NFL Week 9 Picks: Predictions for Sunday's Top Games

Thursday Night Football featured one wild finish, and there are bound to be some other great games on Sunday between some evenly matched teams.

The Miami Dolphins took down the Cincinnati Bengals in overtime on Thursday, with Cameron Wake sacking Andy Dalton for a game-winning safety.  Giovani Bernard ran for 79 yards and two touchdowns in the game, but it wasn't enough as the Dolphins were able to come up with the surprising win.

It was certainly a wild game, but hopefully it won't be the only one.

Below are the full predictions for the rest of Week 9, followed by a breakdown of the biggest games to watch for on Sunday.

Away	Prediction	Home
Kansas City Chiefs	24-14	Buffalo Bills
Minnesota Vikings	20-28	Dallas Cowboys
Tennessee Titans	24-10	St. Louis Rams
New Orleans Saints	30-17	New York Jets
San Diego Chargers	28-31	Washington Redskins
Atlanta Falcons	14-28	Carolina Panthers
Philadelphia Eagles	17-21	Oakland Raiders
Tampa Bay Buccaneeers	20-30	Seattle Seahawks
Baltimore Ravens	14-20	Cleveland Browns
Pittsburgh Steelers	21-28	New England Patriots
Indianapolis Colts	31-14	Houston Texans
Chicago Bears	20-35	Green Bay Packers

New Orleans Saints (6-1) at New York Jets (4-4)

Date: Sunday, Nov. 3

Time: 1 p.m. ET

TV: FOX

Prediction: 30-17, Saints

Back in 2012, this wouldn't have been a very competitive game.  Now, it has a chance to be the best game of the week.

Drew Brees continues to play like Drew Brees, but the big difference this year for the New Orleans Saints has been the emergence of a solid defense.  Not only are the Saints allowing 332.4 points per game, they're also allowing 17.1 points, the fourth-fewest in the league.

It also certainly doesn't hurt that Jimmy Graham continues to have an incredible season.  So far, he's had 40 receptions for 630 yards and eight touchdowns.  However, there's a chance that he may see a dip in production, as he's currently dealing with a partially torn plantar fascia, according to Jay Glazer from Fox Sports.

Meanwhile, the New York Jets continue to be the masters of inconsistency.  Not only are they 4-4 this season, they also haven't won or lost two consecutive games. 

Geno Smith has been great at times, but he's also struggled to take care of the ball.  He's completed 59.3 percent of his passes and has eight passing touchdowns, but he's also thrown 13 interceptions and fumbled six times.

After getting blown out 49-9 against the Bengals in their last game, I can't see the Jets winning this one.  The Saints are one of the best teams in the NFL right now, and they should be able to come up with yet another win.

Pittsburgh Steelers (2-5) at New England Patriots (6-2)

Date: Sunday, Nov. 3

Time: 4:25 p.m. ET

TV: CBS

Prediction: 28-21, Patriots

Two of the most successful NFL franchises of this millennium will be going head-to-head this week, but the game doesn't seem to have a ton of buzz surrounding it entering Sunday.  

Both teams have some real questions entering this one.  The Pittsburgh Steelers are desperately searching for a run game, running for just 68.7 yards per game.  Le'Veon Bell was supposed to turn things around on the ground, but so far he's averaging just 3.3 yards per carry and his longest run has been for just 11 yards.

For the New England Patriots, they just seem to be in a funk offensively.  Tom Brady has not looked like his usual self in 2013, throwing for just 1,824 yards and nine touchdowns while throwing six interceptions.  Excluding the 2000 season when he played in just one game, Brady is on pace for a career-low 74.9 passer rating.

Still, the Patriots are 6-2 through the first half of the season and have a pretty solid lead in the AFC East and are coming off of a 27-17 win over the Dolphins.  Their defense has held opponents to just 18 points per game and has stepped up big while the offense has struggled.

This won't be a pretty game from either side, but I expect the Patriots to continue their success.  The Steelers aren't playing well this season, and they should come up just short in this one.

Indianapolis Colts (5-2) at Houston Texans (2-5)

Date: Sunday, Nov. 3

Time: 8:30 p.m. ET

TV: NBC

Prediction: 31-14, Colts

The AFC South was supposed to be a two-team race, but if the Houston Texans can't win on Sunday Night Football, then the Indianapolis Colts will likely coast to a division title.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, Case Keenum will be starting on Sunday and possibly for the rest of the year.

In Keenum's first career start, he had a solid game.  He completed 60 percent of his passes for 271 yards and a touchdown, not throwing an interception.  However, the offense has scored more than 20 points just once in its last five games, which have all been losses.

Defensively, this team does a great job against the pass, allowing just 146 passing yards per game.  However, they've also just forced three interceptions, with opposing quarterbacks posting a 90.0 passer rating against them.

The Colts are one of the best teams at limiting turnovers.  Andrew Luck has only thrown three interceptions, and the team as a whole has just six turnovers.

The pass defense for the Colts isn't one to be messed with either.  They've allowed eight touchdowns but forced eight interceptions with just 228 passing yards allowed per game.

Although the Colts have beaten some of the best teams in the NFL, they've also played in some close games against struggling opponents.  However, coming off of a bye week will help this team, and they should be able to pull out a fairly easy win.