If you want to win money betting NFL games then you need to be willing to take teams no one else wants to bet. I refer to these teams as ugly dogs and you really have to hold your nose sometimes when you bet on them, but history has shown that going against the public works. We went 2-2 last week to take the overall record for the season to 17-11. Let’s take a look at the Week 8 Ugly Dog picks.
Week 8 Ugly Dog Picks
Washington Redskins +15.5 at Minnesota Vikings
Is there anything to like about the Redskins? The team is 1-6 and you can make a case they look worse right now than even the Dolphins or the Bengals. Washington has an interim head coach in Bill Callahan, an interim quarterback in Case Keenum and a bad defense. Now they head into Minnesota on short rest and play a Vikings team that is rolling. Minnesota has won three straight and is battling with Green Bay for the top spot in the NFC North. I say all the time that some of these plays are really ugly and this one sure is. There is no reason to think that Washington can hang with the Vikings in this one, but that is the point of this column. We’ll take the points with the Redskins as an ugly dog.
New York Jets +6 at Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jets sure didn’t work out last week as an ugly dog as they were completely humiliated at home by the Patriots. New York looked completely incompetent on offense and the defense simply got worn down. The Jets still have some talent and Sam Darnold is not as bad as he looked against the Patriots. The problem is that the Jets are going on the road to face a Jacksonville team that badly needs to win this game to get to .500. We normally are getting more points with an ugly dog play but the Jets sure fit that criterion after last week’s debacle. We’ll take the points with the Jets as an ugly dog.
Cincinnati Bengals +13 at Los Angeles Rams
The race to the bottom of the NFL is an interesting one between the Bengals, Dolphins, Redskins and Jets. The Bengals were not supposed to be a bad team this season, but very little has gone right for new head coach Zac Taylor. Cincinnati has some offensive talent with Dalton and Mixon, but their offensive line is so bad they struggle to move the ball. The Rams got back on track last week with a good win against Atlanta and there is no doubt Los Angeles is the better team. The question in this one is whether or not the Rams have a letdown against an inferior opponent. It is definitely possible, as this year’s Los Angeles team has shown some cracks. We’ll take the Bengals as an ugly dog.
Miami Dolphins +14.5 at Pittsburgh Steelers
Stop the presses; we actually got a win last week with the Dolphins as an ugly dog. Miami seems to have more life in them with Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback and at least they played hard. They are still a bad team on both sides of the ball, but at least they showed some spunk last week and covered the spread. The Steelers should not be laying double digits to any team, as this Pittsburgh team simply isn’t that good. The public will still be on Pittsburgh because they are at home and because it is Monday night, but the Steelers are not reliable as a favorite. They are playing a backup quarterback and their defense isn’t anything special. The Dolphins probably won’t win this one, but we only need them to keep it respectable. We’ll take Miami as an ugly dog in this one.
Check out the latest Week 8 NFL odds at BookMaker.eu.
