Free NFL 2021 Picks and Predictions – Prospector Sam's Week 8 Best Bets

Prospector Sam is here with this week's deep dive on NFL Week 8, providing free football picks for the community.

I spent a lot of time trying to think of a good intro for this week, but, sadly, everything fell short of the Prospector brand. I even wrote out a couple of mediocre paragraphs about the grind of the season and about the Deshaun Watson conundrum, but nothing seemed to hit the sweet spot of engaging and funny so I deleted them.

I’m nothing if not honest, and you all deserve that honesty. So, rather than waste your time with garbage, we’ll just plow forward into the meat and potatoes of the article. If there’s one thing I can stand behind, it’s that I never half ass anything on here and that won’t change today. I spend time on the picks, take hours on the writing, and I don’t put out weak writing that’ll waste your time.

In line with that sentiment, straight to picks! ⤵️

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Free NFL Picks For Week 8, 2021

49ers vs. Bears: Sun Oct 31, 1 PM ET

The fact that the Chicago Bears are 1 game off .500 is a minor miracle. Maybe not even minor. This team is liable to implode any given week, and they’ve only scored more than 20 points once all season. But hey, 3-4 isn’t all that bad and they have a decent chance to pick up a win against a 49ers team that looks equally inept. And, based on that belief, I’m taking the Bears to cover at +4. While the loss last week was ugly, this team has a solid defense and has played respectable football against organizations more in their range of talent. I’m not saying they’re good by any means, but they can compete against other teams in the “mediocre to bad” category of quality. While the 49ers are a little less liable to implode offensively, their defense has been a disaster and the loss of Kittle and Aiyuk (one to injury, one to just being a waste of space) is limiting their offense as well. Basically, this game is about a toss up to me, and 4 points feels like a hell of a stretch to feel comfortable with either of them. This game is likely close to the finish, and I’ll take the Bears to cover against the 49ers with the extra points.

⛏️  PICK: Bears +4

MORE: 49ers vs. Bears simulator

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Eagles vs. Lions: Sun Oct 31, 1 PM ET

Speaking of terrible, let’s take a peek into the Lions and Eagles. At first, I was extremely tempted to take the Lions because they’ve looked like the better team in recent weeks, but one of the few things I’m certain of when betting the NFL is that it’s never smart to rely on the Lions to keep things close. At 3.5, the spread just isn’t big enough for me to love it. I do, however, love the under. Both of these offenses are an embarrassment, and, while their defenses also have issues, I don’t see either of these units being able to take advantage. Philly has a huge problem in Jalen Hurts, who can’t distribute the ball through the air worth a damn, and I can’t see them putting up big numbers against anyone. While the Lions offense has a bit more flow with the emergence of DeAndre Swift, Goff still can’t pass the ball down field effectively and they move methodically even on scoring drives. At 48 points, I think this total is skewed a bit too much by the defensive record of these two teams, and I think this could turn into a pretty ugly/low scoring matchup. Take the under.

⛏️ PICK: Total points UNDER 48

MORE: Eagles vs. Lions simulator

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Bengals vs. Jets: Sun Oct 31, 1 PM EDT

Well, turns out the theme of the week is “failure”? Because, once again, it’s time to make a pick based on just how bad one of the teams is; this time, it's the New York Jets against the Cincinnati Bengals. Quite frankly, this total feels like a gift. Anyone who watched the Jets get beaten like a drum for 54 points by the Pats knows that they’re liable to give up 30+ every week, and the Bengals should be able to tear them to bits with the way Chase and co. are playing. While the Jets are obviously going to struggle to put up any sort of decent number, we only need about 10 points out of them to make this doable. Losing Zack Wilson may actually help in that regard, and I think they can do enough offensively to at least put up a few points. It’s not going to be a shootout that covers easily, but I think 45-48 is more the range for this game and I’ll gladly grab the over at 43.

⛏️ PICK: Total points OVER 43

MORE: Bengals vs. Jets simulator

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Patriots vs. Chargers: Sun Oct 31, 4:05 PM ET

Wins against the Jets can be deceiving, and I’m not ready to buy into my Pats just yet. For all the good things we saw from Mac Jones and this offense on Saturday, it’s hard to expect that play to continue based on a single beatdown of the worst team in football. This New England receiving corps is still thin and there are no explosive weapons in their offense, which makes defending them much easier so long as you have halfway decent talent (which was the Jets true problem). San Diego’s (oops, I mean LA, it still doesn’t feel right) defense isn’t exactly stellar, but they aren’t going to get carved up like New York did. As for the Chargers, this team is coming off a bye and a pretty embarrassing defeat to the Ravens last time out, both of which suggest an uptick in play for me. Ekeler is a nightmare to gameplan for, and there are so many weapons in this offense that the Pats are going to give up a decent tally regardless of how well they play. While I hate to bet against my boys, I think the Chargers are a much better team overall, and I think they win this one by closer to a TD. Give up the 4.5 and take the Chargers to cover against the Patriots.

⛏️ PICK: Chargers -4.5

MORE: Pats vs. Chargers simulator

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Cowboys vs. Vikings: Sun Oct 31, 8:20 PM ET

Last but not least, a great SNF matchup between the Cowboys and the Vikings that I love precisely because I think this game could be an absolutely wild ride as far as points. These defenses aren’t very good to begin with, and the offenses they’re about to face may be two of the most talented in the NFL. For the Cowboys, the emergence of CD Lamb has changed everything (along with a healthy Dak) and there’s just no way to contain all the offensive weapons. Even the running game is starting to improve and the two headed attack of Zeke and Pollard is behind only Cleveland for best running combo in the league. The Vikings have struggled a bit more as of late on offense, but a bye week to get Cook healthy will be huge and this Cowboys D has been carved up week after week. Both of these teams are more than comfortable trying to win by outscoring the other, and I think we see an end-to-end battle that should be the highest scoring matchup of the week. 52 could get passed easily, and I love this over a lot.

⛏️ PICK: Total points OVER 52

MORE: Cowboys vs. Vikings simulator