For the first time seemingly all season, Week 8 of the NFL season is fairly straightforward when it comes to money lines. The underdogs deserve to be underdogs and all is seemingly right in the world. If things were always easy though, it wouldn’t be the NFL. So we break down the most likely upsets that are going to happen this week and where the best place is to put your money.
While parlays are always the riskiest bets you can place compared to spreads, we’ll break down the safest parlay you can place, another will make you some money but carries some risk, and the riskiest but most fruitful one you can place. For this article, we will take a look at 3-team parlays based on each team’s money line with each one based on its level of risk.
Safest Parlay
3-team parlay: Los Angeles Rams (-700) vs. CIN, New Orleans Saints (-500) vs. ARI, Pittsburgh Steelers (-800) vs. MIA
As is the same case with last week, when we mean safe, we absolutely mean safe. These games are the closest things to a lock you will see and while some of our safer picks were a little close for comfort last week, they all panned out.
The Rams are coming off a big win, and to some surprisingly so, against the Atlanta Falcons and there is little reason to believe that they can’t repeat the same success against a struggling Bengals team.
The Saints meanwhile have continued to prove they can win without Drew Brees which is big news considering he may return this week. If New Orleans has to start Teddy Bridgewater again this week, they are the rightful favorites against an up-and-down Cardinals squad.
With the Steelers, they will see the return of Mason Rudolph and while that doesn’t inspire confidence against any other team, it does against the Dolphins. Expect all three of these teams to win the money line if not the spread.
Riskier Parlay
3-team parlay: Los Angeles Rams (-700) vs. CIN, New England Patriots (-650) vs. CLE, Indianapolis Colts (-255) vs. DEN
While the Rams are not the same team as the squad that reached the Super Bowl last year, it is hard to imagine they lose to a winless Bengals team so they are the best safe bet to include in this “riskier” parlay.
Despite not being listed as one of the safer picks, the Patriots at home against the Browns is a perfect fit here as a big enough favorite to guarantee a win but still make the parlay worth it. Baker Mayfield has dealt with his struggles this year and whether his interception count and the blame all falls on him or not is beside the point when it comes to a historically good Patriots defense. I think this game will be closer than many expect so stay away from the spread but that money line is, well, money.
The Colts have been one of the few surprising teams this year behind Jacoby Brissett and while they will likely beat Denver, the chances for an upset are still high enough to put this is in the riskier column.
Riskiest Parlay
Los Angeles Rams (-700) vs. CIN, New England Patriots (-650) vs. CLE, Philadelphia Eagles (+110) vs. Buffalo Bills
You always want some breathing room with a 3-team parlay, so we stick with the Rams and the Patriots before adding a risky upset to increase our potential earnings.
It is always risky to include an underdog but I think the Eagles are a prime candidate for an upset this week. Yes, the Bills are sitting at a surprisingly good 5-1 record but let’s take a look at those five wins: Jets, Giants, Bengals, Titans, and Dolphins. Yeah, doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence. While the Eagles haven’t fared much better, they have at least proven they can compete against better teams like the Packers and Lions so I think if you’re willing to risk it, this is the game to place your money on.
