The Tampa Bay Buccaneers suffered another defeat to open Week 8. As we are often doing, we combed through the betting odds after the game and found that the Bucs, at 3-5 on the season, were still favored to make the 2022/23 NFL playoffs with bet365. Tom Brady, who is getting a divorce, lost three straight games for the first time in ages with the loss to Baltimore. The Ravens are 5-3 and, perhaps, still lack a really convincing victory this season.
Deebo Samuel won't play in Week 8 for 49ers
Deebo Samuel was a non-participant in practice all week for the San Francisco 49ers. As of late Friday, he is confirmed to be out in Week 8. The injury report for Samuel lists a hamstring injury. Samuel is a receiver but he makes a lot of running plays too. He is a versatile player and his absence is bad news for San Francisco backers.
Ezekiel Elliott probably won't play for Dallas
Ezekiel Elliott is doubtful for Week 8. The Cowboys will face the Chicago Bears and Elliott did not practice all week with a knee injury. Tony Pollard, the team's RB2, promises to be a more important player against Chicago.
Cincinnati lost Ja'Marr Chase
The Bengals received some really bad news on Thursday. They lost their top receiver, Ja'Marr Chase, for 4-6 weeks due to a hip injury. Chase was listed as a non-participant in practice on Thursday's injury report. Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that he would be out. Cincinnati will try to put a plan together for Monday when they face the Cleveland Browns.
Russell Wilson is active for Week 8
The next game in the NFL's schedule is a stand-alone early Sunday game that will come from London. The Denver Broncos will face the Jacksonville Jaguars on neutral turf. Wilson was a full participant in Friday's practice and he will play in Week 8.
Russell Wilson was out for the Denver Broncos last week. Denver lost to the New York Jets 16-9 as QB2 Brett Rypien wasn't able to orchestrate any kind of significant offense for the Broncos.
Chicago Bears not interested in this season?
The Chicago Bears are 3-4 following a comprehensive victory on Monday night over the New England Patriots. However, they were involved in a trade that was reported on Wednesday. The Bears traded defensive end Robert Quinn to the Philadelphia Eagles.
The move shows that Philly is interested in beefing up for a Super Bowl run. Meanwhile, the Bears only received a future draft pick back. That suggests that they are passing on making a playoff run this season or, at least, aren't going after it with the full throttle.
Andy Dalton and Mac Jones: quarterbacks for Week 8
Two teams with quarterbacking dilemmas are the New Orleans Saints and the New England Patriots. The Saints have not really received quality performances from Jameis Winston so far this season.
"Andy's gonna get the start again this week [against the Las Vegas Raiders]," head coach Dennis Allen said. "I feel like he's played well. Offensively, I feel like we're in a little bit of a rhythm. We've been moving the ball effectively, we've scored points. And so we're gonna continue down that road with Andy as the quarterback."
Dalton had three INTs last week in New Orleans' loss to the Arizona Cardinals. However, the veteran also connected for four TD passes and had 361 passing yards on the season. If he irons out the interceptions, then the Saints could look very good on offense.
Mac Jones, on the other hand, did not look good on offense in Week 7. He was replaced mid-game by Bailey Zappe. ESPN has reported that Jones will be the starter in Week 8. That doesn't look like the right move but we will defer to Bill Belichick.
Buffalo Bills strongest favorite of Week 8
The Buffalo Bills, the top team in our NFL Power Rankings, are the strongest favorite of Week 8. They will host the Green Bay Packers, a team that has disappointed so far this season at just 3-4. Midweek, the Bills are -11.5 point favorites for the Sunday night game.
Further reading: check out our NFL Coach of the Year tip for Week 8.
