NFL Week 9 Picks: Guide for Latest Vegas Odds and Winning Predictions

It's the halfway point of the NFL season, and a few teams are starting to separate themselves from the pack.

The New England Patriots, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos and Cincinnati Bengals are the lone unbeaten teams remaining, but even they have flaws. The Patriots may look unbeatable, but they have won four of their seven games by eight points or fewer.  

The great thing about this league is that you never know what to expect. Future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning has seven touchdowns and 11 interceptions, but his Broncos are undefeated. The Dallas Cowboys are 2-5 but only 1.5 games out of first place in the NFC East. The Atlanta Falcons are 6-0 outside of their division but 0-2 within it.

There is plenty of action on deck. So beginning Thursday night, kick back and prepare to be entertained.

Here's a look at the point spreads for all 13 games in Week 9 and some storylines to follow:

Time	Away	Home	Line	Prediction
Thursday, Nov. 5
8:25 p.m. ET	Cleveland Browns	Cincinnati Bengals	CIN (-10)	31-13 CIN
Sunday, Nov. 8
1 p.m. ET	Green Bay Packers	Carolina Panthers	GB (-3)	24-21 CAR
1 p.m. ET	Washington	New England Patriots	NE (-13)	30-16 NE
1 p.m. ET	Tennessee Titans	New Orleans Saints	NO (-8.5)	27-9 NO
1 p.m. ET	Miami Dolphins	Buffalo Bills	BUF (-3)	16-10 BUF
1 p.m. ET	St. Louis Rams	Minnesota Vikings	MIN (-2.5)	20-17 MIN
1 p.m. ET	Jacksonville Jaguars	New York Jets	N/A	28-20 NYJ
1 p.m. ET	Oakland Raiders	Pittsburgh Steelers	PIT (-6)	26-21 OAK
4:05 p.m. ET	New York Giants	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	NYG (-1)	35-30 TB
4:05 p.m. ET	Atlanta Falcons	San Francisco 49ers	ATL (-3)	13-7 ATL
4:25 p.m. ET	Denver Broncos	Indianapolis Colts	DEN (-3)	28-13 DEN
8:30 p.m. ET	Philadelphia Eagles	Dallas Cowboys	DAL (-2.5)	28-24 PHI
Monday, Nov. 9
8:30 p.m. ET	Chicago Bears	San Diego Chargers	SD (-3.5)	31-10 SD

Manning Looking for Revenge

Manning threw for 399 touchdowns over a 14-year period with the Indianapolis Colts and brought them a Super Bowl title in 2006. None of that mattered in the divisional round of the playoffs last year, when the Colts knocked out Manning and the Broncos in Denver, 24-13.

This week, he will look to exact some revenge by handing the Colts their fourth straight loss and dropping them to 3-6.

He enters Week 9 with his worst stats since his rookie year, but Manning's team is 7-0 for the first time since the Colts started out 14-0 in 2009. He is getting by with smarts instead of sheer talent and accomplishing just enough to let his defense do the dirty work and walk away as a winner every time.

Indianapolis quarterback Andrew Luck has been dealing with a shoulder injury throughout the season, and he may have suffered fractured ribs as well, per ESPN.com's Kevin Seifert. 

Manning is coming off an efficient game in which he threw for a season-high 340 yards. He had no touchdowns but moved the ball enough to keep Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers offense off the field, handing them their first loss of the season.

Manning's former head coach in Indianapolis, Tony Dungy, thinks the signal-caller has some gas left in the tank:

Manning has a new weapon in former San Francisco 49ers Pro Bowl tight end Vernon Davis, whom the Broncos traded for on Monday, per ESPN.com. If you give Manning an inch, he'll take a mile. Look for Davis to have a positive impact on Manning as the Broncos improve to 8-0 with a convincing victory over the Colts.

Playoffs? Raiders Talking About Playoffs?

If the season were to end today, the Oakland Raiders would be in the playoffs for the first time since 1896. Actually, it was 2002—when they lost in the Super Bowl to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers—but with 8-8 having been the gold standard for the franchise in the decade-plus since, it has to feel like a lifetime for Oakland fans.

The Raiders are 4-3 in 2015 after having won three games last season, and the thought of the team coming out on top on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers is not crazy.

Pittsburgh will be without starting running back Le'Veon Bell, who is going to miss the rest of the season after suffering an MCL injury in the team's Week 8 loss to the Bengals, per ESPN.com's Jeremy Fowler. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger looked rusty in his return from a knee injury last week. With Bell out and Roethlisberger trying to find his footing, the Raiders have a shot to come away with a huge victory.

With quarterback Derek Carr under center, Oakland is playing like a playoff team, and a win Sunday would bring the team one step closer to making a playoff berth a reality. Carr has thrown for 1,793 yards and 15 touchdowns with just three interceptions.

The Raiders have a last-place schedule that features the Detroit Lions, the Tennessee Titans and two games against the Kansas City Chiefs. Oakland could go 11-5 or 10-6, and we might see the Silver and Black playing in January.

Former San Diego Chargers All-Pro running back LaDainian Tomlinson said on NFL Total Access that he thinks it will happen:

The Raiders are averaging 25 points per game, but the defense is giving up nearly as many. In a weird twist, the Raiders lost in back-to-back weeks against the Chicago Bears and Denver but allowed a total of only 32 points in those games.

In the two wins since then, the Raiders exploded for 71 combined points. Look for the offense to keep rolling against the Steelers on Sunday as the Raiders suddenly enter the playoff discussion.