)
Cleveland at New England (-12.5) (O/U: 46.5) (4:25 p.m., CBS)
Oakland at Houston (-6.5) (O/U: 51.5) (4:25 p.m., CBS)
Green Bay (-4.5) at Kansas City (O/U: 48) (8:20 p.m., NBC)
Monday, October 28
Miami at Pittsburgh (-14.5) (O/U: 43) (8:15 p.m., ESPN)
Top Underdog Picks
Tampa Bay ( 2.5) at Tennessee
Alastair Grant/Associated Press
A few trends involving Bruce Arians-coached teams make Tampa Bay an intriguing underdog selection.
According to Buccaneers.com's Carmen Vitali, Arians has never lost three straight contests as a head coach, and he was 4-1 off the bye with Arizona.
For that to continue, Tampa Bay has to clean up its defense. In Weeks 4 and 5, it let up over 400 total yards in each game, and in Week 6, it conceded 37 points to Carolina.
The good news for the Bucs is they have put up at least 20 points in their last five games, so if the defensive production gets better, they could outscore Tennessee.
Mike Vrabel's Titans have not won consecutive games in 2019, and before Ryan Tannehill brought life to the offense in Week 7, they scored in single digits in three of four games.
Tannehill may be forced to win Sunday's contest on his own since Tampa Bay's rushing defense has allowed one opponent to reach triple digits.
With Miami and Tennessee, Tannehill has five back-to-back 300-yard games, but the last one occurred in 2016.
In fact, the 31-year-old has recorded under 200 passing yards in nine of his last 14 appearances, which suggests Week 7's performance versus the Los Angeles Chargers was more of an outlier than anything.
If Tannehill struggles and Jameis Winston bounces back from his five-interception game in London, Tampa Bay could keep it close and win outright.
Winston has thrown three or more picks eight times in his career, but in the games that have followed, he was intercepted seven times.
As long as the Tampa Bay quarterback puts the poor showing behind him, the Buccaneers should continue to score against a defense that conceded two 300-yard passing games in the last four weeks.
New York Jets ( 5.5) at Jacksonville
Adam Hunger/Associated Press
Few bettors are going to put trust in the New York Jets after they were shutout on Monday night by New England.
But you have to put that game into the right context before judging Adam Gase's team for the rest of the campaign.
The performance occurred against the league's best defense in Sam Darnold's second game back from mononucleosis.
Jacksonville's defense has forced six turnovers, and it has not overwhelmed many opponents.
The Jaguars have given up the 10th-most rushing yards and 12th-most passing yards. They also allow 5.7 yards per play.
In Week 6's win over Dallas, Darnold produced 338 yards through the air with a pair of touchdowns, while Le'Veon Bell chipped in 50 rushing yards and a score.
If the offensive pair finds gaps in the Jacksonville defense, it could re-gain confidence and look threatening for four quarters.
Doug Marrone's side is 1-2 at TIAA Bank Field, and it produced six points in its last home matchup with New Orleans.
In two of their three wins, the Jaguars have controlled the ground game with 200-yard performances. New York has conceded 100 rushing yards twice in 2019.
If the Jets silence Leonard Fournette and Gardner Minshew completes under 50 percent of his passes for the third straight game, the road side could pull off a victory.
Final Score Predictions
Minnesota 34, Washington 10
Seattle 27, Atlanta 9
Philadelphia 20, Buffalo 17
Chicago 17, Los Angeles Chargers 12
Detroit 34, New York Giants 21
Indianapolis 31, Denver 17
New York Jets 24, Jacksonville 20
Los Angeles Rams 45, Cincinnati 10
New Orleans 35, Arizona 24
Tampa Bay 20, Tennessee 10
San Francisco 17, Carolina 10
New England 34, Cleveland 6
Houston 27, Oakland 16
Green Bay 24, Kansas City 13
Pittsburgh 28, Miami 10
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90
Statistics obtained from Pro Football Reference
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