NFL Week 8 Preview

Marcus+Mariota+and+the+Tennessee+Titans+look+to+defeat+the+Jacksonville+Jaguars+and+get+back+to+.500+on+the+season.%0APhoto+courtesy+of+USA+TODAY+Sports.

Photo by Vincent Carchietta

Marcus Mariota and the Tennessee Titans look to defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars and get back to .500 on the season. Photo courtesy of USA TODAY Sports.

Every week Andrew, Obaid, Jacob, and Nithin will be previewing four primetime NFL games and giving predictions. Then they will pick their fantasy football sleepers for the game, players who aren’t widely owned but can potentially make a big impact. They will also be predicting the winners of every game under the Pick’em section, and they will keep a record for correct predictions over the weeks.

Titans vs Jaguars: 7:25 PM on NFL Network, LP Field,

The Tennessee Titans come into this match up at 3-4 on the year, while the Jaguars are 2-4. The Jaguars come off of a 33-16 loss at the hands of the Raiders while the Titans also lost, losing 34-26  to the the Colts. Neither team has fared well, despite projections for both teams to improve. The Jaguars especially were touted as a potential young team to make a marked improvement, but have failed to meet expectations. Both teams have young Quarterbacks, with Marcus Mariota facing off against Blake Bortles. Mariota has kept the offense humming for the Titans, while Bortles has failed to get anything going this year. After a strong connection with Wide Receiver Allen Robinson last year, the two have failed to recreate the dynamic connection of old, hurting the offense as a whole. On the other side of the ball, Jacksonville touts a defense that is ranked fifth by ESPN.com. The Titans are not far behind though, checking in as the 14th best defense in the NFL by ESPN.com. While Jacksonville’s defense is stingier, their offense has not held it’s weight, ultimately dooming them.

Titans 24 – Jaguars 13

Sleeper: Allen Hurns (owned in 23.5 % of leagues)

After becoming a strong #2 WR on the team last year, Hurns has not put up the same numbers as before in fantasy. Last year, Hurns strung together 7 straight games with a TD, but he has only found the endzone once this season. Against an average defense, Hurns can break out and finally get back in the endzone for the first time since week 4. He continues to put up solid yards, as his least yards in a game is 40 this year. On a week full of byes, consider starting Hurns.

 

Falcons vs Packers: Sunday, October 30, 3:25 PM on FOX, Georgia Dome

The Packers come off of a well needed 26-10 win over the Chicago Bears putting them at 4-2 on the season. The main topic around the Packers is Aaron Rodgers and the offense are not performing as well as we are accustomed to and we saw a little bit of it against the Bears. However, it was only the Bears who has a defense crippled with injuries. The Falcons lost a tight one in overtime 33-30 to the San Diego Chargers which puts them at 4-3. The Falcons offense has been one of the best offenses in the league this season and one of the early surprises this season. Their defense will prove to be a tougher opponent this week for the Packers. Still this game has the potential to be a shootout with two high powered offenses. One difficulty for both teams will be the run game. Packers have given up the fewest yards to opposing running backs and no one knows how long the packers will last with wide receivers playing at RB. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was 100 pass attempts between both teams. Given all this I think the packers win.

Packers 31 – Falcons 27

After gaining over 120 yard from scrimmage, TY Montgomery looks to maintain his high level of play as the Packers face the Falcons. Photo courtesy of Yahoo Sports.
After gaining over 120 yard from scrimmage, TY Montgomery looks to maintain his high level of play as the Packers face the Falcons.
Photo courtesy of Yahoo Sports.

Sleeper: Ty Montgomery is a threat both in the backfield and as a WR. He is coming off back to back 10 reception games and  is building a connection with Rodgers. Rodgers also is very fond of Montgomery and speaks highly of him. Also the Falcons give up a lot receptions to RB.

Ezekiel Elliott leads the NFL in rushing, and if the Cowboys are going to beat the Eagles, he along with Dak Prescott, will need to be at their best. Photo Courtesy of the Sporting News.
Ezekiel Elliott leads the NFL in rushing, and if the Cowboys are going to beat the Eagles, he along with Dak Prescott, will need to be at their best.
Photo Courtesy of the Sporting News.

Cowboys vs Eagles: Sunday, October 30, 7:30 PM on NBC, AT&T Stadium

This NFC East showdown features two rookie sensation quarterbacks, Dak Prescott and Carson Wentz. Prescott, who has seven touchdowns and only one interception on the year, has proved that he has what it takes to be a starting quarterback in the NFL. However, this Sunday night, Prescott will be put to the test against a tenacious Eagles defense led by Jim Schwartz that’s already got 20 sacks on the year. Look for Schwartz to mix up his defensive play calling with several man and zone blitzes to try and confuse the inexperienced Cowboys QB. On the other side, the Eagles think they’ve found their franchise QB in Carson Wentz. Wentz, whose thrown eight touchdowns and three interceptions of the year, has sparked hope in the Philadelphia fanbase as the team is coming off a monumental win against the previously undefeated Minnesota Vikings. In the end, I see the Eagles prevailing mainly thanks to their thriving defense and the momentum after last weeks win.

Eagles 31 – Cowboys 20

Sleeper: Cole Beasley (owned in 55.3 % of leagues)

After taking the reins of the Cowboys offense at the beginning of the season, Cole Beasley quickly has quickly into one of Dak Prescott’s favorite targets. Beasley brought in six catches for 58 yards and two touchdowns against the Packers two weeks ago and look for production like that to continue this Sunday night. 

Sam Bradford looks to rebound after a rough outing last week against the Eagles.
Photo by Getty Images
Sam Bradford looks to rebound after a rough outing last week against the Eagles.

Bears vs Vikings: Monday, October 31, 7:30 PM on ESPN, Soldier Field

Bears are coming off 26-10 loss to the Packers and now have a record of 1-5. The Bears have struggled throughout the season on both sides of the ball. Jay Cutler is coming back from injury but seeing that they are playing the Vikings, one of the best defenses in the league it may not make a difference. The Vikings lost their first game of the season against the eagles 21-10 and are no 5-1. The Vikings offense struggled and QB Sam Bradford threw 3 interceptions. However, the offense will look to rebound against a weaker Bears defense. Even if the offense does struggle the Vikings defense will still be able to carry the Vikings to a win

20 Vikings – 10 Bears

Sleeper: Stefon Diggs(Owned in 22.7% of leagues)

Diggs has been quite the past few games, but he has big fantasy potential especially against an injured defense such as the Bears.

 

Pick ‘em picks:

Last weeks records:

Obaid: 11-3-1

Andrew: 10-4-1

Nithin: 6-8-1

Jacob: 6-8-1

 

Overall records:

Obaid: 28-14-1

Andrew: 24-18-1

Nithin: 20-22-1

Jacob: 19-23-1

 

Titans vs Jaguars

Andrew: tenn-titans-logo

Obaid:tenn-titans-logo

Jacob:tenn-titans-logo

Nithin:tenn-titans-logo

 

Bengals vs Redskins

Andrew: cincinnati-bengals-logo-small

Obaid:cincinnati-bengals-logo-small

Jacob:cincinnati-bengals-logo-small

Nithin: washington-redskins-logo-small-1

 

Panthers vs Cardinals

Andrew: carolina-panthers-logo-small

Obaid:carolina-panthers-logo-small

Jacob:carolina-panthers-logo-small

Nithin: cardinals_50t

 

Texans vs Lions

Andrew: detroit-lions-logo-small

Obaid:detroit-lions-logo-small

Jacob: houston-texans-logo-small

Nithin:detroit-lions-logo-small

 

Saints vs Seahawks

Andrew: seattle-seahawks-logo-small

Obaid:seattle-seahawks-logo-small

Jacob:seattle-seahawks-logo-small

Nithin:seattle-seahawks-logo-small

 

Colts vs Chiefs

Andrew: kansas-city-chiefs-logo-small

Obaid:indianapolis-colts

Jacob:kansas-city-chiefs-logo-small

Nithin: indianapolis-colts

 

Browns vs Jets

Andrew: new-york-jets-logo-small1

Obaid:new-york-jets-logo-small1

Jacob:new-york-jets-logo-small1

Nithin:new-york-jets-logo-small1

 

Bills vs Patriots

Andrew: buffalo-bills-logo-small

Obaid: new-england-patriots-logo-small

Jacob:buffalo-bills-logo-small

Nithin:new-england-patriots-logo-small

 

Buccaneers vs Raiders

Andrew: png-2289

Obaid: oakland-raiders-logo-small

Jacob:oakland-raiders-logo-small

Nithin:oakland-raiders-logo-small

 

Broncos vs Chargers

Andrew: denver-broncos-logo-small

Obaid:denver-broncos-logo-small

Jacob:denver-broncos-logo-small

Nithin:denver-broncos-logo-small

 

Falcons vs Packers

Andrew: green-bay-packers-logo-small

Obaid:green-bay-packers-logo-small

Jacob: logo-atlanta-falcons

Nithin:green-bay-packers-logo-small

 

Cowboys vs Eagles

Andrew: philadelphia-eagles-logo-small

Obaid: logo_mobile

Jacob:logo_mobile

Nithin:logo_mobile

 

Bears vs Vikings

Andrew: chicago-bears-logo-small

Obaid: minnesota-vikings-logo-small

Jacob:minnesota-vikings-logo-small

Nithin:minnesota-vikings-logo-small