Football continues this weekend with even more backup quarterbacks starting for several teams.

You read it, backup quarterbacks have been big this 2008-09 NFL football season with all the injuries we already have to some of the league’s biggest stars. And after seven weeks of football we learned that Cowboys backup quarterback Brad Johnson is just way too old to still play this game, last season’s backup quarterback Kyle Orton is making people from Chicago forget all about Rex and backup quarterback Matt Cassel finally learned how to throw a forward pass.

And just like last week, we have even more games for you to bet on this Sunday with Week 8 of the 2008-09 NFL football season. Starting with this game between two teams that finally ended their respective three game skids. The Baltimore Ravens and the Oakland Raiders meet at the M&T Bank Stadium and unfortunately for one of these teams, one of them has to lose yet again.

The Baltimore Ravens opened the season with back-to-back victories for the first time since starting 4-0 in 2006, but was unable to continue that success and went on to lose three straight, a stretch capped by a miserable 31-3 defeat in Indianapolis back in Week 5. Luckily, the Ravens won three of their last four meetings with the Oakland Raiders, which probably means more reasons for you to avoid a deranged Raider fan all week.

Baltimore Ravens by seven.

The Arizona Cardinals look to win their third straight game and get off to their best start in 32 years this Sunday when they visit the Carolina Panthers. Arizona has been a member of the NFL since 1920, but what it has done the last few years hasn’t been pretty. The Cardinals haven’t been in the playoffs since 1998 with their last one dating way back to 1982. They have an opportunity to be a playoff team again this year since they have become the best team in the NFC West right now, the problem is, they have a huge roadblock in Carolina this Sunday.

The Carolina Panthers are tied for first place in the NFC South and although Arizona has been great this year so far, we’re going with the Panthers to win by three.

The Dallas Cowboys will probably miss Tony Romo again this Sunday when they try to get their season back on track against the NFC South co-leaders Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Texas Stadium. Coming off a 13-win season, Dallas had high expectations for 2008. It opened with wins over Cleveland, Philadelphia and Green Bay, but has since lost three of four. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers on the other hand, were able to have a solid 5-2 start with the quarterback carousel head coach Jon Gruden runs. While the Cowboys continue to pin their hopes on the young Tony Romo, the Bucs have quite a few old farts like Jeff Garcia and Brian Griese to man the QB spot and surprisingly, Gruden was able to make it work most of the time.

The Cowboys are in disarray and they’re even worse without Romo. We’re going with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win by three.

The Washington Redskins look to improve to 6-2 for the first time in eight years when they visit the winless Detroit Lions this Sunday. After a season-opening loss to the New York Giants, Washington went on a four-game win streak, defeating New Orleans and Arizona before notching impressive road victories over NFC East rivals Dallas and Philadelphia. The Lions on the other hand have lost six straight games and in case you’re not into math, that’s going winless so far this season.

Washington Redskins by seven.

The Buffalo Bills have their best start in 13 years. They are the team atop the AFC East, but they haven’t proven anything yet that they’re the division’s best since they haven’t played anyone within their division after seven weeks. It starts this Sunday when they play the Miami Dolphins. And since the Dolphins are sitting at the very bottom of the said division, I’m expecting the Bills to keep this Cinderella run going.

Buffalo Bills by ten.

The New England Patriots look to follow up on a convincing 41-7 victory over the Broncos this Sunday when they host the revitalized St. Louis Rams, who look for their third consecutive win under new coach Jim Haslett. The Rams looked terrible under coach Scott Linehan in the season’s first four weeks, losing all of their games by 17 points or more. Since replacing Linehan with Haslett during the bye week, St. Louis has pulled off a pair of shocking upsets of NFC East contenders like Washington and Dallas. Can the Rams do the same at Foxboro?

We’re still going with the New England Patriots by three but I won’t be surprised if the Rams come away with their third straight upset win.

The New Orleans Saints and the San Diego Chargers each had high expectations heading into this season, but for some reason, both teams are playing sub-.500 football. New Orleans and San Diego both look to bounce back from discouraging losses when they play overseas at Wembley Stadium in England. Neither the Saints nor the Chargers have managed to get in rhythm this year, luckily for San Diego, New Orleans’ season may have taken a turn for the worst last Sunday after Reggie Bush sustained cartilage damage in his knee in a 30-7 loss to Carolina.

Expect the San Diego Chargers to take advantage with Bush out. Chargers by seven.

Brett Favre will extend his record of consecutive starts to 260 games this Sunday when his New York Jets host the Kansas City Chiefs. While the Jets look to catch the division leaders from Buffalo, the Chiefs would simply like their quarterback to stay on the field. A troubled Chiefs team featuring a third-string quarterback, an inactive starting running back and the second-worst rated defense in the league could be the lamest pro sports team since the Miami Heat and yes, I’m not expecting these guys to steal a game away from the immortal one wearing the No.4 Jets jersey.

New York Jets by 14 points.

A pair of teams coming off bye weeks will face-off Sunday in Philadelphia. The Atlanta Falcons look for their third straight victory while the Philadelphia Eagles just want to get back on the NFC East race. They meet in what should be an interesting match-up and unfortunately for the Falcons, the Eagles just might both have Brian Westbrook and Kevin Curtis back to bring the Atlanta birds back to Earth. Philly has one of the best pass rush in the league this season and, the Eagles are tied for second in the NFL with 21 sacks, including 14 in three home games, and defensive coordinator Jim Johnson doesn’t figure to hold anything back against Atlanta’s rookie sensation Matt Ryan.

Philadelphia Eagles by seven.

The 0-7 Cincinnati Bengals head to Reliant Stadium still looking for their first win of the season. With a 38-10 loss to Pittsburgh last week, Cincinnati remained winless through seven games for the fifth time since 1991. No other team has experienced that kind of futility more than twice in that span. Luckily for the Bengals, they were able to win their last three meetings with Houston, unfortunately, the Texans are generating some kind of momentum after winning two games in a row since Matt Schaub returned.

The Houston Texans are finally rolling, which makes things a lot harder for Cincinnati to get their season going. Texans by three.

Next, we have the Cleveland Browns heading to Jacksonville this Sunday for the first time since 2002 to face the rejuvenated Jacksonville Jaguars. Cleveland has the second-worst offense in the NFL and after they came up with a surprising win over the Giants the week before, the Browns totaled just 236 yards in a 14-11 loss at Washington last Sunday. To make matters worse for the Browns, they’re facing a Jacksonville Jaguars unit looking for their fourth win in five games. Bad news for Cleveland? You bet.

Jacksonville Jaguars by three.

Next, we have probably the biggest game of the week. Two 5-1 teams will collide as the New York Giants travel to Heinz Field to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in a matchup that could very well be a preview of Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa. The Giants have their running game with all three of their running backs combining for 118 rushing yards last week. The Steelers on the other hand, have their defense. They’re first in the league in total defense, holding their opponent to less than 100 yards while only surrendering 128 passing yards five times this season.

STILL, this is the New York Giants, the team that stopped New England’s pursuit of perfection on the biggest stage of them all and I’m picking them to win one at Heinz Field by three.

We have two teams that haven’t won anything in more than a month next. The San Francisco 49ers host the Seattle Seahawks this Sunday as both teams look to win for a change before its too late. The 49ers already fired coach Mike Nolan last Tuesday after he went 18-37 in nearly 3 ½ seasons at the helm to post the worst winning percentage (.327) of any San Francisco coach that made it through more than one season with the team. They’ll try to win their first game under a new regime. The Seahawks on the other hand have been losing all these games with Matt Hasselbeck out. There’s a chance that he’ll return this Sunday and if Hasselbeck does play for Seattle, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t pick the Seahawks over the struggling Niners.

Seattle Seahawks by three.

Next, we have this week’s edition of Monday Night Football and this week, we have perfection in professional football at stake as the 6-0 Tennessee Titans host the agitated Indianapolis Colts.

Yes, agitated. After losing to the Green Bay Packers last week, the Indianapolis Colts have to be pissed about the fact that they let the young Aaron Rodgers complete 21 of his 28 passes to go 186 yards and hand them a shocking 34-14 loss at Lambeau Field. The Tennessee Titans, on the other hand, rolled to a 34-10 victory at Kansas City last Sunday, stretching its NFL-best winning streak to nine games dating to last season. It is the Titans’ longest winning streak since reeling off a franchise-record 11 straight from Oct. 17, 1993 to Jan. 2, 1994, when the team was still named as the Houston Oilers.

It all ends this Monday night with Peyton Manning. The Indianapolis Colts still are one of the elite teams in football and there’s no way the Titans, even at 6-0, can beat a Colts team determined to make a statement. Colts by three.

Who will win Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa, Florida? Bodog sportsbook has the odds.

New York Giants 17.00

New England Patriots 4.50

Dallas Cowboys 7.00

Indianapolis Colts 8.50

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2008 NFL Season Super Bowl XLIII