NFL Pick'em Pool Week 8 Confidence Rankings, Strategy, & Straight-Up Picks
In Week 1, we hit 6 of our top 7 pick’em confidence selections. In Week 2, we managed to finish 8-8 overall despite a number of notable home favorites being upset. In Week 3, we had our worst week ever in this article, with the NFL experiencing its second consecutive Black Sunday. However, we rebounded in Week 4 to hit 8 of our top-9 pick’em confidence selections. In Week 5, the 2 “big favorites” of the weekend went down, but we hit 9 of our top-12 selections. In Week 6, we kept the good times rolling, hitting 12 of 14 selections overall, including each of our top-8 confidence picks. In Week 7, we stayed hot, hitting 13 of 15 selections overall.
This is my 4th year doing this pick’em and confidence pool article. Our best week ever was Week 3 of the 2021 season in which we went 15-1! That year, we correctly selected 181 of 288 games (62.9% SU). Since the inception of this article, we have correctly selected over 60% of all NFL games, with our top-6 confidence picks cashing at a significantly higher rate.
We ended 2023 on a high note, with our top-6 confidence picks going 11-1 in Week 17 and Week 18. We are locked in and ready to do everything we can in 2024 to put readers in a position to beat their friends and colleagues once again.
Below, we have our Week 8 pick’em pool strategy and confidence rankings!
2024 NFL Pick’em
Each week in this article, I will rank each of my selections in order of confidence and provide reasoning on all of my top picks.
As a disclaimer, these picks lock on Thursday afternoon for the purposes of this article, which is, of course, prior to getting final injury reports for the week. If looking for any last-minute thoughts or wishful changes to these selections, make sure to join the RotoGrinders Discord and follow @CommishFilmRoom on Twitter.
NFL Week 8 Pick’em Pool Confidence Rankings
Week 8 Selections
1. Detroit Lions
2. Los Angeles Chargers
3. Denver Broncos
4. Kansas City Chiefs
5. Baltimore Ravens
6. Pittsburgh Steelers
7. Green Bay Packers
8. Atlanta Falcons
9. New York Jets
10. Chicago Bears
11. Buffalo Bills
12. Cincinnati Bengals
13. Dallas Cowboys
14. Miami Dolphins
15. Indianapolis Colts
16. Los Angeles Rams
NFL Pick’em Pool Strategy Week 8
Lions (vs. Titans)
Ranking Detroit at the top of this list in Week 8 is less about having faith in the Lions than it is a complete fade of everything associated with the Titans. Tennessee actually led Buffalo 10-0 this past weekend early in the 2nd quarter but was outscored 34-0 from that point on. The net result was Buffalo ending the day with 100 more yards of total offense. Mason Rudolph, billed by some as a “professional quarterback,” finished the weekend ranked 23rd in EPA/play and 26th in success rate out of 35 signal callers. Will Levis has somehow been even worse in 2024. The Lions, a team with Super Bowl aspirations, should find a way to come away with a win here – one way or another.
Chargers (vs. Saints)
The Spencer Rattler experiment has been a complete disaster, and there is very little evidence to suggest that there are better days ahead for this offense as presently constructed. Rattler had the 3rd-worst EPA/play of any starting quarterback in Week 6 and followed that up with the 4th-worst EPA/play of any starting quarterback in Week 7. Further complicating matters, New Orleans is still likely to be without multiple starting offensive linemen this weekend. It’s possible that WR Chris Olave and LB Pete Werner return to the field, which could help a little bit, but it’s going to be difficult for Rattler to get out of his own way. If Justin Herbert and company can play a clean game in Week 8, they should end with a win.
Broncos (vs. Panthers)
Carolina is suffering right now. In Week 7, they were missing 9 of a possible 22 starters, including 6 players on defense, 2 starting offensive linemen, and WR Adam Thielen. Simply, it’s difficult to compete when missing nearly half of a starting roster. Since Week 3, the Panthers’ defense ranks 30th in EPA/play and 30th in success rate. The offense is rapidly spiraling as well, with 40% of their starting unit out due to injury. Bo Nix and company don’t scream playoff contender on the surface, but they have extra rest in this matchup, have played well defensively all season, and have proven themselves capable of playing a clean game. If they can limit turnovers again on Sunday, the Broncos should be able to add to their winning streak.
Chiefs (vs. Raiders)
The Chiefs are somehow still undefeated this year. Patrick Mahomes hasn’t thrown a touchdown in either of the team’s last two games, the Chiefs have been without each of their top two running backs and top two receivers, but it hasn’t seemed to matter. This group just continues to find ways to win football games. The Raiders are on the opposite end of the spectrum – consistently finding ways to lose games, even when they are competitive. In Week 6, the Raiders were competing well against the Steelers, but a few costly turnovers turned the game from a potential upset into a blowout loss. Last weekend, Las Vegas had 5 more first downs than the Rams, 58 more yards of total offense, and dominated the time of possession. However, they turned the ball over 4 times and committed 10 penalties, so they lost 20-15. Mahomes and company likely keep their perfect season alive this weekend.
Ravens (vs. Browns)
The Browns actually played reasonably well against the Bengals in Week 7, but they were still a far cry away from being able to compete with some of the upper-echelon teams in the NFL. The return of S Juan Thornhill, LB Jordan Hicks, and RB Nick Chubb provided some spark to Cleveland on both sides of the ball, but the reality is that they are still vastly overmatched against teams like the Ravens, who boast the current MVP front runner, Lamar Jackson. Jameis Winston is likely an upgrade over Deshaun Watson, but the offensive line is still problematic, Myles Garrett still isn’t healthy, and Chubb isn’t close to 100% healthy, understandably. Baltimore has been known to play with their food this fall, but they should find a way to prevail here against an inferior opponent.
2024 Weekly Results
- Week 1: 7-9
- Week 2: 8-8
- Week 3: 6-10
- Week 4: 11-5
- Week 5: 9-5
- Week 6: 12-2
- Week 7: 13-2
Image Credit: Getty Images