NFL Picks Week 9: Predictions for Over/Under Odds, Spreads and Lines

It's basically the exact midpoint of the NFL regular season, as we're halfway between Week 8 and Week 9. After plenty of unexpected results near the start of the campaign, the league seems to have stabilized a bit.

One of the biggest stories of the year has been the group of four teams that have yet to lose. The New England Patriots, Denver Broncos, Cincinnati Bengals and Carolina Panthers have combined to set an NFL record for the most teams to start a season 7-0, per ESPN Stats and Info.

Those four squads look the best right now, but there are plenty of other intriguing teams and matchups on the docket for Week 9. We'll make some predictions against the spread and on the over/under odds for each game, then focus on three of the safest bets you can make versus the spread.

Matchup	Pick Against the Spread	Over/Under Pick
Cleveland Browns (2-6) at Cincinnati Bengals (7-0)	CIN (-10.5)	Over (46)
Miami Dolphins (3-4) at Buffalo Bills (3-4)	MIA (+3)	Over (44)
Washington Redskins (3-4) at New England Patriots	NE (-14)	Over (52)
Jacksonville Jaguars (2-5) at New York Jets (4-3)	N/A	N/A
Tennessee Titans (1-6) at New Orleans Saints (4-4)	NO (-8)	N/A
Oakland Raiders (4-3) at Pittsburgh Steelers (4-4)	OAK (+4.5)	Over (48)
St. Louis Rams (4-3) at Minnesota Vikings (5-2)	STL (+3)	Under (40)
Green Bay Packers (6-1) at Carolina Panthers (7-0)	GB (-2.5)	Under (46)
Atlanta Falcons (6-2) at San Francisco 49ers (2-6)	ATL (-5)	Under (44.5)
New York Giants (4-4) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-4)	NYG (-3)	Over (48)
Denver Broncos (7-0) at Indianapolis Colts (3-5)	DEN (-4)	Over (45)
Philadelphia Eagles (3-4) at Dallas Cowboys (2-5)	PHI (-3)	Under (44.5)
Chicago Bears (2-5) at San Diego Chargers (2-6)	SD (-4)	Over (49)

Safest Bets

Atlanta Falcons (-5) at San Francisco 49ers

Are we really trusting quarterback Blaine Gabbert, in his first game action of the season, to keep a terrible 49ers offense within five points of the Falcons? His would-be No. 2 running back, Reggie Bush, tore his MCL Sunday. And his No. 1 back, Carlos Hyde, is also probably going to be out. Per Ryan Sakamoto of NinersFans.com, Hyde may need surgery for a stress fracture, which doesn't bode well for his status Sunday.

The Falcons defense isn't very good, something the 49ers seemed to know when they waited to bench Colin Kaepernick. But that probably won't even matter with how depleted and talent-starved San Francisco's offense is.

Add in the 49ers' 23rd-ranked scoring defense, and this looks like the perfect game for the slumping Falcons to find their form again.

Atlanta's Devonta Freeman is probably licking his chops preparing to face a defense that has allowed 373 rushing yards and three touchdowns in its last two games. Matt Ryan and Julio Jones should be able to get what they want in the passing game, with the threat of Freeman running helping them.

Prediction: Falcons 30, 49ers 13

Denver Broncos (-4) at Indianapolis Colts

For some reason, the Colts continue to get respect from oddsmakers. Well, I guess I do know the reason: Andrew Luck.

Indianapolis' 26-year-old quarterback is in the midst of a nightmare season, dealing with a shoulder injury, allegedly broken ribs and general discombobulation on the field. But there's always hope every week that the supremely talented signal-caller will turn it around.

The thing is, he hasn't yet, and I don't think we should expect that from him against the Broncos Sunday night.

Bob Leverone/Associated Press

Denver has the No. 1 scoring and yardage defense in the league, a unit that just held Aaron Rodgers to 77 passing yards and the explosive Green Bay Packers offense to only 10 points. And don't look now, but Peyton Manning and his running game are starting to produce like we thought they might this season.

The Colts, like they often do, will put up a touchdown or two in the fourth quarter to make the score look cosmetic (and help you out if you bet the "over" on this contest). But there is little reason to believe this game will be competitive, especially after a short week for Indianapolis.

Prediction: Broncos 31, Colts 17

Philadelphia Eagles (-3) at Dallas Cowboys

This is definitely the most precarious "safe bet" I have here, but I would still feel good picking the Eagles.

Both teams should be playing extremely motivated here, with all-important division standings hanging in the balance. If the Cowboys beat the Eagles, they'll jump from last in the NFC East to second and the Eagles will fall to last, assuming the Washington Redskins lose to the New England Patriots in Foxborough (not too big of a leap, I don't think).

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

But if Philly wins, it has a chance to take over first, depending on how the New York Giants fare against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Cowboys would stay firmly in last in that scenario.

Dallas' offense is a total mess right now with Matt Cassel at the helm, and the Eagles' defense has been surprisingly good. Two weeks ago, Philadelphia surrendered just seven points to the New York Giants, the same team that hung 49 points the next game, albeit against the New Orleans Saints.

After a bye week, I think Chip Kelly will find the recipe for Sam Bradford, DeMarco Murray and the rest of the Eagles offense to do well enough against the Cowboys' 17th-ranked scoring defense.

Prediction: Eagles 23, Cowboys 13