NFL Week 8 best bets: Games with intriguing lines, odds

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Week 8 has some very interesting lines and the market hasn’t even fully taken shape. We’ve got Aaron Rodgers as a double-digit underdog for the first time in his career as the Packers take on a rested Bills team on “Sunday Night Football.” We’ve got Tom Brady on a Thursday night at home as an underdog against the Ravens. We’ve got Jacksonville clearly favored in a “home” game against the Broncos at London’s Wembley Stadium and a Buckeye State battle between the Bengals and Browns on Monday night.

Only two teams are on a bye this week — the Chiefs and Chargers. The Bills, Rams, Vikings and Eagles all return from their extended rests, with three of the four in clear favorite roles.

Here are some early lines to consider for Week 8:

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San Francisco 49ers (-2, 41) at Rams

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey carries the ball against the Kansas City Chiefs.

The Rams had a lot of soul-searching to do during the bye week. To go from a Super Bowl champion to a team averaging just five yards per play through six games is quite a fall from grace. However, the Rams should have been able to figure out some of their issues during the week off, while a whole new set of problems opened up for the 49ers.

San Francisco was shredded by Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in a 44-23 loss on Sunday. While the Rams aren’t on that level by any means, San Francisco was exposed in a big way. The 49ers went into the game tops in the league in yards per play allowed with 4.2, but hadn’t really played a good offense to that point. That includes the Rams, who had only nine points and 257 yards of offense on Monday night back in Week 4.

That total was 42.5 on the slow track at Levi’s Stadium. This total is lower on the fast track at SoFi and the 49ers are reeling a little bit. Furthermore, Kyle Shanahan had a pretty good game plan against the Rams in Week 4, as the 49ers racked up 6.7 yards per play. This total seems a tad too low after the teams went 0-for-4 in the red zone last time they played.

Pick: Over 41

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Arizona Cardinals at Minnesota Vikings (-4, 48)

Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray passes against the New Orleans Saints.

Speaking of the Vikings, let’s start with their home game against the Cardinals. Kyler Murray and the Cardinals outlasted the Saints on “Thursday Night Football,” so the rest advantage is somewhat nullified for the Vikings, but they’ll get a crack at a really bad Arizona defense. The Cardinals had two pick-sixes in the span of 1:04 to end the first half, but the defense gave up 494 yards and seven yards per play otherwise.

A smart, astute coach like Kevin O’Connell who has a lot of weapons in his arsenal should be able to pick apart the Fightin’ Kliff Kingsburys to hang a number in this one. Meanwhile, Murray only threw for 204 yards against a Saints defense that was without Marshon Lattimore to start the game and lost Bradley Roby during it. Trusting the Vikings is a good way to have a sweaty Sunday, but they should take care of business off the bye here.

Pick: Vikings -4

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Miami Dolphins (-3.5, 50) at Detroit Lions

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa runs with the ball against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins averaged six yards per play against the Steelers in a 16-10 win on “Sunday Night Football.” It was good to see Tua back, but he did miss some throws and some opportunities. Moreover, the Steelers completely took the air out of the ball by holding it for over 33 minutes of game time, so it kept the Dolphins from getting more kicks at the can.

Miami scored on four of its five possessions in the first half, but settled for field goals on three of them and then had a drive stuffed on downs to start the second half. They left points on the field against a solid Pittsburgh defense, but they’ll face a much weaker Lions defense this week that had allowed 6.5 yards per play going into Week 7. They only allowed 5.6 to the Cowboys, who were easing Dak Prescott back into action, which the Dolphins were doing with Tua this week.

On the indoor fast track at Ford Field, the Dolphins should run wild and nobody puts up garbage time stats quite like Jared Goff. This game should feature some points.

Pick: Over 50

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