NFL Week 9 Picks: Teams Sure to Win in Style

Week 9's slate of games in the NFL offers a few chances for favorites to run away with it and simply destroy the competition. While it's never easy to predict anything in the wild NFL, the following two teams are almost assured of victory on Sunday.

The Houston Texans have somehow turned things around after hitting a rough patch due to a few key injuries. While linebacker Mario Williams is out for the year and wide receiver Andre Johnson is still battling a hamstring injury, Houston has managed to find ways to win.

This weekend, the Texans welcome the Cleveland Browns to Reliant Stadium and Houston should roll. 

The Browns enter the game with the league's 26th-ranked defense, allowing an average of 305.7 yards per game. Quarterback Colt McCoy has not taken the next step in his development yet, and his quarterback rating of 76.4 is 26th out of the 33 players who qualify. 

Meanwhile, Houston's defense has been a surprise this season. The unit ranks third in the NFL, allowing just 286.6 yards per game. Houston's offense has also been outstanding considering the injuries they have suffered so far in 2011. Houston ranks seventh in the league on offense, averaging 395.3 yards per game.

Running back Arian Foster's return to form has been the catalyst in Houston's offensive surge, and has helped the team get over the loss of Johnson. The Texans' rushing attack is the fourth-best in the NFL, racking up 141.9 yards per game.

When considering all of the factors listed above, it's easy to predict a walkover win for the AFC South favorites. I think they will dominate Cleveland on Sunday and improve to 6-3, while sending the Browns to 3-5.

The Oakland Raiders have a chance to earn a blowout win, just as the Texans did on Sunday. The 4-3 Raiders welcome the 2-5 Denver Broncos to town and should be able to handle Tim Tebow and the rest of his team.

Tebow looked horrible in Denver's 45-10 blowout loss to the Lions on Sunday. I don't think things will get any better for him this weekend. 

The Raiders may be without running back Darren McFadden on Sunday, but backup Michael Bush can fill in admirably for him if called upon. 

While quarterback Carson Palmer has only been on the team for a fortnight, the team had a bye last week during which Palmer could catch up on learning the team's offense. The former Bengals quarterback is a dedicated signal-caller and I doubt he'll have any problems learning the ins and outs of Oakland's scheme. 

I don't think the Broncos will have any answers for the Raiders. What's more, quarterback Tim Tebow will have a difficult time getting anything done against their defense. The Raiders should pull away late in the second half of this one.