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

The New England Patriots and the San Francisco 49ers are the NFL's two remaining undefeated teams after eight weeks and both are in action in Week 9. Both are favored this week, though the 49ers more heavily.

San Francisco kicks off Week 9 against the NFC West rival Arizona Cardinals. The Patriots will take on the 5-2 Baltimore Ravens in Sunday's finale. Will both still be undefeated on Monday morning? How might the rest of Week 9 unfold? Let's take a look.

Here, we'll examine the latest odds and over/unders from Caesars and make score predictions for every game. We'll also examine some expert predictions—as compiled on NFLPickWatch.com—and dig into the contests where the experts are most split.

NFL Week 9, Lines, Over/Unders and Predictions

San Francisco 49ers (-10, 43 O/U) at Arizona Cardinals: San Francisco 38-22

Houston Texans (-1.5, 46.5 O/U) at Jacksonville Jaguars: Jacksonville 23-22

Chicago Bears (+4.5, 42.5 O/U) at Philadelphia Eagles: Philadelphia 22-20

Indianapolis Colts (-1, 42.5 O/U) at Pittsburgh Steelers: Indianapolis 25-22

New York Jets (-3., 41.5 O/U) at Miami Dolphins: New York 18-16

Minnesota Vikings (no line) at Kansas City Chiefs: Minnesota 28-22

Tennessee Titans (+3.5, 42 O/U) at Carolina Panthers: Carolina 27-21

Washington Redskins (+9.5, 37 O/U) at Buffalo Bills: Buffalo 23-13

Detroit Lions (+2, 50.5 O/U) at Oakland Raiders: Oakland 30-27

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+6, 51) at Seattle Seahawks: Seattle 30-23

Cleveland Browns (-3.5, 39 O/U) at Denver Broncos: Cleveland 21-14

Green Bay Packers (-3.5, 47.5 O/U) at Los Angeles Chargers: Green Bay 27-20

New England Patriots (-3, 45 O/U) at Baltimore Ravens: New England 22-21

Dallas Cowboys (-7.5, 48 O/U) at New York Giants: Dallas 31-21

Expert Predictions

Going off of the expert predictions compiled by NFL Pickwatch at the time of this writing, only five teams have a 100 percent pick rate—the 49ers, Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills, Seattle Seahawks and the Dallas Cowboys.

Five more teams are considered heavy favorites, being picked by 75 percent or more of experts. Those teams are the Indianapolis Colts (77 percent), Carolina Panthers (94), Philadelphia Eagles (94) Cleveland Browns (84) and the Patriots (81).

The New York Jets are being picked by 68 percent of experts, while the Oakland Raiders and Minnesota Vikings both have a 65-percent pick rate. The closest contest is between the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars, where experts are split 55-45 percent.

Minnesota Vikings at Kansas City Chiefs

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

There's a reason why no line is up for the Vikings vs. Kansas City Chiefs matchup. The status of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is still up in the air.

"Day to day," coach Andy Reid said of his quarterback, per Chris Tomasson of the Twin Cities Pioneer Press.

The experts are leaning toward Minnesota, likely based on the assumption that Mahomes won't play. If the reigning MVP isn't at 100 percent, there's no reason to rush him back. Matt Moore was more than serviceable against the Packers in Week 8, going 24-of-36 for 267 yards and two touchdowns.

However, there still might be an even split among experts if Mahomes was healthy. Remember, the Chiefs lost to both the Cols and the Texans at home with Mahomes under center.

Houston Texans at Jacksonville Jaguars (London)

On paper, the 5-3 Texans should be considered the favorites over the 4-4 Jaguars. They have a legitimate MVP candidate in quarterback Deshaun Watson and one of the game's best receivers in DeAndre Hopkins.

However, the Jaguars have a quality quarterback of their own in rookie Gardner Minshew, and they have two other factors working in their favor.

The first is that this game will be played in London. Jacksonville has played at least one game in London each year dating back to 2013. For many players, this won't be a new experience. This will be the first London trip for the Texans, so traveling and scheduling could give them a big disadvantage.

"It's awful, you get discombobulated," Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone said, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. "You don't know what's up and what's down, if it's daylight, nighttime. It's brutal. I'm glad I've done it before."

The Texans will also be without star pass-rusher J.J. Watt, who was recently placed on injured reserve with a torn pectoral. The loss of Watt takes some bite out of a defense that already ranks just 20th in yards allowed (362.1 per game).

Detroit Lions at Oakland Raiders

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

The matchup between the Detroit Lions and the Raiders is difficult to predict because both teams have been up-and-down this season.

The Lions have looked good in losses to teams like the Packers and Chiefs. They've also looked subpar in wins over teams like the New York Giants and the Eagles. The Raiders, meanwhile, have played well in wins over teams like Indianapolis and the Chicago Bears, while playing terribly against the Packers and Chiefs.

One big factor in this game will likely be the season-ending injury to Detroit running back Kerryon Johnson. The Lions averaged just 96.9 rushing yards per game this season and totaled just 59 yards in Week 8 without him.

The Raiders should be able to focus a bit more on stopping Matthew Stafford and the Detroit passing game, which is a big benefit. Oakland has allowed the third-most passing yards in the NFL, 285.3 per game, this season.