Following a week in which he had three winning bets out of four, Ross Williams offers his top picks for the games that will take place during Week 8 of the NFL season.
NFL betting tips: Week 8
At 10/11, the Tennessee Titans are favored by 2 points over the Houston Texans (General)
2pts Over 44.5 total match points is a 10/11 betting option in New York Giants vs. Seattle Seahawks (General)
1pt The Colts’ Sam Ehlinger is expected to score a touchdown at the 4/1 mark (OKBET)
Houston Texans versus the Tennessee Titans
- The game will begin at 20:05 GMT.
- Sky Sports Mix on television (NFL Redzone)
- The Tennessee Titans (with a spread of -2.5) are the team to back to win against the Houston Texans.
This is a match that has the potential to deteriorate into a bloody and lopsided affair in a very short amount of time.
The Titans are favored by the money, despite the fact that they have a handicap of 2.5 points. This outcome should not come as a surprise to anyone.
Tennessee, who got off to a rough start, are all of a sudden the third-ranked club in the AFC and are on track for another division title. On the other hand, Houston are once again dead last in the league, nursing a meager 1-4-1 record, while Tennessee are on track for another division title.
Sky Bet customers interested in wagering on the Tennessee Titans to defeat the Houston Texans can do so by clicking here.
But if we’re being completely straightforward here, the results from the first part of this season don’t even begin to cover it. The true reason why Tennessee should have no trouble cruising to victory is because Derrick Henry’s dominance over the Texans’ franchise is so complete that it verges on being cruel.
Henry has amassed 673 running yards and seven touchdowns against the Texans in his most recent three matchups against the team. He has really rushed for 673 yards in those three games; the number you saw is not an error.
During the course of his impressive career, Henry has led Houston to more than one thousand yards gained on the ground. Even if you ignore the fact that this statistic is ludicrous, there is sufficient reason to believe that the Texans won’t have a chance to win on Sunday.
It is certain that someone would point out that NFL clubs undergo significant transformations from one season to the next and that Henry will be going up against totally different talent this week. During the previous year’s matchup with the Texans, for instance, he didn’t even participate.
To a certain extent, this is true; yet, it does not aid Houston’s cause. The failure of the Texans to stop the run has persisted despite the fact that several of the defenders that Henry will face on Sunday will have new appearances. The week before, they made the Raiders’ Josh Jacobs seem like Walter Payton with his three touchdowns and over 140 yards of total offense. Jacobs plays for the Raiders.
It goes without saying that it is impossible to win NFL games while allowing such a stat-line, but it bears repeating nevertheless.
The team with the worst rush defense in the league was probably dreading week eight, when the king would be making his return.
The Indianapolis Colts take on the Washington Commanders
- The game will begin at 20:25 hours GMT.
- Sky Sports Mix on television (NFL Redzone)
- The odds are in favor of Sam Ehlinger of the Colts scoring a touchdown.
Everything is going through a transition in Indianapolis as a result of the dismal start to the season.
The arrival of Matt Ryan in town during the offseason brought with it a great deal of hope; yet, it has become increasingly clear over the course of the previous few weeks that the former Falcon’s greatest days are quite a ways in the past.
He has thrown the ball in the wrong direction, made poor decisions, and been a sitting duck in the pocket thanks to some equally poor play by the offensive line. As a result, he has taken a staggering 24 sacks and is leading the league in fumbles.
This week, Indianapolis made the decision to bench the future Hall of Famer for the betterment of the organization and the player’s own safety. As a result of this decision, the door is now open for the rookie quarterback Sam Ehlinger to enter the fight and make his first start in the NFL.
The Texas Longhorn is a player that was selected in the sixth round previously, so it’s safe to say that supporters do not have high hopes for him. Ehlinger has been called out for having weaker-than-average arm strength, and his college career, despite preparing him for a career in the NFL, wasn’t exactly a resounding success.
But it’s not all bad news, and at the very least, this proactive move from the Colts offers an extra aspect to an offense that hasn’t lived up to its potential so far this season.
The inability to avoid pressure was the final straw for Ryan, and it’s something that Ehlinger can improve upon as a quarterback as well.
He is far more nimble than the seasoned quarterback who will now serve as his de-facto coach for the remainder of the year 2022, and he is much smaller in stature, measuring up at approximately 6’1″ in height.
The Colts are unable to produce a stable offensive line, which means that Washington will continue to apply pressure to the Colts’ quarterback this week. This is actually what provides us with a value aspect as it is reasonable to anticipate that Ehlinger will feel the pressure on approximately one-third of his drop-backs.
It seems unlikely that Ehlinger will put his whole trust in his arm to get him out of tough scrapes during his first start in the NFL. As a result, we should expect to see him flying out of the pocket on several occasions in order to evade would-be tacklers.
This is an evasion strategy first and foremost, but there will be times when Indianapolis has the ball in the red zone because the Colts are planning to put the ball into the hands of Jonathan Taylor quite a bit this week.
Ehlinger will have the option to convert his efforts at self-preservation into point totals in these situations.
Click here to back Sky Bet has placed their money on Colts quarterback Sam Ehlinger to score a touchdown.
You can expect to hear a lot of criticism leveled at the young quarterback this week; however, if you pay close enough attention, the doubters may briefly remark that Ehlinger scored 33 rushing touchdowns during his college career before shifting their focus to doubting his arm.
He is a competitor, he is aware of the location of the end zone, and he may be able to catch the Commanders off guard. In addition, in a league that is suddenly loaded with quarterbacks who can scramble, he has a chance to stand out and make a name for himself.
Seattle Seahawks versus the New York Giants
- The game will begin at 20:25 hours GMT.
- Sky Sports Mix on television (NFL Redzone)
- Over 44.5 total match points is the best bet at 10/11 odds.
You couldn’t have paid the majority of NFL fans enough money prior to the start of the season to get them to sit down and watch a game between the Giants and the Seahawks. After a wait of eight weeks, it’s perhaps the most important game of the week!
In light of this, I believe there is a good probability that the game will feature 45 points or more, taking into consideration both the nature of the matchup and the recent patterns involving two remarkably successful clubs.
The Giants have only reached this mark twice so far this season, but they have a good chance of doing so against a Seahawks defensive team that is struggling to figure out what’s going on.
The Seattle run defense is currently ranked fourth worst in the league, and they have already given up 10 touchdowns on the ground. Only the dismal Lions and the Browns have shipped more, which means that this may be open season for a resurgent Saquon Barkley who has recovered his best form in the Giants’ back-field.
This presents an opportunity for New York to live up to their end of the bargain; on the other hand, I have no concerns whatsoever regarding the point-scoring ability of Seattle.
The team led by Pete Carroll is on a scoring tear on offense, as evidenced by the fact that they have scored more than 45 points in four of their previous five games. The Hawks scored 37 points all by themselves the week before last.
The Seahawks offense, which is ranked fifth in the National Football League and is led by quarterback Geno Smith, who is regarded by Pro Football Focus as the fourth-best thrower in football at the moment, has not had any trouble scoring goals.
The potential absence of star receiver DK Metcalf is understandably a cause for concern; however, Metcalf was also sidelined for a significant portion of the game against the Chargers the week before, and Smith was able to create gems out of rough situations thanks to the play of Marquise Goodwin and Will Dissly.
If Kenneth Walker is able to duplicate the outstanding performance he had when playing running back for the Seahawks, the New York Giants will have a difficult time stopping him from reaching the end zone. Walker ran for 167 yards and scored two touchdowns.
Correct odds as of 15:55 British Summer Time (28/10/22)
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