NFL Week 8 Picks: Matchup Guide, Advice and Early Score Predictions

The Denver Broncos defeated the Houston Texans 27-9 on Monday night, which put a cap on Week 7’s action. Now, it’s officially time to turn the page to Week 8.

We have 13 games on the upcoming slate, beginning with a Thursday night matchup between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans. Things will wrap up when the Chicago Bears host the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night.

We’re going to take an early look at the upcoming schedule and provide our predictions for what’s in store.

Can the Cincinnati Bengals continue to climb back into the playoff picture? Will the Dallas Cowboys keep riding rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott to victory? Will the Cleveland Browns finally win a game? We’ll find out soon enough, to be sure. For now, though, these are our predictions.

    Week 8 NFL Schedule and Picks

Key Matchups

Washington Redskins at Cincinnati Bengals (in London)

The Sunday morning contest between the Bengals and the Washington Redskins will be an important one for both teams. If the Redskins can get a win, they can stay in the tight NFC East race. If Cincinnati wins, it will get to .500 and back in the AFC North picture.

The Bengals are the team with momentum, coming off a 31-17 win over the Cleveland Browns. The victory stopped a two-game slide and seems to have given Cincinnati some confidence moving forward.

“It’s definitely a start for us,” Bengals running back Jeremy Hill said, per Joe Kay of the Associated Press. “We’re not satisfied, but it’s a start in the right direction.”

Cincinnati racked up 559 yards of offense and won by two touchdowns against Cleveland, but here’s the thing: It’s still hard to say the Bengals are playing great football. If not for a successful Hail Mary to A.J. Green at the end of the first half, this would have been a one-score victory over a team decimated by injuries and playing its fifth-string quarterback.

In other words, a banged-up Browns team is not an accurate gauge of where the Bengals are.

Washington, on the other hand, is coming off a last-minute loss to the Detroit Lions. The Redskins will be looking to bounce back and to grab a foothold near the top of the NFC East standings.

This game could well come down to which team is playing better defense. They are similar when it …

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