NFL Week 8 Best Bets (Predictions for Ravens vs. Bills, Falcons vs. Buccaneers on Sunday)

Welcome to Week 8!

There are 13 games left after Thursday's battle between the Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers, and the SI Betting team is looking to Sunday's action for a ton of different bets.

So, why not give all of our awesome readers and in depth breakdown of our absolute favorite for Week 8?

Every week throughout the 2026 season, the SI Betting team of Iain MacMillan and Peter Dewey share their NFL Best Bets. The goal of this column is simple:

We choose our favorite bet for Sunday or Monday, and our awesome readers get a chance to ride with us, or fade us. Plus, we'll keep track of our record here to see how we fare throughout the season.

Week 7 was not kind to us. The Denver Broncos had their best offensive showing in weeks to foil Dewey's UNDER bet and Brock Purdy turned the ball over a couple of times to doom MacMillan's wager on San Francisco. After a 2-0 Week 6, we came crashing down, and it's back to the drawing board for Week 8.

But that's okay!

This week, the team is eyeing a key NFC South matchup between Atlanta and Tampa Bay as well as the game of the day on Sunday between the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills with Lamar Jackson set to return.

MacMillan has picked every single game in his Road to 272 column (like he does every week), so if we don't hit the game you want to bet on in this story, make sure to check out his column!

Now, it's time for us to get this bounce-back week going as the NFL nears the midway point of the 2026 season.

NFL Best Bets for Week 8

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Atlanta Falcons +2.5 (-112) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Peter Dewey
Baltimore Ravens +3 (-108) vs. Buffalo Bills – Iain MacMillan

Atlanta Falcons +2.5 (-112) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- Peter Dewey

It’s been hard to figure out the Atlanta Falcons this season, but I’m starting to view them as the favorite to win the NFC South entering Week 8. Yet, they’re underdogs on the road against the two-win Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Baker Mayfield.

The Falcons have some really bad losses – even with Michael Penix Jr. at quarterback – yet they’ve knocked off quality teams like Green Bay and San Francisco to get to 3-4. I’m buying Atlanta as a road underdog against a Tampa Bay team that is 0-4 against the spread at home and potentially overvalued after a Week 7 rout of the Carolina Panthers. The Bucs won that game with ease, but the Carolina defense is extremely banged up and is allowing the most yards per carry in the NFL through seven weeks.

Baker Mayfield (thumb) wasn’t asked to do much in his return to the lineup, but that won’t be the case against Atlanta, which is much better against the run. The Falcons are No. 4 in EPA/Rush and 12th in opponent yards per play in 2026.

Tampa Bay has been great defensively as well (third in EPA/Play, seventh in yards per play), but the offensive upside is capped with Mayfield and Emeka Egbuka (concussion, missed Week 7) banged up.

I think there’s a real path for the Falcons to win this game outright, and it’s worth noting that both of the Bucs’ wins have come in run-heavy game scripts (against Dallas and Carolina). I don’t think they’ll be able to rely on that against Atlanta.

Baltimore Ravens +3 (-108) vs. Buffalo Bills – Iain MacMillan

Not enough people are talking about how bad the Buffalo Bills' defense is. They head into this week ranking 30th in both opponent EPA per play and opponent success rate, making them a bottom three defense in the NFL.

That makes them extremely tough to trust to beat the elite teams in the league, and in this situation, not only do they have to beat the Baltimore Ravens with Lamar Jackson back in the lineup, but they also have to cover a three-point spread.

If Josh Allen and the Bills' offense don't score almost every time they touch the ball, their defense is going to lose them this game. I'll take the field goal with the Ravens on Sunday afternoon.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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