Art by Leah Bae
It’s Week 8 of the 2021-22 NFL season, and the playoff picture is starting to take shape. The PGM staff will have to make some tough picks on divisional games, hoping to catch current leader Karl Winter in the standings.
In Week 7, the Chiefs surprisingly continued to struggle, getting blown out by the Titans, who are arguably the hottest team in football. The Bengals had a statement win against their division rival Ravens, establishing themselves as a true playoff contender. The Raiders, Buccaneers, Packers and Cardinals all had dominant wins, helping their respective playoff campaigns.
Week 8 kicks off with a huge matchup between two of the top teams in the NFC — the Cardinals and Packers — battling it out on Thursday Night Football. Halloween is full of important divisional matchups, including the Steelers and the Browns, the Buccaneers against the Saints and the Titans battling the Colts. The Vikings and Cowboys will also clash in a battle of two top offenses.
The 2021-22 NFL Picks leaderboard remains a tight battle with Digital Editor Karl Winter in the lead. Karl expanded his lead to six games after a strong week of picks going 10-3, while staff writer Joe Doonan, who was in second going into the week, went 7-6. Sports Editor Alec Matulka is now tied for second with Joe after he also went 10-3 on his picks. They are followed closely behind by Creative Director Ali Levens and staff writer Austin LeDe’.
Green Bay Packers (6-1) at Arizona Cardinals (7-0) (Thursday, Oct. 28 at 5:20 p.m., PDT)
Joe: Cardinals
Karl: Cardinals
Alec: Packers
Austin: Cardinals
Ali: Cardinals
“Like I said last week, the Cardinals have to lose sometime. The Packers might as well be undefeated this season; that Week 1 loss is a distant memory. Kyler Murray may be a bad man, but there’s only one baaaaaad man.” — Alec
“These are two teams I’ve called overrated in the past, though they are admittedly two of the three best teams in the NFC until proven otherwise. Arizona is more of a complete team at this point, and the placement of Davante Adams on the COVID list leaves me no choice but to go with the Cards.” — Karl
Cincinnati Bengals (5-2) at New York Jets (1-5) (Sunday, Oct. 31 at 10 a.m., PDT)
Joe: Bengals
Karl: Bengals
Alec: Bengals
Austin: Bengals
Ali: Bengals
“Who in their right mind let me bet against Joe Burrow last week? What was I thinking! Wheel-Burrow rolls over the Jets this Sunday for sure.” — Alec
“The Jets suck and the Bengals rock. Plus, bengal tigers are way cuter than planes.” — Ali
Tennessee Titans (5-2) at Indianapolis Colts (3-4) (Sunday, Oct. 31 at 10 a.m., PDT)
Joe: Titans
Karl: Titans
Alec: Titans
Austin: Titans
Ali: Titans
“Tennessee confuses me — some weeks, they look unbeatable, and others, they look ordinary at best. This one smells like a trap game for them. Regardless, it’s hard to pick against the team that just torched two big-time AFC contenders in six days.” — Karl
“Games between these divisional foes are always close, but the Titans are too hot at the moment to lose to a more average team like the Colts.” — Joe
Los Angeles Rams (6-1) at Houston Texans (1-6) (Sunday, Oct. 31 at 10 a.m., PDT)
Joe: Rams
Karl: Rams
Alec: Rams
Austin: Rams
Ali: Rams
“How did the Rams get lucky enough to play the Giants, Lions and Texans three weeks in a row?” — Karl
“The Rams have so much fun just steamrolling over really bad teams. I love it!” — Ali
Pittsburgh Steelers (3-3) at Cleveland Browns (4-3) (Sunday, Oct. 31 at 10 a.m., PDT)
Joe: Browns
Karl: Browns
Alec: Browns
Austin: Browns
Ali: Browns
“I will go with the Browns even if Case Keenum plays, because the Steelers are just not good and the Browns run game will overwhelm Pittsburgh.” — Austin
“This one is somewhat dependent on Baker Mayfield’s health, but at least Cleveland will have Nick Chubb back, plus a defensive front that should get to Big Ben more than once.” — Karl
Philadelphia Eagles (2-5) at Detroit Lions (0-7) (Sunday, Oct. 31 at 10 a.m., PDT)
Joe: Lions
Karl: Lions
Alec: Eagles
Austin: Eagles
Ali: Eagles
“I have a massive amount of respect for what the Lions did this past Sunday. If more teams pulled trick plays and onside kicks like that, I’d probably be watching 2 to 3 games a week. But even my tendency to pick teams for the simplest (or dumbest) of reasons can’t make me pick the Lions this week because, well, they’re the Lions.” — Alec
“The Lions are one of the best winless teams I’ve ever seen. If Jared Goff can find a way to not turn the ball over, this is a really winnable game for them. I think they finally take one.” — Joe
San Francisco 49ers (2-4) at Chicago Bears (3-4) (Sunday, Oct. 31 at 10 a.m., PDT)
Joe: 49ers
Karl: Bears
Alec: Bears
Austin: Bears
Ali: Bears
“I can’t pick the Bears the way Justin Fields looked, even with it coming against a great defense. I think the Niners do just enough to win this one.” — Joe
“I’ll go Bears as the Niners have been disappointing this year, and I like Justin Fields.” — Austin
Art by Ali Levens
Carolina Panthers (3-4) at Atlanta Falcons (3-3) (Sunday, Oct. 31 at 10 a.m., PDT)
Joe: Falcons
Karl: Panthers
Alec: Panthers
Austin: Falcons
Ali: Falcons
“It takes a certain kind of bad to lose to the injury-ridden Giants 3-25. Falcons with the dub.” — Ali
“I will go with the Falcons, as I have believed in them all year — and it’s finally starting to pay off. The Panthers seem to be going downhill after Sam Darnold got benched last week as well.” — Austin
Miami Dolphins (1-6) at Buffalo Bills (4-2) (Sunday, Oct. 31 at 10 a.m., PDT)
Joe: Bills
Karl: Bills
Alec: Bills
Austin: Bills
Ali: Bills
“This game will be horrible for Dolphins fans but beautiful for me, as I have Josh Allen on my fantasy team.” — Joe
“Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo.” — Ali
New England Patriots (3-4) at Los Angeles Chargers (4-2) (Sunday, Oct. 31 at 1:05 p.m., PDT)
Joe: Chargers
Karl: Chargers
Alec: Chargers
Austin: Patriots
Ali: Chargers
“Nothing will bring me more joy this Sunday than watching Justin Herbert throw a beautiful, arching pass into the end zone for his fifth touchdown of the game as the Chargers boat race the Patriots 55-0. Oh, what a day that will be.” — Alec
“My Upset Special of the Week: I got the Pats in a close game, as Mac Jones has been playing really well and they put up 54 points last week.” — Austin
Jacksonville Jaguars (1-5) at Seattle Seahawks (2-5) (Sunday, Oct. 31 at 1:05 p.m., PDT)
Joe: Jaguars
Karl: Seahawks
Alec: Seahawks
Austin: Jaguars
Ali: Seahawks
“This is a winnable game for the Seahawks, with or without Russell Wilson. And if I know one thing for certain, it’s that the Seahawks always win the games they should win. Yup. That sure sounds like them.” — Alec
“The Jags have been playing better every week. They are finally using James Robinson as the pinnacle point of the offense, decreasing pressure on Trevor Lawrence. They say teams are often only as good as their QB and Geno Smith is holding the Seahawks down.” — Joe
Washington Football Team (2-5) at Denver Broncos (3-4) (Sunday, Oct. 31 at 1:25 p.m., PDT)
Joe: Washington
Karl: Washington
Alec: Washington
Austin: Broncos
Ali: Broncos
“Two similar teams, and I think it will be a low-scoring defensive game, but I have Teddy [Bridgewater] to pull it out for the Broncos.” — Austin
“I don’t know if this will make sense to everybody, but the Broncos are de facto 0-7 in my book. It’s going to be hard to pick them unless they find a way out of this skid. Right now, it looks much more likely that they’ll hydroplane off the road than turn the wheels the right way.” — Alec
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6-1) at New Orleans Saints (4-2) (Sunday, Oct. 31 at 1:25 p.m., PDT)
Joe: Bucs
Karl: Bucs
Alec: Bucs
Austin: Bucs
Ali: Bucs
“TOOOOOOOOOOM!” — Ali
“The Saints aren’t as good as their record, and the Bucs are elite. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bucs win this by 20.” — Joe
Dallas Cowboys (5-1) at Minnesota Vikings (3-3) (Sunday, Oct. 31 at 5:20 p.m., PDT)
Joe: Cowboys
Karl: Cowboys
Alec: Cowboys
Austin: Cowboys
Ali: Cowboys
“A little part of me died the day the Cowboys beat the Patriots with 4ish minutes left in overtime a few weeks back. I had that game ending in a tie, and for a brief moment when regulation ended, I saw my name chiseled into the annals of PGM NFL Picks history. I heard the songs my ancestors would sing of their heroic forefather’s picking abilities. I tasted the sweet nectar of foresight and hindsight and dumb luck intermixed. For a moment, and for a moment only, I was whole. My heart has not yet recovered.” — Alec
“The Cowboys are going to look to a nice, easy win after that bye. Let’s hope they don’t start the 8-8 record now.” — Ali
New York Giants (2-5) at Kansas City Chiefs (3-4) (Monday, Nov. 1 at 5:15 p.m., PDT)
Joe: Chiefs
Karl: Chiefs
Alec: Chiefs
Austin: Chiefs
Ali: Chiefs
“If the Giants win, I won’t even know what to say; the Chiefs have been awful, but they have to beat the Giants, right?” — Austin
“As a Giants fan, it’s refreshing to see them win, but we aren’t actually making any noise this year — so let’s tank for better draft picks, right, guys? Seriously though, if the Chiefs find a way to lose this game, I won’t know what to say.” — Joe
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Email Joe Doonan: joe.doonan@pepperdine.edu
