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We Predict Winners and Covers for Week 8 · Sports History Network

• 1:43
  Hello, my football friends.
• 1:44
  This is Darren Hayes of pigskindispatch.com welcome once again to the Pig Pen, your portal to positive football history.
• 1:49
  And welcome to our weekly prediction show.
• 1:52
  I'm joined each week by our friend Ed Cleese.
• 1:54
  Ed, welcome back to the Pig Pen.
• 1:56
  Hello, Darren.
• 1:57
  How are you, Ed?
• 1:58
  I am doing great.
• 1:59
  I'm ready for week eight to start tonight.
• 2:02
  Got some good predictions coming up here.
• 2:04
  I think we'll be able to share with the audience and have some fun with these games.
• 2:08
  Okay, well, we'll start with our records.
• 2:10
  So last week wasn't as fun for me and it was getting a little bit better for you.
• 2:15
  We're doing it two ways this year.
• 2:16
  We're picking the game straight up and against the spread and keeping our tally in both categories.
• 2:21
  We are now, if you can believe it, through seven weeks, we are absolutely 100% deadlocked.
• 2:27
  Straight up.
• 2:27
  We are both 60, 46 and 1 in our straight up picks.
• 2:32
  I still have a considerable edge over you against the spread.
• 2:35
  The best way to do it is to look at the money you would have earned or lost based on whose picture following.
• 2:42
  You bet a hundred dollars a game.
• 2:44
  Factoring in the vig as well so far.
• 2:46
  If you would follow my picks, Darren, I'm about.
• 2:49
  I'm 10 games above.500 and you would have won $540 by following my picks.
• 2:56
  You are the exact opposite.
• 2:58
  You are 10 games below.500.
• 3:00
  But that means you would have lost $1,560 following your picks.
• 3:05
  But that's a step in the right direction.
• 3:08
  Yeah, well, didn't I, I think I was less last week, wasn't I?
• 3:12
  So I must have lost more money this week.
• 3:14
  No, no, you were like 1800 last week.
• 3:16
  I was.
• 3:17
  Oh, okay.
• 3:17
  All right, all right.
• 3:18
  Yeah.
• 3:18
  You actually went from 13 games below.500 against the spread to 10.
• 3:22
  So you were a plus three last week.
• 3:24
  I feel, I feel so special now.
• 3:26
  Yes, yes.
• 3:27
  But like I said, we have to do it with that 10 vig on the losses.
• 3:31
  That's important because that's.
• 3:33
  That, that, that, that, that shows you kids why you don't gamble.
• 3:36
  Yeah, definitely.
• 3:37
  Definitely shows me why I don't gamble.
• 3:39
  There you go.
• 3:41
  All right, let's get into some games.
• 3:43
  Let's jump in.
• 3:43
  All right, so we're talking, we're talking week eight.
• 3:45
  Hard to believe.
• 3:46
  We're already at week eight.
• 3:47
  We're going to start on Thursday night as we always do.
• 3:51
  We have the Carolina Panthers going to Green Bay where the packers are three and a Half point favorites, Panthers.
• 3:58
  A little bit of a confusing team here right now.
• 4:01
  I think they're both confusing teams.
• 4:02
  Yeah, a little bit.
• 4:03
  So it's that weird Thursday game that we talk about.
• 4:07
  I'm a little, I'm a little on the fence here, so I'm just going to default to the home team.
• 4:11
  It's not a game I particularly like either way.
• 4:14
  But I'm going to say the packers take care of business.
• 4:17
  They score enough on the what appears to be a bit of a floundering Panthers defense and the packers win and cover the number as well.
• 4:25
  Yeah, I think I had no doubt on this because, you know, we've seen what the records are.
• 4:30
  I think of what 66% of the time the home team wins and it's a high percentage of them covering.
• 4:36
  So I'm going with Green Bay and the points on this also.
• 4:39
  Gotcha.
• 4:39
  All right, so we're going to Buffalo where the Bills coming off a bye week and they are three and a half point favorites hosting the Ravens.
• 4:46
  The Bills looking good.
• 4:48
  The Bills coming off a by the Ravens with a really, really bad loss last week and a horrible second half.
• 4:55
  So of course the Bills are going to blow them out, right?
• 4:57
  Nope, nope, nope.
• 4:58
  Here's your NFL doesn't make sense game of the week.
• 5:00
  Here's your upset.
• 5:02
  The Ravens are going to go into Buffalo and they're going to beat them.
• 5:05
  Wow.
• 5:06
  Okay.
• 5:07
  I partially agree with you.
• 5:09
  I don't think they're going to beat him straight up.
• 5:10
  I think Buffalo has been preparing for two weeks for them.
• 5:14
  I think they've been preparing for Lamar.
• 5:16
  I think Lamar is going to play.
• 5:17
  So, you know, good for the Ravens fans, but I think Buffalo is going to win this game.
• 5:21
  But the points will go to the Baltimore Colts or Baltimore Ravens.
• 5:26
  Baltimore quotes.
• 5:26
  Gotcha.
• 5:28
  All right.
• 5:28
  All right, so moving on to Cincy, we have the Tennessee Titans are playing at the Bengals and the biggest spread of the week is the Bengals favored by ten and a half.
• 5:36
  If you look at the numbers, Darren, just play.
• 5:38
  Don't even look at the game.
• 5:39
  Just look at the numbers so far.
• 5:41
  Teams in the NFL that are nine point favorites or higher, I believe they're nine and one against the spread so far this year with several out outright wins.
• 5:53
  Tread lightly on the big favorites in the NFL.
• 5:56
  So I'm going to pick the Bengals to win and the Titans to cover.
• 5:59
  I'm exactly like you.
• 6:01
  I have it like you.
• 6:02
  But I would love to see Tennessee win this game.
• 6:04
  Being a AFC north fan of an.
• 6:06
  Opponent, so I'm I'm sure you would.
• 6:09
  And speaking of rivals, my rival, we have the Arizona Cardinals playing at the Dallas Cowboys.
• 6:15
  The Cowboys are six and a half point favorites.
• 6:17
  This is the Schizo Cowboys.
• 6:19
  Right.
• 6:19
  It's hard to, it's hard to.
• 6:20
  You know, you watch them against Philly and the offense just completely lit it up.
• 6:24
  They look fantastic.
• 6:27
  And then wouldn't it be like Dallas to come home and lay an egg against the Cardinals.
• 6:30
  But I actually, I'm going to say that doesn't happen.
• 6:32
  I'll say that Phil, the Dallas has gotten their act together just a little bit.
• 6:37
  Maybe here to where they're not going to have a big slip up.
• 6:40
  So I'm going to pick Dallas to win the game and reluctantly pick them to cover that six and a half as well.
• 6:45
  Well, here's where we differ because I think this is my upset special.
• 6:50
  Arizona is going into Big D and going to win this game outright.
• 6:54
  All right.
• 6:54
  Well, I hope you are correct.
• 6:57
  Another divisional matchup.
• 6:58
  We have that actually.
• 6:59
  I'm sorry, our first divisional matchup we have the Vikings playing the Lions in Detroit where Detroit are three point favorites.
• 7:06
  And I guess we can just keep picking against the Vikings until we're eventually.
• 7:10
  Right.
• 7:10
  They got to lose some time.
• 7:11
  Right.
• 7:11
  So I'm going to pick the Lions offense to.
• 7:15
  It's.
• 7:16
  This is sort of one of those games where is the Vikings offense going to outperform the Lions defense.
• 7:23
  Right.
• 7:23
  So I'm going to say that the Lions get the better end of that and I'm going to pick them to win the game by five.
• 7:31
  So the Lions win and they cover.
• 7:34
  I think Detroit's going to win this game because it's a home game, it's a rivalry game.
• 7:38
  But I think Minnesota is going to keep it close because of that stingy defense and that three and a half points is not enough.
• 7:44
  So it'll be a three point game or less.
• 7:46
  Okay, we're going on to the jets and Raiders.
• 7:48
  The jets are hosting the Raiders.
• 7:50
  New York is one and a half point favorites.
• 7:53
  You know, as, as a NFL historian, Darren, you're very familiar with the Heidi game, which set the.
• 7:59
  The Raider really kind of changed the narrative about the NFL when everybody freaked out because they took the.
• 8:04
  The Jets Raiders game off of the air in favor of showing the movie Heidi.
• 8:09
  But I think actually now maybe people will be asking for Heidi to be shown because this is not a very fun jets team to watch in particular.
• 8:19
  However, I'm going to pick them to win this game and obviously cover the number the Raiders defense is struggling and Raiders cannot run, run the ball whatsoever.
• 8:29
  They're very one dimensional.
• 8:31
  I'll say.
• 8:32
  The jets win this game and cover.
• 8:34
  All right.
• 8:34
  I, I disagree with you here.
• 8:36
  I think this is a week that Las Vegas is going to really flex their muscles.
• 8:39
  I think that like I've been saying all year long, I think they're a good team.
• 8:43
  I think Cousins is a good quarterback, good enough to win some games.
• 8:47
  Not, you know, not the cream of the crop.
• 8:49
  But I think that they are going to win this game by more than one and a half.
• 8:53
  Okay, the Browns are at your Steelers in a battle of first place teams.
• 8:58
  In Pittsburgh we have.
• 8:59
  The Steelers are three and a half point favorites.
• 9:02
  I will be honest, I watch these two teams play.
• 9:05
  I'm not particularly impressed.
• 9:08
  However, 5 and 2 is 5 and 2 and there are reasons for it.
• 9:12
  I'd say especially with the Steelers.
• 9:14
  They are tough, they're fairly well coached, they're getting the job done, they play consistently good defense and I see no reason to think that in a bounce back game of sorts for them because they lost to Cleveland earlier
• 9:27
  this year.
• 9:28
  I expect the, the Steelers to come out and handle their business on Sunday, beat the Browns and cover the three and a half.
• 9:35
  Well, I know enough after watching, you know, 50 plus years of Steelers and Browns games that it doesn't matter if one team is lousy and one team's, you know, the, the kings of the earth here.
• 9:48
  It's always going to be a close game.
• 9:50
  So I'm going to take the Steelers to win, but the Browns are going to stay within that three and a half.
• 9:56
  Okay.
• 9:56
  And NFC south matchup down in Tampa we have the Falcons at the Bucs.
• 10:00
  The Bucs are two and a half point favorites.
• 10:03
  I think what we've seen from the Bucks the last few weeks is probably somewhat real.
• 10:07
  Meaning they are better than they started this year.
• 10:11
  Their defense is playing really well all of a sudden and they do have some weapons on offense.
• 10:16
  I also think the Falcons have some real players on especially on offense.
• 10:21
  I mean they've got some real studs.
• 10:23
  So this is like a better matchup than it probably looks like on paper.
• 10:26
  But I'm going to say that the Bucs take care of business at home and win this game by exactly three.
• 10:31
  So they'll cover that number but barely.
• 10:34
  I think opposite.
• 10:35
  I think Atlanta is going to be too strong for the Buccaneers.
• 10:38
  The Bucks have, you know, look a little bit better last week, but I'm not a believer in them yet.
• 10:43
  Even though Baker's back But that's mainly because of Bijan.
• 10:47
  Bijan is just a beast and I, I watched the Steelers run through the Buccaneers defense.
• 10:53
  I can't imagine what Bijan is going to do.
• 10:56
  So I think he's gonna run that off tackle and they're gonna ride on him all day long and they're gonna win this game outright.
• 11:02
  Gotcha.
• 11:02
  Going to the AFC south, we have the Colts at the Jags with Jacksonville coming off a bye and, and nine being nine and a half point favorites.
• 11:11
  I'm just going to stick with the theme, Darren.
• 11:13
  These nine plus point favorites cover at an amazing rate.
• 11:17
  So as bad as the Colts especially offensively have looked and now they traded with their all, they're all pro guard, so they might be getting ready to kind of bail on the season.
• 11:26
  I'm going to say that the Jags win, but somehow the Colts find a way to cover.
• 11:30
  Yeah, I think it's fire sale time.
• 11:32
  I, you know, who, who knows?
• 11:33
  I think Jonathan Taylor could be gone before this game and, or maybe not playing this game because I think he's probably the next trade candidate that would be worth anything.
• 11:42
  I think they're in trouble and I think Jacksonville is going to take full advantage of it and blow the doors off them.
• 11:48
  Okay.
• 11:49
  The battle of Los Angeles.
• 11:50
  My super bowl pick, Darren, was the Chargers.
• 11:53
  I guess technically at the Rams.
• 11:55
  The Rams are six and a half point favorites.
• 11:57
  It's not really a question now at this point of will the Chargers turn their season around?
• 12:01
  Because I actually don't think they can.
• 12:03
  At 0 and 6.
• 12:03
  I think you're done.
• 12:04
  I don't think there's any turning around.
• 12:06
  The question is will they play competent football or play any better than they have.
• 12:12
  And I would, I'm just going to say yes.
• 12:14
  They seem to have a little too much talent and have too much talent on the coaching staff as well to not figure out a way to be better.
• 12:21
  I can't pick them to beat the Rams, especially with the way the Rams looked last week.
• 12:24
  But I do think this game is more competitive than probably people think.
• 12:27
  Rams win, Chargers cover.
• 12:30
  I'm gotten tired of trying to believe in the Chargers and think that they would cover spreads or do anything.
• 12:37
  I'm, I'm done with them.
• 12:38
  I'm taking the Rams the whole way here.
• 12:40
  Got it.
• 12:40
  We got the Chiefs in a big game.
• 12:42
  The five and one Chiefs at the five and two Broncos.
• 12:45
  Kansas City's one and a half point favorites.
• 12:47
  As skeptical as I am of Bo Nix, I like this spot for Denver.
• 12:53
  I just think this is going to be a game that they, you know, they lost to Kansas City in week one.
• 12:58
  The, the Chiefs have been out west for a while now.
• 13:00
  They went, they, I'm assuming they stayed out there or actually I guess with Kansas City, maybe they didn't, but they're going back out west.
• 13:07
  There's just something about the way the Chiefs played the other night that gives me pause.
• 13:11
  So I'm going to pick the Broncos to win this game outright.
• 13:15
  I, I think opposite because I think Kansas City got embarrassed on national tv.
• 13:21
  They are going to figure it out.
• 13:23
  Andy Reid is too smart of a coach.
• 13:25
  Patrick Mahomes is too good of a quarterback, the defensive coordinator and the defense has got too much pride.
• 13:32
  They're going to come out with guns ablazing and take the Broncos down.
• 13:36
  Okay, we get the Patriots at the Dolphins and New England is a seven point favorite.
• 13:42
  I've said all year that I kind of think the Dolphins are a little, they're not good.
• 13:47
  They're not going to win very many games and when they come across far superior teams they might look, they might even look bad.
• 13:53
  But I think they're going to give a very, very competitive effort this, this year, especially in games against the division teams.
• 14:00
  So I think we're going to see a feisty Dolphins hang really tight and the Patriots pull away late.
• 14:05
  So the Dolphins are going to cover.
• 14:07
  You know, I was leaning that way real hard all day.
• 14:10
  I've, I've got the scribble marks and crossouts all over my sheet here and I'm just going back to my, my gut feeling.
• 14:18
  I think New England's going to win this game and, and beat the spread on this.
• 14:22
  Okay.
• 14:23
  Going to the Sunday night game.
• 14:24
  Probably one of the worst Sunday night games we've had in a long time on paper.
• 14:27
  We've got the Eagles limping into Washington on Sunday night.
• 14:33
  Washington is five and a half point favorites even at one four and one.
• 14:38
  I think there's a couple reasons for that.
• 14:40
  I actually do think that Washington is a little bit better than that record, especially if you actually watch their games.
• 14:47
  There have been some self inflicted but some, some and also some bad luck there.
• 14:52
  I think they're at least a little bit better than the record indicates and Philly is really hurting at this point.
• 14:57
  They are, they are really missing a ton of guys and you wonder if this is also if they're willing to almost accept that, hey, we've had a really good run here for a lot of years.
• 15:07
  This is going to be our year from hell.
• 15:10
  So packing up the tents a little bit and moving on to 2027 is not out of the question.
• 15:16
  So I'm going to pick Washington to win.
• 15:18
  I'm going to pick Washington to cover, but I don't love it.
• 15:24
  Well, I got, you know, that's the way I'm leaning towards and that's the way I was thinking until I watched the game on Monday night because now Saquon Barkley came back and even though he touched the ball, what,
• 15:37
  seven times, nine plays, I think he touched the ball all nine plays, scored a touchdown, had that long run where, you know, Aikman thought he pulled up with a hamstring injury.
• 15:47
  And it was whatever it was, but he was on the bike a lot.
• 15:50
  And maybe they're going to rely a little bit more on him coming in and maybe they're building his health up to do that.
• 15:57
  But I still don't think he's going to play, you know, 30, 30 carries in this game or anything.
• 16:03
  And I think that's going to be the difference why Washington's going to win this and score more than the spread.
• 16:09
  Okay, last game of the week.
• 16:10
  Monday night.
• 16:11
  We've got the Bear.
• 16:11
  Great one.
• 16:12
  A great one.
• 16:12
  Bears at the Seahawks.
• 16:13
  The Seattle is three point favorites.
• 16:16
  I really like Chicago.
• 16:17
  It's funny for a guy that doubted them all year and then doubted them in the offseason and doubted them early in the.
• 16:22
  Early in this season, I just really like what I see from the Bears.
• 16:26
  I just think they're a very complete team and I don't think Seattle is.
• 16:32
  They're still very good and they're very dangerous, especially at home.
• 16:35
  But I think this is going to be a week where the Bears go on the road on Monday night and pull off an upset and win outright.
• 16:44
  Well, I, I've been high on the Bears all year, but after what I saw last Sunday night with what Kansas City did to, you know, probably a more mature and polished quarterback and Patrick Mahomes, I think Caleb might
• 16:57
  be in a little bit of trouble here.
• 16:59
  But the, the difference is what can the Bears defense do to the Seattle's offense or can Seattle's offense do anything against the Bears defense?
• 17:07
  That's a big question.
• 17:08
  But.
• 17:09
  But I think this is a home game.
• 17:10
  I think the 12th man is real out there and they get fired up for it.
• 17:14
  I'm going to take Seattle and they'll beat the spread.
• 17:17
  All right, that's your slate.
• 17:20
  All right, so what are some of your thoughts here as we go into week eight?
• 17:23
  You know, this is taking us into, you know, after the next week will be basically the halfway point for, for many teams.
• 17:30
  Yeah, we're at that.
• 17:31
  We're at the point now where teams, I think, are getting ready, willing to be willing to.
• 17:37
  Getting ready to be willing to accept who they are.
• 17:40
  And there's a lot of teams whose seasons are beginning to teeter.
• 17:44
  I would say that we have the Chargers who we can pretty much cross off.
• 17:47
  I think we can cross the Dolphins off too, as being any kind of threat.
• 17:51
  And there's a couple of teams that we know are good, but there's a lot of teams that could still go either way.
• 17:55
  And the one game I'm really looking at, I want to go back to that Detroit Vikings game.
• 17:59
  I think it's a big game for a 6, 0 team.
• 18:03
  Meaning normally if you're 6 0, you've given yourself a lot of margin.
• 18:07
  So obviously if you lose it, you're six and one, it's fine.
• 18:10
  But I kind of think that the Vikings need this win to sort of validate what they've been doing a little bit and for people to take them seriously.
• 18:19
  I think that's a really interesting game there and an oddly pressure filled game for a 60 team.
• 18:27
  Yeah, it is kind of an interesting game.
• 18:30
  But.
• 18:30
  But like I said, I think, you know, Detroit's got their backs against the wall.
• 18:34
  They, I mean, if they lose this game, they're in trouble.
• 18:37
  And basically, you know, the Vikings are really going to have control of that NFC north.
• 18:43
  And I think, you know, Campbell and Goff and company, I think they're going to have their backs against the wall, they're going to have their crowd supporting them.
• 18:52
  And I think they are going to do it and make this extremely interesting in the NFC North.
• 18:57
  Yeah, and speaking of interesting, the two worst divisions in football, I think, are both in the nfc.
• 19:03
  It's the NFC east this year for sure.
• 19:05
  And also I would, I would still think the NFC South.
• 19:09
  But it's sort of the great thing about the NFL, Darren, that I was thinking about is that all that really matters is the competition.
• 19:17
  Right.
• 19:17
  So both of those divisions are probably actually going to be really fun the rest of the way.
• 19:23
  You know, like we said, the Eagles might bow, bow out at some point.
• 19:28
  The commanders might too.
• 19:30
  But I kind of think the commanders will stick around at least.
• 19:32
  So you probably can have at least three teams battling for the NFC east.
• 19:35
  And I think you're gonna have all four battling in the NFC south with including the Saints at 2 and 5.
• 19:43
  So it sort of just speaks to the NFL and how it's almost like it doesn't matter.
• 19:47
  You know, it's like just as long as there's.
• 19:49
  There's a reason to watch, people will.
• 19:52
  Yeah, I think you're right.
• 19:53
  I think both of those divisions are really interesting.
• 19:57
  You know, I.
• 19:58
  I might.
• 19:59
  You know, none of the teams in the NFC east are just dominant enough to run away with this thing.
• 20:05
  That's what makes it kind of crazy.
• 20:06
  But I think what might be kind of crazy is I think the Giants think that they can and they.
• 20:12
  They might be able to get past Dallas and Washington and Philadelphia and win this thing.
• 20:19
  And, boy, what a feather in the cap that would be for John Harbaugh to leave one successful program to go to another and, you know, start one up here.
• 20:27
  To this point, they are clearly the most stable team in the division.
• 20:31
  I think Dallas is probably still the most talented.
• 20:34
  But I also point out the schedule.
• 20:36
  The Giants four wins are against teams that aren't particularly good, and it does tighten up.
• 20:40
  The Giants got the Jags.
• 20:42
  They have road games, I think, against San Francisco and Seattle.
• 20:46
  There are some other tough games on there, too.
• 20:48
  So they will be.
• 20:49
  They will be tested in the coming weeks.
• 20:52
  But, yeah, they're.
• 20:53
  They're kind of in the driver's seat right now.
• 20:55
  Yeah, that's for sure.
• 20:57
  And you're talking about the.
• 20:58
  The NFC South.
• 21:00
  You know, I was a big believer in the Saints, and I still think the Saints, you know, have some promise.
• 21:05
  But the team that's really impressed me is the Atlanta Falcons.
• 21:09
  You know, they've.
• 21:10
  They've taken some tough losses.
• 21:12
  I think they've really matured as a team.
• 21:14
  Stefanski, another AFC north coach that transferred into the nfc, I think he's got them believing, too, a little bit.
• 21:22
  And, you know, when you got a running back like Bijon, watch out.
• 21:26
  So I think they're maybe the team to watch out for.
• 21:29
  And Carolina is, like, really fading.
• 21:31
  You know, they were.
• 21:32
  They looked really good in the beginning of the year, and now it's, like, not looking so.
• 21:36
  So pretty there.
• 21:38
  Tune in next week because we'll probably change all of this.
• 21:41
  It probably will change our opinions, too.
• 21:44
  Yeah.
• 21:44
  All right, well, speaking of, stay in tuned.
• 21:47
  You know, we will be back together, Ed and I, on next Wednesday to talk about the history that is being made here in week eight.
• 21:56
  And next Thursday, we will have our prediction show just like we do every week, talking about week nine, the week of the bye weeks are upon us and we're having some fun.
• 22:06
  So some teams are get to relax a little.
• 22:07
  Bit this week and we will relax as well.
• 22:11
  But stay tuned for Pigskin Dispatch.
• 22:13
  We have some plenty of great history shows to put on both the YouTube channel and the podcast as you watch your football, college and pro.
• 22:21
  So Ed, we really thank you for joining us here again today and we will talk to you again next week.
• 22:26
  Thank you Darren.
• 22:28
  That's all the football history we have today folks.
• 22:30
  Join us back tomorrow for more of your football history.
• 22:34
  We invite you to check out our website pigskindispatch.com not only to see the daily football history, but to experience positive football with our many articles on the good people of the game as well as our own football comic
• 22:47
  strip kleet marks comics.
• 22:49
  Pigskindispatch.com is also on social media outlets, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and don't forget the PigSkindiSpatch YouTube channel.
• 22:58
  Get all of your positive football news and history.
• 23:01
  Special thanks to the talents of Mike and Gene Monroe as well as Jason Neff for letting us use their music during our podcast.
• 23:08
  This podcast is part of the Sports History Network, your headquarters for the yesteryear of your favorite sport.
• 23:14
  You can learn more@sportshistorynetwork.com.