NFL Week 9 Picks: Predictions for Vegas Odds Before Thursday Night

There's something wrong in Minnesota.

After reeling off five straight wins to start the season, the Vikings went into their bye week looking like a legitimate NFC championship contender.

New quarterback Sam Bradford was fitting into the Vikings' offensive system and learning it at the same time, and the Minnesota defense looked like the best in football.

However, since coming back from their bye week, the Vikings have looked awful. They were beaten badly on the road in Philadelphia. The offense was inept, and the defense got pushed around by Eagles rookie quarterback Carson Wentz.

Any team can have a bad game, but head coach Mike Zimmer was highly critical and said his offensive line was "soft" in that game, per Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune (via Kevin Patra of NFL.com).

Instead of coming back with a chip on their shoulder in Week 8 Monday night against the Chicago Bears, the Vikings were completely outplayed. Chicago, which had picked up just one win prior to meeting Minnesota, looked sharp in registering a 20-10 victory.

The Vikings looked like they were in disarray, and then the team announced Wednesday that offensive coordinator Norv Turner had suddenly resigned.

Game	Point Spread	Prediction
Atlanta at Tampa Bay	Atlanta -3.5	Tampa Bay
Jacksonville at Kansas City	Kansas City -7.5	Jacksonville
Detroit at Minnesota	Minnesota -6	Detroit
Pittsburgh at Baltimore	Baltimore -2.5	Pittsburgh
Philadelphia at N.Y. Giants	NYG -3	NYG
N.Y. Jets at Miami	Miami -3.5	Miami
Dallas at Cleveland	Dallas -7	Dallas
Carolina at Los Angeles	Carolina -3	Carolina
New Orleans at San Francisco	New Orleans -3	New Orleans
Tennessee at San Diego	San Diego -4	Tennessee
Indianapolis at Green Bay	Green Bay -7	Green Bay
Denver at Oakland	Even	Denver
Buffalo at Seattle	Seattle -6.5	Seattle

Minnesota returns home this week to play the Detroit Lions, a team that has won three of its last four games. The Vikings are six-point favorites this week, according to Odds Shark. That seems somewhat out of line considering that the offense has gone cold, and the defense is not playing as well as it did earlier in the year.

Bradford is not running the Vikings offense with efficiency right now, and the running game is awful. The Vikings are averaging 71.9 yards per game on the ground, and that ranks 31st in the NFL.

On the other hand, Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has a 16-4 touchdown-interception ratio. The Lions can look at the tape of the Vikings in their last two games and see they are vulnerable.

Detroit will not only cover, but also win the game outright.

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

The Carolina Panthers have been one of the most disappointing teams in the league to this point in the season. After losing just one game a year ago and making it to the Super Bowl, the Panthers had one win before they showed signs of life in beating the Arizona Cardinals in Week 8.

It was not a perfect game, as the Cardinals mounted a second-half comeback and made the final score a respectable 30-20. However, the Panthers looked sharp in racing to a 24-0 first-half lead, and there were signs that the muscle memory of last year's brilliant season was coming back.

Carolina goes on the road this week to play a Los Angeles Rams team that has struggled with three straight losses after playing respectable football at the start of the season.

Quarterback Case Keenum continues to hold onto the starting job for the Rams, but his performance has been poor. Keenum threw four interceptions in his last game and has thrown seven in his last three. However, head coach Jeff Fisher has not seen fit to give No. 1 draft pick Jared Goff an opportunity to go under center.

The win over the Cardinals should be good for the Panthers' psyche, and while they are 2-5, there's no reason head coach Ron Rivera's team can't turn it around in the second half of the season.

The combination of quarterback Cam Newton and tight end Greg Olsen is capable of lighting up the Rams, and linebackers Thomas Davis and Luke Kuechly can keep the home team in check. 

The Panthers are three-point favorites on the road, and they should be able to win by at least a touchdown as they fight to regain control of their season.

The Oakland Raiders have passed most of the tests they have had this season as they fight to become a contending team for the first time in years.

Head coach Jack Del Rio has seen his team make a statement by winning their first five road games. The Raiders return home this week to take on the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos. Oakland has dropped two of its first three home games.

However, the Raiders should be ready for their longtime rivals. Quarterback Derek Carr is emerging as one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. He has thrown for an average of 285.1 yards per game and has a 17-3 touchdown-interception ratio.

He has two excellent receivers in Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree, and the running game is also respectable.

The Broncos remain one of the top defensive teams in the league (third in average yardage allowed), and linebacker Von Miller (8.5 sacks) may be the best defensive playmaker in the league.

This game is rated as even, but the onus is on the Raiders to show they can find a way to defeat the long-running AFC West power.

The stage may be a bit too much for the Raiders. Look for the Denver defense to show off its strength and prevent Carr from taking yet another step forward.

The Raiders' day is coming, but it won't come in Week 9 against the Broncos.