NFL Picks Week 9: 3 Teams Guaranteed to Fall at Home

When a team is faced with a tough opponent, any notion of a home-field advantage goes flying out the window, and for three squads that appears to be the case in Week 9.

Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts, Washington Redskins and San Diego Chargers all play host to three of the NFL's toughest teams this coming Sunday, and they are going to be hard-pressed to earn a win in front of their hometown crowds.

The Colts, at 0-8, are the NFL's worst team, and this Sunday they are facing the Atlanta Falcons, one of the more difficult teams to beat, even for squads better than Indianapolis.

Atlanta's offense, at least according to ESPN, ranks just below the Colts'; however, with Indianapolis boasting the league's 32nd-ranked defense, it's likely that the Falcons' offensive standing is going to rise when (and not if) they win this week.

Washington Redskins

The Washington Redskins are in collapse mode, dropping their last three games after starting the season in sole control over the NFC East at 3-1. This Sunday they take on the San Francisco 49ers, the No. 2 team in the NFL and one of the more intimidating teams on both sides of the ball.

Washington is already struggling on offense, with quarterback John Beck not fairing much better than Rex Grossman, who held the starting position before being benched in favor of Beck. Beck had 208 passing yards and two interceptions in last week's shutout loss to the Buffalo Bills.

He had no help from running backs Roy Helu and Ryan Torain, either, and considering the Bills aren't known for their run defense, the two backs aren't going to fare much better against the 'Niners' top-ranked rushing defense.

At the same time, the San Francisco offense, once one of the most unproductive in the league, has morphed into a model of efficiency this season. It's hard to imagine the Redskins being anything other than overwhelmed when facing such a formidable opponent, and even harder to see them pulling out their fourth win of the season.

San Diego Chargers

The Chargers have the unfortunate position of hosting the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, especially considering they will be coming off of a short week and an embarrassing Week 8 overtime loss to the Kansas City Chiefs that saw them slip to No. 2 in the AFC West.

Defense will likely be San Diego's only hope when it comes to defeating the 7-0 Packers, with their offense looking shaky at best so far this season. The Chargers will also likely be out two (or perhaps three) running backs and will have to rely on quarterback Philip Rivers' newly-inaccurate arm to keep them in the game against the league's No. 4 passing offense.

While a shootout is not inconceivable—in fact, it's the order of the day for almost every team the Packers have faced so far this season—it's not a strategy that would benefit the Chargers at this point in the season and, more than anything, plays right into Green Bay's hands.

The Packers might have somewhat of a challenge on their hands, but I don't see them struggling enough to lose their first game of the season in San Diego this Sunday.