We have to run through this real quick here, just like the Observations … keep in mind, the NBA Lightweight Report will be out any day before Tuesday! (Management: This isn’t a quick rundown. 1SKILLZ went in. Again.)
Also, San Francisco and the Giants are on bye during the same week that the San Francisco Giants are in the World Series. And the San Francisco Giants used to be the New York Giants. And I’m quite sure that none of these teams are Royals.
New York Giants: New York lost two, won three straight, then dropped two straight division games on the road to land at 3-4. New York head coach Tom Coughlin started 5-2 or better each of his first nine seasons (2004-2012), 1 but the Giants started 1-6 last year, and now they are behind the curve again. The last time New York was 3-4 was the last time Coughlin wasn’t the head coach, as Jim Fassel’s Giants had an eight-game losing streak to end the 2003 season. That team watched RB Tiki Barber score only three total TDs while he led all non-quarterbacks with nine fumbles. This year’s Giants are 25th in yards allowed, which speaks more to the inconsistency of the defense more than any one specific issue. In New York’s three wins this season, they allowed only three TD passes while intercepting eight passes. But in their four losses, New York has allowed seven TD passes while intercepting only three passes. Credit is due to QB Eli Manning, who is completing 65 percent of his passes and already has 14 TD passes and only five INTs. That’s a career-high 96.8 passer rating for a player I didn’t think was capable of being efficient in new OC Ben McAdoo’s scheme. But his protection has been hit or miss, his run support has been similarly hot and cold, and he’ll be without WR Victor Cruz for the remainder of the season.
San Francisco: People love to hate the 49ers, and at 4-3, San Francisco is off to their worst start under head coach Jim Harbaugh. Of course, Harbaugh’s worst start in four years is still better than every start under previous head coaches Mike Singletary, Mike Nolan, and Dennis Erickson. The last time San Francisco was 4-3 was way back in 1993, when WR Jerry Rice was the most dangerous player in the best offense in the league. That season ended at 10-6 and an NFC Championship loss in Dallas. In Harbaugh’s first three seasons, the 49ers rank third behind New England and Denver in wins from game 8 until the end of the season. That doesn’t include the three NFC Championship games, so despite the penalties, injuries and other miscues, Harbaugh and the 49ers have earned the benefit of the doubt until they are formally eliminated. The 49ers are allowing 4.0 yards per rushing attempt this season, which is the highest since ILB Patrick Willis was drafted in 2007, but the team is still allowing the 2nd-fewest total yards in the league. Important players like ILB NaVorro Bowman and OLB Aldon Smith are expected to return at some point this season, while QB Colin Kaepernick may come close to the team’s first 4,000-yard passing season since 2000, though that is coming at the expense of RB Frank Gore’s touches. 2
2014 #NFL Week 8 picks (9-6 in Week 7, +21 in 2014): SD, DET, SEA, BAL, JAX, KC, NE, BUF, TB, TEN, PHI, CLE, PIT, NO, WAS
— Law Murray (@LawMurrayTheNU) October 23, 2014
San Diego at Denver: The following is what I wrote in Observations: San Diego understands that they must control time of possession to beat Denver, and time of possession was actually a factor in San Diego’s Week 7 loss to Kansas City. Rookie RB Branden Oliver should be rested after getting only 17 touches against the Chiefs; he handled 30 touches in Oakland the week before, and that’s the kind of workload San Diego will need to pull the upset on the road. Of course, San Diego QB Philip Rivers will have to find a way to keep the chains moving, as Denver’s front seven is a mismatch for San Diego’s offensive line. Speaking of mismatches, Denver QB Peyton Manning has his pick of them against San Diego’s undersized and undermanned secondary. The Chargers have to squeeze Denver’s possessions, but they have the coaching staff to get it done on a short week.
Long story short: Oliver gained only 63 yards on 20 touches (13 rushes, seven catches), while Denver didn’t allow a sack or turn the ball over. Rivers matched Manning’s three TD passes, but a stressed Rivers threw two INTs, while Manning got 109 rushing yards from RB Ronnie Hillman and two rushing TDs from rookie RB Juwan Thompson.
Detroit at Atlanta: Not only is this game in London, but it is starting at 6:30am PT! That’s just trippy; Daylight Savings is supposed to end next week by the way. Spring forward, fall back. Anyways, Detroit is trying to milk out one more week without WR Calvin Johnson (ankle), while all of their TEs are on the shelf as well. 3 RB Reggie Bush is also dealing with an ankle injury, so Detroit’s lackluster offense is going to continue to be the Golden Tate show while they rely on their unblockable front seven to get to Atlanta QB Matt Ryan before he finds WR Julio Jones.
Seattle at Carolina: These two teams earned first-round byes for the 2013-2014 postseason, but now they are just trying to stay over .500. This is a rematch of Week 1 from 2013, a game that was a defensive struggle. 4 This year’s Seahawks struggle mightily to get to the quarterback or force turnovers, while this year’s Panthers struggle mightily to stop the run or mask their lack of talent in the secondary. Seattle should be running the football on the road against the league’s worst run defense. Carolina QB Cam Newton was one of five QBs in the regular season who escaped being intercepted by Seattle, so it will be another challenge for the Seahawks defense on the road.
Baltimore at Cincinnati: This game is huge for Cincinnati. The last time the Bengals hosted Baltimore was in Week 17 of 2013, as they intercepted Baltimore QB Joe Flacco three times and ended Baltimore’s playoff hopes in a 34-17 win. The Bengals went on to beat Baltimore again in Week 1 23-16. The wheels have fallen off Cincinnati’s defense, and they are now 31st in yards allowed. Baltimore has looked very good on both sides of the ball, and now they should have LT Eugene Monroe and LG Kelechi Osemele back in the lineup for RB Justin Forsett’s matchup against Cincinnati’s terrible run defense.
Miami at Jacksonville: Jacksonville got their first win of the season last week; perhaps they can get a winning streak going? The last time Jacksonville beat Miami, Dan Marino and Jimmy Johnson had to retire: 
Of course, these two teams have only one playoff win each since that game in January 2000. Jacksonville needs to get RB Denard Robinson going in the passing game, targeting Miami’s coverage deficient LBs, but Robinson needs another big game on the ground too. Miami’s pass rush is a recipe for disaster for Jacksonville rookie QB Blake Bortles, while Miami QB Ryan Tannehill has a great matchup in the passing game if he can stay upright.
Saint Louis at Kansas City: This will be the sixth “battle of Missouri” between the Rams and the Chiefs, and the Chiefs have won all of them to this point. Considering the rumors of a potential Rams move back to Los Angeles, Kansas City may kick them out of the state for good with another win. Saint Louis finally got some sacks in Week 7 after going four straight games without one, and Kansas City doesn’t have the big play threat at WR to make the Rams pay for their consistently shaky coverage. But every week is an opportunity for Kansas City RB Jamaal Charles to blow up, and maybe Kansas City head coach Andy Reid lets TE Travis Kelce stretch the seam. Saint Louis would do well for themselves by giving rookie RB Tre Mason the rock and keeping QB Austin Davis out of long-conversion situations at Arrowhead Stadium.
Chicago at New England: Everyone remembers the 1985 Bears beating the crap out of the Patriots in Super Bowl XX, but New England has owned the Bears since 1985, winning six of seven matchups. And the last time Chicago visited New England, this happened: 
Brian Urlacher spoke about Chicago QB Jay Cutler this week, saying that his play doesn’t match his contract. Well, Cutler should have more time to make plays with New England DE Chandler Jones out indefinitely with a hip injury, but New England’s secondary is more talented than the Miami unit that flummoxed Chicago’s offense last week. Keep an eye on special teams in this one: this may be the week New England WR Julian Edelman breaks one.
Buffalo at New York Jets: The Jets are home after a long layoff, while Buffalo is coming in off the high of what was essentially a walk-off victory against Minnesota; expect Buffalo rookie WR Sammy Watkins to work over New York’s secondary. These teams split their season series in 2013, with both home teams winning. The last meeting between these two teams at the Meadowlands saw the Jets win 27-20 despite 20 penalties. Former New York WRs Santonio Holmes and Stephen Hill combined for 262 receiving yards in that game; exit them, enter Eric Decker and Percy Harvin. Also enter in Buffalo’s ruthless front seven, a group that hasn’t allowed a rushing TD and allows only 3.2 yards per carry. 5
Minnesota at Tampa Bay: The Leslie Frazier Bowl! Tampa Bay is terrible, but so is the NFC South, and the Buccaneers are only two wins out of first place with two games still left to play against division “leader” Carolina. Tampa Bay comes off their bye and gets to face a team that they have somehow beaten six straight times. Minnesota has had trouble in Tampa even when they were a good team – the one loss in their 15-1 1998 season was at Raymond James Stadium. Minnesota has the NFL’s worst pass offense, while Tampa Bay DT Gerald McCoy called out the team’s wack defense for being soft, 6 so maybe Tampa Bay QB Mike Glennon isn’t stuck with another 30-point deficit this week.
Houston at Tennessee: Houston gets rookie OLB Jadeveon Clowney back this week, while Tennessee is going with sixth-round rookie QB Zach Mettenberger. Let’s have another look at Tennessee’s passers in 2014:
Your 2014 Tennessee Titans starting quarterbacks pic.twitter.com/jNp78QXFAc
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) October 24, 2014
Yeah. I actually think this will work out fine for Tennessee, as Mettenberger has a stronger arm than QB Charlie Whitehurst and may be more accurate than injury-prone QB Jake Locker, and Houston hasn’t defended the pass well when DE J.J. Watt is contained. Houston will start QB Ryan Fitzpatrick against the team that Fitzpatrick started for last year, and the INTs should be there for the Titans if they aren’t run over by RB Arian Foster first.
Philadelphia at Arizona: Philadelphia needs to keep pace with Dallas, while Arizona shares a division with the 2013-2014 NFC Championship participants, so this game looms large considering the potential tiebreakers. Philadelphia is coming off the bye, but they haven’t won in Arizona since the two teams were division rivals in 2001. Philadelphia’s meal ticket in this game will be the TEs; Arizona allowed three TDs to Philadelphia TEs in a 24-21 Eagles win in Philadelphia last December, though Arizona has cut their TE TD allowance down to three so far this season. Philadelphia looked good in the trenches against the Giants, but they will be challenged by Arizona’s strong lines; the Cardinals allow only 3.2 yards per rush while minimizing negative plays on offense. Arizona was Philadelphia’s opponent coming out of the bye last season as well.
Oakland at Cleveland: Cleveland already lost in winless Jacksonville, making one-week stars out of Shoelace Robinson and rookie LB Telvin Smith. Losing at home to the winless Raiders for the first time since 1985 would be bench-worthy for Cleveland QB Brian Hoyer if he is at all culpable. And this will not be a walk in the park for the Browns, as their run offense looked terrible in Jacksonville without C Alex Mack, while their run defense has been awful all season. Oakland interim head coach insists on running the ball with underwhelming veteran RBs Darren McFadden and Maurice Jones-Drew instead of letting rookie QB Derek Carr make plays. The strongest part of Oakland’s bad defense is the run defense, so if Hoyer has to throw 40 more times, he has to take advantage of Oakland’s vulnerable pass defense.
Indianapolis at Pittsburgh: The Steelers are the last AFC team left for Indianapolis QB Andrew Luck to face, 7 so it will be interesting to see how he fares in one of the hardest stadiums for visitors in the league. Luck will find WR T.Y. Hilton for big plays, but the secret to Luck’s success this season has been targeting his backs and TEs, as they have racked up 15 of Luck’s 19 TD passes this season. This is the game Pittsburgh first-round rookie ILB Ryan Shazier was drafted for, and he should be in the lineup after missing time with an injury. Indianapolis hasn’t had the services of OLB Robert Mathis, but they are still a top-five defense in terms of points and yards allowed, with their pass defense off to a great start. 8 But teams can run on Indianapolis, and Pittsburgh RB Le’Veon Bell should give Indianapolis work after coming off a relative light workload on Monday night.
Green Bay at New Orleans: This will only be Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers’ second career game in Louisiana, while the Packers are 0-2 in New Orleans since winning Super Bowl XXXI against the Patriots. New Orleans has been dreadful away from home, and they’ll be the last team in the league to play their third home game. 9 Green Bay has won the last two meetings, while every meeting between Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy and New Orleans head coach Sean Payton has seen both teams score at least 27 points. New Orleans QB Drew Brees has to take care of the football against the best pass defense in the league, but TE Jimmy Graham should be healthy enough to contribute. New Orleans found a way to get three sacks last week, and they’ll need to get to the passer at home before Rodgers picks apart whoever is opposite New Orleans CB Keenan Lewis.
Washington at Dallas: Washington has benched QB Kirk Cousins, and QB Robert Griffin III isn’t ready to return from an ankle injury, so QB Colt McCoy will face the Cowboys on Monday Night Football. The funny thing is that McCoy was replaced as Cleveland’s starter by current Dallas backup QB Brandon Weeden. McCoy is underwhelming physically, but he’s not nearly as turnover-prone as Cousins, 10 and you would think that Washington head coach Jay Gruden will get the ball to RB Alfred Morris 20 times. Morris has looked like a sixth-round fullback this year, and a poor performance in Dallas would be especially disappointing considering the fact that Morris has scored at least one TD and gained at least 80 yards in all four career games against the Cowboys. Washington will be the latest team trying to stop Dallas RB DeMarco Murray; Murray actually hasn’t rushed for 100 yards against Washington yet in his career, though he did score his one and only receiving TD in D.C., Week 16.
Philadelphia QB Nick Foles, former Arizona Wildcat, returns to the desert to face the Cardinals in an NFC battle between two 5-1 teams. (PC: Rob Schumacher/Arizona Republic)