We hit on 2/4 bets in last weekend’s NFL action to bounce back from a horror Week 6. This weekend’s NFL slate gets underway Friday morning with the Miami Dolphins travelling to Houston to take on the Texans. We take a look at some of the key games in Week 8 of the season and give our betting tips below.
NFL Week 8 Betting Tips
Miami Dolphins at Houston Texans (Friday 11.20am AEDT)
After losing their first three games of the season, the Texans have now won their last four in a row and currently sit atop the AFC South division. Their defence has been fantastic over the past three games, allowing just 12 points per game against the Cowboys, Bills and Jaguars respectively. Their offence, however, has been a little underwhelming over that period with star QB DeShaun Watson cooling off slightly since a dominant September.
The Dolphins season to date has been nearly the exact opposite. They started the year with three wins in a row but have since lost three of their last four games and slid to second behind the Patriots in the AFC East. An injury to their starting QB Ryan Tannehill has left them relying on back up Brock Osweiler, which is not an enviable spot to be in.
The Texans start as 7.5-point favourites at home, which seems about right given their dominant defence over the past month and the fact that they have won seven of eight lifetime matchups with the Dolphins. We think they keep the Dolphins to under 10 points this weekend and score in the 20s themselves, covering the line in the process.
Green Bay Packers at Los Angeles Rams (Monday 7.25am AEDT)
The game of the week sees a star-studded matchup in LA between the unbeaten Rams and the Green Bay Packers. The Packers came back from a fourth quarter deficit in Week 6 to defeat the 49ers and will be coming off a bye round in Week 7 which will give star QB Aaron Rodgers valuable rest after looking less than 100% over the last month.
The Rams continued on their winning ways in Week 7, downing the 49ers by 29 points away from home and moving to 7-0 on the season. A tough four game stretch for the Rams starts this week, however, with games against the Packers, Saints, Seahawks and Kansas City leading up to their Week 12 bye. We think it’s almost a certainty that the Rams will have lost a game by the time their bye rolls around.
The Rams start as massive 9.5-point favourites here, which we think is a little high despite their dominance in 2018 so far. This game has the ingredients to be a blockbuster in our opinion and we just can’t see it ending in a blowout victory either way. The Packers have had double figure margins in just two of six games this season while for all of their offensive dominance, the Rams have won just one of their last four by double digits.
New Orleans Saints at Minnesota Vikings (Monday 11.20am AEDT)
Another great NFC matchup here between the Saints and Vikings in Minnesota on Monday morning. Since losing their first game of the season, the Saints have gone on to win their next five in a row and currently sit atop the NFC South with a 5-1 record. A fantastic one point win over the Ravens in Week 7 started a tough five week stretch that features games against the Vikings, Rams, Bengals and Philadelphia over the next month.
The Vikings defence wasn’t the juggernaut that many expected it to be at the start of the season, however, they have slowly been working themselves in to form and have now won their last three matches in a row. In those wins, they have allowed just over 18 points per game, but will have a much tougher time stopping the dynamic Saints offence this weekend.
The start as just one-point favourites away from home this week, which is interesting considering they have travelled to Minnesota twice since September last year and lost on both occasions. We love the Vikings as home underdogs here.
New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills (Tuesday 11.15am AEDT)
New England will travel to Buffalo to take on the Bill sin the final game of Week 8 on Tuesday morning. Decent performances from the Bills have been few and far between this season as they currently sit 2-5 and in last place in the AFC East. A surprise 27-6 win over the Vikings in Week 3 has been surrounded by a bunch of disappointing losses and the road gets tougher with games against the Patriots, Bears and Jags over the next month.
The Patriots have won their last four games in a row and were fantastic against the Chiefs two weeks ago on Sunday night football. They captured a three point win that night and backed it up in Week 7 with a seven-point win in Chicago. The road gets a little easier for Tom Brady and co now with games against the Bills, Titans and Jets over the next month.
Luckily for the Bills, this game is in Buffalo, otherwise this line would be drifting all the way out towards the 17-point mark. It currently sits at 13.5 points, which we are happy to take in favour of the Patriots. The Bills have not scored over 13 points in their last four games while the Patriots have put up at least 38 in all of their last four.
