NFL Week 8 predictions: Projecting every game for Week 8, including Cowboys vs 49ers and Bears vs Commanders

Coming off the first loss of the season, the Minnesota Vikings have an excellent rebound opportunity. Aaron Jones should be a focal point against a bottom-5 run defense and the Los Angeles Rams don’t have the secondary to contain Justin Jefferson. Even with Cooper Kupp returning in Week 8, this team just lacks the firepower and offensive line right now to keep pace with the Vikings’ offense.

The Philadelphia Eagles bot to beat up some bad competition in the last two weeks. Now comes a tougher test. While the Cincinnati Bengals record puts them near the bottom of the NFL standings, Joe Burrow and Co. have more than enough to win a potential shootout. However, the Eagles defense has performed much better as of late and as long as Jalen Hurts protects the football, the Eagles should come out of Week 8 with a big win.

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A team with stable quarterback play, a sufficient offensive line and a top wide receiver can at least cause some problems for the Baltimore Ravens defensively. Obviously, the Cleveland Browns don’t have any of that. Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson will control the clock for most of this matchup, with a timely takeaway or two for the Ravens defense also setting up short fields. Baltimore pulls out a stress-free win and Cleveland falls further into the depths of irrelevancy this year.

The Detroit Lions defense took a step back in its first game without Aidan Hutchinson, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as it could’ve been. Now, they can use this Week 8 matchup against Mason Rudolph and a porous Tennessee Titans offensive line as an opportunity to keep building confidence and add to their momentum. We do expect Tennessee’s defense to prevent this from becoming a blowout, but the Lions are just a vastly superior football team in every regard. Plus, Jared Goff is playing at an MVP-caliber level right now.

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We’re making this prediction based on the belief that Tua Tagovailoa returns in Week 8. Since it was a head injury, there aren’t any real concerns about physical issues that typically come when returning from an injury. The Arizona Cardinals don’t have much of a pass rush to speak of and their secondary isn’t any better. It’s the perfect opportunity for Tagovailoa to come back with a big performance, providing a much-needed spark for this Dolphins offense.

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The New York Jets defense has taken several steps back since the team fired Robert Saleh, but this New England Patriots offense can make anyone look good. Meanwhile, the Patriots have a bottom-5 run defense in the past month and cornerback Christian Gonzalez can only cover one of Davante Adams and Garrett Wilson. This should be a very convincing win for the Jets, hopefully, with NFL media not running with it as proof New York is fixed. That worked out so well last time. (Jets 0-4 since 24-3 win).

The Atlanta Falcons couldn’t stop the run or the pass in Week 7 against the Seattle Seahawks. Most troublesome, the worst pass rush in the NFL struggled against a Seattle Seahawks offensive line that has looked like turnstiles for the majority of the season. All of that bodes very well for Baker Mayfield and this Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense. In a rematch of their 36-30 OT loss on Oct. 3, Mayfield throws for 250-plus yards and Tampa Bay comes out with a big divisional win.

The Green Bay Packers passed a big test in Week 7, taking out the Houston Texans. It gets much easier in Week 8, facing the second-worst defense in the NFL and a Jacksonville Jaguars offense that can be best described as inconsistent in its peak stretches. Plus, with Jacksonville returning from London, Jordan Love should be able to put on an aerial show for a smooth-sailing Packers win. Within 24 hours after the game, Doug Pederson is fired.

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Coming off a career-worst performance in a heartbreaking loss, C.J. Stroud has a “get right” game in Week 8. The Indianapolis Colts run defense is abysmal, which will set up Joe Mixon for a big first half. With a strong run game backing him, Stroud comes through for 200-plus yards and 2 touchdowns. Meanwhile, the Texans’ pass rush forces Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson into multiple turnovers as Houston rolls to victory.

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It seems like the New Orleans Saints have given up on the season, or at least their defense has. In the last five games, opponents are averaging 180.2 rushing yards per game and 6.0 yards per carry against New Orleans. Guess what the Los Angeles Chargers love to do? This is going to be bully ball, with J.K. Dobbins and the Chargers defense delivering a victory for Jim Harbaugh that won’t be as close as the final score indicates.

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It turns out that adding a No. 1 receiver who can beat man coverage and shift secondary pass-catchers into lesser roles has a big impact on quarterback play. Who would have guessed? Josh Allen played like an MVP in his first game with Amari Cooper and the chemistry will only get better from here. This should also be a strong James Cook game against a bottom-five Seattle Seahawks run defense. As for Seattle, its offensive line will be the undoing in this matchup.

If there’s one game to avoid in Week 8, it’s probably this one. The Denver Broncos aren’t good offensively right now, but they will be able to use the ground game with Bo Nix and Javonte Williams like they did in Week 7 against the Saints. Meanwhile, the Carolina Panthers will be weighed down by the worst defense in the league and a bottom-5 offense. If you aren’t a Broncos fan, find something else to watch. If you love Denver, enjoy a relaxing Sunday that ends in a Broncos’ victory.

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Patrick Mahomes isn’t winning games for the Kansas City Chiefs right now, it’s Steve Spagnuolo’s defense doing the heavy lifting. In time, if the Chiefs front office doesn’t bring in more offensive weapons, this passing game will prove costly. Fortunately, Kansas City draws a Week 8 matchup against the Las Vegas Raiders. We know what happened last season, flukes happen every year. It’s not happening for an offense that features Gardner Minshew and Alexander Mattison.

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This is the game where the Washington Commanders defense comes back to haunt this team. Jayden Daniels (ribs) should play in Week 8, but this is by far the toughest test he will have faced this season. The Chicago Bears have a top-5 pass defense and they now have a franchise quarterback who can go toe-to-toe with Daniels. This game is going to be decided by defensive stops and we have far more confidence in Chicago’s ability to generate those than we do in Washington’s defense.

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The Dallas Cowboys should have Micah Parsons and DaRon Bland back in this one, making things quite a bit tougher for quarterback Brock Purdy. However, Kyle Shanahan will take one look at this matchup and decide to just run the football 20-plus times with Jordan Mason. We’ve seen San Francisco blow out the Dallas Cowboys countless times. While the margin of victory might not be as wide this time around, given the injuries to Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk, the 49ers should still win this Sunday Night Football matchup quite comfortably.

Russell Wilson probably won’t keep replicating the success he had in his first start with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he doesn’t need to. Wilson does elevate this passing attack, which opens up the ceiling for this offense. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh has already proven itself against far better competition and it should put Daniel Jones in a Monday Night Football torture chamber with a non-stop pass rush that lives in the New York Giants backfield. If New York has any shot in this game, its defensive line will need to sack Wilson four-plus times.

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