Clik here to view.
Can’t miss picks for EVERY game this week.
It’s Week 8, almost the halfway point of the season. After a September of extended preseason, we now have enough to start to form a better picture of who’s who, legitimate and all that. Kind of.
This week’s action starts with a confusing Houston team hosting the Dolphins. Miami’s hot start didn’t last (surprise). They’re 1-3 in their last four games, but that one win did come against a pretty tough Bears team.
The Texans also have a 4-3 record, thanks to a heaping helping of dumb luck, as opposed to Bill O’Brien’s coaching acumen. They’re on a four-game winning streak that started because the Colts made a gutsy, but bad decision to go for it on fourth down in overtime in Week 4. None of those wins were very convincing until last week, when they brought out the best of the internet’s Blake Bortles jokes against the Jaguars. Our panel is mostly picking the Texans to win this week.
But enough about Thursday.
We have a London game this week. Remember when the NFL was going to stop putting those turds on television at 9:30 in the morning? That didn’t last. The Jags, London’s home team, get an Eagles team that’s really hard to figure out right now. Precedent shows that experience matters when it comes to playing overseas, but our panel is still split on who’s going to win this one.
The Broncos put a hurtin’ on the Cardinals last Thursday. A game that four of our panelists got wrong. It won’t be so easy on the road in Kansas City this week. The Chiefs defense is finally hitting its mediocre stride, and that’s enough when you have Pat Mahomes and company on the other side of the ball.
Locks of the week
Our panel hasn’t missed on a unanimous pick since the Bills upset the Vikings in Week 3. (That does not count this season’s two tie games). We have four games that everyone agrees on this week, and two more that everyone BUT the coin agrees on.
Everyone’s picking the Patriots to beat the Bills. That’s the most obvious one this week. The Steelers get an across the board thumbs up against the Browns. With Hue Jackson threatening to get involved in the offense play calling, that’s never been a more obvious pick.
If there’s one game that everyone just might end up regretting, it’s the Packers at Rams. It’s still pretty unlikely. If the Rams don’t score a million points, they can lean on Aaron Donald to make things really difficult for Aaron Rodgers all day.
The Bears should beat the Jets, but the coin disagrees. We talked about the Broncos at Chiefs already. The coin’s the lone holdout there.
Toss up games
A rematch of last year’s thrilling NFC title game has our experts divided. The Saints are red hot after last week’s win on the road against the Ravens. Their defense is coming on now too. Minnesota struggled early in the year, but they seem to have things dialed in now.
I’m a little surprised that only three of our folks are picking the Panthers, at home, against the Ravens. That one could go either way.
This week’s guest picker is a familiar face around these parts. Jeanna Thomas is a certified authority on all things NFL, and you probably recall her byline here. She’s the talent manager for our team brands now. She’s also a Falcons fan, so be real nice to her.
You know the rules. Our computer picks are via OddsShark. As for the coin, that’s a real nice 2007 U.S. quarter dollar featuring the great state of Oregon. I like it because it’s got a trout on the back of it.
The humans here are allowed to change to up two picks by Friday, to account for injuries and whatnot.