NFL picks: Best bets for Week 8
Mike Ortiz Jr. makes his football picks and predictions for Week 8 of the 2022 NFL season, with four NFL best bets for Sunday.
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Best NFL Bets Week 8 Picks, Predictions & Schedules
NFL Schedule Week 8 – Game information: Panthers @ Falcons
2022 NFL Regular Season Game
Carolina Panthers (2-5, 0-2 Away) vs Atlanta Falcons (3-4, 2-1 Home)
Date: Sunday October 30, 2022
Time: 1:00p.m. Eastern Time Zone
Venue: Mercedes Benz Stadium — Atlanta, GA
TV Channel: Fox 5
Live Stream: NFL+
Radio: 92.9-FM The Game
Panthers vs Falcons Odds, Spread, Moneyline, Over/Under - NFL Betting Lines Week 8
Moneyline: Carolina Panthers (+175), Atlanta Falcons (-210)
Spread: Panthers +4, Falcons -4
Total: Over/Under 41
Panthers vs Falcons Predictions and Pick
It seems like the Carolina Panthers are turning over a new leaf. Their defense from last year finally returned last week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Panthers held quarterback Tom Brady and the Buccaneers to 4.9 total yards per play and 2-for-12 on third downs. Quarterback P.J. Walker was a breath of fresh air for this offense and improved to 3-1 as an NFL starter as the Panthers won 21-3.
Can this Panthers defense be trusted, though? Yes, they shut down Brady and this stagnant Buccaneers offense that’s averaging 18.3 points per game - down almost 12 points from last season - but the Atlanta Falcons come into this matchup as one of the highest-scoring teams in the NFL at 23.3 points per game.
As I touched on last week, the Falcons are at the bottom of the league when it comes to pressuring opposing quarterbacks this season. As for the Panthers? They rank dead last, averaging 1.4 sacks per game.
The Panthers defense will be tested this week. Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota, who hasn’t exceeded 230 yards passing in a single game this season, still has this Falcons offense running smoothly as a well-balanced attack.
As for the Panthers offensively, Walker and wide receiver D.J. Moore are starting to find a connection, and both will likely have season-high performances this week against this weak Falcons defense. The Falcons, who rank towards the bottom of the league in sacks per game, are allowing an average of 406.9 total yards and 24.4 points per game. Don’t overthink this shootout, take the over in this one.
The Pick: Over 41 (-110)
NFL Schedule Week 8 – Game information: Dolphins @ Lions
2022 NFL Regular Season Game
Miami Dolphins (4-3, 1-2 Away) vs Detroit Lions (1-5, 1-2 Home)
Date: Sunday October 30, 2022
Time: 1:00p.m. Eastern Time Zone
Venue: Ford Field — Detroit, MI
TV Channel: CBS
Live Stream: fuboTV
Radio: SiriusXM
Dolphins vs Lions Odds, Spread, Moneyline, Over/Under - NFL Betting Lines Week 8
Moneyline: Miami Dolphins (-190), Detroit Lions (+158)
Spread: Dolphins -3.5, Lions +3.5
Total: Over/Under 51.5
Dolphins vs Lions Predictions and Pick This spread doesn’t make any sense to me. The Miami Dolphins are going to absolutely beat the brakes off of the Detroit Lions this week and we’re all going to be there for it.
The Dolphins enter this matchup averaging 16 points per game and their high-powered offense hasn’t showed up since they scored 42 points against the Baltimore Ravens, with 28 of those points coming in the fourth quarter that led to a Dolphins comeback victory.
Luckily for the Dolphins, they get the worst defense in the NFL this season as the Lions are allowing an average of 412.2 yards and 32.3 points per game. Wide receivers Jaylen Waddle and Tyreek Hill are too talented and too fast for these Lions cornerbacks. Expect both to have big days and watch the Dolphins cruise to a must-win victory.
The Pick: Miami Dolphins -3.5 (-110)
NFL Schedule Week 8 – Game information: 49ers @ Rams
2022 NFL Regular Season Game
San Francisco 49ers (3-4, 1-3 Away) vs Los Angeles Rams (3-2, 2-2 Home)
Date: Sunday October 30, 2022
Time: 4:25p.m. Eastern Time Zone
Venue: SoFi Stadium — Inglewood, CA
TV Channel: FOX
Live Stream: NFL+
Radio: U.S. Bank 49ers Radio Network
49ers vs Rams Odds, Spread, Moneyline, Over/Under - NFL Betting Lines Week 7
Moneyline: San Francisco 49ers (-125), Los Angeles Rams (+105)
Spread: San Francisco 49ers -1.5, Los Angeles Rams +1.5
Total: Over/Under 42.5
49ers vs Rams Predictions and PickThe 49ers enter this matchup on back-to-back losses and weren’t even competitive in both of those games, losing by two touchdowns or more. Luckily for the 49ers, they’ll get the defending champions, who haven’t found themselves this season as they lost too many players from their Super Bowl roster to offseason moves and decisions.
These two played back in Week 4 when the 49ers controlled the game from start to finish, winning 24-9. Since that matchup, not much has changed for the Rams and a lot has changed for the 49ers.
The addition of running back Christian McCaffrey to the 49ers is not only season-changing but franchise-changing, as his talent is one-of-a-kind. The addition of his mindset and what he mentally brings to this team can't be ignored either.
“It’s just do my job the best I possibly can,” McCaffrey said. “I don’t try to put exterior pressure on me. I wanna win for this team, I wanna win for these guys, and I want to win for the whole Bay Area because they gave up a lot to get me and I know that. So, it’s not extra pressure, but there’s definitely a sense of urgency on my plate that I wanna win.”
McCaffrey’s workload will be full or close to it this week, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is starting to catch a nice mid-season stride and the 49ers defense is almost fully healthy. The 49ers roll in this one.
The Pick: San Francisco 49ers ML (-125)
Best NFL Player Prop Bets: Sunday Football Week 8
P.J. Walker
The Panthers announced this week that they’re going to keep the train rolling and that quarterback P.J. Walker will start again this Sunday for Carolina. Drawing a favorable and much easier matchup than last week, Walker will thrive against this Falcons defense, which ranks 30th in the NFL with 406.9 yards allowed to opposing offenses. Compared to playing the Buccaneers defense last week, this week is going to feel like playing Madden on rookie mode for Walker.
Panthers offensive coordinator Ben McAdoo has been more on the conservative side with Walker as he’s slowly opened up the offense for him week by week. He took the blame after the loss to the Rams in Walker’s first start of the season, admitting that he had to do a better job getting the ball in his playmaker's hands.
This is Walker’s third start of the season. Expect him to have the full playbook at his disposal and, against this Falcons defense, that’s going to mean a big day.
