Companies featured on this page may be our partners who compensate us if you sign up for one through our links. This doesn't affect our ratings or opinions in any way. Must be 21+. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. See full disclosure.
We had a slightly down week in Week 7, going 2-3 on our best bets.
Let's see if we can turn things around for this week's slate of games with 5 picks from our team of experts, including three spread bets, a total, and a teaser.
Below you’ll find our picks for the best NFL bets to make on Sunday (10/29) for Week 8 of the 2023 NFL season. Remember, you can always compare NFL lines and odds by sportsbooks here.
Best NFL Week 8 Betting Picks
Los Angeles Rams +6.5 @ Dallas Cowboys – 1 pm ET
Kyler Wolff is a sports writer with a passion for football & statistical analysis. He uses his knowledge of the game and ability to break down stats to make the best picks.
The Cowboys have blown out three teams so far this season, but they were the Giants, Jets, and Patriots, not exactly the cream of the crop in the NFL.
The Rams have been up and down this season, but they've been able to stay in games and play very solid football. Los Angeles doesn't typically get blown out; in fact, they've only lost by more than a touchdown twice, once to the 49ers and once to the Eagles. The Cowboys are good, but they certainly aren't in the same tier as the Eagles and 49ers.
The Cowboys are an interesting team. They tend to dominate and assert their will on less-talented teams, but when it comes to competent teams like the Rams, they fall apart like a house of cards. They broke this pattern slightly when they barely beat the Chargers last week, but it was only a 3-point win. That's the type of result I would expect for this game as well.
The Cowboys are a solid team, especially on defense, but they've struggled slightly without Trevon Diggs and will have to rely on their pass rush if they want to destroy the Rams like they did with the Giants, Jets, and Pats.
I don't believe that will happen in this game. The Rams have a much more solid offensive line and have quick passing options for both Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua.
Grab the Rams +6.5 on Sunday afternoon.
>> Use Our NFL Odds & Lines Comparison Tool to Find the Best Deal for This Game
New England Patriots +9.5 @ Miami Dolphins – 1 pm ET
Dave Rathmanner is the Founder of Odds Assist. While he bets on more sports than he likes to admit, the NFL is his passion and where his expertise lies.
The Patriots finally turned in a solid performance last week, beating the Bills 29-25 in New England. Now they travel to Miami to take on the Dolphins who are coming off a 31-17 loss to the Eagles.
While the Dolphins are clearly the better team, I think 9.5 points is just too much.
The Patriots have been really unlucky most of the year and have dealt with a ton of injuries to their offensive line. They are finally healthy and looked much better last week, which allowed Mac Jones to look like a competent QB.
I expect the Patriots to run the ball well against the Dolphins' defense, keeping the clock running and, more importantly, the Dolphins' explosive offense off the field.
On their side, the Dolphins are dealing with a lot of injuries with Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Jalen Ramsey, and a number of other questionable players for Sunday.
Look for the Pats to move the ball well and hold up decently on defense, keeping this within 10 points.
>> Use Our NFL Odds & Lines Comparison Tool to Find the Best Deal for This Game
Minnesota Vikings -1 @ Green Bay Packers – 1 pm ET
Kyler Wolff is a sports writer with a passion for football & statistical analysis. He uses his knowledge of the game and ability to break down stats to make the best picks.
The Vikings cut up the Niners' defense last week on Monday Night Football when Kirk Cousins went 35 for 45 with 378 yards passing and showed clutch skills on defense late in the 4th quarter to perhaps change the trajectory of their season.
The Vikings were only 2-4 going into that game but hadn't played all that bad. They just caught the turnover bug (giving up 2 turnovers per game this season, which is 3rd worst in the league). Now they seem to be recovering (giving up only 1 turnover per game over the last 3 games), and it looks like they are on their way to turning their season around.
The Packers are another story entirely. While they got some hard-fought wins early against the Bears and the Saints, they've fallen short recently, even against teams that they should be able to beat.
They lost to Denver last week and the Raiders the week before in what was a pretty devastating road series in which they lost key members of their secondary, Darnell Savage and Eric Stokes, to injuries.
They'll miss those players deeply, as their defense has kept them in games to this point as they try to figure things out on offense. The Packers haven't been able to score over 20 points in any of their last 4 games.
This game looks like a simple equation: the Vikings are trending up, and the Packers are trending down. I like the Vikings in a potentially solid win. My prediction is 28 to 17, with Minnesota easily beating the spread.
>> Use Our NFL Odds & Lines Comparison Tool to Find the Best Deal for This Game
Dave Rathmanner is the Founder of Odds Assist. While he bets on more sports than he likes to admit, the NFL is his passion and where his expertise lies.
Teasers are my specialty and these two games/spreads are exactly what I look for when searching for opportunities.
The key with teasers is to get the spreads to move through two key numbers. In this case, we are dropping the Chiefs down from -7 to -1 (going through 7 and 3) and the Chargers down from -8.5 to -2.5 (going through the same two key numbers).
Aside from going through two key numbers—which there are a lot of opportunities to do this week—I also try to pick teams that I think are unlikely to get upset.
This applies to both teams, with the Chiefs playing a lousy Broncos team that looks ready to offload players for future assets and the Chargers playing the Bears who will be starting D2 QB Tyson Bagent again this week.
In the Chiefs game, I simply think the Broncos' defense (yes, the same D that let up 70 to the Dolphins a few weeks ago) has no shot at keeping up with Mahomes and Co.
Meanwhile, I expect Bagent to come crashing back down to Earth this week after a solid performance against the Raiders last week. The Chargers pass rush should be able to get to him at least a few times, possibly leading to some turnovers.
On the flip side, I think the Chargers offense will come alive against a Bears' D that is ranked 28th in DVOA, leading to a comfortable win.
One quick note: be sure to shop around for the best odds on this teaser. Some sportsbooks will give you -120 odds on a 6-point, 2-team teaser while others give -130 or worse.
>> Use Our NFL Odds & Lines Comparison Tool to Find the Best Deal for This Game
Baltimore Ravens @ Arizona Cardinals OVER 44 – 4:25 pm ET
Kyler Wolff is a sports writer with a passion for football & statistical analysis. He uses his knowledge of the game and ability to break down stats to make the best picks.
The Ravens put up 38 against a Lions defense that allowed only 18.8 points per game up until last week. The Cardinals have allowed 26 points per game so far this season, so it is possible that we will see another big game from the sizzling Ravens offense.
Mark Andrews is tied for 4th in the league with 5 receiving touchdowns, and they have two runners (Jackson and Edwards) in the top 22 in the league in rushing yards and two rushers (Jackson and Hill) in the top 20 in rushing touchdowns.
On the other side of the ball for the Ravens, you have one of the best defenses in the league at limiting scoring (13.9 points per game), but the Cardinals have a good track record when it comes to scoring on good defenses this season.
Josh Dobbs has led a surprisingly impressive Cardinals offense that isn't great but can certainly put up points in a game, especially if the Ravens go up big early. The Cardinals put up 16 against the 3rd-ranked 49ers defense and put up a whopping 28 points in a surprise win against the 4th-ranked Cowboys defense.
The Cardinals tend to play in many high-scoring games. Their only games that have been less than 45 points scored total have been two division games recently and their Week 1 game against the Commanders.
Both of these offenses have a lot of up-and-coming young talent, including Zay Flowers, Michael Wilson, Trey McBride, Rashod Bateman, and Emari Demarcardo. I think at least two of these guys are going to break out and have a big game that powers this game past 44 points total.
They are both crafty teams that use their great run games to facilitate a dangerous pass game. It's what we saw the Ravens do last week, and it's what I think they'll do again this week. The Cardinals similarly could put up 20+ points.
>> Use Our NFL Odds & Lines Comparison Tool to Find the Best Deal for This Game
Offers from our partners
Other NFL resources you might be interested in:
- Best NFL Betting Sites & Apps
- Best NFL Live Betting Sites & Apps
- NFL Betting Promo Codes & Sign-Up Bonuses
- NFL Odds Calculator
- NFL Hub Page
- +EV Bets Search Tool
- Today's NFL Odds & Lines
- NFL Week 8 Odds & Lines
- NFL Week 9 Odds & Lines
- NFL Week 10 Odds & Lines
- NFL Week 11 Odds & Lines
- NFL Week 12 Odds & Lines
- NFL Week 13 Odds & Lines
- NFL Week 14 Odds & Lines
- NFL Week 15 Odds & Lines
- NFL Week 16 Odds & Lines
- NFL Week 17 Odds & Lines
- NFL Week 18 Odds & Lines
