NFL Week 8: A Look Back and a Glimpse Ahead

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For the most part, teams that were supposed to win last week won as there were no major upsets. As we approach the halfway point of the season the division races are starting to take shape. Familiar faces such as Indianapolis, New England, and Pittsburgh are sitting on top, while some new faces such as Denver, Cincinnati, and New Orleans have joined the party. This is the time of year when things start to get interesting as we can begin to speculate which teams will make it into the Super Bowl derby. The Patriots and Colts both took care of business on Sunday, easily winning on the road. Indianapolis pummeled St.Louis and New England flew all the way to London to beat Tampa Bay.

In the biggest match-up of the day, the Pittsburgh Steelers showed that they are still the team to beat in the AFC North handing Minnesota their first defeat of the year fueled by two Brett Favre turnovers that were returned for scores. Arizona made a statement in beating the Giants on the road 24-17. The Cardinals appear ready to defend their NFC West title moving to 4-2 on the year. The Eagles and Cowboys tightened up the NFC East with wins, picking up a game on New York. The Packers stomped the Browns, keeping them only one back of the Vikings in the NFC North, and Cincinnati showed they are not going away in the AFC North, handling the Bears 45-10 at home.

Speaking of home teams, they had a rough week as only 3 teams won outright and ATS; Bengals, Steelers, and Cowboys. The Texans beat the 49ers 24-21 at home, but the spread was 3 points. Even more surprising were the results of the favorite vs. the underdog. Only 2 teams that were getting points covered the spread. Both Arizona and Buffalo were 7 point underdogs and they won outright. Other than that and the 49er push, the next closest game was Washington getting 6 ½ and only losing by 10. This was easily the most lopsided week of the year for game spreads so it is back to the drawing board for the odds makers to sharpen their pencils.

The totals line was slightly skewed towards the over as seven games went over the total, five games stayed under, and there was one push; San Diego @ Kansas City on a total of 44. Two games went over in the last two minutes on meaningless touchdowns. The Colts were just trying to run out the clock leading by 29 points when RB Chad Simpson broke free for a 31 yard run. Washington, trailing by 17 points scored with less than two minutes left to make this game appear closer that it really was. The biggest over of the day goes to none other than the New Orleans Saints who erased a 21 point deficit in the first half by scoring 36 points in the second half to end up beating Miami 46-34.

Looking ahead to this week there are some great games on tap. The Giants will try and stop a two game losing streak when the travel to Philadelphia to take on division rival Eagles. The winner of this game will have at least a share of the NFC East lead depending on the outcome of the Seattle @ Dallas game. In round two of Brett Favre against his old team, the Packers host the Vikings. A Green Bay win would give them a share of the NFC North lead as well as sweet revenge for their first meeting in Minnesota. Miami will look to crawl back into the AFC East race when they travel to Meadowlands to play the Jets. On Monday night, Atlanta travels to New Orleans to play the red hot Saints in a game they almost have to win to have any chance in the NFC South.

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