NFL Week 8 Bet Now, Bet Later: Snag Over Fast in Chiefs-Broncos Rematch

The NFL odds have plenty of tricks and treats on the Week 8 odds board, but how you bet these lines could make the difference between getting a full-size candy bar for Halloween or just those nasty caramel kisses. Ugh.

Getting the best number for your opinion is step No. 1 is smart sports betting, which is why I scan the opening NFL odds every Sunday night and highlight spreads and totals to bet right now — before they move — and others to bet later, after the adjustments.

Here are my “Bet Now, Bet Later” lines for NFL Week 8.

Week 8 bet now, bet later picks

• Jaguars at Steelers: Bet Now
• Rams at Cowboys: Bet Later
• Chiefs at Broncos: Bet Now
• Saints at Colts: Bet Later

Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.

Jaguars (-1) at Steelers: Bet Now

The Jacksonville Jaguars are on one of the best runs in the NFL, coming off a solid showing at New Orleans on Thursday night and now getting a mini-bye before traveling to Pittsburgh in Week 8.

The Jaguars are proving to be one of the better two-way teams in the league during this four-game winning streak, ranking Top 10 in both EPA per play and EPA allowed per play.

While this trip to Pittsburgh is a tough situational spot for the Jags — technically their fourth away game in five weeks — they do get the benefit of extra rest.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, on the other hand, continue to weird their way into wins. The Week 7 victory over the Rams needed a phantom fourth-down call on a QB keeper, which sits alongside Pittsburgh’s other ugly wins to start the season.

The Steelers defense is legit and disruptive as always, but this offense is terribly inconsistent and keeps getting bailed out by the stop unit. Pittsburgh has been outgained in all four wins, losing the yardage war by an average of more than 70 yards in those contests.

Getting Jacksonville -1 is a gift, so grab it fast because it’s moving. Honestly, anything under Jaguars -3 is a go for me.

Best odds to bet Jaguars -1 right now

Rams (+5.5) at Cowboys: Bet Later

I’m not rushing to bet the Los Angeles Rams in Week 8. Los Angeles opened as low as +5.5 at Dallas and this spread is ticking up on Sunday night, sitting as high as +6.5 at some shops. 

Given L.A.’s trajectory and the Dallas Cowboys coming off a bye, I believe there will be more Dallas money (and there’s never a shortage) coming to push this one to a touchdown spread across the industry by next weekend.

The Rams lost an ugly game with the Steelers in Week 7, outgaining Pittsburgh overall but buckling for 14 points in the fourth quarter and getting the shit end of the stick on that fourth-down spot. 

The Cowboys scored an unimpressive win over the other L.A. team in Week 6 before taking a break this past weekend. Dallas has scored one-sided wins against some bad teams, but Sean McVay’s Rams sit somewhere in the middle.

The market, however, is not treating them as such. Los Angeles runs an efficient offense and the defense has at least made opponents work for their points, ranking Top 15 in success rate allowed and third-down defense.

If you’re not backing the Cowboys, wait and see how many points you can grab with the Rams.

Chiefs at Broncos (Over 45.5): Bet Now

I know we just saw these AFC West rivals on Thursday Night Football two weeks ago, slogging it out in a 19-8 win for the Kansas City Chiefs which stayed well below the 47-point total, but Thursdays are wonky and those mid-week results should be treated with caution.

What we can take to the bank is that Kansas City’s offensive woes are over with. Patrick Mahomes & Co. were firing on all cylinders in Week 7, with Mahomes finding renewed trust in his receivers’ room and hitting 10 different targets for at least one reception.

Kansas City put up 31 points against the Chargers porous defense and now faces another dreadful defense in Week 8. Don’t let the Denver Broncos' 19-17 grinder convince you this stop unit is up to the task. It was still outgained and budged for 6 of 14 third-down tries against the Packers.

As for the Broncos offense, it’s quietly “not bad”. Denver sits middle of the road in many metrics and picked up 6.2 yards per play vs. Green Bay on Sunday. I don’t see the Broncos standing toe-to-toe with KC’s attack but they’ll do more than the eight points a couple of Thursdays ago.

This Over/Under is trending upwards on Sunday night, opening as low as 45.5 points and jumping to 46. The Week 6 meeting closed with a total of 47 points at Arrowhead and that total was originally above 50 points.

Best odds to bet Over 45.5 right now

Saints at Colts (Under 41.5): Bet Later

This total opened as low as 39.5 points at early online markets while the bulk of bookies hit the board with a number of 41.5 a few minutes later. That Over/Under has climbed to as high as 42.5 at some shops on Sunday night.

This knee-jerk reaction toward the Over has a lot to do with the Indianapolis Colts cracking Cleveland’s top-rated defense for 38 points in a Week 7 game that was drunker than a college freshman at the homecoming game. Big plays and a ton of turnovers led to that crazy 39-38 final.

The New Orleans Saints saw their Under streak snapped last Thursday against Jacksonville, with that 31-24 final score marking the first time in 13 games that New Orleans hit for the Over. This was also a game impacted by turnovers and a defensive score from the Jags.

The look-ahead total for this game was sub-40 at many sportsbooks and I’m not going to get too carried away with what we saw from Indianapolis — even though those black helmet unis were legit.

If you want to plunder the Under, wait and see if this total keeps climbing (maybe 43.5 O/U) before buying back the market move.

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