It’s Week 8 of the NFL season, and as we near the halfway point of the season, Steve Cook is back with his rock solid picks!

Hi, hello & welcome to Week 8 of the National Football League! We’re getting close to the halfway point of the season, which just goes to show that time flies when you’re having fun. The picks haven’t gone well so far, but we’re still having fun! There’s always next week to have a better result, so maybe this is the week we’ll have one. Lines are from the Vegas Insider Consensus as of Wednesday afternoon.

Thursday, October 27

Baltimore (-1) at Tampa Bay

Tom Brady after coming out of retirement and losing his family to lose to Mitch Trubisky and PJ Walker in back to back weeks… pic.twitter.com/bzasZJ2JNx

— NFL Memes (@NFL_Memes) October 23, 2022

It’s no secret that my pick record for 2022 is making my disastrous pick record for 2021 look pretty good. One of my main mistakes has been keeping my faith in older quarterbacks despite evidence showing that they’re trending downward. Exhibit A: Tom Brady. I’ve been telling people for years never to bet against the GOAT, and for most of that time I’ve been right. Brady has defied age & logic to retain his status as one of the best QBs in the NFL. Brady is still putting up decent numbers, but not online with what he’d been doing, and the Tampa team has pretty much stagnated while the rest of the league has moved forward.

Are we going to totally give up on Tampa Bay? Of course not. They’re still tied for first place in a division with teams that don’t inspire a ton of playoff talk. Brady’s first Tampa team got off to a rough start before figuring it out and winning a championship. Maybe this is just stubborn stupidity on my part, but I’m still not giving up on the Buccaneers. That being said, I’m not picking them against a Ravens team that can run the ball on anybody no matter who happens to be playing the RB position for them. It’ll be a tight one, lower scoring than you’d expect with Tom Brady & Lamar Jackson on the marquee, and the Ravens will likely risk blowing a late lead. I think they hold on.

Sunday, October 30

Denver vs. Jacksonville (-2.5)

So we can’t watch the Broncos and Jaguars from London unless we have ESPN+? pic.twitter.com/uUAcW6eSoW

— Ali (@AD88KC) October 25, 2022

It’s really tough at this point to have any kind of faith in the Broncos, even in a weird Sunday morning game in London. I would have picked against them last week had I known Russell Wilson would be out, but I should have known better anyway. The Jaguars have plenty of experience playing in London and should be able to take care of business against a team looking for answers where it doesn’t seem like there are any.

Carolina at Atlanta (-4.5)

Just did a quick Search in PFF. No Panther QB has had a grade higher than PJ Walker yesterday.

You have to go all the way back to 2008 Jake Delhomme against the Falcons to get the 2nd Highest which was a 93.6

Cam's highest grade as a Panther was a 90.6 in 2015 vs New Orleans https://t.co/GmjKPNCQyZ

— PNP (@PantherNationPC) October 24, 2022

Of course the Panthers would have the best game of their season after sending Christian McCaffrey to the 49ers. That’s just how sports work sometimes. Just when you think a team did something that’ll send them into the toilet, they show signs of life. The Panthers will still end up the proverbial toilet of the NFL, but at least they’ve given their fans a little bit of entertainment before doing so.

The Falcons had one of their worst games of the season last week, but we’re not going to be prisoners of the moment here. I still like them to take care of the Panthers by a touchdown or so in the ATL. Then we’ll get to see these teams do it all over again 11 days later. Joy?

Chicago at Dallas (-9.5)

Cowboys added a run stopper to interior, acquiring DT Johnathan Hankins and a 2024 seventh-round pick from Raiders in exchange for Cowboys' 2023 sixth-round pick, person familiar with deal said. Timely move with the Bears, who totaled 243 rushing yards Monday, visiting Sunday.

— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) October 25, 2022

One blowout of the Lions later, and the Cowboys are back to the top of everybody’s power rankings. Yep, Dak Prescott is back and the defense is still shutting people down, so those that believe that the Cowboys are among the best teams every season until they fold down the stretch are back on the bandwagon. Can’t really say I’m surprised.

What did surprise me was Da Bears going to Foxborough on Monday night & whooping the Patriots. The Bears offense was struggling before then, but got on track in a big way against the Patriots. It’s going to be a low-scoring game so it’s tempting to take the Bears and the points…I just like the Cowboys defense to do a much better job than the Patriots did on Monday night.

Miami (-3.5) at Detroit

Just realized Dan Campbell won more games as the Dolphins interim head coach (5-7) than he has in 1.5 years in Detroit (4-18-1).

— Jeremy Reisman (@DetroitOnLion) October 25, 2022

I think it’s safe to say people have quit buying into that Hard Knocks hype. Missing key offensive weapons like D’Andre Swift & Amon-Ra St. Brown hasn’t helped the Lions’ cause, but it’s still looking like they’re at least a year away from contention. (Probably longer since it’s the Lions, but I’m trying to be nice.) That said, I’m liking the Lions to keep it close against a Dolphins team that has shown an inability to put teams away. Given that I’ve got Tua starting on my fantasy team with Patrick Mahomes on it, I wouldn’t mind the Dolphins proving me wrong here.

Arizona at Minnesota (-3.5)

The Vikings have moved from -6 favorites at home against Kyler Murray and the Cardinals to -3.5 in the past week

this despite the fact that the new Call of Duty comes out this week 👀

(clearly the sharps don't care)

— Jeremy Layton (@JeremyLayt0n) October 25, 2022

The Cardinals made up for only scoring 9 points against the Seahawks in Week 6 by putting up 42 on the Saints just four days later. Yeah, good luck figuring these guys out. AJ Green is reportedly on his way to Green Bay in a move that I don’t see affecting the 2022 Cardinals offense all that much. The NFC West is a bit jumbled right now, and there’s still a chance for every team there to come out of it. I think the Vikings are getting overlooked by a lot of the experts right now and should win this game, but I like the Cardinals to get within a field goal or so.

Las Vegas (-1.5) at New Orleans

Bang that Over on this Raiders Saints game y’all

— Mahky Maak (@mahky_maak) October 24, 2022

It looks like the Raiders are becoming the team we thought they’d be in the off-season. They’ve been putting up points while the Saints have been giving up a ton of points, which doesn’t bode well for a New Orleans team that’s been struggling to find a groove on offense. Look for the Raiders to get a solid road win and keep working their way up the ranks.

New England (-1.5) at NY Jets

The Jets are underdogs vs the Patriots for the 21st time in a row 😬 pic.twitter.com/9NgEoAjr4m

— Caesars Sportsbook (@CaesarsSports) October 25, 2022

These two Patriots/Jets games per season have been among the easiest picks to make for as far back as I can remember. The Patriots have almost always been good. The Jets have occasionally been good, but even then they’d find ways to fail in hilarious fashion against the Patriots. It’s no wonder the Jets haven’t been favored against the Patriots since the days when Chad Pennington & Vinny Testaverde were fighting it out for the quarterback job.

Now it’s the Patriots that have a bit of a QB controversy going. Is it Mac Jones? Is it Bailey Zappe? I guess we at least know they’re not the same person now, so that’s nice. Whoever it is will provide a step up in competition over what the Jets have been dealing with lately. This might be another instance of stubbornness on my part, but I’m going to stick with the Patriots.

Pittsburgh at Philadelphia (-10.5)

The Eagles haven’t lost to the Steelers in Philly since 1965. #Steelers #NFL

— Blitzburgh 🎃 (@Blitz_Burgh) October 24, 2022

In case you’re wondering, that span of time includes nine meetings between the Steelers & Eagles in Philadelphia. These teams don’t play very often, but it’s still an impressive stat given the Steelers’ success through the years. As dominant as the Eagles have been and as how putrid the Steelers have been, those pesky Steelers always seem to keep things close. I’ll be picking the Eagles to win, but I see the Steelers keeping the margin under ten points.

Tennessee (-2.5) at Houston

Derrick Henry needs 86 rushing yards to become the all-time leader in rushing yards gained against the Texans franchise!

Who’s the current leader? Former #Titans star RB Chris Johnson

BTW, the Texans have allowed the most rushing yards per game this season pic.twitter.com/k14sxgjsh0

— Wes on Broadway (@TitansStats) October 25, 2022

Another week, another AFC South game. It sure seems like the Titans & Texans never play anybody outside of that division. The Titans seem to be trending upward while the Texans are going downward. I have nothing else to say about this that is either relevant or true.

Washington at Indianapolis (-3)

Colts traded Carson Wentz to the Commanders

Colts traded for Matt Ryan to replace Wentz

Colts host the Commanders in Week 8, and neither Ryan nor Wentz will be starting at QB in that game

In the NFL, life comes at you fast

— FanDuel (@FanDuel) October 24, 2022

That’s right folks, we’ve got Taylor Heinicke taking on Sam Ehlinger! Yes, this is a game taking place in the National Football League. There are some other competent players on these teams, but it’s hard to take either of these groups all that seriously right now. It’s gonna be a low scoring game, so I’ll ride with those road dogg Commanders & HeinickeMania.

San Francisco (-1.5) at LA Rams

The 49ers against the Rams vs the 49ers against everyone else pic.twitter.com/2Nz1oWvcUM

— HoldenCantor (@HoldenCantor) October 24, 2022

The 49ers got off to a bit of a rough start last week, but I think this is the week where CMC gets going and takes their offense to new heights. The Rams will be hoping that their bye week gave them time to recuperate and figure out what’s going wrong with their season. All I know is that in this rivalry you take the 49ers in the regular season and the Rams in the postseason.

NY Giants at Seattle (-3)

To sum up how insane this season has been so far: There is only one game in Week 8 between teams with winning records:

Not Ravens-Bucs.
Not 49ers-Rams.
Not Packers-Bills.

🗣 It's Giants vs. Seahawks.

Go figure.

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 25, 2022

Vegas still isn’t picking the Giants? Thing is, this week I actually see why. The Seahawks have been just as big a surprise as the Giants this season, getting offense in large quantities from completely unexpected sources. Plus, Seattle has one of the stronger homefield advantages in the NFL when their stadium is rocking. Should be a high-scoring, fun kinda game, and I’ll take the Seahawks to get the edge.

Green Bay at Buffalo (-10.5)

Reminder that the Green Bay Packers have never won in Buffalo.

The Bills are 6-0 all-time at home vs Green Bay dating back to 1979.

— Joe DiBiase (@SneakyJoeSports) October 24, 2022

Here’s another team I’ve been very slow to give up on. It’s been tough to pick against Aaron Rodgers for most of his career. The Packers can typically roll out of bed and get 13 wins a season, even if we tend to note that the skill players around Rodgers have been getting worse by the year. It’s gotten to the point where Rodgers is telling Pat McAfee that some of these players that are struggling to get it need to spend more time on the bench. Packers fans seem to like the idea, and some are welcoming the possibility of seeing Jordan Love getting some playing time.

It’s still tough to imagine picking against the Packers with this kind of point spread…but it’s the Bills. They’re operating on all cylinders and the only reason to worry about them is if they’re a little rusty after the bye week. I think they’ll be fine.

Monday, October 31

Cincinnati (-3.5) at Cleveland

We finally saw the version of Cincinnati Bengals that fans have been hoping to see all season. Except for the last few minutes of the first half where the Falcons managed to score all of their points, the Bengals had a dominant performance in Week 7. Joe Burrow made it look easy while throwing for nearly 500 yards, and probably could have thrown for nearly 700 if he was in a shootout with a team constantly putting up points. The Bengals defense still hasn’t allowed a touchdown in the second half of games this season. It was the kind of game that made teams around the league stand up and take notice of the defending AFC Champions.

Unfortunately for the Bengals, they’re heading up north to face a Browns team that’s had their number lately. Cleveland scored two victories over Cincinnati last season, and has won seven out of the last eight games in the rivalry. The Browns have a similar offensive setup to the Falcons, which could benefit the Bengals in preparation but can also benefit the Browns since they can see what the Falcons did that didn’t work. Nick Chubb & Kareem Hunt are better than anybody the Falcons were able to run out there anyway. Feeling like a coin flip of a game to me, so I have to recommend taking the Browns.

Week 7 Results: 7-7
Overall Reults: 48-57-4