Senior Editor Matt Loede’s NFL Picks for week 8

Last Week: 11-3
Season: 59-44

Buffalo at Kansas City – Last week in Baltimore the Bills finally showed up and put up their best game of the year, despite it being in a losing effort in OT to the Ravens. This week they run into a Chiefs team that is 4-2 overall and 3-0 at home. They seem to be hitting on all cylinders on offense, and while they will win, if the Bills play like last week, this could be an entertaining game. Kansas City 35 Buffalo 28

Carolina at St.Louis – The Panthers got their best showing of the season last week from Matt Moore and the offense as the team beat the Niners by three for their first win. The Rams lost a heartbreaker in Tampa in the final seconds, and will look to rebound at home. Sam Bradford may not have his favorite weapon in running back Steven Jackson, and may have to throw quite a bit to get the job done. The Rams have more going for them here and will pull it out late. St.Louis 21 Carolina 20

Denver at San Francisco – The annual London game between two teams coming off bad losses a week ago. The Broncos were crushed by the Raiders, and they have spent the week standing up for their coach after the awful loss. The Niners may be without QB Alex Smith, and will have to lean on David Carr and Frank Gore to generate offense. Look for Denver to get back to playing with purpose, and will win this game that is listed as a Niners home game. Denver 24 San Francisco 14

Washington at Detroit – DeAngelo Hall had a record setting day in Chicago a week ago as the Redskins improved to 4-3 just a game back in the NFC East. The Lions expect QB Matthew Stafford back for this game, and that could jump start their offense. Despite that, the way Donovan McNabb and the Redskins are playing on both sides of the ball, the Skins look like a focused team ready to get to 5-3. Washington 27 Detroit 21

Green Bay at New York Jets – The Pack won an emotional game at home vs Brett Favre and the Vikings last week, now go on the road to play a rested Jets team. Darrelle Revis say he is 100 percent, and he will play a key role in this one vs Aaron Rodgers and the Pack passing game. Green Bay needs to force some Mark Sanchez turnovers and use some play action and the run game to keep the Jets D honest. It will be close, but the Jets are playing well and will find a way here. New York 20 Green Bay 17

Miami at Cincinnati – Must win time for the Bengals, as a loss here and they could be already thinking ahead to 2011 as they would sit at 2-5. Problem is the Fins are a better road team than home team, as they are 3-0 away from Miami. If the Fins can run on the Bengals, as they should, it could be a very long day for Marvin Lewis’ group. The Bengals need to use that firepower to attack the Dolphins secondary, and then need to mix some Cedric Benson is as well. Look for Miami to get to Carson Palmer and make it a tough day for the Bengals in another Miami road win. Miami 27 Cincinnati 23

Jacksonville at Dallas – Wow. No one could possibly have guessed the Cowboys would be sitting at 1-5, more so 0-3 at home after their first six games. That’s where they are at, and now they will be without Tony Romo and will have to go at it with Jon Kitna. The Jags were run all over by KC, and if Romo was playing the Cowboys would be a heavy favorite even at 1-5. Instead, it’s Kitna, and the Jags will walk away pushing the Cowboys to 1-6. Ouch. Jacksonville 17 Dallas 14

Tennessee at San Diego – Last week it took awhile, but the Titans with Kenny Britt exploded late and they walked away with a big win over the Eagles. As for the Chargers, they were losers again at home, and while they are putting up good numbers, they are not a team that looks like they will play past January 3rd. Too many turnovers and mistakes have plagued the Chargers all year, and those are the types of things the Titans feed off of. Look for Tennessee to get Vince Young back, and the Titans to push to 6-2. Tennessee 23 San Diego 17

Tampa Bay at Arizona – The best team in the NFC? That’s who the Bucs, at least their coach, think they are, and this week they have another shot to go out and prove it as they play in Arizona. The Cards are 3-3, coming off a loss in Seattle last week. Tampa Bay rallied late to beat the Rams at home, and something tells me that Raheem Morris opened up a whole can of worms with his declaring his team is the best in the NFC. Arizona 28 Tampa Bay 13

Minnesota at New England – The Vikings are a beat up crew, and they head to a tough place to play to take on a Pats team that is smelling blood. Randy Moss is telling his club everything he knows about the Pats, which means you can bet that the Pats will have tricks up their sleeve. Brett Favre is a wounded duck, and the Pats will attack him and focus on stopping Adrian Peterson. The Vikings are a prideful bunch, and while they will play hard, it will once again mean coming up short. New England 24 Minnesota 17

Seattle at Oakland – Who were those guys wearing silver and black last week? The Raiders put up a whopping 59 points in their win over the Broncos, and will look to have another big week vs Seattle. It was the coming out party for Darren McFadden, who this week will try to repeat it vs the Hawks. Seattle is such a different team on the road, and other than a win in Chicago, they are not very good away from their home field. Oakland looks like they have momentum after last week, and will pull out another win. Oakland 28 Seattle 20

Pittsburgh at New Orleans – The Saints look like they are seriously having a Super Bowl hangover, as losing at home to Cleveland is not the sign of a team that is ready for a repeat. Turnovers, lack of a run game, and overall not being aggressive are the traits of the 2010 Saints over the 09 Saints, a team that never would have lost a game like last week. Now they have to overcome a Steelers team that is 5-1, and boasts maybe the best defense in the NFL. The Steelers will do what they do, which means stop the run and force Drew Brees to pass his way to a win. Look for New Orleans to have a long Halloween night, as this Pittsburgh team is playing like a team getting better. Pittsburgh 24 New Orleans 20

Monday Night:

Houston at Indianapolis – The Colts are out for a little revenge after losing opening day to the Texans on the road, but are a banged up bunch. Dallas Clark is done for the year, and the run game is hurting with injuries as well. They will need to rely on the defense to hold down Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson, a pair that could make it a long night for the Colts secondary. While the Colts can win games solely on the arm of Peyton Manning alone, this won’t be one of those weeks. Houston 31 Indianapolis 24