NFL Week 8 Odds 2011: After a 3-0 start, the Buffalo Bills have slowly come back to earth, losing two of their last three games before going into their bye week. Things aren’t about to get a whole lot easier for them, as starting linebacker Shawne Merriman has been placed on season-ending injured reserve for the second straight season.
The 3-time Pro Bowler will sit out the rest of the 2011 campaign because of the very same injury that caused him to go on the IR shortly after being signed as a free agent by the Bills: right achilles’ tendon. This week, the (4-2) Buffalo Bills [-6] are getting ready to take on the NFL Point Spreads underdogs, (3-3) Washington Redskins [+6] at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
“Shawne has worked extremely hard, but unfortunately his Achilles flared back up and it doesn’t appear that he will be able to return to the field anytime soon,” said Bills GM, Buddy Nix. “We felt it was in the best interest of our team and for Shawne to put him on IR.”
Merriman will certainly be missed as the Bills’ hopes of getting into the postseason for the first time in a while won’t come easy. Buffalo had been forced to play without the former first-round pick due to a lingering shoulder injury. Get $50 in Free NFL Picks here!
Merriman hadn’t been the same since a win in week 2 over the Oakland Raiders. Since then, the Bills have gone 2-2 and fallen out of first place in the AFC East. Currently, Buffalo’s overall defense ranks 31st in the league, as they’ve yielded a total of 420.5 yards per game. Their pass and run defense hasn’t been much better either, as they rank 30th in both of those categories.
Here’s a complete list of NFL Week 8 Odds 2011:
Sunday October 30, 2011
1 PM:
(0-6, Road: 0-3) Miami [+10] vs (4-2, Home: 2-1) NY Giants [-10]
(2-5, Road: 0-3) Jacksonville [+9] vs (4-3, Home: 2-1) Houston [-9]
(1-5, Road: 0-3) Arizona [+13] vs (4-2, Home: 3-0) Baltimore [-13]
(5-2, Road: 2-2) New Orleans [-13] vs (0-6, Home: 0-3) St. Louis [+13]
(1-6, Road: 0-3) Minnesota [+3½] vs (2-5, Home: 2-2) Carolina [-3½]
(0-7, Road: 0-4) Indianapolis [+9½] vs (3-3, Home: 2-1) Tennessee [-9½]
4 PM:
(5-2, Road: 3-0) Detroit vs (2-4, Home: 1-2) Denver
(3-3, Road: 1-2) Washington [+6] vs (4-2, Home: 3-0) Buffalo [-6]
(4-2, Road: 2-1) Cincinnati [-3] vs (2-4, Home: 1-1) Seattle [+3]
(3-3, Road: 1-1) Cleveland [+9½] vs (5-1, Home: 2-1) San Francisco [-9½]
(5-1, Road: 2-1) New England [-3] vs (5-2, Home: 3-0) Pittsburgh [+3]
8:20 PM:
(3-3, Road: 1-2) Dallas [+3½] vs (2-4, Home: 0-2) Philadelphia [-3½]
Monday October 31, 2011 (8:30 PM):
(4-2, Road: 1-2) San Diego [-3½] vs (3-3, Home: 1-1) Kansas City [+3½]
