Week 8 NFL 2013 picks

Week 8 NFL Picks
That was one of the craziest endings of any baseball game, World Series or not, that I’ve ever seen in my life.  But with that, Saturday turns to Sunday and we turn our attention to the NFL and FOX’s favorite day of the year.  NFL doubleheader followed by Game 4 of the World Series.

This week is fairly light, though.  There are six byes this week, which means there are only 13 games to be played, including the three night games (four if you include London, which kicks off at 7:00 local time).  That means we’re left with just 10 games on Sunday afternoon, only six of which are early games.  And of those 10, we’ve got some real duds.  Bills-Saints, anyone?  Didn’t think so.

Cowboys (4-3) at Lions (4-3): Dallas-This is actually one of the better games of the week.  The Cowboys are the only NFC East team that’s over .500, and the Lions are just a half-game behind the Packers in the NFC North.  I’m going to make a bold prediction and say the team that wears silver helmets with a blue logo is going to win.  As for which one it is, I have a feeling that’ll be Dallas.

Browns (3-4) at Chiefs (7-0): Kansas City-Who had Kansas City as the last undefeated team?  With the Browns and Bills as their next two opponents, I see that continuing until the Chiefs’ bye week.  That defense is ridiculous.

Dolphins (3-3) at Patriots (5-2): New England-Rex Ryan’s still on Cloud 9 after “beating” the Patriots on that ridiculous penalty the refs wouldn’t have even called if he hadn’t told them about it last week.  All that loss means is New England will finish 11-5 instead of 12-4.  The Patriots are still the class of the AFC East, and it’s not even really close.  They hadn’t lost back-to-back games for like five years until they did last season.  Losing back-to-back division games?  Even longer.  Expect that streak to continue.

Bills (3-4) at Saints (5-1): New Orleans-As we in New York remember the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, it reminds me of the last time the Bills visited the Saints.  It was 2005, and it was the first New Orleans “home” game in San Antonio after Katrina.  They finally play the Bills in the Superdome again, and they’ll keep on rolling.  The New Orleans-Seattle NFC home field battle is going to last all season.

Giants (1-6) at Eagles (3-4): Philadelphia-These two played just three weeks ago, when the Eagles posted a 36-21 victory at the Meadowlands to make this Giants season descend further into embarrassment.  The Giants are at least no longer winless after beating the even-worse Vikings on Monday night.  I thought Philly-Dallas would be a game, but the Eagles got crushed and only scored three points.  With the Giants on a short week and the game in Philadelphia, I’m going to say the Eagles rebound and finish off the season sweep.

49ers (5-2) vs. Jaguars (0-7): San Francisco-The NFL really needs to reconsider the teams it sends to London.  Jacksonville is the designated “home” team for the next couple years?  Not exactly the highest-quality football for our friends across the pond.  Of course, I think the 49ers are going to win this game.  More on Roger Goddell’s ridiculous London obsession in our next installment.

Jets (4-3) at Bengals (5-2): Cincinnati-Rex is still on such a high after the Patriots game that he probably completely forgot the Jets were even playing this week.  In Cincinnati.  Against a very good Bengals team that actually BEAT New England.  The Bengals have won three in a row since losing to Cleveland and have a two-game lead in the AFC North.  I really don’t see them slipping up against the Jets.

Steelers (2-4) at Raiders (2-4): Oakland-Pittsburgh seems to have at least started righting the ship.  Back-to-back wins, including an impressive one last week against rival Baltimore, have the Steelers at 2-4 and thinking they might be able to save their season yet.  But their 2012 campaign was derailed by an inexplicable loss in Oakland.  For some reason, I think it’s going to happen again.

Redskins (2-4) at Broncos (6-1): Denver-There were two things I forgot to take into account regarding last week’s Broncos-Colts game: Indianapolis knows Peyton better than anybody, and Robert Mathis wasn’t allowed to hit him during all those years they were teammates.  Anyway, the crazy thing to think about is that 6-1 Denver, which still might be the best team in football, is in SECOND place in the AFC West.  The Broncos haven’t played the Chiefs yet, so that’ll change.  Against the Redskins at home, they put last week behind them and move to 7-1.

Falcons (2-4) at Cardinals (3-4): Atlanta-I think I can now officially that my NFC Super Bowl pick of the Falcons is going to be wrong.  They’re not the same team without BOTH Julio Jones and Roddy White.  Regardless, they finally got out of the AFC East last week and got a win over the lowly Bucs.  That was probably a confidence boost, though.  And Atlanta’s still got enough healthy talent to handle Arizona.

Packers (4-2) at Vikings (1-5): Green Bay-This game was much more appealing before the season started than it is now, which is how it ended up on Sunday night.  Minnesota’s not a good team.  That Monday night game against the Giants was an embarrassing display of football.  Josh Freeman shouldn’t be their starting quarterback yet, either.  Ever since their bye, the Packers have been the Packers again.  That’s bad new for the not-ready-for-primetime Vikings.

Seahawks (6-1) at Rams (3-4): Seattle-It’s been a really long time since Seattle played.  They get that same ridiculous Thursday-Monday schedule the Giants had last week.  We’re talking about one of the best teams in the NFL here.  After all that rest, they might be a little rusty at the start, but by the end, the real Seahawks will have shown up.  Seattle goes to 7-1 with its second straight division road win.

BYES: Baltimore, Chicago, Houston, Indianapolis, San Diego, Tennessee

Last Week: 8-7
This Week: 1-0
Season: 67-41