NFL Week 8 game previews: Ravens QB Lamar Jackson to miss third straight game

Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson
Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar JacksonAmy Kontras/Getty Images

Week 8 of the NFL season will host seven inter-conference matchups, three divisional, and two AFC showdowns, following the Los Angeles Chargers' win over the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night!

The NFC has been dominating the AFC this season - posting a 25-14 record. They came out of Week 7 with a 3-1 record, but are off to a rough start after the Chargers took down the Vikings.

Teams on a bye week: Detroit Lions, Las Vegas Raiders, Los Angeles Rams, Arizona Cardinals, Seattle Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars

But let's not waste any more time and get into the previews!

And be sure to check out who our experts picked this week.

DolphinsFalcons (-6.5)

Falcons have won their past two home games by a combined score of 58-41. Now, they'll be facing a 1-6 Dolphins team whose only win came against the winless New York Jets, and even in that game, they only won by six points.

Atlanta boasts the No. 7 offence and No. 2 defence. Meanwhile, the Dolphins have a bottom seven in both offence and defence after coming off a 31-6 beatdown by the Cleveland Browns in which starting quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was benched for the first time during a game this season.

The over-under is set at 44.5.

JetsBengals (-6.5)

The Bengals have both a bottom-four offence and defence, the Jets also have the former. At 0-7, the Jets are looking to avoid having the worst start in franchise history - 0-8 during the 1996 season in which they finished 1-15. 

Cinci's 33 points against the Steelers last Thursday were the most they've scored all season. New York may be winless, but they've held their opponents to just 13 points in each of the last two games. 

The over/under is set at 44.5 

Browns @ Patriots (-6.5)

Cleveland continues to boast their No. 1 defence through the first seven weeks of the season, but only have two wins to show for it due to a lack of offence outside of their Offensive Rookie of the Year candidate - running back Quinshon Judkins.

New England's 181 points through the first seven weeks are the fourth-most in the AFC. Quarterback Drake Maye is currently No. 1 in our MVP tracker as he has now gone four straight weeks without a single interception. 

The over/under is set at 40.5.

GiantsEagles (-7.5)

It's a divisional rematch two weeks removed from the Giants upsetting the Eagles in primetime on Thursday. New York would go on to lose to the Broncos in the biggest choke job of the year, while the Eagles went into Minnesota and came out with a win. 

Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown will be inactive for the game, leaving Devonta Smith as their No. 1 receiver. New York will be getting their main kicker, Graham Gano, this week as he returns from IR.

The over-under is set at 43.5.

Bills (-7.5) @ Panthers 

Carolina is heading into this matchup without starting quarterback Bryce Young, leaving veteran backup Andy Dalton to get the start. Dalton came into the game last week after Young went down and went 4-for-7 passing with 60 yards.

After starting the season 4-0 and looking like prime Super Bowl contenders, the Bills are coming off back-to-back losses to the Patriots and Falcons. When the Bills lost two straight games last season, they went on to win their next seven games.

The over-under is set at 46.5.

BearsRavens (-2.5)

Baltimore is coming off their bye week completely healthy, as quarterback Lamar Jackson, fullback Pat Ricard, and many others will be ready to go as they begin to try to make up for lost ground after their 1-5 start. 

After being 7.5-point favourites with the anticipation that Lamar Jackson would start, the odds have almost completely swung in Chicago's favour that backup quarterback Tyler Huntley will start in place of Jackson, who will miss his third straight game with a hamstring injury.

They'll be hosting a red-hot Bears team that is only one of three teams in the league currently riding a four-game win streak. They've put up 25 points or more in each of their four wins and have allowed 14-24-24-14 respectively. 

The over-under went from 49.5 to 44.5.

49ersTexans (-2.5)

Both teams are 2-2 in their last four games. Houston boasts the No. 4 defence, while the 49ers are bringing the No. 6 offence, which has shockingly put up just 19 and 20 points in the past two weeks.

San Fran backup quarterback Mac Jones will continue to start for the team as Brock Purdy remains sidelined due to injury, but it'll be a good opportunity for Houston to get back on their feet after a road loss to Seattle as they look to avoid a 2-6 start.

The over-under is set at 42.5.

Buccaneers (-3.5) @ Saints

Tampa Bay is coming off their worst loss of the season in which they scored a season-worst nine points against Detroit. They'll have a chance to bounce back against a Saints team looking to muster up some life to their 1-6 start to the season.

It's not a good look for the Saints when their top young receiver Chris Olave is the hot topic among trade discussions across the league. He's not only the Saints leading receiver with 404 yards and three touchdowns, but his 71 targets are almost twice as many as the next receiver (Rashid Shaheed - 45). 

The over-under is set at 46.5.

CowboysBroncos (-3.5)

A battle of the No. 1 offence (DAL) vs. the No. 3 defence (DEN) that has sacked opposing quarterbacks more times (34) than any other team this season - they're the only team above 30.0 heading into Week 8.

Denver is coming off a monumental comeback win over the New York Giants, while Dallas is coming off a 44-22 thrashing of the Washington Commanders. 

Dallas is 1-3 on the road this season with their only win coming against the winless Jets. Meanwhile, Denver is 3-0 at home - joining only the Colts as the only two AFC teams without a loss in their home stadium so far this season.

The over-under is set at 50.5.

Titans @ Colts (-14.5)

The Colts are favourites by a league-leading 14.5 points this week and it looks like the spread may even need to be bigger than that.

Tennessee is dead last in overall offence, bottom 10 in defence, top five in turnovers (12), second in sacks allowed (31), and they are the only team in the NFL that has yet to eclipse 100 points on the season - they have 96.

Indy, on the other hand, has the best record in football at 6-1, the No. 2 offence with two MVP candidates in quarterback Daniel Jones and running back Jonathan Taylor, and have forced the fourth-most turnovers (11).

The over-under is set at 47.5.

PackersSteelers (-2.5)

Green Bay is 2-0 since coming off their bye week and have put up 27 points in each game. They head into the game with the No. 6 defence in all of football and have allowed the fifth-fewest points (125) of all teams in the league.

Pittsburgh is coming back home for their second straight primetime game of the season, following a 33-31 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. The Steelers boast a bottom-10 offence and a bottom-five defence. 

Green Bay has yet to win three in a row this season nor has Pittsburgh lost two in a row. Which team will break in the end?

The over-under is set at 45.5.

Commanders @ Chiefs (-11.5)

The Monday night showdown is already starting to sway heavily in Kansas City's favour as Washington starting quarterback Jayden Daniels has already been ruled out for the game.

Washington is 1-1 this season when backup quarterback Marcus Mariota starts, averaging 34 points and 347 yards - which seems impressive until the schedule shows one of those teams was the Las Vegas Raiders. 

The Chiefs, on the other hand, are returning to form. They have both the No. 5 offence and defence. No other team has turned the ball over less than the Chiefs. And now they've won four of their last five games, outscoring their opponents 148-77.

The over-under is set at 47.5.