NFL 2021 Week 8 picks

 Some interesting match-ups this week, including some possible upsets.

Thursday night

Green Bay Packers at Arizona Cardinals : This might be the best game of the weekend, and it lands on Thursday night!  Both teams have excellent offenses and defenses that can slow down opponents.  This might be the closest that someone gets to beating the Cardinals, but I'll give the home team a slight edge.  CARDS, 24-21

Sunday early games

Carolina Panthers at Atlanta Falcons : Carolina is spiraling down the drain quickly while the Falcons are finding some new life.  Believe it or not, I think Atlanta will get themselves on the high side of a winning record with a win here.  FALCONS, 17-13

Cincinnati Bengals at New York Jets : This will be the second biggest blowout game of the week.  BENGALS, 27-13

Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills : And this will be the biggest blowout game of the week.  BILLS, 34-16

Los Angeles Rams at Houston Texans : The Texans defense has withered away, which gives the Rams a chance to romp.  RAMS, 31-17

Philadelphia Eagles at Detroit Lions : The Eagles offense is struggling, but I'm not picking against the worst team in the league until they win or play an equally bad team (like the Jaguars or Jets).  EAGLES, 16-13

Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns : The Browns are enjoying a chance to get back for all of the hard years when they were the punching bag of the AFC North.  The Steelers cannot consistently find a rhythm this season, while the Browns are flowing.  Still, the Steelers still have a stiff defense, so this will be a tough battle.  BROWNS, 20-17

San Francisco 49ers at Chicago Bears : Okay, we might have found an opponent the struggling Bears can beat!  The 49ers offense isn't doing much better, and they have trouble holding onto the ball also.  The winner will be the team who makes the fewest errors.  After last week's debacle, you know the Bears will be more careful this week.  BEARS, 17-16

Tennessee Titans at Indianapolis Colts : Okay, I'll admit that the Titans are definitely better than I gave them credit.  This is a strong team, both offensively and defensively.  The Colts can't quite get it together, and the Titans are great at throwing off opponents.  TITANS, 24-17

Sunday late games

Jacksonville Jaguars at Seattle Seahawks : Will the Jags make it two in a row?  Nope.  SEAHAWKS, 24-16

New England Patriots at Los Angeles Chargers : Forget the record, the Patriots are really a good team.  If the Chargers do not watch it, this game will be an upset.  CHARGERS, 20-16

Tampa Bay Bucs at New Orleans Saints : Without Brees, the Saints are not the same.  Even with Brees I'm not sure they could have beaten the behemoth that Bucs have become, especially since it looks like Gronk will play.  That's a nasty trick, but it's a treat for the Bucs fans.  BUCS, 34-23

Washington at Denver Broncos : It's not easy to play in Denver, and Washington already has trouble catching their breaths -- and catching balls.  BRONCOS, 20-13

Sunday night

Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings : I don't care that the Vikings had an extra week to plan for the Cowboys.  This is a dynamic offense that you really can't completely prepare for.  COWBOYS, 31-20

Monday Night Football

New York Giants at Kansas City Chiefs : Two teams whose offenses are struggling, this won't be a game featuring too many highlights.  Fortunately for the Chiefs, the Giants defense is porous, so the Chiefs will get back to 50%. CHIEFS, 20-16