After a very good couple of weeks of NFL picks in Week 5 and 6, Week 7 took a bit of a turn. The topsy-turvy nature of the NFL has become arguably the only “consistent” thing we’ve seen all year. Are we really meant to expect road losses by Aaron Rodgers and the Packers against Taylor Heinicke? Are we meant to expect Tom Brady to get beat by the hapless Carolina Panthers?
Ultimately, heading into Monday night’s matchup between the Patriots and Bears, this past week’s NFL picks record is just 7-6. The afternoon slate of games crushed a great start to the day and I tried going against the grain a little bit with some picks that didn’t work out. That’s part of the fun of it, though. What about the NFL Week 8 schedule? Without further ado, let’s make some NFL picks and predictions for Week 8 action.
Week 8 byes: Chargers, Chiefs
2022 NFL picks and predictions for Week 8
Baltimore Ravens (4-3) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-4)
Thursday, October 27, 8:15 PM ET (Amazon Prime)
Things are rough for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers right now. Tom Brady is struggling badly, the running game is non-existent, and players are giving out autographs to officials.
This is the first time in 100 years that Tom Brady has had a losing record this “deep” into the season. On a serious note, this is uncharted water for the Buccaneers’ captain. Brady and the Bucs are luckily still in first place in the horrendous NFC South, but ultimately, they have to get things going or they won’t be for very long. Or will they? The NFC South is really bad.
Even playing at home this week, how can you just pencil in the Bucs as the winners this week against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens? Jackson is one of the biggest game-changers in the league and the Bucs simply don’t have balance offensively. Now, with Antoine Winfield in concussion protocol, they’ll also be without a key piece of their secondary defensively.
A game like this would normally be a toss-up for me in picks and I would just give the edge to the home team, but the Bucs do not get that kind of treatment at this point. I don’t feel comfortable picking them, even at home.
Prediction: Ravens win 23-18