NFL Week 9 Picks: Rounding Up Top Experts' Predictions

There's no shame in admitting that you need help.

With the 2014 NFL season reaching the midway point, most of the teams have shown their hand, but a few remain wild cards. Most of the top sides have played to form, jumping to first or second in their respective divisions.

With that said, nothing can be taken for granted in this league, so it's always nice to get second, third and fourth opinions before making your final selections for the upcoming weekend of games.

Below are the picks from Bleacher Report's six national lead NFL writers.

Matchup	Matt Bowen	Mike Freeman	Matt Miller	Ty Schalter	Michael Schottey	Mike Tanier
TB at CLE	CLE	CLE	CLE	CLE	CLE	CLE
ARI at DAL	DAL	ARI	DAL	ARI	DAL	ARI
PHI at HOU	PHI	HOU	PHI	PHI	PHI	PHI
NYJ at KC	KC	NYJ	KC	KC	KC	NYJ
JAX at CIN	CIN	CIN	CIN	CIN	CIN	CIN
SD at MIA	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD	SD
WAS at MIN	WAS	MIN	MIN	WAS	MIN	MIN
STL at SF	SF	SF	SF	SF	SF	SF
DEN at NE	NE	NE	NE	DEN	NE	DEN
OAK at SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA	SEA
BAL at PIT	BAL	PIT	BAL	BAL	BAL	PIT
IND at NYG	IND	NYG	IND	IND	IND	IND

Note: You can view the picks from every member of B/R's expert panel here.

Games to Watch

Arizona Cardinals vs. Dallas Cowboys

The biggest storyline by far heading into this game is the health of Tony Romo. The Dallas Cowboys can't possibly get past the tough Arizona Cardinals defense with Brandon Weeden at the helm. Weeden's been one of the league's worst quarterbacks over the last few years, according to ESPN Stats & Info:

Dallas head coach Jason Garrett remains hopeful that Romo will be able to start on Sunday, per Nick Eatman of DallasCowboys.com:

DeMarco Murray may be the best running back in the league, but he alone won't be enough to push the Cowboys ahead of the Cardinals without a consistent aerial attack. Arizona ranks third in rushing yards allowed per game (77.9) and sits in a four-way tie for first in yards allowed per carry (3.3).

Carson Palmer is a question mark for the Cardinals offense, but Andre Ellington will help alleviate some of the pressure. Football Outsiders ranks the Cowboys 27th in rush defense. Ellington could hit the century mark for the first time this year.

This game should be close throughout. The difference between the Cardinals and Cowboys isn't very big—as long as Romo's on the field. Dallas should pick up the victory at home coming off a disappointing loss to the Washington Redskins.

Denver Broncos vs. New England Patriots

You probably haven't heard that Peyton Manning and Tom Brady will face off on Sunday. That aspect of Week 9 has flown under the radar in recent days.

NFL on ESPN has their head-to-head stats:

Every time Brady and Manning step on the field against one another, it's cause for a week of nostalgia and the never-ending debate as to whom is the better quarterback. It was tiring years ago, and it's tiring now. It's awesome to see two great QBs going toe to toe, but this game has happened so many times that it hit the saturation point long ago:

Aside from the Manning-Brady narrative, this game should be a lot of fun, as it will help determine the AFC's best team at the moment.

Looking back on the panic coming out of New England after the Pats' 41-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs is laughable in retrospect. The Patriots have positioned themselves right there with the Broncos in terms of conference supremacy.

Brady and Manning get the headlines, but this game will likely be decided on the ground, and in that respect, Denver gets the edge. The Broncos have one of the best run defenses in the game and are giving up a paltry 72.4 yards a game. The Patriots are at the other end of the spectrum, surrendering 129.6 yards a game.

If New England can't contain Ronnie Hillman, then it will unlikely be able to contain Manning.

Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Both the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers enter Week 9 with 5-3 records. The Ravens lost 27-24 to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 8, while the Steelers had that massive 51-34 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

"Monday morning I got up and I started changing diapers," said Ben Roethlisberger after going for 522 yards and six touchdowns, per Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "Cleaned up the kitchen. Moving on. You have to put it behind you just as you [do] a bad game."

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

What's nice about watching Baltimore and Pittsburgh play is that you pretty much know what to expect. Things are gonna get ugly, and points will come at a premium.

The stakes are also somewhat big for just being the midway point. The Steelers won't want to drop both of their regular-season games to the Ravens, and Baltimore won't want to fall to 2-3 in the AFC North.

It would be easy to take the Steelers after their demolition of the Colts. How many people expected Pittsburgh to drop 51 on Indy?

But the league has a way of correcting itself and regressing its teams to the mean. The Steelers will likely fall back to earth, and the Ravens are still smarting from their defeat to the Bengals.