It’s already NFL Week 8, and that means we have 16 more matchups to preview. Unlike last week’s NFL schedule, there are no early Sunday morning duels in London or two Monday Night Football matchups.
Yet, with all 32 teams in action, there’s plenty to look forward to. Below, we dive into one bold prediction for each game on the Week 8 NFL schedule.
Rams pull off stunning upset win over Vikings as McVay matches wits with O’Connell
Kevin O’Connell has yet to go up against Sean McVay since he left to become the Vikings head coach following the LA Super Bowl LVI win. Expect both coaches to have some tricks up their sleeves as they look to prove their version of the same scheme is better than the other’s. But how shocking would it be if a beaten-up 2-4 Rams team got the best of a Vikings team that just suffered their first loss?
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Joe Burrow racks up 350 passing yards in Bengals win over Eagles
The Eagles have the NFL’s sixth-fewest passing yards allowed per play in 2024. But they’ve been on vacation the past two weeks, taking on the Giants and Browns. Now a real test comes, which Joe Burrow will pass with flying colors, to the tune of 350 yards in a big Bengals win over the Eagles.
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Browns show resolve, get win over Ravens
Deshaun Watson is out for the season, which means the Browns can react one of two ways. They can either fold completely, or show that there’s still a lot of football left to play. Since they’re going up against an AFC North rival, we expect Kevin Stefanski to have his team ready to go. Who knows, Nick Chubb might even have a strong enough performance to power Cleveland to a shocking victory.
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Titans hold Lions to season-low in points, but Detroit still wins
Their 1-5 record may not reflect it, but the Titans actually have a respectable defense this season. Tennessee’s allowing the eighth-fewest yards per pass attempt and the fourth-fewest yards per rushing attempt. We’ll go out on a limb and say it will lead to Detroit’s lowest scoring output of the season, which was set at 16 points in a Week 2 loss to Tampa Bay. Yet, since Tennessee’s offense is so prone to committing turnovers, Detroit will still win.
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Marvin Harrison Jr. records 135 yards, 2 TD in Cardinals win over Dolphins
A concussion slowed down Marvin Harrison Jr’s pace, but he’s still among this year’s top Rookie of the Year contenders. Now that he’ll be another week removed from getting knocked out of the game, we expect Kyler Murray and his new top weapon to have their best chemistry yet, and it could lead to a new career high in receiving yards against a respectable Dolphins passing defense allowing the 10th-fewest yards per attempt.
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Davante Adams tops 100 yards in Jets win over Patriots
Davante Adams arrived in New York last week, but he only had 30 yards in his Jets debut. Yet, it shouldn’t take him long to get back up to full speed with Aaron Rodgers. With the Patriots having trouble defending the pass, allowing the seventh-most yards per attempt, Adams could be in for his first 100-yard game with the Jets.
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Kyle Pitts records first 100-yard game of season in Falcons win over Buccaneers
The thought was that by bringing Kirk Cousins to Atlanta, the Falcons’ skill position players would all enjoy excellent seasons. That hasn’t quite happened with Kyle Pitts yet, even if he is enjoying a bounce-back year. Pitts hasn’t topped 88 receiving yards this season, but the former No. 4 overall pick has averaged 74.3 yards per game across his last three outings. We’ll see if he can top that with a 100-yard game on Sunday.
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Trevor Lawrence outduels Jordan Love with 4 TD game in Jaguars win over Packers
If anyone had a four touchdown game in the Jaguars vs Packers matchup, most would expect it to be Jordan Love, not Trevor Lawrence. Yet, the former No. 1 overall pick is playing better as of late, completing 74% of his passes while averaging 266 passing yards and 1.7 touchdowns per game. He’ll have to dial that up a notch in what could be a shootout against the Packers, but can Lawrence be responsible for four touchdowns?
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Anthony Richardson scored three touchdowns in big win over Texans
Anthony Richardson hasn’t completed more than 50% of his passes in any game that he’s started and finished this season. To say he has struggled with accuracy would be putting it mildly. Yet, Shane Steichen is still leading an offense that has shown it can create explosive plays. At his best, Richardson is certainly capable of helping the Colts beat the Texans in what would be one of the biggest upsets of the week, but he may need at least three touchdowns to do it.
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J.K. Dobbins tops 125 rushing yards in Chargers win over Saints
The Saints won’t have Derek Carr in Week 8, which means this game could get ugly. It could lead to another heavy run-based playscript for Jim Harbaugh’s team on Sunday. If so, we could see J.K. Dobbins return to the early magic that saw him record back-to-back 130-yard rushing games to start the season.
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James Cook and Josh Allen combine for 150 rushing yards in Bills win over Seahawks
As much as Josh Allen and the Bills would love to come into Sunday slinging the rock all over the yard, yhe Seahawks are allowing the fifth-most rushing yards in the NFL. In turn, we could see Buffalo try establishing the run first, which could see James Cook and Allen combine for a huge 150-yard rushing day.
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Bryce Young leads Panthers to win over Broncos
Bryce Young isn’t expected to start or even play in this game. But at some point, the Panthers have to get another look at their former No. 1 pick as their season continues spiraling out of control. If Carolina’s offense gets off to a rough start against a Broncos defense that ranks third in points allowed, we wouldn’t be surprised if Andy Dalton gets a quick hook. But the real shocker would be if Young can overcome a slow start from his teammates and lead them to victory. If so, he’d earn some more respect in Carolina.
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Patrick Mahomes helps Chiefs score 50 points in win over Raiders
The Raiders are in a rough spot right now. They tried turning to backup QB Aidan O’Connell, only to have him suffer a broken thumb. Gardner Minshew’s return came with four turnovers. Their only other option is either undrafted rookie Carter Bradley, or Desmond Ridder who signed his contract on Monday.
Because of the Raiders, struggles, we could see a Chiefs team firing on all cylinders. So much so, that Mahomes dominates on offense while the defense does the same, leading to a 50-point night for the Chiefs.
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Bears defense holds Commanders to fewer than 150 passing yards in convincing win
The Bears boast one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks in Jaylon Johnson. He’s helped them allow the third-fewest yards per pass attempt in the league. With Jayden Daniels labeled as week-to-week, the Commanders may have to turn back to Marcus Mariota, but this time he doesn’t get to go up against the NFL’s worst defense in the Panthers. Don’t be surprised if the 2024 Bears look more like the ’85 Bears on Sunday.
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Ricky Pearsall records first 100-yard game in 49ers win over Cowboys
Ricky Pearsall’s return couldn’t come at a better time now that Brandon Aiyuk has been ruled out with a season-ending ACL injury. The 49ers selected the 6-foot-3 receiver with 4.41 wheels in the first round for a reason, now it’s time to see what he’s capable of. We wouldn’t be surprised if Brock Purdy targets the rookie early and often against the Cowboys, helping him get the first 100-yard game of his young career.
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T.J. Watt records three sacks in Steelers win over Giants
The Giants lost their All-Pro left tackle to a season-ending injury in Week 6. They allowed a season-high eight sacks the next week. This will be their second game without Thomas, which has T.J. Watt licking his chops in preparation of his first three-sack game of the season, and the seventh of his career.
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