The Vig: Winners and losers from Week 8 of the 2018 NFL season

It was a relatively quiet Week 8, with most favorites winning straight up and covering the spread. We had a few modest upsets, but for the most parts, the better teams in the NFL are winning at this point. The Los Angeles Rams remain undefeated, the New Orleans Saints are the team to beat in the NFC North, and the Kansas City Chiefs are rolling. The week closes out with a potentially ugly Monday Night Football matchup, with the Buffalo Bills hosting the New England Patriots.

Every week will bring its share of wild games, unexpected results, and plenty of money changing hands. Sports gambling is not new, but the Supreme Court’s decision allowing states to legalize it opens the door for a huge expansion. And so, it’s time to keep an eye on the important news, the gut-wrenching news, the quirky news, and how we can best help you make a few bucks each week. Welcome to The Vig!

Every so often the NFL has a play that makes perfect football sense, but hits gamblers and fantasy football owners hard. A great example was 11 years ago, when Brian Westbrook slid down at the 1 yard line after a 24 yard gain. He had an easy touchdown, but with a 10-6 lead late in the game, he did not want to risk a freak comeback. It made perfect football sense, but plenty of people were pissed about the 10-6 final score.

In Week 8, we saw it again, and this time it swung millions of dollars.

Todd Gurley had an angle to the end zone, and if he turned on the jets, he likely scores with relative ease. Instead, he slowed down and let the Packers defenders tackle him short of the end zone. The six points would have put the rams up 35-27, with the extra point giving them a nine-point lead. However, it made sense to protect against a freak finish. If he scores, there’s roughly a minute left in the game. If they miss the extra point, that’s more than enough time for Aaron Rodgers to pull off the crazy finish.

Don’t tell gamblers and fantasy football owners that. Gurley’s decision resulted in a $1 million-plus swing at Las Vegas sportsbooks, according to sports betting reporter Todd Dewey. The Rams opened as a 9.5 point favorite, but heavy Packers money dropped the line down near 7.5 points. If Gurley scores, a whole lot of people would have cashed in. Additionally, the point total was 57, which means the 29-27 final score missed the over by two points!

There were several notable wins this week, and Washington should be on the short list. They went into the Meadowlands to beat the New York Giants in Week 8, improving to 5-2 with the win. The Philadelphia Eagles also won, but Washington maintains a game and a half lead in the division. The Dallas Cowboys are two games back, and welcome Amari Cooper to the mix following their Week 8 bye. Washington is taking care of business, but the NFC East is still a long ways from decided.

The NFC North is in all sorts of turmoil midway through the season. There is a single game difference between first and last in the division. Minnesota and Green Bay lost, which resulted in Chicago moving into first place with a win. If Detroit had beaten Seattle we would have had even more of a log-jam!

We are a little over 24 hours away from the 2018 NFL trade deadline, and that means some big names could be changing uniforms. Patrick Peterson entered the weekend with Bovada installing 3/2 odds he would be dealt, and 1/2 odds he would remain in Arizona. Peterson posted to social media saying he was committed to turning things around in Arizona. We’ll see if the Cardinals get a godfather offer before Tuesday afternoon.

Speaking of Arizona, they fired offensive coordinator Mike McCoy and promoted quarterbacks coach Byron Leftwich. He made his debut in Week 8, with the hope that he could better scheme David Johnson into action. Johnson’s poor start is a big reason McCoy was fired. Bovada is offering odds for Johnson the rest of the season, including most rushing yards in a single game (over/under: 89.5) and whether or not he will have a 100-yard rushing game the rest of the season (Yes: +120, No: -160). In Week 8, Johnson had 59 rushing yards.

New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills (+14): The Patriots are rolling and will likely clinch another AFC East title by early December. They are heavy road favorites against a bad Bills team in Week 8. They could very well crush the Bills, but road divisional games can lead to some craziness. If I can get two touchdowns or more, I am almost always going to take the points. Even with the Bills disaster of a season, I’ll take the points.

The first lines for Week 8 have arrived by way of OddsShark, and there are some lines of note. The biggest game of the week is a potential playoff preview. The Saints host the Rams, with the Rams currently a one-point favorite. It opened as a pick ‘em, but has climbed since then — and you can even find a 2.5 point Rams line. Another big early line move saw Seattle open as a 2.5 point favorite at home against the Chargers, but it is now between a pick ‘em and Seattle -

Oakland Raiders @ San Francisco 49ers (-3.5)
Detroit Lions @ Minnesota Vikings (-7)
Chicago Bears @ Buffalo Bills (NL)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Carolina Panthers (-6)
Kansas City Chiefs @ Cleveland Browns (+8)
New York Jets @ Miami Dolphins (-3)
Pittsburgh Steelers @ Baltimore Ravens (-3)
Atlanta Falcons @ Washington (-1.5)
Los Angeles Chargers @ Seattle Seahawks (-1)
Houston Texans @ Denver Broncos (-3)
Los Angeles Rams @ New Orleans Saints (+1)
Green Bay Packers @ New England Patriots (-6.5)
Tennessee Titans @ Dallas Cowboys (-6)