Straight-Up NFL Picks, Week 8: Betting on the Rams and fading the Giants despite overwhelming evidence

A slate filled with evenly-matched games (and also Packers-Bills) deserves a deep dive and some gut feeling analysis.

Week 7’s underwhelming slate of games led to a handful of upsets but not many close finishes. Week 8 looks better on paper; will it come through?

My chalk-heavy approach last week left me lagging behind the rest of the crowd — one more foot of offense from the Jacksonville Jaguars would’ve helped. This week only features two upsets (Tampa Bay Buccaneers over the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday night and the Los Angeles Rams over the San Francisco 49ers) and another that just feels that way (the New England Patriots winning in New York), none of which are especially interesting.

Otherwise? We’re riding with the Jacksonville Jaguars in their home away from home (London, where they’re 4-2. This doesn’t feel impressive until you realize they’re 23-47 at TIAA Bank Stadium in that same stretch). We’re also betting the Carolina Panthers’ Week 7 revival was a one-off and that the Detroit Lions’ journey to the No. 1 pick in next spring’s draft will continue.

Here’s our full lineup of straight-up moneyline picks for Week 8 of the 2022 NFL season.

Game Christian Robert Charles
Ravens at Buccaneers Bucs Ravens Bucs
Broncos at Jaguars Jaguars Jaguars Jaguars
Panthers at Falcons Falcons Falcons Falcons
Bears at Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys
Cardinals at Vikings Vikings Cardinals Vikings
Dolphins at Lions Dolphins Dolphins Dolphins
Patriots at Jets Patriots Jets Jets
Steelers at Eagles Eagles Eagles Eagles
Raiders at Saints Saints Raiders Saints
Titans at Texans Titans Titans Titans
Giants at Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks
49ers at Rams Rams 49ers Rams
Commanders at Colts Colts Colts Colts
Packers at Bills Bills Bills Bills
Bengals at Browns Bengals Bengals Bengals
Last week: 9-5 11-3 10-4
Year to date: 67-40-1 63-44-1 58-49-1

And here those pics are in a better-formatted screenshot of our actual picks sheet, which sadly struggles to translate to our editing software.