NFL Week 9 Picks: Vikings Look to Ease Panic
NFL Picks Week 9: Huge showdowns this weekend in Minnesota, Oakland, Atlanta, and Philadelphia.
The best part about this weekend's games, however, is that several of the big matchups were total afterthoughts when the schedule was released back in April.
Who would have thought the Raiders-Chiefs game would be so important? Or the Buccaneers visit to the Georgia Dome?
Take a look at these picks!
New England (6-1) at Cleveland (2-5)
1 of 13
Line: New England minus 4.5
The Bill Belichick-Eric Mangini rivalry hits the Midwest this weekend as the Patriots travel to Cleveland Browns Stadium.
On paper, of course, this is probably a route for the Pats, who now own the league's best record. But the Browns have played several good teams tough this season, including their stunning road win over the Saints two weeks ago.
Colt McCoy should get the start for Cleveland, and if the Browns are going to compete into the fourth quarter, he'll have to improve upon his 4.6 yards-per-attempt effort a week ago. The Pats pass defense is surprisingly the second worst (282 yards-per-game) in the NFL.
Although Cleveland's defense isn't bad, the Patriots won't have any trouble scoring on Sunday. Last week, BenJarvus Green-Ellis provided more balance to the offense than the Pats have seen all year, and if he continues to perform, Tom Brady will finally break the 300-yard mark this week.
Prediction: New England 30, Cleveland 20
New York Jets (5-2) at Detroit (2-5)
2 of 13
Line: Jets minus 4
The Jets finally looked vulnerable a week ago, getting shut out at home by the Packers.
That has to be one of those midseason anomalies that most good teams run into, doesn't it?
On offense, there is too much firepower across the board to think they will be kept without a few touchdowns this weekend on the turf at Ford Field.
And since the Jets defense limited Green Bay to just three field goals last week, they should be able to handle the young Detroit offense.
But don't assume Matthew Stafford will regress from his four-touchdown performance a week ago. The Lions have enough of their own offensive firepower to contend with the Jets. For a while, at least.
Prediction: Jets 34, Lions 21
Miami (4-3) at Baltimore (5-2)
3 of 13
Line: Miami +5.5
At 4-0, the Dolphins might be the best road team in football. And the Ravens haven't been terribly dominant at home this season either. They are 3-0, but they've needed just about all 60 minutes (or longer) to defeat Denver, Cleveland, and Buffalo, who have a combined record of 4-18.
Aside from the last five minutes of their win against Denver, the Ravens have been in closely contested games every week. That's a testament to excellent play third down play on both sides of the ball.
Miami has been very solid on offense despite just three touchdowns combined from Ronnie Brown, Ricky Williams, and Brandon Marshall. When that number goes up, the Dolphins will be a serious threat in the AFC East.
Prediction: Miami 24, Baltimore 21 (OT)
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
San Diego (3-5) at Houston (4-3)
4 of 13
Line: San Diego minus 3
From a statistics standpoint, it's almost incomprehensible that the Chargers are two games under .500 in November. They have the league's best passing game, and are ranked first overall in total defense, first in pass defense and second in run defense.
They play a Texans team this Sunday who ranks dead last in pass defense, which means Philip Rivers and Antonio Gates should have huge days.
If Andre Johnson continues to be slowed by his sore ankle, then Matt Schaub will have to turn to his other receivers, none of whom have more than 22 catches. Fortunately, they do have Arian Foster, who will see plenty of opportunities to break the Charger run defenses 83 yards-per-game average.
Prediction: Chargers 41, Texans 34
Arizona (3-4) at Minnesota (2-5)
5 of 13
Line: Arizona +9
The second post-Randy Moss era begins this week. With Percy Harvin's ankle still a problem and Sidney Rice not yet ready to return, Minnesota may have wished they could have waited a week.
Fortunately, Brett Favre's ankle, elbow, and Jenn Sterger scandal are on the backburner after his lacerated chin, but he should be fine for at least another week.
Despite all the drama across the board, Adrian Peterson is still in the backfield, and is leading the league in rushing. The Cardinals just don't have a way of stopping him: this is a unit that allowed 154 rushing yards at home to the Bucs.
Arizona's quarterback woes are a bigger concern, however. The Vikings defense may have struggled all year to create turnovers and collect sacks, but that won't be the case against Derek Anderson.
Prediction: Minnesota 38, Arizona 13
New Orleans (5-3) at Carolina (1-6)
6 of 13
Line: New Orleans minus 6.5
The Saints looked to be back to their old selves last week against Pittsburgh. But they have had a habit of playing down to their competition this season.
They lost to Cleveland at home, struggled mightily with the 49ers and didn't exactly romp these winless Panthers back in Week Four, winning 16-14 in the final minutes.
Carolina has not been a good team this season, and their problems on offense are obvious. Still, John Fox has done an admirable job with the defense: they rank fourth in the NFL in yards per game.
That underappreciate unit will be able to keep Drew Brees and company under 30 points, but they're offensive teammates just cannot do enough to make it a game.
Prediction: New Orleans 27, Carolina 10
Chicago (4-3) at Buffalo (0-7)
7 of 13
Line: Chicago minus 3
Based on the way they played during the first half of the season, both of these team's record are hard to fathom.
The Bills budding offense was held in check last week at Arrowhead, but the defense picked up the slack, keeping Kansas City to just 10 points for nearly 75 minutes. Still, the Chiefs running game totaled well over 200 yards against the league's worst ranked run defense and that has to be a major focus for Chicago offensive coordinator Mike Martz.
The Bears defense, however, needs to be concerned with Ryan Fitzpatrick's ability to get rid of the ball quickly and connect with Lee Evans and Steve Johnson. Chicago has just two sacks in the past two weeks.
Prediction: Bills 23, Bears 17
Tampa Bay (5-2) at Atlanta (5-2)
8 of 13
Line: Tampa Bay +8.5
The Bucs get a chance to prove they are for real this week. So does Josh Freeman.
Tampa's second-year quarterback hasn't posted terribly outstanding numbers, but his leadership and late game poise is one of the main reason's the Bucs are the surprise team of the NFC and are a win away from taking control of their division.
Although the Bucs have won five of their seven games, their defense has not been very good this season. The numbers may be a bit inflated because of what happened in their losses to Pittsburgh and New Orleans, but they are still 25th in the NFL, surrendering 360 yards per game.
Against the Falcons who have as good an offense as anyone in the NFC, that's a major issue. If they cannot get pressure on Matt Ryan (and the Bucs only have six sacks all season) then this one will not be much of a contest.
Prediction: Atlanta 31, Tampa 23
New York Giants (5-2) at Seattle (4-3)
9 of 13
Line: New York minus 6.5
The Seahawks have been arguably the most inconsistent team in the NFL. They play great one week, terrible the next, as we saw when the Raiders embarrassed them a week ago.
Marshawn Lynch still is a nice piece of the offense and if they can get more accuracy from Matt Hasselbeck (who has completed less than half of his passes the past two weeks) than they'll stand a better chance against an excellent Giants defense.
The Seahawks have not defended the pass well this year (29th in the NFL) but they have done a great job pressuring opposing quarterbacks (21 sacks). Putting some heat on Eli Manning early in the game is the key to slowing down the Giants offense, which is averaging nearly 400 yards per game.
Prediction: Giants 33, Seattle 19
Indianapolis (5-2) at Philadelphia (4-3)
10 of 13
Line: Indianapolis +3
This one has shootout written all over it.
The Eagles get Michael Vick back this week, and perhaps DeSean Jackson as well. The return of both players will obviously aid the passing game, but it will benefit LeSean McCoy just as much.
Since Vick left the lineup, he has not been able to get enough carries or yards. That should change with the threat of Vick running on the edges.
Peyton Manning has been incredibly sharp, despite all the losses to his skill players. Against an Eagle defense that is not nearly what it was a few years ago, he'll have plenty of time, and connect with Reggie Wayne and whoever else is healthy enough to run routes. And since Mike Hart ran pretty well a week ago against Houston, they should be able to keep the Philadelphia defense guessing.
Prediction: Indianapolis 37, Philadelphia 34 (OT)
Kansas City (5-2) at Oakland (4-4)
11 of 13
Line: Kansas City +2.5
Fans of "smashmouth" football are in for a real treat with this one. The top two rushing teams in the NFL face each other.
Oakland has a significant advantage in the passing game however. Jason Campbell has been pretty good the last two weeks and Zach Miller and Louis Murphy are good targets.
Across the field, the Chiefs aerial attack (ranked dead last in the NFL) was pretty abysmal last week against Buffalo, and it won't see an easier test against the Raiders. Oakland ranks fifth in the NFL against the pass, and they've done a great job pressuring opposing quarterbacks, averaging three sacks per game.
Matt Cassel is the key to this one for Kansas City. The Chiefs backfield will get their yards and create first downs. But there are going to be plenty of third and medium situations where they have to rely on the passing game to convert.
Prediction: Oakland 20, Kansas City 16
Dallas (1-6) at Green Bay (5-3)
12 of 13
Line: Dallas +8.5
With their season essentially over by Halloween, maybe the Cowboys will try something new against Green Bay: running the ball. It's pretty remarkable that Dallas has two excellent backs in Marion Barber and Felix Jones, yet they are averaging 80 yards per game, second worst in the NFL.
Together, Barber and Jones aren't even averaging 20 carries per game. If Jon Kitna is going to pull out a fairly stunning upset at Lambeau, Jason Garrett is going to have to ignore his receivers complaints and committ to the run.
The Packers are 25th in the NFL in rush defense and Clay Matthews can't sack Kitna if Jones or Barber is running the ball.
And despite Green Bay's great win last week, the offense didn't do very much. Apart from collecting just 237 total yards, the offense converted only 2 of 14 third down attempts. That type of production won't give them the win they need to take over sole-possession of first place in the NFC North.
Prediction: Dallas 24, Green Bay 20
Pittsburgh (5-2) At Cincinnati (2-5)
13 of 13
Line: Pittsburgh minus 5
Despite their record, the Steelers have to be considered a fairly desperate team going into this Monday night showdown at Paul Brown Stadium.
It's their third game on the road in as many weeks, they lost last Sunday in a game that they had a chance to win in middle of the fourth quarter, and Cincinnati swept Pittsburgh a year ago.
Ben Roethlisberger will be happy to see a different set of 11 defenders than he saw last week in the Superdome, and will have more time in the pocket to throw. Expect him to have the patience to wait on Mike Wallace to open up deep down the field.
Cedric Benson is not going to be able to run on the Steelers: they're tops in the league, allowing less than 59 yards per game. Carson Palmer will operate from a three-receiver set throughout most of the game and it will be up to rookie Jordan Shipley to make plays when Pittsburgh focuses too intently on Chad Ochocinco and Terrell Owens.
Prediction: Pittsburgh 29, Cincinnati 17
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Post-June 1 Trade Candidates ☎️")
.JPG?w=600 "TO Talks Cowboys Relationship")
.jpg?w=600 "Taylor Heinicke Retiring")
.jpg?w=600 "49ers OC Hypes Mike Evans 🤩")