NFL Picks Week 8: Odds and over-Under Advice Before Sunday Kickoff – Bleacher Report
If you like to simply watch football and don’t really care who actually wins the game, betting the over-under lines is right for you.
After all, if you take the over, you can simply sit back and cheer for both offenses to find the end zone on every possession. If you take the under, then you’d better be a fan of defense, because that’s what you will be cheering for on Sunday.
There is a number of intriguing over-under picks on the board for Week 8 to go along with the typical point spreads. With that in mind, here is a look at the updated odds, predictions against the spread and over-under lines for every Week 8 game before digging into some over-under advice.
Odds and over-under lines are courtesy of Odds Shark, as of Saturday evening.
| Matchup | Point Spread | Predicted Winner Against Spread | Over-Under Line |
| Detroit Lions at Atlanta Falcons (in London) | DET -3.5 | Lions | 46.5 |
| Seattle Seahawks at Carolina Panthers | SEA -5 | Seahawks | 44.5 |
| Baltimore Ravens at Cincinnati Bengals | BAL -1 | Bengals | 45 |
| Miami Dolphins at Jacksonville Jaguars | MIA -7 | Dolphins | 42.5 |
| St. Louis Rams at Kansas City Chiefs | KC -7.5 | Chiefs | 44 |
| Chicago Bears at New England Patriots | NE -7 | Patriots | 51 |
| Buffalo Bills at New York Jets | NYJ -3 | Bills | 40.5 |
| Minnesota Vikings at Tampa Bay Buccaneers | TB -2.5 | Vikings | 43 |
| Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans | HOU -3 | Texans | 42 |
| Philadelphia Eagles at Arizona Cardinals | Even | Eagles | 48.5 |
| Oakland Raiders at Cleveland Browns | CLE -7.5 | Browns | 43.5 |
| Indianapolis Colts at Pittsburgh Steelers | IND -3 | Colts | 49.5 |
| Green Bay Packers at New Orleans Saints | NO -1 | Packers | 55 |
| Washington at Dallas Cowboys | DAL -10.5 | Cowboys | 49 |
Take the Under: Detroit Lions vs. Atlanta Falcons
Rob Carr/Getty Images
The over-under line for the Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons tilt in London is 46.5, but the two teams will not combine for that many points.
Not very often will you hear someone advise on taking the under in a game featuring the NFL’s 30th-best scoring defense in the Falcons, but the Detroit Lions defense is going to be that much of a problem for Matt Ryan and company. The Lions are second in the league in scoring defense at 15 points per game, third against the run at 73.4 yards per game and sixth against the pass at 216.9 yards per game.
To make matters worse, the Falcons have lost four offensive linemen to injury this year. Bleacher Report’s Matt Miller did not paint a pretty picture for Atlanta:
The Falcons offensive line is so, so, so bad.
— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) October 19, 2014
The Falcons average fewer than 100 rushing yards per game as well, which means the defensive line of Detroit can simply pin its ears back and attack Ryan all game. MLive Detroit summed up the Lions’ attitude effectively:
Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley, who go 1-2 in QB hurries, licking their lips for Falcons’ offensive line: http://t.co/YcVLFM52ag
— MLive Detroit (@MLiveDetroit) October 25, 2014
On the other side, the Lions are an abysmal 25th in the league in points per game offensively, which means they won’t exactly light up the scoreboard, either.
With the Detroit defense stopping Atlanta cold and the Lions offense struggling without a healthy Calvin Johnson, the under is the safer pick here.
Take the Over: Chicago Bears at New England Patriots
Elise Amendola/Associated Press
The over-under line for the game between the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots is 51, and they will combine to top that on Sunday.
The Patriots are seventh in the league in scoring offense at 26.7 points per game and have seemingly been on a mission since the embarrassing blowout loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. They have three straight wins, and now Tom Brady gets a chance at the Chicago Bears defense that ranks 22nd in the league in points allowed per game.
New England will put up points against a Bears group that is dealing with injuries to linebackers Lance Briggs and Jonathan Bostic, safety Chris Conte and cornerback Kyle Fuller.
On the other side, Chicago’s offense has been inconsistent at best this year. However, the Patriots are 24th against the run, and the Bears have the pure talent on paper to exploit that. Look for superstar Matt Forte to take advantage of some running lanes throughout the game.
Bill Belichick had high praise for Forte, via Ricky Doyle of NESN.com:
They can run the ball. They’ve got a great runner and one of the best backs in the league, maybe the best back in the league. He’s certainly been an impressive guy to watch, both in the passing game and in the running game. (He) breaks tackles, has good quickness, good balance, good vision, excellent hands, smart and aware in the passing game. He doesn’t just catch the ball well, but he knows how to get open.
Forte’s success will force the Patriots to commit extra defenders to the box, which will open up the passing game for Alshon Jeffery, Brandon Marshall and Martellus Bennett.
The Bears and Patriots are going to exchange touchdowns on Sunday. That favors the over.
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