Week 8 NFL underdog report: Upsets are for the birds

Murray ran for a 50-yard score against the 49ers in Week 5 and has at least one passing touchdown in every game this year. Meanwhile, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has missed most of the season after suffering his third concussion in two years against the Bills in Week 2.

Since then, Miami has gone 1-3 while being outscored by opponents 81-40. Tyreek Hill, last year’s leading receiver, currently ranks 51st with 294 yards and a touchdown while the Dolphins’ offense ranks last with only 11.7 points scored per game.

Barring a setback, Tagovailoa should return for Sunday’s game, but will he be enough to change the Dolphins fortunes? He did lead all NFL quarterbacks with 4,624 yards last season but how good he’ll be after missing an entire month of games remains to be seen.

Count ESPN among the doubters. According to the network’s matchup predictor, the Cardinals have a 57.5% chance of beating the Dolphins at home this week. As long as Murray continues to average nine yards per carry and 44.4 rushing yards per contest, Arizona could easily hand Miami its fifth loss of the year.

Philadelphia Eagles at Cincinnati Bengals (-2.5)

Having cut the Giants down to size in Week 7, Philadelphia looks to do the same against a Bengals team trying to even its record at 4-4. While both teams have struggled this year, each is riding a two-game win streak and hope to keep things going at Paycor Stadium.

The Eagles’ Saquon Barkley rolled over his former team with 176 yards at MetLife Field last week, so expect the team to lean on the NFL’s third-leading rusher against Cincinnati’s 21st-ranked run defense.

Unlike Philadelphia, the Bengals’ ground game has been anything but dominant. Second-year running back Chase Brown leads the team with 327 yards. Joe Mixon led the team with 1,034 yards in 2023 but signed with the Texans in the offseason.

Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow is still there and while he may be the NFL’s sixth-leading passer with 1,759 yards and 14 touchdowns, Philadelphia is averaging 30.5 more yards per game.

Defensively, Philadelphia has allowed the ninth-fewest yards (304.0) and seventh-fewest points per game (19.2) so far this season. More importantly, the Eagles pass rush has shown signs of life with eight sacks against the Giants and five against Cleveland the week before.

Cincinnati looks to be over the rash of injuries that kept defensive players like first-round pick Myles Murphy out for several weeks, but the Bengals will have their hands full against Barkley, wide receiver A.J. Brown and quarterback Jalen Hurts as Philadelphia looks to keep pace with the first-place Washington Commanders in the NFC East.