Week 9 NFL Picks: Odds, Predictions and Top Prop Bets for Full Schedule

The Denver Broncos passed a huge test in Week 8 when they remained undefeated and pinned the first loss of the season on the Green Bay Packers.

The Broncos, with the No. 1-rated defense in the NFL, put the shackles on Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay offense in a manner that was not expected. Rodgers, often considered to be the best quarterback in the NFL, was held to 77 yards through the air.

But in addition to the defense playing a stellar game, the much-criticized Denver offense played one of its best games of the season.

Running back C.J. Anderson creased the Green Bay defense for 101 rushing yards, but the big news came from Peyton Manning. The quarterback has struggled for most of the season—he had thrown 10 interceptions through Week 7—but he completed 21 of 29 passes for 340 yards and looked sharp for most of the game.

This week, the Broncos take their undefeated record to Indianapolis, and the struggling Colts are coming off a short week of preparation after losing in overtime at Carolina Monday night.

The Broncos, who were beaten by the Colts in the divisional playoffs last year, are 5.5-point favorites, according to Odds Shark.

This game should belong to the Broncos with little problem. 

There will be no letdown here after the Broncos won the battle of unbeatens with the Packers. They are motivated to hand the Colts a beating after getting eliminated by them last year. Additionally, Manning would love to show Colts fans that he is still capable of performing at a high level.

Since he did it last week against Green Bay, there's no reason why he can't do it against the Colts' 30th-ranked defense. The Broncos will hand the Colts their sixth loss of the season, and they will pull away in the fourth quarter.

Game	Line	Over-Under	Selection
Miami at Buffalo	Buffalo -2.5	44	Buffalo; Over
Green Bay at Carolina	Green Bay -2.5	46.5	Carolina
St. Louis at Minnesota	Even	40	Minnesota; Under
Washington at New England	New England -15	51.5	Washington; Under
Tennessee at New Orleans	New Orleans -9	48	New Orleans
Jacksonville at N.Y. Jets	N.Y. Jets -9	42	N.Y. Jets
Oakland at Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh -4.5	48.5	Oakland; Over
Atlanta at San Francisco	Atlanta -7.5	44	Atlanta: Under
N.Y. Giants at Tampa Bay	N.Y. Giants -2.5	50	Tampa Bay; Over
Denver at Indianapolis	Denver -4.5	45.5	Denver
Philadelphia at Dallas	Philadelphia -3	43.5	Philadelphia; Under
Chicago at San Diego	San Diego -4.5	49.6	San Diego; Under

Giants, Bucs will light up the scoreboard

Just a few weeks ago, No. 1 draft pick Jameis Winston looked like he needed to take a seat on the Tampa Bay bench. He had thrown seven interceptions in his first four games, and he was coming off a four-interception performance against the Carolina Panthers in Week 4.

But instead of getting swept away by that negative tide, Winston has stepped up and improved. He took a big step forward and made progress when it came to reading defenses, and he started putting the ball where his receivers could catch it and opposing defensive backs couldn't.

In the ensuing three games, the Bucs have won twice and Winston has not thrown an interception.

After beating the Falcons on the road in overtime last week, the Bucs come home to play the porous New York Giants. The New York defense has been awful this season, ranking last in yards allowed and 31st against the pass.

The New York defense was exploited by Drew Brees in Week 8, as the Saints quarterback threw a record-tying seven TD passes against them in a 52-49 New Orleans victory. Winston is not likely to come close to that figure, but it would not be a surprise to see him have success against the Giants.

While the Giants can't play defense, they can score, and they can do it quickly. Eli Manning was on top of his game in Week 8, as he threw six TD passes against New Orleans. He has a sensational receiver in Odell Beckham Jr. and fine complementary pass-catchers in Rueben Randle and running back Shane Vereen. The 4-4 Giants are not going to give anything away without a fight, and they have the ability to outscore the Bucs here.

Odds Shark lists the total in this game at 50 points, and we see both of these teams scoring at least 28 points.

They will fly by the total, and the over will come through.

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

Titans test "new coach" theory in visit to New Orleans

The Tennessee Titans have struggled badly this season since beating the Tampa Bay Bucs in the season opener, and after they lost their next six games, head coach Ken Whisenhunt was fired.

The Titans' 20-6 loss to the Houston Texans in Week 8 was the final straw, and Mike Mularkey was promoted to fill his spot on an interim basis.

Many believe that an in-season coaching move can give a team an immediate lift by changing one coach's leadership style for his replacement's. That's just how it worked out for the Miami Dolphins earlier this year, when they fired Joe Philbin and replaced him with Dan Campbell.

The Dolphins won and covered the spread in their first two games under Campbell before losing to the New England Patriots in their third game under their new coach.

Mularkey and the Titans are nine-point underdogs at New Orleans this week, but don't be surprised if the Titans find a way to keep it close.

Eleven teams have made in-season coaching moves since the start of the 2009 season. Eight of those teams have covered the spread in their initial game with their new coach, according to Odds Shark.

It will be difficult for the Titans to defeat the high-scoring Saints on Sunday, but they should get a lift from the coaching change and stay within the nine-point spread.