NFL Week 9 Picks: Odds Predictions, Advice and Latest Expert Locks

The Cincinnati Bengals defeated the AFC North rival Cleveland Browns 31-10 on Thursday night, becoming the first team to move to 8-0 on the season.

It was the expected result, with the Bengals replete with talent on offense and the Browns forced to start Johnny Manziel in place of an injured Josh McCown at quarterback. Andy Dalton threw three touchdown passes, all of them to tight end Tyler Eifert, while the Bengals defense put plenty of pressure on the wily Manziel and refused Cleveland any semblance of rhythm when they had the ball.

The Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos and New England Patriots will all look to join the Bengals at 8-0 in Week 9. Do the football experts think they have what it takes to make it happen? Find out in the table below.

Here are the latest Week 9 odds, expert predictions for each game and some advice on which picks are best to make for bettors. Odds are courtesy of Odds Shark and updated as of Friday, November 6 at 7 a.m. ET. Expert picks are all straight up, not against the spread.

Matchup (w/ spread)	Mike Freeman, Bleacher Report	Pete Prisco, CBS Sports	Merril Hoge, ESPN	Stephen White, SB Nation	Peter Schrager, Fox Sports
Green Bay (-2.5) vs. Carolina	GB	GB	GB	CAR	CAR
Washington vs. New England (-15)	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE
Tennessee vs. New Orleans (-9)	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO
Miami vs. Buffalo (-2.5)	MIA	BUF	BUF	BUF	BUF
St. Louis vs. Minnesota (even)	MIN	MIN	MIN	MIN	STL
Jacksonville vs. New York Jets (-9)	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ	NYJ	JAX
Oakland vs. Pittsburgh (-4)	PIT	PIT	PIT	PIT	OAK
New York Giants (-2.5) vs. Tampa Bay	NYG	NYG	TB	TB	TB
Atlanta (-7.5) vs. San Francisco	ATL	ATL	ATL	ATL	ATL
Denver (-5) vs. Indianapolis	DEN	DEN	DEN	DEN	DEN
Philadelphia (-2.5) vs. Dallas	PHI	PHI	DAL	PHI	DAL
San Diego (-4) vs. Chicago	SD	SD	SD	SD	CHI

Note: Picks can be found at Bleacher Report, CBSSports.com, FoxSports.com, ESPN.com and SB Nation.

Jacksonville Will Keep It Close In New York (-9)

Matt Dunham/Associated Press

If it weren't for the New York Jets' lengthy injury report and recent poor results, the Jaguars wouldn't seem at all capable of keeping up with Gang Green on the road. 

New York has one of the stingiest defenses in the league this year, ranking 12th in points against and third in yards allowed. However, they've been a bit generous in their past two outings, both losses. New England put up 30 points, while Oakland managed 34 in a resounding Week 8 victory.

Jacksonville's offense is coming into its own with Blake Bortles at the helm and young receivers Allen Hurns and Allen Robinson turning out to be quite the flank tandem. It's a similar offensive profile to the likes of Derek Carr, Amari Cooper and company in Oakland.

Sports Illustrated's Doug Farrar singled out Bortles as one of the league's most underrated players, citing his ability to connect on the long ball as a marker of his improvement:

"

Bortles's place on this list is unexpected after his disastrous rookie season in 2014—a rookie season in which the Jacksonville front office didn't even want him to start a game. But if you're watching the Jaguars these days, things appear to be heading in the right direction, and that starts with the second-year QB. Bortles is currently tied for fifth in the NFL with 15 touchdown passes, he's got an estimable battery of receivers, and he's the league's most prolific deep passer right now, with 19 completions on 52 attempts for 635 yards, four touchdowns and two picks. Yes, there are still points to refine, but Bortles is young quarterback to watch without question.

"

The Jets' own attack is a bit of question mark coming into Week 9. Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has a torn ligament in his non-throwing hand, but is expected to play, per ESPN.com's Rich Cimini. Fitzpatrick hurt his hand against Oakland, and it forced Geno Smith into action, who went through his typical modest highs and deep lows. 

The injury might make a more cautious player out of Fitzpatrick, as he's been known to scramble this season. If he aggravates the injury during the game, taking snaps under center could be an issue as well.

Fitzpatrick might be without one of his top wideouts in Eric Decker, who is reportedly a game-time decision for Sunday due to a nagging knee injury, per FoxSports.com. Brandon Marshall, who leads the team in receptions (50), targets (79) and receiving yards (686), was limited in practice on Thursday due to toe and ankle issues, per NewYorkJets.com.

Ben Margot/Associated Press

With the passing attack potentially stymied by injuries, the Jets could find themselves overly reliant on running back Chris Ivory. Normally, this wouldn't seem like much of a problem, but Ivory has just 58 yards on 32 carries in the past two weeks. The issues lie up front, according to the 27-year-old back.

"It starts up front," said Ivory, per Cimini. "We have to do a better job up front and just know our assignments. We prepared well this week. Maybe it will show out on the field."

Jacksonville has one of the league's tougher run defenses, allowing just 3.5 yards per carry, per ESPN.com. The Jets run defense is almost equally as tough, and Jacksonville's offense hasn't had much success this season establishing a running game. The situation is improving, however, as T.J. Yeldon has topped the century mark in two of his past three outings.

If the Jags can reduce the Jets to a one-dimensional offense—by shutting down Ivory or putting the hurt on Fitzpatrick and friends in the passing game—Bortles has enough big-play ability to put this team in the end zone a couple of times and make this a very close game—and perhaps even put his side over the top.

Atlanta (-7.5) Will Validate Oddsmakers, Win Big Over San Francisco

That half-point over a touchdown might make some bettors nervous about taking the points in this contest. However, how much faith can one really have in a 2-6 San Francisco team led by Blaine Gabbert to stay within an end-zone trip of a talented, albeit slumping, Atlanta offense?

The Blaine Train is leaving the station on Sunday, where it will tow the dead freight that is the 49ers offense through Levi's Stadium in a game against one of the league's winningest teams, the Falcons. Gabbert is starting in place of a benched Colin Kaepernick, who has struggled mightily with accuracy and efficiency all season.

Gabbert made a brief cameo appearance last season in red and gold, though it's more likely that football fans will remember him better as the dreadful, long-haired signal-caller who threw one touchdown against seven interceptions in a truncated 2013 campaign while with the Jaguars. Unfortunately for Gabbert, who will need all the help he can get Sunday, good health is not with this 49ers team.

Per 49ers.com, wideout Anquan Boldin and running back Carlos Hyde did not practice on either Wednesday or Thursday, putting their Week 9 statuses in doubt. The 49ers may end up turning to Pierre Thomas and Shaun Draughn, veteran tailbacks who only just recently joined the team.

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

It's far from an ideal situation for Gabbert to walk into, although Atlanta is dealing with injury issues of it's own in the secondary, according to Charles Odum of the Associated Press (h/t Gainesville Times):

"

The Falcons held out five players in Wednesday’s practice, including three defensive starters: safety William Moore (groin), linebacker Justin Durant (calf) and cornerback Robert Alford (groin).

Cornerback Desmond Trufant was limited after leaving last week’s 23-20 overtime loss to Tampa Bay with a lower back injury. Moore did not play in the game.

The injuries created playing time for such backups as cornerbacks Jalen Collins, a rookie, and Phillip Adams. Kemal Ishmael had three tackles as the fill-in starter at safety.

"

A shaky, young secondary could make Gabbert look pretty good, especially against a nonthreatening pass rush. Atlanta ranks 30th in the league with an adjusted sack rate of 3.8 percent, per Football Outsiders, and their top player in hurries is Vic Beasley with nine, per SportingCharts.com.

Even if the Falcons get poor play from both the defensive line and secondary, Gabbert isn't the type of quarterback that is capable of taking full advantage. It's going to be tough to stay within a touchdown of Atlanta this weekend.

The Falcons have plenty to play for, as they have a fine chance of gaining ground on the undefeated Panthers in the NFC South. Carolina plays a 6-1 Green Bay team coming off its first loss of the season in Week 9. 

Atlanta's own offense has sputtered as of late, with turnovers being the main culprit. 

Range	Record	PPG	PYPG	RYPG	Turnovers Lost
First Four Games	4-0	34.25	289.75	113.5	2
Last Four Games	2-2	19	287.75	138.5	12

Thanks to the supernova play of running back Devonta Freeman, Atlanta's been able to win more games than it's lost. Matt Ryan's struggles are perplexing, as he's thrown 11 touchdowns against seven interceptions for a team that features the likes of Julio Jones, Jacob Tamme and Roddy White.

John Bazemore/Associated Press

Part of Ryan's struggles might be that he's no longer able to freely toss it to Jones—who had 34 receptions for 440 yards and four touchdowns in the first three weeks—since teams are doing all they can to limit him, as George Henry of the Associated Press (h/t Gainesville Times) noted: 

"

Jones is still making adjustments as defenses try different ways to contain him.

Following his torrid start in September, Jones has spent the last four games trying to beat double teams in coverage.

Opponents are using a defender underneath to limit his physicality on his slant and hitch routes, and they’re keeping a defender deep to limit his breakaway speed on go-routes and post patterns.

"

Now that teams are keying in on Jones in particular, Ryan has to prove he can consistently get the ball to his other targets and keep the chains moving. San Francisco's defense, which has allowed a 100.2 quarterback rating this season, per ESPN.com, is just the unit needed for Ryan to get back on track.

Look for Ryan to spread the ball around and take advantage of openings and mismatches created by Jones while Freeman does the rest on the ground to power Atlanta to a big win over the 49ers.