NFL Week 9 Picks: Predictions for Favorites and Underdogs

Vegas oddsmakers have already determined which teams are favorites and which are underdogs for Week 9 of the 2014 NFL season. Although, as we know, being a favorite doesn't automatically constitute a victory.

All we have to do is look back at last week's Monday Night Football showdown between the Washington Redskins and Dallas Cowboys to reaffirm that fact. The red-hot Cowboys were taken down at home by a surprisingly efficient Colt McCoy, who was making his first start since 2011.

Looking ahead to Week 9, we're left with this burning question: Which team will be this week's version of Washington? Here's a look at all of the game lines and picks against the spread, followed by an overview of one favorite sure to win big and one underdog destined to pull off the upset.

Matchup	Spread	Pick ATS
Philadelphia Eagles at Houston Texans	PHI -2	Eagles
Arizona Cardinals at Dallas Cowboys	DAL -4	Cardinals
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Cleveland Browns	CLE -7	Browns
Washington Redskins at Minnesota Vikings	Even	Redskins
Jacksonville Jaguars at Cincinnati Bengals	CIN -11.5	Bengals
San Diego Chargers at Miami Dolphins	MIA -1	Chargers
New York Jets at Kansas City Chiefs	KC -10.5	Chiefs
St. Louis Rams at San Francisco 49ers	SF -10.5	49ers
Oakland Raiders at Seattle Seahawks	SEA -16	Raiders
Denver Broncos at New England Patriots	DEN -2.5	Patriots
Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers	BAL -1	Ravens
Indianapolis Colts at New York Giants	IND -3	Colts

All odds courtesy of Odds Shark and current as of October 31.

Notable Favorite

Indianapolis Colts (-3) at New York Giants

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

This time around, Monday Night Football won't conclude with an enormous upset. The Colts continue to boast one of the league's most potent offenses, and the Giants are on an ongoing search for consistency.

Andrew Luck is on a torrid pace in 2014. Through eight games, he's completed 64.8 percent of his passes for 2,731 yards, 22 touchdowns, nine interceptions and a passer rating of 99.2—a career high. The emergence of Ahmad Bradshaw out of the backfield has given this offense some much-needed balance, and that has resulted in an average of 31.3 points per game—good enough for second in the league.

Luck is also on a pretty impressive streak heading into this contest, according to SportsCenter:

The Colts defense had a bit of a meltdown against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 8, giving up an absurd 51 points; however, based on its previous performances, we should consider that an outlier. Over the team's five-game winning streak this season, the defense allowed 17 or fewer points four times.

The Giants are coming off their bye week on the heels of two consecutive division losses. The team's offense surged during a previous three-game winning streak but has been rather stagnant recently. There are several factors that led to this decrease in production.

Wide receiver Victor Cruz was lost for the season, and the Giants will need to see some heroics from rookie Odell Beckham Jr. in his absence. Also, running back Rashad Jennings continues to miss time. He'll be inactive Monday once again, according to Ebenezer Samuel of the New York Daily News, and rookie Andre Williams hasn't looked great in his stead.

With the Giants offense lacking some of its playmakers and the defense ranked 28th in the league in yards allowed per game, this Monday clash favors Luck and the Colts in a big way.

Prediction: Colts 31, Giants 2

Notable Underdog

San Diego Chargers (+1) at Miami Dolphins

Joe Mahoney/Associated Press

This is a very intriguing battle featuring two teams desperately attempting to remain in the race in their respective divisions. A loss on Sunday by either team could have serious and devastating implications.

The Dolphins are riding a two-game winning streak coming into this contest with victories over the Chicago Bears and Jacksonville Jaguars. However, the team's most recent performance left something to be desired from this offense.

Jacksonville accumulated more first downs and more total offensive yards than Miami, as quarterback Ryan Tannehill didn't have as stellar of a performance as he should have against the league's 27th-ranked pass defense. He completed 16 of his 29 passing attempts for 196 yards, one touchdown and one interception for a passer rating of 73.3.

Considering he'll be up against a Chargers pass defense that ranks sixth in the league this week, he's not in for an easy day at all. In fact, Miami won in Week 8 due to a large amount of mistakes from rookie quarterback Blake Bortles, and that shouldn't be expected on Sunday against a surging Philip Rivers.

According to the Chargers' official Twitter account, Rivers is already making a decrease in turnovers a huge priority:

Through eight games this season, Rivers is completing 68.3 percent of his passes for 2,213 yards, 20 touchdowns, just five interceptions and a passer rating of 109.9. He's on pace for a career year. Miami has a great pass defense, ranking third in the league, but expect it to struggle in Week 9 much like it did against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in Week 6.

San Diego is coming off two consecutive division losses and will be entering this game with a collective chip on its shoulder. Expect big things from Rivers and Co. against a Dolphins team that has already dropped two games at home this season.

Prediction: Chargers 27, Dolphins 23