NFL Week 9 Picks: Underdogs That Are Locks to Cover on Sunday

No matter how good the NFL oddsmakers are, they simply can't get it right each and every time. If that were the case, then there would be no reason for anyone to bet. While Las Vegas still kills in the wins department, individual bettors win just enough to keep coming back.

Each and every week there are games that are closer than they should be or games in which the underdog surprises everybody and wins outright, like the St. Louis Rams over the New Orleans Saints last week.

Here are three underdogs that are guaranteed to cover the spread this weekend.

Denver Broncos

Although the Denver Broncos certainly looked like a train wreck in their blowout loss to the Detroit Lions last week, the linesmakers may be going a bit overboard in making them eight-point underdogs against the Oakland Raiders. The Raiders are the superior team, but crazy things tend to happen in divisional games.

Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow has been a tough nut to crack, as he has looked terrible for the majority of his two starts this season, but he showed flashes of greatness in a come-from-behind win over the Miami Dolphins.

The Raiders have struggled to defend the pass this season, and with running back Willis McGahee banged up, I think Tebow should easily have his best passing day of the year.

Oakland had a bye week to prepare for Denver, but the fact remains that quarterback Carson Palmer has still only been with the team for a couple weeks. Because of that, the gameplan may be a bit conservative and could allow the Broncos to hang around.

Running back Darren McFadden is also likely to sit with a foot injury, so the player that killed the Broncos in Week 1 may not be around to do it again.

St. Louis Rams

At this time a week ago, it seemed like the St. Louis Rams' season was dead in the water as they still had yet to win a game and their starting quarterback, Sam Bradford, was out with a high ankle sprain. The Rams shocked the football world by upsetting the New Orleans Saints, however, and Bradford appears ready to play on Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.

Despite this reversal in fortune, the 1-6 Cardinals are favored by two at home. This is true even though Arizona starting quarterback Kevin Kolb is likely to miss the game with turf toe. This means that second-year-man John Skelton will probably be under center against a Rams defense that got after Drew Brees last week.

The Rams awoke on offense as well last week as running back Steven Jackson trampled the Saints. St. Louis would be well served to feed Jackson the ball again this week. This should also open up the passing game for Bradford against Arizona, which has one of the worst secondaries in football. The Rams should win this one outright.

New York Giants

Despite the fact that the New York Giants are 5-2 and in first place in the NFC East, they aren't getting a great deal of respect across the league. Perhaps it is because they share a division with polarizing teams like the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowboys, but people should start taking notice because the Giants are for real.

The Giants will travel to Foxboro for a big game against the 5-2 New England Patriots. The Pats are nine-point favorites at home, as they are being expected to bounce back from a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers last week, but that line is way out of whack.

For one, no team in the league is better equipped to rush Tom Brady than the G-Men. The Giants can send waves of excellent pass rushers and that could prove to be a problem for New England's offense. Also, Giants quarterback Eli Manning has been more consistent than he ever has been, and he should be able to feast on the Patriots' league-worst pass defense. An outright win for the Giants wouldn't be a shock.

Check out more B/R picks here.