2022 NFL picks, score predictions for Week 8

Carolina Panthers (2-5) at Atlanta Falcons (3-4)

Sunday, October 30, 1:00 PM ET

It happened on Sunday. The “rally around the interim head coach” game happened for PJ Walker and the Carolina Panthers, who shocked the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a rather convincing win. The Panthers did all the right things — they played strong defense, they ran the ball well, and they got DJ Moore involved.

And fantasy players who have stuck things out with Moore up to this point said amen.

The question after that win against the Bucs for the Panthers is — how much of that do they have left? Shockingly, they are just one game out of first place and could even take over first place this week with a win against Atlanta. If nothing else, Steve Wilks will have that as ammunition to motivate his squad heading into Week 8.

As far as NFL picks, everything about this matchup seems to scream “Falcons” so let’s talk it out. The Falcons are a good running team offensively, but as we saw this past week, there’s only so far that can take them. They had just 214 yards of offense against a tough Bengals defense in Week 7, and that kind of offensive output is not going to play against any opponent, even a “selling” team like the Panthers.

Ultimately, I think this is bound to be a low-scoring game and the team that makes fewer mistakes offensively will grind out a win. In that case, I would be putting my money on the home team Falcons, who have better overall weapons on offense and who have caused 10 turnovers so far this season.

Prediction: Falcons win 17-14