Week 8 Games of the Week

[Morbius]

Bears at Commanders. Chicago (4-2) is favored by 1.5 over Washington (5-2). It is unclear whether Jayden Daniels will play after a rib injury at the beginning of last week's game has limited his practice. Even if we as fans are deprived of the duel between the two impressive rookie QBs, this is an interesting game for several reasons. First, neither team has beaten an opponent with a winning record. The Commanders are running the ball really well, which is one area where the Bears are not a top-five defense. The Commanders have some young and inexperienced men in their secondary, where the Bears have effectively two number one receivers and a talented rookie. The chess match between Cliff Kingsbury, Commanders offensive coordinator, versus Matt Eberflus, Bears head coach who calls the defensive plays, will be something to watch.

There are other games this week which look like they'll be close, but this is the only one with two teams clearly on the ascendant. I'm looking forward to watching whatever part of the game I can catch; the NFL choosing to "flex" this game means I'll miss at least half of it. My heart tells me the Bears will win, and I'm listening to it.

Bills at Seahawks. Buffalo (5-2) is a 3 point favorite over Seattle (4-3). I like the new acquisition for the Bills; Amari Cooper looks really good in Blue and White. I think the Bills are a better team here, but I am unsure about Seattle, who burned me last week. The Bills have fattened up on beatable opponents, losing to the two good teams they've faced. Seattle has beaten Denver (4-3) and Atlanta (3-4). The Bills have the 4th best points per game, and Seattle leads the league in passing yards. Hmm. I'm taking Buffalo.

Falcons at Buccaneers. Atlanta (4-3) is favored by 2.5 over Tampa Bay (4-3). I am sure Atlanta is the favorite here because the Bucs lost Mike Evans and Chris Godwin to injuries last week. I will believe they can win without those two guys when I see it happen. Falcons to win and cover here.

Eagles at Bengals. Cincinnati (3-4) is favored by 2.5 over Philadelphia (4-2). I am not quite sure why the oddsmakers like Cincy here. Joe Burrow is a terrific QB and the Bengals defense is improving, but the Eagles are looking to me more like the team that barely lost the Super Bowl a couple of years ago than the one which collapsed in 2023. I think Philly wins this and it isn't all that close. But I'm often wrong about football. I just can't resist.

[True Dough]

1. Don't know how you overlooked Carolina vs. Denver

Kidding! Just kidding! The Panthers are going to be really bad!

I don't care about the Cardinals and Dolphins on paper, but I am curious to see how Tua performs in his return. Wish he would retire though.

And, yeah, the Bucs' top receivers now are Jalen McMillan (74 yards receiving this season), Trey Palmer (61 yards receiving) and Sterling Shepard (93 yards). Good luck with that! Cade Otton might see a lot of targets.

[Morbius]

2. Oh my.

I really thought the Bears had pulled this one out, scoring a TD to pull ahead with less than half a minute to go. But Jayden Daniels pulls off a miracle, and just like that the Commanders win. I can't fault the Bears defense, who for 59:55 had played an outstanding game. Looks like the Bears offensive line needs work; three injuries! Caleb Williams spent most of the game running for his life; these Commanders play good football.

Meanwhile the Eagles did in fact crush the Bengals, and the Falcons took care of beaten-up Tampa Bay. Buffalo stomped Seattle, too.