NFL picks against the spread, Week 8: Can the Patriots dominate (and cover) again?

Our weekly picks are here.

It’s Week 8 of the NFL season, which kicks off on Thursday with the Washington Redskins facing the Minnesota Vikings, so it’s time for our weekly look at the point spreads in order to help you win some money.

Last week, Charles Curtis went 7-7 in Week 7 picks (56-49 overall) and Steven Ruiz went 10-4 (58-48 overall). We now go to each of them for comments before their picks.

Charles: Aaaand there it is, like clockwork. I have another .500 week, which is all fine and good (I’m not losing you any money!). But here comes Steven charging ahead. Inevitable.

Steven: All right. That’s more like it. As I mentioned last week, it had been too long since my las double-digit win week. Now let’s pull away from Charles and crush his soul.

(All bets courtesy of BetMGM)

Note: the Seahawks-Falcons game was off the board at the time of publication.

Redskins at Vikings (-14.5)

Charles: Vikings

As I usually say, weird things happen on Thursday nights, but I’m fairly certain the Vikings — with Kirk Cousins against his old team — will pile up the points and shut down the Skins’ floundering offense.

Steven:  Vikings

Whew. These Thursday night games just keep getting worse. I can’t envision this one being competitive. Kirk Cousins has been on a roll against bad defenses and he gets another one here. It’s a big line, but the Vikings should be able to score in the high 20s, and I don’t see the Redskins being able to score more than 10 against Mike Zimmer’s defense.

Giants at Lions (-6.5)

Charles: Lions

I’m not sure why this line isn’t bigger, considering the Giants’ defense got absolutely gashed by Chase Edmonds last week and Daniel Jones is a walking turnover machine.

Steven: Lions

The Lions are better than their record implies and I don’t see the Giants offense being able to put up points on Detroit with Saquon Barkley going up against a stout defensive line.

Buccaneers at Titans (-2.5)

Charles: Titans

This feels to me like a setup for a Bad Jameis day. I’m also starting to warm up to the Titans’ offense with Ryan Tannehill.

Steven: Buccaneers

I’m actually thinking the opposite: I could see Jameis having a monster game and the Bucs pressuring Tannehill into a couple mistakes. Tampa Bay is the better team and they’re getting points.

Chargers at Bears (-3.5)

Charles: Bears

Bleh, I hate this line. But I also hate how I stopped picking the Chargers and was winning off them, then switched last week … and they lost. So I’ll go back even though I don’t really like the Bears either.

Steven: Bears

Sorry, I’m done betting on the Chargers. They will find some ludicrous way to lose the game in the end. I’d actually stay away from this one. You don’t want to be putting any money on Mitch Trubisky. It’s a miserable experience.

(AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

Jets at Jaguars (-5.5)

Charles: Jets

The Jaguars have played some good football as of late but I actually think the Jets rebound from the Monday night debacle and cover here.

Steven: Jets

The Patriots will make a lot of teams look worse than they actually are. I think we’ll see the Jets team that upset the Cowboys two weeks ago. I don’t know if they win, but they will cover.

Eagles at Bills (-1.5)

Charles: Bills

I’d rather bet on the team that didn’t just give up 37-plus points in their past two contests, even though I’m now backing the team that kept it a little too close against the Dolphins.

Steven: Bills

Buffalo has one of the best-coached defenses in the NFL, and I don’t know if we can say the same about the Eagles right now. The Bills win a close one thanks to two Josh Allen rushing touchdowns.

Cardinals at Saints (-9.5)

Charles: Cardinals

The Saints defense is so good, but the way Kliff Kingsbury is coaching this offense, do we really think the Cardinals can’t at least backdoor cover here?

Steven: Saints

Drew Brees says he’ll play, and the Saints have a good enough defense to thwart the Cardinals’ run game, which has carried the offense thus far.

Broncos at Colts (-5.5)

Charles: Colts

Uh, yeah, I’ll take the Colts here against Joe Flacco, thanks.

Steven: Colts

The Colts have played a lot of close games, but I think they’ll have a bit of a breakout here against a mediocre Broncos team. This is around the time Indy got rolling last season too.

Rams at Bengals (+13.5)

Charles: Rams

Normally this is a game where I think Cincinnati has a shot at a garbage time cover, but Jalen Ramsey’s presence is making me rethink that. Rams 33, Bengals 10.

Steven: Rams

I mean, are the Bengals even trying to win at this point? The Rams seemed to get back on track last week in Atlanta. Yes, the Falcons are bad but the Bengals are worse.

Panthers at 49ers (-5.5)

Charles: Panthers

I can’t wait to watch this game, but I also think this line doesn’t respect how good the Panthers’ defense is. That’s enough to keep this one close.

Steven: 49ers

Kyle Allen has looked OK against bad defenses. He’s not going up against one of those this week. He’ll be exposed against the Niners and Carolina will realize it needs Cam as its starting QB.

Browns at Patriots (-12.5)

Charles: Patriots

If you thought Sam Darnold struggled against the Pats’ pass rush, imagine how Baker Mayfield will react. Yikes.

Steven: Patriots

The Pats had Sam Darnold seeing ghosts on Monday night. Well, Mayfield has been seeing ghosts in the pocket all season. This one could get ugly.

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Raiders at Texans (-6.5)

Charles: Texans

Deshaun Watson might throw for 450 yards in this one. Derek Carr might respond with 400 of his own. But I’ll say Houston outscores the Raiders by 10.

Steven: Texans

I’m with Charles: Watson has a monster day, but Carr just isn’t aggressive enough to match him throw for throw. Houston blows it out late.

Packers at Chiefs (+4.5)

Charles: Packers

The Green Bay defense is good enough to keep Matt Moore from going off, and Aaron Rodgers is going to throw a lot.

Steven: Chiefs

Pat Mahomes was at practice so I’m just taking a chance here. If you have a shot at getting Mahomes at home PLUS 4.5 points, you take it and hope for the best.

Dolphins at Steelers (-14.5)

Charles: Dolphins

Hey, the Fins covered in two straight and the Steelers aren’t all that great that I want to hand them a 15-point victory.

Steven: Dolphins

Yeah, I bet against the Dolphins against a good defense and a suspect quarterback last week and I got burned. Not letting that happen again. This line is too big.