NFL Picks Week 9: Over/Under Vegas Lines, Expert Predictions and Odds

When figuring out what picks to make across any given weekend of NFL action, taking into account the most information possible is a huge key to success.

That's what we're doing entering Week 9 of the 2015 season, which kicks off Thursday night as the Cleveland Browns travel to face the unbeaten Cincinnati Bengals in an AFC North divisional clash. Let's take a look at the spreads and over/under lines for each game before highlighting whom some of Bleacher Report's NFL National Lead Writers are pegging to come out on top in each contest.

NFL Week 9 Odds and Expert Predictions

Game	Line	Over/Under	Matt Miller, B/R	Mike Freeman, B/R	Ty Schalter, B/R
Cleveland at Cincinnati	CIN -12.5	45.5	Bengals	Bengals	Bengals
Miami at Buffalo	BUF -3	44	Dolphins	Dolphins	Dolphins
Green Bay at Carolina	GB -2.5	46.5	Packers	Packers	Panthers
St. Louis at Minnesota	MIN -2.5	39.5	Vikings	Vikings	Vikings
Washington at New England	NE -14.5	52	Patriots	Patriots	Patriots
Tennessee at New Orleans	NO -8.5	--	Saints	Saints	Saints
Jacksonville at N.Y. Jets	No line	--	Jets	Jets	Jets
Oakland at Pittsburgh	PIT -4.5	48	Steelers	Steelers	Steelers
Atlanta at San Francisco	ATL -7.5	45	Falcons	Falcons	Falcons
N.Y. Giants at Tampa Bay	NYG -1	47.5	Giants	Giants	Giants
Denver at Indianapolis	DEN -4.5	45	Broncos	Broncos	Broncos
Philadelphia at Dallas	PHI -2.5	44.5	Eagles	Eagles	Eagles
Chicago at San Diego	SD -4	49	Bears	Chargers	Chargers

Odds courtesy of Odds Shark (note: expert picks are straight up, not against the spread).

Top Matchup of Week 9

Denver Broncos at Indianapolis Colts

The last time these two teams faced each other, most of us who follow the NFL closely saw firsthand the Indianapolis Colts were right to ditch Peyton Manning for Andrew Luck and build the offense around him.

The only problem? Well, they aren't exactly doing the building part.

A reluctance to put a serviceable offensive line in front of Luck has resulted in no running game to speak of despite the team going out and signing Frank Gore over the offseason. It's also resulted in Luck getting injured and missing time.

On top of that, the receiving corps general manager Ryan Grigson has spent early-round picks and offseason signings to bolster has not come to fruition. That made itself apparent again in Week 8 on Monday, as the Colts fell to the Carolina Panthers in overtime, 29-26, and dropped to 3-5.

The offensive struggles led to the midseason dismissal of offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton, as SportsCenter reported:

Hamilton could very well be the first of many coaches on this staff to get the pink slip by the time the season is over, but a big indication of that comes Sunday as the Colts face their former quarterback.

Manning hasn't been his usual self by any means in this 2015 season, but a dominant Broncos defense has led the way to a perfect 7-0 record. On top of that, Manning began to find his groove in Week 8, thoroughly dominating the Green Bay Packers and rediscovering the chemistry he has with wide receiver Demaryius Thomas.

The wily veteran has a chance to put his name on even more career NFL records come this weekend, per Mike Chappell of IndySportsCentral.com:

It's not that Manning has ever suffered from a lack of weapons in Denver, but he's never had a reliable option in the middle of the field. The team made a trade for 49ers veteran Vernon Davis this week, giving the 39-year-old QB a security blanket he has lacked this season amid struggles from Owen Daniels.

The Colts are struggling on defense—not to mention their offense that just fired its coordinator. Meanwhile, the Broncos are peaking on both sides of the ball.

For that reason, it's not surprising at all to see each of the three above experts going Denver's way in this one.