WEEK 9: ELITE TEAM PICKS OF THE WEEK

Week 9 is upon us, NFL fans, and we have an exciting 13 game slate to watch this week. The game to watch this time around, in my opinion, has to be the Giants taking on the Eagles in a classic NFC East divisional game. Other divisional games this week include Detroit taking on a struggling Minnesota team, as well as Buccaneers and Falcons on Thursday night, and some AFC games on Sunday. Enjoy once again, NFL fans!

Atlanta Falcons (5-3) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-4)

The Falcons stunned the Packers last week with a last-minute, come from behind victory at home last week. Matt Ryan and Co. are firing on all cylinders and it’s going to be hard for any team to take down this high flying offense. The Bucs lost in overtime last week, but allowed over 500 yards of passing. That isn’t a good recipe for success against the top passing attack in the NFL this season.

Atlanta Falcons 27 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 14

Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3) at Baltimore Ravens (3-4)

Both of these teams got a break last week with their byes, but both teams still come back with several injuries up and down their respective lineups. A big development to watch for the rest of the week is whether or not Ben Roethlisberger is able to play or not. I’m betting on the seasoned vet to take one more week of rest, and the Ravens roll at home.

Baltimore Ravens 23 Pittsburgh Steelers 20

Dallas Cowboys (6-1) at Cleveland Browns (0-8)

Is this the week the Browns get their first win?? Likely not. They go up against a red hot Dallas Cowboys team who have all the confidence in the world facing a team such as Cleveland. The Browns were close in their game against the Jets, but weren’t able to pull it off. A repeat performance is likely going to occur.

Dallas Cowboys 24 Cleveland Browns 13

Jacksonville Jaguars (2-5) at Kansas City Chiefs (5-2)

The Jags got blown out the door last Thursday night in Nashville as their defense allowed a scorching DeMarco Murray to take over the ballgame. The Chiefs, meanwhile, beat Indy by over two scores behind new starting quarterback Nick Foles and Co. The Chiefs get to 6-2.

Kansas City Chiefs 30 Jacksonville Jaguars 21

New York Jets (3-5) at Miami Dolphins (3-4)

The Jets escaped the state of Ohio with a tight victory last week, but will have to perform better if they want to avoid a loss in South Florida. The Fins were on bye last week but exploded in Week 7 and should be feeling confident facing another team with a losing record.

Miami Dolphins 21 New York Jets 17

Philadelphia Eagles (4-3) at New York Giants (4-3)

Philly was so close in their overtime loss in Dallas last week, and that game must have stung Eagles fan even more as it was their hated Cowboys doing the winning. This time around, they face a Giants team who are coming off the bye and should feel more comfortable playing at home. Giants roll.

New York Giants 24 Philadelphia Eagles 14

Detroit Lions (4-4) at Minnesota Vikings (5-2)

The Vikings are kind of slumping! After starting the season 5-0, they have lost two straight games, including one against the notably bad Chicago Bears. The Purple and Gold are struggling with blocking and giving zero run support to Sam Bradford. That must change against a Lions team that was surging before they lost in a low-scoring affair last week against Houston.

Detroit Lions 20 Minnesota Vikings 19

Carolina Panthers (2-5) at Los Angeles Rams (3-4)

The Panthers finally got their finally got their offense cooking last week at home against Arizona, as the return of Jonathan Stewart yielded great results. The Rams got to rest this week, and should be able to put up a fight at home versus the Panthers, but to no avail, as Carolina wins by a slim margin.

Carolina Panthers 27 Los Angeles Rams 25

New Orleans Saints (3-4) at San Francisco 49ers (1-6)

The 49ers were on bye last week while the Saints lost at the Superdome versus Seattle by 5. Tim Hightower was able to rush for over 100 yards for New Orleans and it would be quite the feat if he were able to do it two weeks in a row. However, it’s Drew Brees who takes care of business here in week 9.

New Orleans Saints 31 San Francisco 49ers 27

Tennessee Titans (4-4) at San Diego Chargers (3-5)

Tennessee played very well last week, as both sides of the ball were able to reach the end zone. The Chargers, on the other hand, struggled to get going last week in Denver, although Melvin Gordon put up some great statistics. I’ll bet on the surging Titans do win on the road Sunday afternoon.

Tennessee Titans 20 San Diego Chargers 10

Indianapolis Colts (3-5) at Green Bay Packers (4-3)

Indy lost bad last week. Their defense was unable to stop a quarterback in a brand new system, and that will not bode positive results against Aaron Rodgers and a Packers team that got quite unlucky last week as Matt Ryan tore up an injured secondary to win late. Packers get back on track.

Green Bay Packers 34 Indianapolis Colts 20

Denver Broncos (6-2) at Oakland Raiders (6-2)

This is quite the intriguing matchup and will determine the early frontrunner for the AFC West crown. The Raiders offense looks unstoppable, and could even cause problems for a secondary like the Broncos. The question will be whether Trevor Siemian can put his team in scoring positions enough to win.

Oakland Raiders 29 Denver Broncos 27

Buffalo Bills (4-4) at Seattle Seahawks (4-2-1)

In an interesting twist, this will be the second game of a Sunday night double header. The Seahawks seem to get luckier each week, as they escaped with a close victory once again last week. The Bills got blown out at home versus New England, and I don’t see them pulling through at Seattle this week.

Seattle Seahawks 24 Buffalo Bills 20

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