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Five outrageous predictions for Week 8 of the NFL season
Tom Pennington/Getty Images

Five outrageous predictions for Week 8 of the NFL season

After performing extremely well with our outrageous predictions for the first six weeks of the year, we came away with a big fat zero last week. Though, Todd Gurley came very close to putting up the 200 total yards we projected.

You want someone willing to go away from the norm and back up his madness with concrete stats, look no further than this article.

From a often-injured running back in Dallas set to continue surprising the football world to a previously downtrodden franchise in Northern California looking to get to over .500 on the season, here are five outrageous predictions for Week 8 around the NFL.

1. Double-digit win for the Green Bay Packers in Denver 

Aaron Rodgers has not defeated a winning team on the road since 2013. His Packers are taking on the league's second-best scoring defense — a unit that also ranks first in the NFL against the pass. He is doing so after putting up marginal performances over the past three games.

The issue here for Denver is that it has to find a way to keep up with a Packers offense that had a much-needed bye week. After struggling through injuries earlier in the year, running back Eddie Lacy didn't appear on the team's injury report this week. Meanwhile, second-year receiver Davante Adams will be active after missing the past three games with an ankle injury. That gives Aaron Rodgers a ton of weapons to work with against one of the league's top defenses.

Normally, we'd just assume that Peyton Manning would be more than up for the task in a higher-scoring affair. While we have no idea whether this game will turn out that way, Manning himself has struggled a great deal this season. He's on pace to throw 19 touchdowns compared to 27 interceptions on the year.

If this game is somewhere in the high 20s in terms of scoring, the Packers stand a darn good chance of winning. Based on the team coming off a bye and with two more healthy bodies ready to make an impact, that's not an illogical conclusion to draw.

2. Successful return for Ben Roethlisberger vs undefeated Cincinnati Bengals team

The situation is clear here. In his likely return to the Pittsburgh Steelers lineup, Big Ben needs to find a way to win in order to keep his team alive in the AFC North race. At 4-3 on the season, Pittsburgh currently finds itself three games behind the Bengals in the loss column.

While we can expect some rust from Roethlisberger, he's likely returning near 100 percent after suffering a knee injury in Week 2. That's much different than previous seasons when he returned much sooner than anticipated — struggling early on in the process.

There are a few different things that lead us to believe Pittsburgh can hand Cincinnati its first loss of the season, none more so than the skill-position talent around Big Ben. In the last 11 games that Pittsburgh's quarterback has started (and finished), it's averaging 400 yards per outing. With that type of ceiling on offense, the Steelers have a solid chance to keep up with one of the most-surprising teams in the NFL.

What is going to be key here is Le'Veon Bell. While he did average 126 total yards per game with Big Ben sidelined, it's obvious that Bell is a completely different monster with his franchise quarterback under center. A huge overall performance from Bell here, and Pittsburgh could find itself right back in the AFC North race heading into Week 9.

3. Darren McFadden will put up consecutive 100-yard games for first time since 2010

Now that we know Joseph Randle will not be suiting up for the Cowboys on Sunday, it's readily apparent that McFadden will get a bulk of the team's carries against a Seattle Seahawks defense that ranks in the top-10 of the NFL against the run.

In order for McFadden to make a big impact here, the Cowboys are going to have to find a way to keep the game close. This means putting consistent pressure on Russell Wilson against a disastrous Seattle offensive line. It also means Matt Cassel actually forcing the Legion of Boom to respect the Cowboys passing game.

One thing is clear after what we saw from McFadden in his 152-yard performance last week. If he gets consistent touches — a likelihood this week — he still has the talent to do some damage on the ground. Whether that leads to an upset win for the home team is a completely different story.

4. The Cleveland Browns will upset the Arizona Cardinals

Everything seems to be pointing to a Cardinals blowout win in this game. Carson Palmer has won 18 of his past 22 starts. Dating back to his days as the Bengals quarterback, he is 9-4 in 13 career starts against the Browns.

Boasting the second-most rushing yards in the NFL, Chris Johnson will be taking on a Browns defense that ranks dead last against the run.

So why would we go as far to indicate that Cleveland will pull off the upset win? That's why these are outrageous predictions, ladies and germs.

While Johnny Manziel has taken first-team reps in practice this week with Josh McCown's shoulder ailing, the latter is expected to get the start here. Surprisingly, McCown has been darn good for the most part this season. He's currently on pace to put up over 4,200 passing yards with just eight interceptions. Limiting the turnovers against a ball-hawking defense is going to be key here.

As it relates to the Cardinals, they have been pretty darn inconsistent thus far this season. Arizona's five wins have come against teams with a combined nine victories on the season. Heck, Bruce Arians and Co. have played just one game against a team with a winning record. That came in a Week 6 loss against the Landry Jones-led Steelers.

If McCown is able to avoid the turnover bug and the Browns find some sort of consistency on the ground here, it wouldn't be surprising to see the Cardinals drop another game to a team they should beat.

5. The Oakland Raiders will enter Week 9 with a winning record

Unthinkable after a 33-13 loss to the Benglas in Week 1, Oakland is in prime position to post a winning record heading into Week 9 for the first time since 2011. It will be difficult against a 4-2 Jets team, but stranger things have happened this year around the NFL.

Playing at home with an energized fan base, Jack Del Rio's squad will be looking to pick up where it left off in a blowout win against the San Diego Chargers last week.

That game saw Derek Carr complete 24-of-31 passes for 289 yards with three touchdowns and zero picks. Since that substandard half against Cincinnati in Week 1, Carr is averaging 280 passing yards with a total of 11 touchdowns and three interceptions in five games.

Carr will be relying on a rookie in Amari Cooper who is having one heck of a season. The top-10 pick has put up either 100 yards and/or a touchdown in four his past five games. He's also coming off a 133-yard performance against Jason Verrett of the Chargers.

Now taking on Darrelle Revis, Cooper has an opportunity to prove his worth among the league's best. If that happens, the Raiders could very well be looking at a 4-3 record with a realistic shot to contend for a playoff spot late into the season.

Check out Vincent's other work on eDraft.com and follow him on Twitter @VincentFrankNFL

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