NFL final results ATS, week 8 (Top of the Table Tumbles Edition)

30 October 2018

What was NFLbets saying? That week 8 was a “tough week for betting”? Wellllllll…not so much, as it turns out. We’d mused about betting against the Detroit Lions, Minnesota Vikings and Kansas City chiefs, as all three entered at least one game better than any of the other 29 sides. We didn’t, and all three went for ATS losses.

Sure, home teams were a remarkable 5-7 ATS during the week if you count the Jaguars’ date in London as a home game – and NFLbets does – but this was about the sole anomaly. Favorites were a strong 9-3 ATS and 11-1 SU for the week. Of the three home underdogs (Carolina, Jacksonville and the New York Giants), only the Panthers won ATS or SU. And all of those who covered Hue Jackson in a “First NFL Coach to be Fired in 2018”, congratulations on a great pick.

Below runs a complete list of results for week 8 in NFLbets’ standard format, i.e. adjusted for the point spread; all results listed in boldface indicate games in which the SU winner did not cover the spread. Comments, questionable humor and the occasional salient point courtesy NFLbets writer/editor Os Davis.

• Houston Texans 34½, Miami Dolphins 23. Now on a five-game SU (3-2 ATS) run, the Texans today added Demaryius Thomas. All of a sudden, our “Houston Texans to Win AFC” prop bet doesn’t seem so bad…

• Tampa Bay Buccaneers 34 at Cincinnati Bengals 32½. Ah, Cincinnati – you f&#&^#ing Bengalsed again and/or succumbed to the smoke and mirrors of Fitzmagic to nearly ruin a perfect week at the sportsbook…

• Carolina Panthers 36, Baltimore Ravens 18. …but luckily the bookmakers gave us this one to make up some losses. Las Vegas sportsbooks may have had a record-setting September, but here’s to thinking they’d like to take the Panthers +3 line back more than any other this season.

• Seattle Seahawks 28 at Detroit Lions 11
• New Orleans Saints 27½ at Minnesota Vikings 20
• Denver Broncos 23 at Kansas City Chiefs 21½. And thus did all three of the NFL’s elite ATS teams go down in week 8. The top of the ATS standings board is a bit more crowded now with six teams boasted five or more ATS wins: The Chiefs (6-1-1), Vikings (5-2-1), Washington (5-2-0), Lions (5-2-0), Saints (5-2-0) and Patriots (5-3-0).

• Chicago Bears 15½, New York Jets 10. Remember when the Vikings were figured to be one of the two best teams in the NFC? Now they’re nervously glancing in the rearview mirror at the Bears, who might only be stopped if someone points out that Mitch Trubitsky is quarterbacking them…

• Indianapolis Colts 38½ at Oakland Raiders 28. As in the overall standings, Jon Gruden has nicely gotten his Raiders bottom-feeding at just 2-5 ATS, better than only the 49ers with this weekend’s grudge match deciding the worst. Can’t wait for that one. Not.

• Philadelphia Eagles 20½ at Jacksonville (UK) Jaguars 18. Has anyone considered how the Brexit deal might affect the NFL International Series games played in London? Sure, it’s arcane stuff but certainly well more interesting than discussing the impact of this game on two of the year’s biggest disappointments.

• Washington 19 at New York Giants 13. In an alternate universe, Eli Manning is playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars. Again, more interesting to contemplate than the Giants or Jags…

• Pittsburgh Steelers 24½, Cleveland Browns 18. So … Gregg “That’s Not The Way I Want It” Williams is the head coach of the Browns? And they’re playing who this weekend? O, thank you, Football Gods. A mighty pigskin will be sacrificed for your glory!

• Green Bay Packers 27 at Los Angeles Rams 21½. Otherwise known as The Best Game of 2018 You Shouldn’t Have Bet.

• Arizona Cardinals 18, San Francisco 49ers 13½. A game which dared to ask the philosophical question “If an NFL game is played and no one is watching, does it make a sound?”

• New England Patriots 11½ at Buffalo Bills 6. Finally, Monday Night Football in week 8 again made it evident that the only reason to bet against these Patriots winning the AFC East ad infinitum is ignorance of the division’s other three teams.