NFL Week 9 Picks: Road Favorites That Will Cover with Ease

Home-field advantage tends to be fairly important in the NFL, so it isn't often that a road team is favored. For that to happen, the away team has to be far superior. Even so, beating a weak team on the road can still be an extremely difficult task.

There are a few teams that will be facing such a predicament this weekend. Here are three road favorites who should have no issue winning and covering the spread in Week 9.

San Francisco 49ers (-3.5)

At 6-1, the San Francisco 49ers have taken the league by storm. Although much of their success has to do with an incredibly easy schedule, they are a solid team in their own right. The Niners have been one of the best defensive teams in football this season, and the offense has been good enough as Frank Gore has run wild and quarterback Alex Smith has been a great decision maker.

San Francisco will have yet another easy opponent this week in the 3-4 Washington Redskins. While the 'Skins started the season off hot, they have fallen off considerably and have lost three straight games. The Redskins will be without wide receiver Santana Moss and running back Tim Hightower, and John Beck is starting at quarterback. Washington was shut out by Buffalo last week and very well could be again on Sunday.

Green Bay Packers (-5.5)

Regardless of who they play or where the game is played, the Green Bay Packers are always going to be favored at this point. The Packers are the only remaining undefeated team in the league, and they have steamrolled the majority of their opponents. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the offense are robotic in their efficiency and have been scoring at will.

The Packers will face a desperate San Diego Chargers team that has lost two straight and is in a three-way tie for first place in the AFC West. While the Chargers would normally be able to hang with Green Bay a bit, San Diego's vaunted offense has struggled this season. This is particularly true of quarterback Philip Rivers. I simply don't think the Chargers will be able to keep up in a track meet against the Packers, and that is exactly what Green Bay will force this game to be.

Atlanta Falcons (-7)

After going 13-3 last season, the Atlanta Falcons had high hopes entering 2011. This was especially true after Atlanta traded way up in the draft to select wide receiver Julio Jones as a running mate for Roddy White. While Jones has been excellent (when healthy), the Falcons have been a bit hot and cold to this point.

They have undoubtedly been hot over the past couple games, though, including a win over the Detroit Lions. The Falcons have recommitted to Michael Turner and the running game, and the results speak for themselves. Atlanta will take on the winless Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, and you have to wonder how they are only seven-point favorites. There is no way Indy's porous defense will be able to stop the Falcons on the ground or through the air, so Atlanta should have no problem winning by multiple scores.