5 betting tips for Week 8 of the NFL season

Need a cheat sheet or some help spotting situational edges with a new week of NFL action fast approaching? We've got you covered.

Here are five spots to look at as you do your homework for Week 8.

Consider the Patriots as double-digit favorites

Monday Night Football in Week 8 presents one of the longest favorites we'll see all year: The New England Patriots are laying 14 points on the road to the Buffalo Bills.

Backing the Patriots in this spot over the last few seasons has been profitable. New England is 12-3 against the spread in the last 15 situations as a double-digit favorite, outscoring opponents 31.2 to 16.2 on average.

The Patriots have some holes defensively but will face the league's worst offense. The Bills are averaging 3.9 yards per play and are once again calling upon veteran Derek Anderson, who was signed Oct. 7 and got his first start of the season in last weekend's 37-5 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

Another bad spot for the Broncos

And no, not just because they're facing the Kansas City Chiefs, the No. 1 scoring offense in the NFL.

We highlighted the Broncos as a team to fade in Week 5 when they traveled to the East Coast for an early kickoff in a short week after emptying the tank against Kansas City. Sure enough, the Broncos' defense was shredded by the New York Jets in a 34-17 loss.

Denver's been blown out of the water in six trips to the East Coast for early starts under Vance Joseph, getting outscored by about 21 points on average and failing to cover either a first-half or full-game spread.

There are also distractions aplenty surrounding the Broncos, including the arrest and release of quarterback Chad Kelly and rumors that the franchise was shopping around key players. Unless the Chiefs' offense forgets how to play the game of football, Kansas City should be looking at another opportunity to pad the stats.

Seahawks and Packers fall into optimal spot

With the New Orleans Saints covering +2.5 at Baltimore (W, 24-23) and the Detroit Lions covering -3 at Miami (W, 32-21), road teams off bye weeks moved to 55-23 (67.9 percent) against the spread over the last 78 situations.

This week, two more teams - the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers - fall into the same angle in their matchups against the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams, respectively.

Seattle heads into Detroit coming off a win against the Oakland Raiders in London. In his career as a starter, Aaron Rodgers is 4-0 straight-up against the Rams franchise as the Packers travel to Los Angeles.

Familiar and profitable roles for the Jaguars

The Jacksonville Jaguars are looking to get out of a major funk. They're currently in an 0-3 slump and have been outscored 90-28 over that span. In Week 8, they get the London game.

It's the team's sixth straight year playing in London, and most of the players are accustomed to the travel schedule. That could be an advantage over Jacksonville's opponent, the Philadelphia Eagles, who haven't made the trip before. The Jaguars, catching three points in the neutral-site game, have covered nine of the last 12 in the underdog role.

Expect another slow start from the Giants

Entering Week 6 against the Eagles, the New York Giants were riding an 0-8 skid (going back to last season) in the first half of near-coin-flip games, averaging just six points. Right on cue, as one-point 'dogs, the Giants went into the half down 24-6 to Philly, moving to 0-9 against the spread in the first half.

New York and its No. 27 scoring offense are catching a mere point at home against the Washington Redskins in Week 8, but the first-half line might be the better spot to fade the G-Men.

Alex Kolodziej is theScore's betting writer. He's a graduate of Eastern Illinois who has been involved in the sports betting industry for 11 years. He can quote every line from "Rounders" and appreciates franchises that regularly wear alternate jerseys. Find him on Twitter @AlexKoIodziej.

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