NFL’s Week 8 has been busy with movement, as over two-thirds of the scheduled games deviated from their opening spread. As many as five of this week’s games have already changed by as much as a point or more, one of which includes the suddenly slumping Seattle Seahawks on the road. Those five games are the ones we’ll examine in closer detail to guide bettors along this week’s action.
The lines, as always, will move due to any number of factors, from significant betting activity on one team to unfavorably perceived matchups between the two teams. Although the reasons for these movements aren’t an exact science, it’s nevertheless useful to make some fairly educated assumptions and analyses to get a better grasp of the logic behind them. Create a betting account today and start betting on these updated NFL lines today.
Click here to view our complete NFL Week 8 picks and predictions from earlier in the week.
[sc:Football ]NFL Line Movement for Week 8
Miami Dolphins (-6) at Jacksonville Jaguars (+6)
Line moved from 5 – view all NFL lines
[sc:NFL240banner ]Two consecutive convincing away wins over the Raiders and Bears, with a respectable three-point home loss to the streaking Packers sandwiched in between, have given the public enough evidence that the Miami Dolphins could, in fact, be for real.
Quarterback Ryan Tannehill, in particular, drew rave reviews with a 123.6 passer rating against the Bears, which is a new career high, and facing an subpar Jaguars defense shouldn’t give him too many problems.
However, don’t sleep on the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are finally off the schneid this year with a big 24-6 home win over the Browns. They were also within eight points of the Steelers and within two points of the Titans in their past two games.
Chicago Bears (+6) at New England Patriots (-6)
Line moved from 7 – view all NFL lines
Despite dropping three of their last four games by seven or more points, the public has been surprisingly more bullish on the Bears on the road at New England. They likely saw how the Pats had all sorts of problems last week against the Jets in a very close 27-25 victory and thought the Bears and their explosive offense could also stay within a touchdown of the Pats.
But the Bears don’t have the consistent running game that the Jets used to rush for 218 yards and control over two-thirds of the time of possession against the Pats. That Tom Brady kid is also playing pretty well, with nine touchdowns and no picks in his last three games.
Baltimore Ravens (PICK) at Cincinnati Bengals
Line moved from 2.5 – view all NFL lines
How the mighty have fallen. Wasn’t it only last month that the Bengals were 3-0 and looking like a legit contender in the AFC? Three winless weeks, an AJ Green injury and an embarrassing shutout later, and the Bengals have dropped from 2.5-point favorites into a pick ‘em at home against the Baltimore Ravens.
The public probably sees the Ravens as a terrible matchup for the Green-less Bengals, as their effective running game can do a lot of damage against Cincy’s porous run defense, while their front seven is good enough to make Gio Bernard a non-factor.
However, these Bengals already beat the Ravens at Baltimore in Week 1 with the help of Green’s 131 receiving yards. And if reports are to be believed, Green is progressing nicely from his injury and there’s at last some chance the Bengals’ star receiver can recover just in time to make his comeback at home.
Seattle Seahawks (-5) at Carolina Panthers (+5)
Line moved from 3.5 – view all NFL lines
Seattle at Carolina has all the makings of a bounce-back game, and the public has pounced accordingly. The defending champion Seahawks will be going all out to end their two-game losing skid against the Panthers, whose defense is in the bottom five against the pass and the rush, per DVOA. Russell Wilson, the first player ever with 300 passing yards and 100 rushing yards in the same game, is definitely good enough to exploit both.
But wasn’t Seattle’s bounce-back game supposed to have come last week against the Rams? This Seahawks D hasn’t been as formidable as it once was, and a quarterback as talented as Cam Newton can still cause them a lot of problems, both on the ground and in the air.
Houston Texans (-2.5) at Tennessee Titans (+2.5)
Line moved from 1 – view all NFL lines
The last three games have all but confirmed how terrible the Tennessee Titans actually are. Their latest feat of futility cam against the Redskins, where their defense allowed backup Colt McCoy to complete 11 of 12 passes and a touchdown in a 19-17 defeat, the Titans’ fifth in the last six games.
The Texans’ running game led by Arian Foster has gained over 130 yards in three straight games, a trend which should continue against a shaky Titans defense. There’s also the small matter of Tennessee going 0-8-1 ATS in their last nine home games.
But the Texans are mired in their own three-game losing skid, and the Titans know better than most that betting on Ryan Fitzpatrick is a scary proposition, especially on the road. The Texans QB has thrown five picks in his last three road games, all of which have resulted in defeat.
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