NFL Picks Against the Spread 2015: Week 8

Before Week 8 of the 2015 NFL season schedule kicks off, I thought we would have some fun by taking a look at the spreads for this week's round of games. (Click here for NFL Week 8 picks without regard to the spread.)

Here are my suggestions when trying to beat the odds. You can find all of today's NFL betting lines and more at the SB Nation odds page via OddsShark. My record so far this season is 44-49-2 after going 3-9-1 last week. That's three really bad weeks in a row for me. Ugh.

2015 NFL WEEK 8 PICKS AGAINST THE SPREAD

Detroit Lions at Kansas City Chiefs (-4): Neutral field here since the game is being played in London. The Lions are arguably the worst team in the NFL right now, and the Chiefs are coming off a win. I'll bet on Andy Reid. Pick: Chiefs -4

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons (-7.5): Atlanta hasn't looked so hot in recent weeks despite getting off to a strong start this season. They lost to the Saints and then only managed to beat the Titans by three points. But now they get a chance to return to the Georgia Dome and take on a bad Bucs team. I can't bet on Lovie Smith. Pick: Falcons -7.5

Arizona Cardinals (-6) at Cleveland Browns: The Cardinals haven't had an issue playing away this year, so I don't mind taking them as significant road favorites. Pick: Cardinals -6

Cincinnati Bengals (-1) at Pittsburgh Steelers: It sounds like Ben Roethlisberger will make his return, which makes this game a little harder to pick than it would have been otherwise. I'll guess Big Ben looks good in his first game back and everyone will be hyped about the Steelers. Pick: Steelers +1

San Francisco 49ers at St. Louis Rams (-9): Call me crazy but I don't think the Rams deserve this much respect despite the 49ers being pretty bad. I think this will be an ugly game that the Rams win in a close one. Pick: 49ers +9

San Diego Chargers at Baltimore Ravens (-3): The Ravens might not be as bad as their terrible 1-6 record indicates. They haven't lost a game by more than one possession all year, and they've had a tough schedule so far. Meanwhile, the Chargers were shellacked by the Raiders at home last week. I think Baltimore is the easy pick here at home. Pick: Ravens -3

New York Giants at New Orleans Saints (-3): The Saints have won their last two games. The Giants didn't even look that great despite winning last week. Pick: Saints -3

Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans (-4): The Texans are coming off a terrible loss and Arian Foster is out for the year. I know the Titans aren't exactly great but ... four point favorites? Maybe Zach Mettenberger can help me out here and at least cover. Pick: Titans +4

Minnesota Vikings (-1.5) at Chicago Bears: This feels like a steal. The Vikings are definitely better than the Bears. Minnesota's won four of their last five with the one loss being a three point defeat to the Broncos in Denver. Pick: Vikings -1.5

New York Jets (-3) at Oakland Raiders: I like what I've seen out of the Todd Bowles era Jets so far, so no disrespect to them, but the Raiders might be getting slept on here. I'll go with Oakland to cover. Pick: Raiders +3

Seattle Seahawks (-5) at Dallas Cowboys: I'm really surprised the Seahawks aren't favored by more. The Cowboys haven't won a game since Week 2 and they're going nowhere fast with the quarterbacks not named Tony Romo. Even with a Dez Bryant return, the Seahawks should be fine. Note that Seattle is coming off extra rest heading into this game. Pick: Seahawks -5

Green Bay Packers (-3.5) at Denver Broncos: Biggest game of the week. The two undefeated teams are set to go at it. Denver's defense is very good ... but honestly the Packers aren't too far behind. So assuming those two aspects are about even, I'll take Aaron Rodgers over the current state of Peyton Manning any day. Pick: Packers -3.5

Indianapolis Colts at Carolina Panthers (-7): Carolina's defense will gives the Colts' offense problems. The undefeated Panthers will remain undefeated. Pick: Panthers -7