The ninth week of the NFL regular season has arrived. My Week 8 picks were better than the week prior. I picked 9 of 13 games correctly. Through eight weeks I’m sitting at 78-43 with predictions. This
week, there will be only fourteen games with six teams on their bye weeks. Let’s see how well I do with the Week 9 slate of games.
Thursday Night Football — Baltimore Ravens at Miami Dolphins
Winner:
RavensFor me, this is an underwhelming TNF matchup. I didn’t pick either of these teams to win last week. Shame on me. This week, I’ll go with the Baltimore Ravens who are sitting at 2-5 on the season. It’s a must-win game to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
Sunday Football (Early Game) — Indianapolis Colts at Pittsburgh Steelers
Winner: Colts
The Colts continue to roll and sport a 7-1 record. Meanwhile, the Steelers have struggled as of late and fizzled to 4-3. I’m not sure Pittsburgh’s defense will be able to stop Indianapolis on offense. They have scored 270 points on the season and has the best offense in the NFL. Once again, I’m taking the road team here and going with the Colts.
Sunday Football (Early Game) — Minnesota Vikings at Detroit Lions
Winner: Lions
The Vikings continue to struggle with their revolving door at quarterback while the Lions are right in the thick of it in the NFC North. This is a game where I expect the Lions to play lights out at home and keep their division rival in the cellar. I’m taking Detroit here with a lot of confidence.
Sunday Football (Early Game) — Denver Broncos at Houston Texans
Winner: Broncos
Denver is one of the hottest teams in the NFL winning five games in a row. While the Cowboys defense didn’t prove to be a challenge last Sunday, the Texans have one of the best in all of football. I expect this to be a relatively low scoring affair. Whoever wins in the trenches will come out with the victory. I like the Broncos on the road in this one.
Sunday Football (Early Game) — San Francisco 49ers at New York Giants
Winner: 49ers
Both these teams are coming off losses and have been hampered due to injuries. Losing Cam Skattebo for the season is tough news for the Giants. He really seemed to revitalize their efforts on offense. Without him, I’m not sure how good they will be. All things considered, I’ll take San Francisco here to reign victorious.
Sunday Football (Early Game) — Carolina Panthers at Green Bay Packers
Winner: Packers
The Packers are atop the NFC North whilst the Panthers are a 4-4 ball club somehow despite having one of the league’s worst offenses. Green Bay is the much better team, and I expect them to win handily in front of a hometown crowd on Sunday.
Sunday Football (Early Game) — Chicago Bears at Cincinnati Bengals
Winner: Bears
I’ve got pie on my face from predicting there was no way the Bengals would lose to the New York Jets last week. That was an absolute collapse for them on the defensive side of the ball. Even though the Bears have struggled to hit their stride, I think Chicago can rebound and make this a ‘get it right’ game for their offense. I’m taking the Bears on the road.
Sunday Football (Early Game) — Atlanta Falcons at New England Patriots
Winner: Patriots
Drake Maye continues to play absolutely stellar football and has the New England Patriots as leaders of the AFC East. Who saw that coming this season? Not me. I think their hot streak continues against a struggling Falcons team that has dropped two in a road. Happily taking the Patriots at home in this one.
Sunday Football (Early Game) — Los Angeles Chargers at Tennessee Titans
Winner: Chargers
The Chargers are 5-3 and tied for second place in the AFC West with the Chiefs, whilst the Titans are dead last in the AFC South at 1-7. To keep pace with the Broncos, the Chargers definitely need to win this one. I’ve picked a lot of road teams again this week, but taking Los Angeles here just seems like a no-brainer.
Sunday Football (Late Game) — New Orleans Saints at Los Angeles Rams
Winner: Rams
Tyler Shough will be the Saints quarterback moving forward after Spencer Rattler was benched last weekend. I’m not sure how much that moves the needle for them, but it certainly won’t be enough to compete against the Rams on Sunday. I expect Matthew Stafford and friends to carve up New Orleans’ porous defense easily and achieve their sixth win of the season.
Sunday Football (Late Game) — Jacksonville Jaguars at Las Vegas Raiders
Winner: Jaguars
The Jaguars have dropped their last two games after starting off the season hot at 4-1. The Raiders are last in the AFC West with a 2-5 record. Las Vegas has barely scored over 100 points total in 8 contests and can’t get anything done on that side of the ball. With that in mind, I’ll take Trevor Lawrence to deliver yet another road victory this Sunday.
Sunday Football (Late Game) — Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills
Winner: Bills
This is probably the highlight matchup of the week. Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs head on the road to take on Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills. Kansas City has a lot of momentum here riding a three-game winning streak, but my gut tells me to go with Allen and the Bills at home. So yeah, I’ll take Buffalo!
Sunday Night Football — Seattle Seahawks at Washington Commanders
Winner: Seattle
The Commanders just can’t stay healthy and aren’t playing good defense at all. I think the Seahawks have been one of the biggest surprises of the season to date. They are playing well on both sides of the ball. I feel good about their chances getting their sixth victory and in turn, keeping their place atop the NFC West.
Monday Night Football — Arizona Cardinals at Dallas Cowboys
Winner: Cowboys
The Cardinals have lost five games in a row, and the Cowboys are coming off a brutal loss to the Broncos. I’m not too excited about this primetime matchup, but like the odds of Dak Prescott and their offense getting back on track against Arizona. I’m taking Dallas.
