NFL Week 9 Preview and Picks

Record Last week 8-5

New York Jets (4-3) at Buffalo (5-2)

The Jets seemed to have righted the ship.  The Jets are 0-3 on the road this season and the Bills are 4-0 at home.  Both teams are on a two game winning streak, so something has to give with the current trends.  The Bills are playing well with Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback.  The Jets have not been consistent as a team this year.  The Jets will win 24-21

Cleveland (3-4) at Houston (5-3)

The Browns have played above expectations this season, on the backs of their defense.  The Browns offense does not have many offensive weapons.  Colt McCoy has been consistent, but need more weapons.  The Texans have a smothering defense and force turnovers.  The Texans have been very potent on offense with Arian Foster and Matt Schuab.  Andre Johnson will be a game time decision again this week.  The Texans have to be careful not to look ahead to their bye next week.  Texans win 28-10.

Atlanta (4-3) at Indianapolis (0-8)

The Colts have many holes with their team and will be playing for pride.  Curtis Painter has been unable to have the Colts offense on the same level as the sidelined Peyton Manning.  The Falcons are tied with the Saints and Bucs in the loss column. The Falcons have struggled with their offense as well this season.  Atlanta will win 24-14.

Miami (0-7) at Kansas City (4-3)

The Dolphins have been competitive this year, but always find a way to lose games.  The Chiefs are coming off of an emotional win over the Chargers and could take the Fins for granted.  The first place Chiefs will not get caught looking ahead to division rival Oakland next week.  Chiefs will win 17-14.

Tampa Bay (4-3) at New Orleans (5-3)

The Bucs and Saints played three weeks ago in New Orleans.  The Bucs won that game 26-20.  Drew Brees and the Saints are coming off of a very disappointing loss to the Rams.  The Saints got caught looking ahead to this game.  Josh Freeman has been steady.  The week off should help the jet lagged Bucs to put up a good fight against the Saints.  The Saints will win 24-21.

San Francisco (6-1) at Washington (3-4)

What a difference a couple of weeks make.  A few weeks ago the Redskins’ fans were thinking of playoffs now they are just looking to score points.  Mike Shanahan was shut out for the first time in over 200 games last week.  The Redskins have struggled offensively this year.  Jim Harbaugh has his team believing in themselves and they are running away with the division this year.  San Fran will win 28-7.

Seattle (2-5) at Dallas (3-4)

The Cowboys looked great against the St. Louis Rams.  The Cowboys defense could not get the Eagles off the field last week.  The Seahawks are clearly in rebuilding mode trying to improve the talent and skill level of the team.  The Seahawks did beat the Giants in NY this season.  This should be an up week for the Cowboys.  Felix Jones could return this week. The Cowboys will win big this week 28-14.

Denver (2-5) at Oakland (4-3)

The bye week will allow Carson Palmer to learn more of the offense and he should start this week.  The Raiders need the return Darren McFadden to balance their offensive attack.  McFadden will be a game time decision.  The Broncos have made more adjustments to the offense to try to assist Tim Tebow ‘s progress.  The Broncos don’t have any weapons to compete against the Raiders.  Raiders will win 28-17.

Cincinnati (5-2) at Tennessee (4-3)

Rookie sensation Andy Dalton has the Bengals playing great this season.  The Titans rebounded last week after getting pounded by the Texans two weeks ago.  Matt Hasselbeck has been playing very well, but Chris Johnson has been missing in action since signing his new contract.  This game could help decide wildcard tie breakers. This is a very important game for both teams.   Cincinnati will win 21-20.

St. Louis (1-6) at Arizona (1-6)

The Rams got a shocking win last week at home over the Saints.  The Cardinals are having a very disappointing season with new quarterback Kevin Kolb.  He winner of this game could be the loser in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes in next year’s draft.  The Cardinals will win 24-21.

New York Giants (5-2) at New England (5-2)

The Giants come into this game with a two game lead in their division. The Giants have been winning ugly.  Eli Manning has been playing well lately. The Patriots will try to avoid losing two consecutive games.  The Patriots are undefeated at home.   Tom Brady needs to win to keep pace with the Bills who currently own the tie breaker over the Pats.  The Patriots will win in a close one 28-24.

Green Bay (6-0) at San Diego (4-3)

The Packers are still riding high from the Super Bowl win.  Aaron Rodgers is the mid-season MVP.  Unlike last year the Packers have been relative injury free.  San Diego after the Monday night loss to the Chiefs slipped back into a three way tie for first place in the division.  Phillip Rivers has had good numbers but has not had a quality win this season.  Green Bay will win 35-28.

Baltimore (5-2) at Pittsburgh (6-2)

This game is critical for the Steelers.  The Ravens have already defeated the Steelers once this year and if the Ravens are able to win again, the Steelers will have to get help to win the Division.  The Ravens almost slipped last week against Arizona looking ahead to this game.  The Steelers have many injured players on both sides of the ball.  At times this season, Joe Flacco has looked like a deer in headlights.  The medics will be nearby for this game.  The Steelers will avenge their earlier loss and win 24-17.

Chicago (4-3) at Philadelphia (3-4)

The playoffs start today for these two teams.  The loser will have a very difficult time making the playoffs.  The Eagles are two games out of first place and the Bears are 3 games out of first place.  Michael Vick has been playing well lately and all of the moving parts of the Eagles may be gelling at the right time.  Jay Cutler has been running for his life most of the season.  The Bears have made some slight adjustments and Cutler has not been sacked as often.  The Eagles will win a close one 28-24.