2014 NFL Season: Pokorny's Week 8 Picks

Back-to-Back Prime Time for Broncos: The most anticipated Thursday Night Football game of the season is here as Philip Rivers and the Chargers take on Peyton Manning and the Broncos. The Chargers have had Manning's number at times over the years, but Denver is looking to maintain the best record in the AFC. Whoever wins this game will be leading the AFC West. I said last week that I'll never pick against Manning this season, and that holds true again this week. Broncos 28, Chargers 23

Note: This game already happened, but I'm posting my pick from our DBN open thread for record-keeping purposes.

A Rare Experience: I don't think the NFL will ever have games in the United States begin at 9:30 AM, but I like the idea of treating the London fans to an afternoon game, which equates to a morning game here. It will make for a rare experience of being able to watch a "nationally televised NFL game" before all of the other action. I hope Wembley Stadium gets a quality game for once, but the Lions' top-ranked defense is a terrible matchup for the Falcons' porous offensive line. Lions 23, Falcons 16

Clawing Out a Victory: The Bengals have not won a game in over a month and the Ravens are on the verge of gaining a sizable lead on their AFC North foes. I don't know what the formula is to cure the Bengals' defensive woes over their past three games, but they can hang their hat on the fact that they shut out the Ravens for a good portion of their Week 1 encounter. Bengals 21, Ravens 20

Ending the Streak: The Bills have already surpassed my expected win total at 4-3, and their defense has played well enough to where they are a legitimate threat to win every week. The injuries at the running back position are concerning for me against a Jets team that is coming off such a brutal stretch of schedule. That, coupled with the addition of Percy Harvin, will help the Jets end their six-game losing streak. Jets 20, Bills 17

Commence the Steamroll: Even though the Bears are an unusual 0-3 at home and 3-1 on the road, things aren't going well for the Bears, who have lost 3 of their past 4 games. If Brandon Marshall was upset after last week's game, what's his reaction going to be against a Patriots team that can't be stopped offensively again? Patriots 35, Bears 24

Mettenberger, Meet Watt: I'm curious how Zach Mettenberger will do in his first career start, but going up against J.J. Watt and a potentially returning Jadeveon Clowney doesn't sound like the most favorable matchup for the rookie. Texans 23, Titans 16

Upset of the Week: The Jaguars' defense has now ripped off three straight games of impressive efforts, including their first win over the Browns last week. The Dolphins have shown signs of inconsistency, and I see the Dolphins putting up a complete dud offensively as Blake Bortles has his best game as a pro. Jaguars 20. Dolphins 7

Ugly Game of the Week: The Buccaneers' defense can't stop anybody while the Vikings have only managed to score 29 total points over their past three games. Something has to give this week -- this is an ugly game heading into it, but I think both teams will play each other competitively with the Bucs edging it out at the end. Buccaneers 28, Vikings 24

Falling Hard: It's remarkable how much of a grind the Panthers went through last year to win the NFC South. This year, they've played pretty bad in comparison, yet lead their division at 3-3-1. The story of both of these teams is the lackluster defensive play they've had. This week, I think it continues to effect the Seahawks more. They rode a high cloud for awhile, but now they are falling in the face of adversity. Panthers 24, Seahawks 20

Salvaging the Season: Last week, both of these teams came up with huge victories for a big boost to their season hopes. What does it say about Sam Bradford that Austin Davis has been able to do more this season than he was able to do his entire career? Despite Davis' success, I like the Chiefs to utilize their running game to eat clock and come up with a clutch defensive performance to win comfortably. Chiefs 28, Rams 14

Game of the Week: The Cardinals are back at the forefront of contention in the NFL, and when you get a matchup between two 5-1 teams this late in the NFL season, it's bound to be a good one. The Eagles specialize in offense, while the Cardinals specialize in defense...when it's this close, I'll go with the home team. Cardinals 23, Eagles 21

Complete Football: Colts fans have to love this -- the No. 1 offense in the NFL, and the No. 3 defense in the NFL. It must be nice to lose Peyton Manning and be playing so well so soon afterward. They can't be stopped during their 5-game winning streak, and even on the road, the Steelers' defense won't pose any problems for them. Colts 34, Steelers 13

Non-Complete Football: The Saints have been the most disappointing team in the NFL because they've been anything but clutch. Not only has their defense let them down late in games time after time, even Drew Brees has thrown some uncharacteristic interceptions late in games. They only find themselves a game out of first place, but they're not going to get back in it against the hottest quarterback in the NFL, Aaron Rodgers. Packers 42, Saints 28

Colt McCoy to the Rescue? I think not. The Cowboys are playing at an unbelievably high level on offense and defense. Colt McCoy rallied the Redskins last week, but he won't have the same fortune in his first start. I wish nothing bad on Tony Romo, but it would be pretty cool to see Colt McCoy vs. Brandon Weeden on Monday Night Football. Cowboys 31, Redskins 20

Avoiding a Disaster: Our full game preview and prediction for the Raiders vs. Browns game can be found here.