Only four teams were able to spring upsets during Week 7 of the 2015 NFL season, with Jacksonville, Minnesota, New Orleans and Oakland overcoming the odds to get wins.
Week 8 figures to be a better week for underdogs. Based on the listed odds from Sportsbookreview.com, here are five potential upsets for this week:
Detroit Lions (+4) at Kansas City Chiefs
This is a road game for both teams in London, which is a break for the Lions, as Arrowhead Stadium can be a tough place to play. The bigger deal for Detroit will be the change at offensive coordinator, where Joe Lombardi was replaced this week by quarterbacks coach Jim Bob Cooter.
Despite having weapons all over, the Lions offense has been inconsistent and unimaginative in too many games over the last two seasons. Cooter, who worked with Peyton Manning in Indianapolis and Denver, could bring some new ideas to an offense featuring Calvin Johnson, Golden Tate, Eric Ebron, Ameer Abdullah and Theo Riddick. There also isn’t much to like about the Chiefs, a team with wins over Brian Hoyer (Texans) and Landry Jones (Steelers) this season.
Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears (pick’em)
Minnesota opened as a two-point favorite in this game, but the line has since been moving the other direction, and is now a pick’em.
The Vikings have won two straight games to get to 4-2 in 2015, with a perfect 2-0 record within the NFC North. However, reaching five wins and keeping the unblemished divisional record won’t be a cakewalk in Chicago.
The Bears are coming off a bye week, while the Vikings are playing their second straight road game inside the division. Minnesota won its first road divisional game under Mike Zimmer last week in Detroit, but there’s nothing easy about back-to-back road trips against familiar opponents. In fact, the Vikings haven’t won two straight road games against the NFC North since 2009.
Minnesota has also lost seven straight games in Chicago, with the team’s last win in the Windy City coming in 2007. Vegas may have liked the Vikings this week back when they set the opening line, but the trends are against the visitors in this one.
Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers (pick’em)
Cincinnati opened as a two-and-a-half point favorite in this game, but like MIN-CHI, the line has since been moving the other way.
The Steelers will likely return quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for Sunday’s AFC North showdown. That would be bad news for the Bengals, who gave up almost 700 passing yards with five touchdowns to Roethlisberger in two losses to Pittsburgh last season. The Steelers scored 69 combined points and won both games by double digits.
While Roethlisberger’s return would be big news for the Steelers, the Bengals must hope Andy Dalton’s red-hot 2015 season continues against an opponent that has played him well in the past. Over eight games against the Steelers, Dalton has 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions, with a passer rating of just 79.2. The Bengals have only two wins over Pittsburgh since drafting Dalton in 2011.
New York Jets at Oakland Raiders (+2.5)
The Jets have to follow up a devastating road loss in New England with a long West Coast trip to play the ascending Raiders. New York hasn’t won west of St. Louis since 2009, so good luck to them.
The 4-2 Jets have just one road win in three tries this season, and that victory came against a reeling Colts team back in Week 2. Meanwhile, the Raiders are coming off a 37-29 win over the San Diego Chargers last Sunday, a game in which Derek Carr threw three touchdowns and had a passer rating of 137.7. For his career, Carr has 18 touchdowns and just eight interceptions at home. He’s brought the Raiders to a level where you now feel comfortable picking them at home, even against a decent team.
Green Bay Packers at Denver Broncos (+2.5)
The Broncos are undefeated, coming off a bye week and playing at home, yet the Packers are the favorite in this matchup of 6-0 teams. The preference for Aaron Rodgers over Peyton Manning likely fuels the pick, but it will still be difficult to pick against Denver.
The Broncos are 24-2 in the regular season in Denver since signing Manning in 2012. Overall, the Broncos have won 10 straight home games, with the last loss at Sports Authority Field coming way back in December of 2012.
Denver would be a slam-dunk pick if questions weren’t still lingering about Manning and the Broncos offense. But he’s now had a week to rest, make adjustments and study a Packers defense that was shredded by Philip Rivers for 503 yards before the bye. Maybe Manning has one more epic quarterbacking duel left in his right arm.