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The NFL Week 8 schedule kicked off with the Green Bay Packers taking down the Carolina Panthers at Lambeau Field. It served as a great appetizer for this weekend, with matchups including the Baltimore Ravens vs. Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings vs. Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs vs. Denver Broncos, and capped off by the Chicago Bears vs. Seattle Seahawks.
Let’s dive into our Week 8 NFL predictions for every matchup.
Lamar Jackson is finally back in Week 8, creating far more intrigue for this Baltimore Ravens vs. Buffalo Bills matchup. There should be plenty of points on Sunday afternoon, as Buffalo’s defense has allowed a 120.5 passer rating with a 15-3 TD-INT ratio this season while Baltimore just got torched by Joe Burrow in the second half last week. With Buffalo coming off the bye and hosting this matchup, plus its superior pass rush, we have the Bills winning a close one over Baltimore.
Trading away Jeffrey Simmons is obviously the proverbial waving of the white flag for the Tennessee Titans. It’s also going to become painfully apparent how much worse Tennessee’s defense is without him. Unable to put consistent pressure on Joe Burrow, the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback will put up 270-plus passing yards with three touchdowns in a decisive victory at home.
The Dallas Cowboys offense got back on track this past week, and there’s a great opportunity to keep that momentum going on Sunday at AT&T Stadium. Through seven games, the Arizona Cardinals have allowed the third-most points per drive (2.73), as they are susceptible to giving up big plays through the air and good efficiency on the ground. Dallas probably won’t have answers defensively for Trey McBride, but its defense has improved enough with Joey Porter Jr. for this team to win comfortably in Week 8.
The Minnesota Vikings have been phenomenal defensively this season, as evidenced by the fact that they are allowing just 1.10 points per drive (1st in NFL) through six games. Minnesota has, however, faced some of the league’s worst offenses, and its own offense ranks 31st in the NFL in total touchdowns. The Detroit Lions offense won’t be flawless by any means in Week 8, but it should find a few solutions to what Brian Flores throws at it. That’s the difference in this matchup, because right now we have little faith in Minnesota’s offense.
After a scorching-hot start to the season, the Las Vegas Raiders have lost four consecutive games. Meanwhile, the New York Jets are surrounded by speculation of head coach Aaron Glenn being fired and questions about what the front office may do at the NFL trade deadline. This is a close matchup on paper, especially if Geno Smith can avoid sacks against his former team and funnel targets to Garrett Wilson, Omar Cooper Jr., and Mason Taylor. Unfortunately for New York, its penchant for clock mismanagement and not executing on the finer details will prove costly on a day where Ashton Jeanty finally has some room to run.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have an identity on offense now. Jaylen Warren is performing like one of the best NFL running backs in 2026, and the timing couldn’t be better for Pittsburgh heading into a must-win Week 8 game against a Cleveland Browns opponent that has allowed a 4.5 yards-per-carry average since Week 2. Pittsburgh’s pass rush should also make a big enough impact to disrupt Deshaun Watson, but Denzel Boston and KC Concepcion can probably make enough big plays to make this a down-to-the-wire matchup.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers suddenly have life again. Todd Bowles’ defense is playing great football as of late and Bucky Irving has been outstanding in recent weeks, thrusting Tampa Bay back into the mix for the NFC South. While this is a winnable game for the Buccaneers, the Atlanta Falcons have the advantage of playmakers who can exploit Tampa Bay defensively, and the Falcons offensive line should be able to provide Michael Penix Jr. some chances for big-time throws. In a tight game, Atlanta comes out on top and sends one of its rivals to a 2-6 record and three games back in the division.
The Jacksonville Jaguars return from their bye to face an Indianapolis Colts team that is at rock bottom and beginning a rebuild. While this divisional battle has delivered some surprises in the past, there’s no reason to think it happens in Week 8. The Jaguars’ quick pressure will rattle Daniel Jones, resulting in at least one turnover, and Jacksonville’s offense will be able to move the football with relative ease on Indianapolis.
It really doesn’t matter that the Los Angeles Chargers are returning from their bye. Nothing this team has shown offensively this season would suggest a turnaround is possible. Play-calling is an issue, but the offensive line is non-functional and Justin Herbert is playing by far the worst football of his career. The Los Angeles Rams know not to look a gift horse in the mouth; they should win this one comfortably and not get caught up making the same mistakes that have cost them in other winnable games.
The Denver Broncos lost by 21 points in Week 1 to the Kansas City Chiefs entirely because of an alarming inability to tackle. We can’t fathom that problem being as severe as it was in the regular-season opener, but Kenneth Walker is still going to evade his share of defenders. What hurts Denver more in this one is that there’s simply no evidence Sean Payton has any confidence in Bo Nix and the passing game right now. The Broncos still have a chance to win at home thanks to a stout defense and the emergence of rookie running back Jonah Coleman, but we tend to believe Nix will get in the way of a victory.
The New England Patriots can win by double-digit points on Sunday in Florida. The Miami Dolphins are far too limited offensively, primarily because of personnel, which makes this an easier matchup to game plan for defensively. On the other side of the ball, this can be a confidence-building game for the Patriots’ passing game. We don’t see any reason why New England can’t win this one by at least a touchdown.
How did the NFL not take this game off the Sunday Night Football schedule? It’s a pedestrian Washington Commanders offense, without Terry McLaurin, against a Philadelphia Eagles team that largely seems to be out on the 2026 NFL season already. Washington won’t win many more football games this year, but quarterback Jayden Daniels can still do more than enough to outscore Tanner McKee, especially with how Philadelphia’s defense has looked in recent weeks.
The Seattle Seahawks and Chicago Bears both made big trade acquisitions before this Monday Night Football matchup. Jeffery Simmons is the game-changer. He’s going to wreck some plays against this Seahawks offensive line, disrupting Sam Darnold and the run game enough to effectively neutralize this offense. That lowers the bar for how many points this Bears offense needs to score against the second-best defense in football. Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams will have to settle for a few more field goals than they like, but it will result in a victory for the Bears.
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