NFL Parlays & Picks: Best Bets for Week 8 (2025)

It’s time to find early betting value leading up to next week’s NFL Week 8 slate. We’re roughly halfway through the 2025 NFL season and new narratives continue to be written with each week’s results. Parity across the league is strong and creates highly entertaining finishes for us to enjoy.

Unfortunately, my NFL Parlays & Picks: Best Bets for Week 7 (2025) went 0-2 again. The overall bets settled 2-2, so hopefully, you combined the winning legs or bet those straight.

The Los Angeles Rams moneyline (-154) was never a doubt, as Sean McVay hammered his former staffer, Jacksonville head coach Liam Coen, 35-7 in London. Colts +1.5 was also sweat-free, with Indianapolis cementing itself as a legitimate contender with a 38-24 road win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Losers were on the totals, with Saints vs. Bears failing to go over 45.5 and Giants v. Broncos going way over 40.5 with Denver’s 33-point fourth quarter burst.

Time to dust ourselves off and get back to the drawing board. Here are two new NFL early week parlays to tail for Week 8. Follow me on X at Matt_MacKay_ for more NFL betting analysis and free picks.

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NFL Early Week Parlays: Week 8

(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)

Parlay 1 (+266)

Leg 1: Minnesota Vikings +3 (-114)

Minnesota held its own for awhile against the Philadelphia Eagles but its inability to stop Jalen Hurts as a passer led to a 28-22 loss at home. Now, the Vikings will try to regroup on the road on a short week against Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers.

The Vikings have been turnover-prone with QB Carson Wentz. Minnesota’s offense has at least two turnover committed in three straight games, while the defense has failed to generate a single takeaway since logging five turnovers against Cincinnati in Week 3.

Los Angeles may be the perfect opponent to get the Vikings offense back on track. The Chargers are terrible at stopping the run, allowing 120 or more rushing yards in four straight games. Expect Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell to feed RB Jordan Mason at least 20 carries, mitigating turnovers through the passing attack.

Wentz still has big-play ability, throwing for 313 yards and logging 28 rushing yards against the Eagles. With star wideout Justin Jefferson and WR Jordan Addison on the field, plus TE T.J. Hockenson, Minnesota’s offense has better personnel than a short-handed Chargers offense. Factor in the defenses and there’s no doubt Vikings DC Brian Flores holds an edge against a porous Los Angeles run defense.

Bet on the Vikings catching +3 on the road against the Chargers on Week 8 Thursday Night Football at SoFi Stadium.

Leg 2: Carolina Panthers +7.5 (-105)

It’s scary to go against Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. This isn’t an indictment on Buffalo’s offense. We’re fading the Bill defense, which is one of the worst units at stopping the run.

Carolina has found a gem in RB2 Rico Dowdle, who is evolving into the Panthers’ RB1 over Chuba Hubbard. Bryce Young benefits greatly from a strong run game, which is why Carolina is 4-3, logging three straight wins against weak run defenses like the Dolphins, Cowboys, and Jets.

Confidence is soaring for head coach Dave Canales’ Panthers. Not so much with Buffalo. The Bills looked flat during a 24-14 road loss to Atlanta in prime-time. A bye week allows OC Joe Brady to scheme up plenty of touches for RB James Cook and the Bills’ run game, however, Carolina has only surrendered 131 total rushing yards during its three-game game win streak.

We’re getting a full touchdown underdog on the Panthers at home. It’s too many points to pass up, so let’s grab Carolina +7.5.

Parlay 2 (+249)

Cleveland is catching +7 on the road in Foxboro against New England in Week 8. The Patriots are red-hot, winning four straight games. Yet the Browns just dominated a desperate Miami Dolphins team, 31-6, feeding rookie RB Quinshon Judkins and forcing four turnovers on defense.

New England QB Drake Maye is riding high, beating the Panthers, Bills, Saints, and Titans. All four of those defenses have not been the best the league has to offer. Cleveland’s defense is easily the best unit he’ll face during this five-game stretch.

The Patriots have been great at forcing turnovers under head coach Mike Vrabel. Brown rookie QB Dillon Gabriel will need to avoid miscues to keep the offense ahead of schedule. New England has allowed two teams to go over 100 rushing yards, Carolina and Buffalo, so there’s enough potential for Judkins to remain an effective workhorse.

The Browns are 4-3 ATS as +7 underdogs. Let’s bet on Myles Garrett and Cleveland’s top-12 scoring defense to do enough to contain New England’s offense, managing a +7 cover on the point spread.

Leg 2: San Francisco 49ers +1.5 (-112)

Mac Jones has allowed San Francisco’s offense to continue functioning well in Brock Purdy’s absence. The 49ers’ current QB1 was more of a game manager in Week 7 against the Falcons, but San Francisco fed star RB Christian McCaffrey enough touches to log a 10-point win to improve to 5-2.

San Francisco was a pick’em at home against Atlanta. Now, they remain an underdog on the road against Houston. At the time of writing, the Texans have not yet played their Monday Night Football game against Seattle. Even without that data point, it feels like oddsmakers are undervaluing the 49ers in this spot.

The Texans offense has begun to roll but it came against a pair of struggling defenses. 49ers head coach Kyle Shannahan is going to lean into McCaffrey, and now, All-Pro TE George Kittle is healthy. We’ve seen Houston get torched by Tampa Bay’s run game, so we know it can be accomplished against DeMeco Ryans’ tough–nosed Texans defense.

C.J. Stroud and Mac Jones feel roughy equivalent to me. Jones is playing in a better scheme with more elite talent, so let’s side with the 49ers as a marginal underdog and bet San Francisco +1.5.