NFL Odds Week 9: Early Picks Against the Spread for Every Game

Week 8 won't reach its conclusion until the Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams settle things on Monday night, but it's never too early to take a look at the week ahead. The NFL's Week 9 slate is certainly an interesting one, and it will make for some intriguing bets.

For the second week in a row, six teams will be on the bye, which means that there won't be as many games as usual to choose from. Even so, there is money to be made, especially after most games in Week 8 essentially went by the book.

Here is a full listing of picks against the spread for every Week 9 game, along with further analysis of the best lines to take advantage of.

Away Team	Home Team	Spread	Pick
Cincinnati Bengals	Miami Dolphins	CIN (-2)	CIN
Kansas City Chiefs	Buffalo Bills	KC (-3)	BUF
Tennessee Titans	St. Louis Rams	TEN (-3)	TEN
New Orleans Saints	New York Jets	NO (-5.5)	NO
San Diego Chargers	Washington Redskins	PK	WAS
Minnesota Vikings	Dallas Cowboys	DAL (-10.5)	DAL
Atlanta Falcons	Carolina Panthers	CAR (-7.5)	ATL
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Seattle Seahawks	SEA (-17)	SEA
Philadelphia Eagles	Oakland Raiders	PHI (-2.5)	OAK
Pittsburgh Steelers	New England Patriots	NE (-7)	NE
Baltimore Ravens	Cleveland Browns	BAL (-3)	BAL
Indianapolis Colts	Houston Texans	IND (-1.5)	IND
Chicago Bears	Green Bay Packers	GB (-11)	GB

Buffalo Bills (+3 vs. KC)

The Buffalo Bills are only 3-5, but if a few more bounces had gone their way this season, they could easily be 7-1 or 6-2. With the exception of their 35-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, the Bills have truly been in every game this season. They lost to the New England Patriots on a last-second field goal in Week 1 and fell just short in their comeback bid against the Cincinnati Bengals a couple weeks ago, losing in overtime.

The Bills are a scrappy team, and they are particularly good when playing on their home turf at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

Buffalo has a huge challenge on its hands this week, as it will face the league-leading Kansas City Chiefs. It hasn't taken KC long to turn things around under new head coach Andy Reid, as it has progressed far more quickly than anyone could have imagined. The Chiefs outlasted the Cleveland Browns in Week 8, and they are the last remaining undefeated team in the NFL with a record of 8-0, as noted by SportsCenter:

While that is a fantastic accomplishment, the Chiefs haven't played a team with a record above .500 this season. Also, they have displayed some chinks in the armor over the past two weeks by beating the Browns and Houston Texans by a grand total of seven points.

The Bills' Achilles' heel is quarterback play as Thad Lewis continues to fill in for injured rookie EJ Manuel. But he is capable of making some plays down the field.

This will be a low-scoring defensive affair in all likelihood, which means Buffalo has a great chance to pull off the upset, despite being a three-point underdog.

New Orleans Saints (-5.5 @ NYJ)

If not for a last-second loss to the New England Patriots a couple weeks ago, the New Orleans Saints would still be among the league's unbeatens.

That type of loss could have flustered the team, but it proved in Week 8 that it had gotten past the defeat by beating Buffalo 35-17. Quarterback Drew Brees looked better than ever, throwing for 332 yards and five touchdowns, and New Orleans reestablished itself as one of the NFL's elite teams.

The New York Jets entered Week 8 with a 4-3 record after a victory over the Pats, but they were exposed as a pretender by the Cincinnati Bengals in a 49-9 rout. Absolutely nothing was working for Gang Green on Sunday, but the most disturbing aspect of the loss was the play of the defense. Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton ended the game with a QBR of 98.9 after throwing for five touchdowns, according to ESPN Stats & Info, and things don't get any easier for New York in Week 9.

Dalton has had his moments as an NFL quarterback, but he's no Drew Brees. If he was able to make the Jets secondary look like a JV squad, it will be interesting to see what Brees can do. It's also important to note that New Orleans' improved defense hasn't allowed more than 18 points in a game, with the exception of the New England game.

Jets rookie quarterback Geno Smith took a big step back in Week 8, and the Saints defense is poised to make life miserable for him in what promises to be a blowout.

Oakland Raiders (+2.5 vs. PHI)

Observers continue to doubt whether the Oakland Raiders are for real, but they proved on Sunday that they most definitely are, beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 21-18 and improving to 3-4 on the year.

The Raiders probably aren't a playoff team, but they have some exciting players on both sides of the ball, and they are playing together as a team. Also, Oakland is 3-1 at home this season, and another home game is looming in Week 9 against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Things started off great for the Eagles this year, as Chip Kelly's high-octane offense was humming, but injuries have put a damper on things. Quarterback Michael Vick has been banged up all season long, and Kelly doesn't believe that he will be available in Week 9, according to Pro Football Talk (via the Philadelphia Inquirer):

According to Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Kelly anticipates that either rookie signal-caller Matt Barkley will get his first career start or Nick Foles will start if he recovers from his concussion. Whatever the case, Philly is in dire straits. If Barkley gets the start, expect this 2.5-point line to shift closer to a pick 'em game—or perhaps even in Oakland's favor as a favorite.

Look for dual-threat quarterback Terrelle Pryor to carve up Philly's defense in Week 9 in an outright Oakland victory.

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