NFL Week 8 picks and score predictions: Bills survive Baltimore, Browns end 38-year drought
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In honor of Halloween weekend, the NFL is giving us a horrifying Sunday night game this week: the Eagles (2-5) at the Commanders (1-4-1).
Roger Goodell, if you're reading, there's still time to flex this game out. I say move it to 2 a.m. and put it on Telemundo, because at this point the only thing that might make the game better is listening to it in Spanish.
Anyway, since Halloween is coming up on Saturday, this seems like the perfect time to hand out costume ideas, so that's exactly what we're going to do before we get to the picks this week.
If you're a Commanders fan, you could go as a clock since your team doesn't understand time management. If you're an Eagles fan, you could go as a couch since that's where the team will be sitting once the playoffs start. If you're a Titans fan, you could go as a bench, since that's where Cam Ward should probably be at this point. And if you're a Chargers fan, you could go as nothing since that's what your team has done this season.
Will I pick any of these teams to win in Week 8? Let's get to the picks and find out.
Actually, before we get to the Week 8 picks, here's a quick reminder that you can check out the weekly picks from every CBSSports.com NFL expert by clicking here . Also, as you probably know by now -- because I point it out every week -- I'm in charge of the NFL newsletter here at CBSSports.com. If you want to subscribe, all you have to do is click here and enter your email address .
Let's get to the picks.
Through the first seven weeks, the Bills look like one of the best teams in the AFC, but my biggest issue with them is that they have one major flaw and it's their entire defense. Having a major flaw isn't necessarily a bad thing. My major flaw is that I watch "Hot Tub Time Machine" whenever it's on TV. To fix that flaw, I could either stop watching TV or I could destroy all the TVs in my house. Either one of those would work. Unfortunately for the Bills, there's no easy fix for their problem.
Heading into Week 8, the Bills are surrendering 28.5 points per game, which is the third-most in the NFL. Only the Cardinals and Commanders are worse. When you're mentioned in the same conversation as those two teams, that's definitely a red flag.
One reason the Bills are giving up so many points is that they can't stop the pass. Through their first six games, the Bills are surrendering an average of 285.8 yards per game, which is the second-highest number in the NFL.
Since I've started things off here by ripping the Bills' defense, you might be thinking that I'm about to pick the Bills to lose, but there are two reasons why I'm hesitant to do that. For one, Josh Allen exists. For the Bills, it doesn't matter how bad their defense plays because Allen always manages to save the day.
The Bills defense has given up at least 30 points in four different games this season, but thanks to Allen, the Bills have gone 4-0 in those games. To put that in perspective, the other 31 teams are a combined 8-47 this year when they surrender at least 30 points.
The other reason I'm hesitant to pick against the Bills is that I have no idea whether Lamar Jackson will play. Jackson injured his ankle in Week 4 and hasn't played since. The Ravens have been saying he's "Day-to-day" for the past three weeks and all I have to say is that someone needs to explain to them how a calendar works. You can't be "day-to-day" for THREE WEEKS.
Although Jackson didn't play in Week 7, he returned to practice last week, suggesting there's at least a chance he could play in this game. If anyone can take advantage of the Bills' defense, it's definitely Jackson. For that reason, I'm going to make two picks here, one for if Lamar plays and one for if he doesn't. Actually, you know what, I really don't even need to make two picks because I'm taking the Bills either way.
PICK (Lamar plays): Bills 34-31 over Ravens PICK (No Lamar): Bills 34-24 over Ravens
The Vikings have done it. They're officially the final undefeated team left in the NFL. This is the greatest accomplishment by any Viking since Erik the Red and Leif Erikson roamed the planet. Despite having no offense, the Vikings have somehow run the table through the first seven weeks.
So how bad is their offense? Glad you asked.
The Vikings are winning because of their defense, and if I were defensive coordinator Brian Flores, I would ask the organization to triple my salary and then double it again on top of that. One reason the Vikings' defense has been so good this year is that Flores has come up with a brilliant new strategy called, "We're going to blitz you on every play and see what happens." I won seven straight Super Bowls in Madden while using that strategy in college and it seems to be working out well for the Vikings.
In their win over the Colts , they blitzed at an 85.2% rate. THEY BLITZED ON ALMOST EVERY PLAY. And this was not a one-time thing: For the entire season, the Vikings have a blitz rate above 70%.
First, let me say that I love this strategy, but over the past three weeks, the Vikings have beaten Malik Willis , Tyler Shough and Daniel Jones . That's the NFL equivalent of winning a hamburger-eating contest against three vegans. What I need to know is if the Vikings defensive strategy is sustainable.
The Vikings have played the third-easiest strength of schedule through the first seven weeks, but things are going to get a lot more difficult starting this week. As a matter of fact, from Week 8 through Week 11, the Vikings have the most difficult strength of schedule in the NFL (.731) with games against the Lions , Bills, Packers and 49ers .
It's one thing to blitz Daniel Jones into oblivion, but that might not work against Jared Goff , Josh Allen, Jordan Love or Brock Purdy . I'm not sure what Flores will end up doing against the Lions, but I feel like he's going to have a special surprise in store for them. The Vikings swept the Lions last year, and a big reason was that Flores' defense held Detroit to 34 total points in the two games combined.
Flores has been the defensive coordinator in Minnesota since 2023, so he knows this Lions offense inside and out. If defense wins championships, then there's no way I can pick against the Vikings in this game.
PICK: Vikings 19-16 over Lions
The Browns have already beaten the Steelers once this season, and if they win this game, that would give them their first season sweep of Pittsburgh since 1988. That's right, it has somehow been 38 years since the Browns have swept the Steelers. The NFL should have flexed this game to Sunday night and asked everyone at the stadium to dress up like their favorite character from 1988. I would have definitely been John McClane from Die Hard, or maybe AC Slater. You know what? I'm not sure and we don't have time to talk about this.
This game is not an easy one to pick and that's mostly because both teams still feel like a mystery to me. I do love a good mystery -- That's why I read all 200 "Encyclopedia Brown" books as a kid -- but I can't quite figure out either team.
On Cleveland's end, the Browns are 5-2, but I still have no idea how good they are. The Browns seem to be flying by the seat of their pants every week. Their last three wins have all come on a field goal in the final 10 seconds, which I'm only pointing out, because they are the FIRST TEAM in NFL history to have three straight wins come by a field goal in the final 10 seconds.
Also, all five of their wins have come by four points or less. There have only been three other teams in NFL history to pick up their first five wins in games they won by four points or less and none of those teams made the playoffs. That being said, the Browns do have a great defense, Deshaun Watson has been absolutely clutch this year, and their rookie receivers have been impressive.
Maybe we should have seen all of this coming. Oh wait, I DID! Back in June, I predicted Cleveland's entire season and had them finishing 10-7. HERE'S THE VIDEO PROOF.
I actually had every AFC North team finishing with a winning record in that video, including the Steelers, so let's focus on them.
I have watched their offense put up three points in a game this year, and I have watched their offense put up 34 points. This offense is totally unpredictable, but it has played a lot better over the past five weeks and that has had a lot to do with the sudden rise of Jaylen Warren , who has rushed for at least 100 yards in three of Pittsburgh's past five games.
Defensively, the Steelers have looked good, but they did struggle some during a 27-24 loss in Week 4 to THESE VERY SAME BROWNS.
If you had told someone before the season that the Browns-Steelers game in Week 8 would be for first place in the AFC North, they would have laughed at you, and then they would have made a TikTok video of them laughing at you so that other people could also laugh at you. You would have gone viral.
Back in Week 4, the Browns outplayed the Steelers, and they're going to do the same thing this week. For the first time since Ronald Reagan was president, the Browns are going to sweep the Steelers.
PICK: Browns 23-20 over Steelers
If you had asked me on Oct. 24 who was going to win this game, I probably would have taken the Chiefs by double digits, but now, I'm not so sure. I saw two things in Week 7 that have me re-thinking everything I know about the AFC West.
For one, Bo Nix remembered that he's allowed to run with the ball. In Denver's first six games, Nix rushed for a TOTAL of 37 yards and he didn't rush for more than 10 yards a single time, but something changed on Sunday. In Week 7, Nix saw 60 yards of open field STARING at him in Arizona and he decided go for it. He ended up taking off and scrambling for a 62-yard touchdown, giving him the longest touchdown run by a QB in Broncos ' history.
BO NIX 62-YARD TOUCHDOWN RUN DENvsAZ on CBS/Paramount+ Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/sxC4uWF33r
When Nix runs with the ball, that tends to jumpstart everything the Broncos do on offense. The opposing defense has to take him seriously as a run threat, which helps the Broncos' run game and, in turn, their passing game. It's a trickle-down effect.
Since drafting Nix in 2024, the Broncos are 12-0 when they rush for at least 125 yards and 4-0 when Nix rushes for at least 35 yards and they hit both of those numbers in Week 7. Not only did Nix remember how to run, but he also remembered how to throw downfield. Through the first six weeks, he was averaging a league-worst 4.9 air yards per attempt, but against the Cardinals, that number was 11.1.
When these two teams played each other in Week 1, Nix was coming off his fractured ankle and he didn't even really try to run. He had exactly two yards on the ground. The Chiefs held the Broncos to just 10 points in the opener, but this offense probably won't resemble the one the Chiefs saw in Week 1.
As for the Chiefs, I feel like they might have gotten exposed in Week 7. The Seahawks bottled up the run and forced Patrick Mahomes to throw the ball, but no one was getting open and the Chiefs' offense proceeded to fall apart right before our eyes. Unfortunately for the Broncos, I don't think they can replicate what Seattle did because they can't stop the run.
Heading into Week 8, Denver has given up the fifth-most rushing yards per game in the NFL this season. This feels like a game where Kenneth Walker carries the Chiefs to victory, just like he did in Week 1.
PICK: Chiefs 20-16 over Broncos
There was a time about 10 years ago when the NFL decided to cut down on the number of home primetime games the Seahawks were getting because they kept blowing everyone out. The only reason I'm mentioning that now is because it might be time to bring that rule back.
Since the start of last season, the Seahawks have won five straight home primetime games, including the playoffs, and they've won those games by an average of 12.8 points per game. Last week, they embarrassed the Chiefs, which is a sentence I never thought I would type, because I never thought I would see someone embarrass the Chiefs. The Seahawks beat the Chiefs so badly that Patrick Mahomes looked like he was ready to call it a day before the game even got to halftime.
Patrick Mahomes is in hell against the Seattle defense. pic.twitter.com/0nsLBiBBMm
The Chiefs went into last week's game with the second-best rushing attack in the NFL, and I thought that if they could run the ball, they might win. They were not able to run the ball.
This week, the Seahawks get to face the NFL's BEST rushing attack. The Bears are averaging 154.3 yards per game on the ground this year, which leads the NFL. Under Ben Johnson , the Bears are 10-1 when they run for at least 140 yards, including the playoffs.
Being able to run the ball is what makes Chicago's offense work. It sets up almost everything else they do. Based on what I saw last week against the Chiefs, I won't be surprised if the Seahawks try something similar on defense to slow down the Bears' rushing attack. In the Kansas City game, the Seahawks went all-in on stopping Kenneth Walker, which should have opened things up for Patrick Mahomes, but Kansas City's receivers couldn't get any separation from Seattle's secondary. Unlike the Chiefs, the Bears do have receivers who can get open -- like Rome Odunze , Luther Burden and I'll even throw in Colston Loveland -- but Caleb Williams actually has to have time to throw for the Bears to be able to take advantage of this and I'm not sure he's going to have time to throw.
Being sent to Seattle for a primetime game is the closest thing the NFL has to a sacrificial lamb. Just ask the Chiefs. I think the Bears will do better than Kansas City did, but I will never pick against the Seahawks again when they're playing at home in primetime.
PICK: Seahawks 27-20 over Bears
Packers 30-23 over Panthers Bengals 24-17 over Titans Cowboys 27-23 over Cardinals Raiders 20-17 over Jets Falcons 30-23 over Buccaneers Jaguars 30-27 over Colts Rams 31-20 over Chargers Patriots 31-17 over Dolphins Commanders 23-16 over Eagles
Best pick: Bears over Patriots. Last week, I predicted that the Bears would roll to a Thursday night win over the Patriots and guess what happened? The Bears rolled to a Thursday night win over the Patriots. And let me just say, this was the easiest pick of the season. As soon as I found out that the Bears were going to be honoring Mike Ditka by handing out 10,000 mustaches at the game, I knew there was no way they were going to lose.
The Bears held a moment of silence for legendary Head Coach Mike Ditka before tonight's game, even passing out fake mustaches to fans to honor him. pic.twitter.com/1NkF45ZVrf
They would have had to fold the franchise if they lost on Ditka night.
Worst pick: Panthers over Buccaneers . Going into Week 7, the Bucs had won six of their past seven games against the Panthers, but for some reason, I decided to totally ignore that key piece of information. I also ignored the fact that the Panthers can't stop the run and that Bryce Young is always at his worst against the Buccaneers. And apparently, I'm always at my worst when I'm trying to pick Buccaneers' games. I'm 2-5 on the season, which is tied for my worst record picking any team.
Finally, if you guys have ever wondered which teams I'm actually good at picking, I'm going to start sharing that information with you now that we've got six full weeks of information. Here's a quick look at my best and worst teams when it comes to picks this year.
Teams I'm 6-1 picking this year (Straight up): Patriots, Eagles, Jaguars (5-1), Commanders (4-1-1) My worst teams this year (Straight up): Bears (2-5), Packers (2-5), Buccaneers (2-5)
Every other team is somewhere in the middle.
You can find John Breech on Facebook or Twitter , and if he's not doing one of those things, he's probably trying to see if he can find an AC Slater costume that he can wear for Halloween and wear to celebrate the Browns' first season-sweep of the Steelers since 1988.