NFL Week 9 Picks: 3 Most Likely Games to Go over the Spread

When you are looking at an over/under and trying to figure out whether a game will in fact go over or under, you have to ask yourself a few questions. 

For one, will it be high scoring? But more important than that number, will it be high scoring against the number? That sounds obvious, but it's worth restating. 

So, a simple question is this: Which games on the Week 9 schedule will go over their number? 

Numbers courtesy of Bodog:

Atlanta Falcons at Indianapolis Colts (O/U 44.5)

More than anything, this is because I just don't have enough confidence in the Colts defense to shut down the Falcons for any sustained period of time. So, looking at that, the only question is, will the Colts pick up whatever slack there is?

The answer to that is yes.

The Falcons defense is good, but I don't see them shutting the Colts completely down this weekend. Whatever the Falcons can't do when it comes to getting to 45 points, the Colts will make up for.

New York Giants at New England Patriots (O/U 51)

This one is actually pretty simple. Look at my score below. I have the losing team scoring more than half of 51 points. 

These are two teams with strong offenses and with very limited ability to defend the pass. I don't see Eli Manning or Tom Brady struggling there. 

If my prediction is anywhere near true, then this one will easily go over 51 points. If you don't think my prediction is close to true, I would love to hear why you are so confident in either of these defenses.

Chicago Bears at Philadelphia Eagles (O/U 47)

I actually think this will be one of the better Monday Night Football games that we'll see this season. 

The Bears are strong defensively, but aren't great against the pass. That's a problem when you're opposing one of the best receiving corps in the NFL. 

When the Bears have the ball, they will have the luxury of having Matt Forte against a defense that does not defend the run well at all. 

So, each team's offensive strength goes directly against their opponent's defense weakness. This one screams shootout to me.

Predictions:

Falcons 34, Colts 17

Patriots 37, Giants 28

Eagles 31, Bears 27

Check out more B/R picks here.