Week 9 NFL Picks: Forecasting Sunday's Most Overlooked Clashes

When Peyton Manning and Tom Brady are set to face off, the rest of the NFL stops. Everything takes a back seat. As a result, some otherwise interesting games are completely overshadowed.

Week 9 features a few potentially great games outside of Manning vs. Brady, with the Dallas Cowboys-Arizona Cardinals and Baltimore Ravens-Pittsburgh Steelers standing out the most.

Look a little deeper and there are two more games that have potential early playoff implications.

Time (ET)	Matchup	Spread	Straight Up Pick
Sunday
1 p.m.	Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Cleveland Browns	CLE -6	CLE
1 p.m.	Arizona Cardinals at Dallas Cowboys	DAL -4	ARI
1 p.m.	Philadelphia Eagles at Houston Texans	PHI -2.5	See Below
1 p.m.	New York Jets at Kansas City Chiefs	KC -7.5	KC
1 p.m.	Jacksonville Jaguars at Cincinnati Bengals	CIN -13.5	CIN
1 p.m.	San Diego Chargers at Miami Dolphins	MIA -1.5	See Below
1 p.m.	Washington Redskins at Minnesota Vikings	WAS -1	WAS
4:05 p.m.	St. Louis Rams at San Francisco 49ers	SF -7.5	SF
4:25 p.m.	Denver Broncos at New England Patriots	DEN -4	DEN
4:25 p.m.	Oakland Raiders at Seattle Seahawks	SEA -15.5	SEA
8:30 p.m.	Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers	BAL -1.5	BAL
Monday
8:30 p.m.	Indianapolis Colts at New York Giants	IND -3	IND

Note: Spreads are courtesy of Odds Shark.

Miami Dolphins vs. San Diego Chargers

Both the Miami Dolphins and San Diego Chargers are right in the thick of things in their respective divisions, and depending on the outcome of the Denver Broncos-New England Patriots game, one of the two could be within a game of the division lead.

The Chargers are reeling after two straight losses, while the Dolphins have won back-to-back games to remain hot on the Pats' heels.

In a way, it seems like Miami has taken the honor of biggest underachievers in the league from San Diego. The Dolphins haven't made the playoffs since 2008, but they've had the talent to do so. The AFC East is pretty open, so maybe the franchise can get over the hump in 2014.

This could be a game where Ryan Tannehill teases you with the quarterback he could possibly become. The tools have never been in doubt with him, but the results just haven't been there. And he's massively overshadowed by the more successful QBs from his draft class.

On Sunday, Tannehill's facing off against a defense that's allowed 14 touchdowns through the air and has intercepted just four passes. Football Outsiders rank the Chargers 26th in pass defense. San Diego should get Brandon Flowers back, but Jason Verrett's listed as out on the team's injury report.

San Diego will also have to worry about Tannehill's mobility, which has become a bigger weapon during the last few weeks, per Raymond Summerlin of Rotoworld:

As long as Tannehill's not making mistakes, the Dolphins offense should move the football. Maybe those lessons from Dan Marino will come in handy, too:

Their next two games will go a long way toward revealing what the Dolphins are capable of doing. If Miami can beat San Diego and then go on the road and beat the Detroit Lions, then we're talking.

Prediction: Miami 24, San Diego 19

Houston Texans vs. Philadelphia Eagles

The Houston Texans are one game away from a possible tie in the AFC South. The Indianapolis Colts should get past the New York Giants to maintain their one-game lead in the division, but the opportunity is there for the Texans in the event of a Colts loss.

Houston's defense will be tested in a big way by the high-tempo Philadelphia Eagles offense.

By the numbers, the Eagles have one of the best offenses in the league. They rank sixth in passing yards per game and 14th in rushing yards. Many teams would kill to have that kind of balance.

However, Philly's numbers are bound to be inflated when they rank 31st in average time of possession. That serves to inflate the offense's stats and make the defense look worse than it is. The Eagles are giving up an average of 383.6 yards a game, but Football Outsiders rank the unit an eighth heading into Week 9.

The run defense, which will have its hands full with Arian Foster, is fourth in the league, according to Football Outsiders.

Conversely, his numbers are actually better in Houston's three loses (122.7 yards per carry, 5.8 YPC) than in Houston's four wins (99.5 YPG, 4.8 YPC), so maybe his performance won't be all that telling in the final outcome.

The bigger concern for Philadelphia will be Nick Foles' recent inability to avoid interceptions. He's thrown seven over his last four games, which equals his totals from 2012 and 2013 combined.

Bleacher Report's Chris Simms wonders whether the 25-year-old is the franchise guy for the Eagles.

Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

Foles admitted that his performances have been very underwhelming this year, per ESPN.com's Phil Sheridan:

"

I'm the decision-maker on offense. I have the ball every single play. Yes, I have to do a better job. Word can't describe it. I have to go out here and keep working. It doesn't feel good at times. You have to keep working on fundamentals and on decision-making. I'm going to keep working, and I'm going to fix it. My words don't mean anything. I have to go out here, and I have to prove it.

"

The Texans are giving up 271.4 yards a game through the air and have recorded seven interceptions as a team, so it's not like Foles is going up against the most intimidating secondary in the league.

He can't convince the fans completely after one game, but he can begin to rebuild some of the confidence the fanbase had him in at the end of last year with a strong performance.

Prediction: Philadelphia 30, Houston 24