Making NFL picks and predictions every week from the start of the season through the Super Bowl creates a strange feeling throughout the year. One week, you have just the ugliest slate of games that you've ever seen. The next week, it's hard to find enough screens to get eyes on all of the great football being played. Then we go into something like our NFL Week 8 picks and it's a mix of both worlds throughout the course of a single week.
We have some fascinating matchups on the Week 8 docket, not the least of which is the resurgent Chicago Bears visiting the potentially-still-Lamar-Jackson-less Baltimore Ravens, or the wildly inconsistent Dallas Cowboys visiting the shaky (but still winning) Denver Broncos. That's before we get to the huge Sunday Night Football showdown in Week 8 with Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers hosting the Green Bay Packers.
At the same time, though, there are some truly awful games. Marcus Mariota is starting for the Washington Commanders against the Kansas City Chiefs. The bottom-feeding Tennessee Titans have to play the juggernaut Indianapolis Colts. Even a game like 49ers-Texans is one that seems pedestrian to everyone outside of those two fan bases, which is not meant as shade, but just a reality of the situation.
Good or bad, though, our takes and prognostication go on. So let's hop into our NFL picks for every Week 8 game with predictions straight-up and against the spread.
2025 NFL Picks Straight-Up Record: 64-44 (Last Week: 8-7) | ATS Record: 49-59 (Last Week: 10-5)
Note: All lines are courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
NFL Week 8 predictions: Picks straight-up and ATS for every game
NFL Week 8 Matchup | Straight-Up Pick | ATS Pick |
|---|---|---|
Vikings at Chargers (TNF) | Chargers | Chargers -3.5 |
Bills at Panthers | Bills | Bills -7.5 |
Jets at Bengals | Bengals | Bengals -6.5 |
Bears at Ravens | Bears | Bears +6.5 |
Browns at Patriots | Patriots | Patriots -7 |
49ers at Texans | 49ers | 49ers +1.5 |
Dolphin at Falcons | Falcons | Falcons -7.5 |
Giants at Eagles | Eagles | Giants +7.5 |
Buccaneers at Saints | Buccaneers | Buccaneers -4.5 |
Titans at Colts | Colts | Colts -14.5 |
Cowboys at Broncos | Cowboys | Cowboys +3.5 |
Packers at Steelers | Packers | Packers -3 |
Commanders at Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs -11.5 |
Teams on bye in Week 8: Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, Seattle Seahawks
For the second straight week, even I have to admit that the early slate on Sunday in Week 8 is a bit of dreck. I can express a bit of intrigue when it comes to matchups like Bears-Ravens (pending Lamar Jackson's availability) and Giants-Eagles, but there is blowout potential in most of those games, even including that last one, despite me not seeing it that way.
The good news is that the NFL made up for it. The Vikings-Chargers matchup on Thursday has my antenna up for one of the sneakily best games of the week. Then we get into a phenomenal late slate with Cowboys-Broncos headlining the late window, Packers-Steelers on Sunday Night Football, and Commanders-Chiefs (which is a bit worse with Mariota starting) to wrap up Week 8. Even with six teams on bye this week,
Toughest NFL Week 8 prediction to make
Dallas Cowboys (+3.5) at Denver Broncos
We almost had one of my best upset calls of the season last week involving the Broncos, but the Giants had a historic fourth-quarter collapse that Denver took advantage of. Now, Sean Payton's team is back home with a 5-2 record and is a field-goal-and-a-hook favorite over another NFC East foe, the Dallas Cowboys. And I'm torn on two fronts when it comes to this matchup.
For one, the Cowboys offense is certified electric right now. Dak Prescott is playing at an MVP level, CeeDee Lamb is back, and this group looks like it can score on anyone, even the vaunted Denver defense. However, Dallas' defense is one of the league's worst. While that's all true, it's still hard to trust this Broncos team. Whenever the Giants weren't mistakenly playing prevent defense, Bo Nix and Company struggled. And it doesn't feel like a stretch to say they've gotten a bit lucky at times as well.
At the end of the day, though, I'm going with what I know, which is exactly what the Cowboys are. When you look at the unevenness of the Broncos offense this season, I'm not sure they'll be able to fully take advantage of Dallas' ineptitude defensively, which will give America's Team a big win on the road.
Easiest NFL Week 8 pick on the board
Washington Commanders at Kansas City Chiefs (-11.5)
This was a toss-up between the Colts at home against the lowly Titans and this matchup. However, the 14.5 points for Indianapolis was a bit more concerning than this point spread for the Chiefs playing at Arrowhead against, again, Marcus Mariota. That, in itself, is a massive problem for Washington. While Mariota has enough experience and talent around him to run a passable offense against a middling NFL defense, him matched up with Steve Spagnuolo is the stuff of nightmares.
While that might be worrisome for the Commanders, though, it's actually worse than just that. Washington's defense has looked beyond aging at this point — they look old. They look old and slow. And for that group to now face the speed of a Chiefs offense that's now at full strength with Rashee Rice's return, that's awful news.
Frankly, there aren't many ways this game could realistically play out in which the Chiefs aren't running away with it. Maybe I'm wrong, but this really doesn't feel like the proper spot for that to end up being the case.
The pick that probably has you scratching your head
Chicago Bears (+6.5) at Baltimore Ravens
If Lamar Jackson were to return for this game, this would feel a lot worse. However, a report on Wednesday indicated that the Ravens might not get their QB1 back for this contest, but we haven't seen the line move really at all from that point. While Chicago's offense is still developing in year one with Ben Johnson working with Caleb Williams, I'm going to lock this one in with the Bears and not think twice about it.
For one, if Jackson is ruled out, I'd be that we're getting a good number at 6.5 points in this game. But I'm also taking the Bears outright in this matchup because, well, the Ravens still haven't looked all that good. This was still a one-win team before Jackson's injury, and the defense hasn't shown enough signs of meaningfully improving, even if they're going to be getting a bit healthier.
There's a real chance I'm also left scratching my head after this game plays out, but I need the Ravens to prove it before I actually believe in them.