NFL Week 9 Predictions

November 3, 2005, 11:31 PM | 2 Comments

Note: Predictions for week 9 of the 2008 NFL season can be found here: NFL Week 9 Predictions.

This week marks the half-way point for the NFL’s regular season, and after 8 weeks of predictions my record is sitting at a somewhat respectable 69-47. (.595).

After going 10-4 last week, I hope to at least do that well this week. This week brings several great games that will be exciting to watch. Topped off by Monday night’s game in New England where the Indianapolis Colts will try to do something they haven’t done for a long time… beat the Patriots at Foxboro. I will admit though, it looks like there will be a lot of tough predictions this week.

ESPN Expert Picks: Last Week | This Week.

Now, my predictions for week 9!

Oakland Raiders (3-4) at Kansas City Chiefs (4-3) - This is the second game this year between these two division rivals. Last time the Chiefs went into Oakland and got the win. Oakland has really picked up over the last few weeks and KC seems to be unsure of themselves. I’m going to go with Oakland this week. Pick: Raiders.

Houston Texans (1-6) at Jacksonville Jaguars (4-3) - Congratulations to Houston on picking up their first win last week. I picked against them, but said that it would take them playing a team like the Browns before they’d win. Houston’s next four games: @Jacksonville, @Indianapolis, vs. Kansas City, vs. St. Louis. What that means is that it’ll be a while before they win again. Pick: Jaguars.

Tennessee Titans (2-6) at Cleveland Browns (2-5) - This game could really go either way. I’ll take the home team though, especially after last week’s loss to the Texans. Pick: Browns.

Cincinnati Bengals (6-2) at Baltimore Ravens (2-5) - The Ravens really played well on Monday night against the Steelers. If they play that way again, they’ll be able to beat Cincy. I don’t think they’ll play that way though. Pick: Bengals.

Carolina Panthers (5-2) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-2) - Seriously, Tampa has got to stop doing this. They’ll look like a great team one week, and then lose to the 49ers the next. That makes it hard to pick them, even at home. Pick: Panthers.

San Diego Chargers (4-4) at New York Jets (2-5) - The Chargers have to play their kind of football. That means a heavy dose of the running game and LT. If they play their way, they’ll win this one easily. Pick: Chargers.

Detroit Lions (3-4) at Minnesota Vikings (2-5) - Big ouch for Minnesota. Without Dante Culpepper, it’ll be hard for them to do much this year. It’s already been hard enough with him. Pick: Lions.

Atlanta Falcons (5-2) at Miami Dolphins (3-4) - Atlanta should be able to win this game without problem, but I also didn’t expect the Dolphins to be 3-4 at this point in the season. Teams are still going to have to take them seriously. Pick: Falcons.

New York Giants (5-2) at San Francisco 49ers (2-5) - San Fran surprised me last week by taking one from the Bucs. I don’t think that’ll be the case this week against Eli Manning and the Giants. Pick: Giants.

Seattle Seahawks (5-2) at Arizona Cardinals (2-5) - I’m glad that the Cardinals are going back to Kurt Warner this week, but I don’t think it’ll really do them much good against the Seahawks. When you don’t have much of a running game, it’s hard to beat any team, and Seattle is just playing too well right now. Pick: Seahawks.

Chicago Bears (4-3) at New Orleans Saints (2-6) - I’d love to pick the Saints to finally win one at ‘home,’ but Chicago is on a roll. Pick: Bears.

Pittsburgh Steelers (5-2) at Green Bay Packers (1-6) - The Pittsburgh Steelers are not the same team without Ben Roethlisberger. Tommy Maddox proved that in week 6. The fact that Roethlisberger isn’t playing this week really determines my pick. Favre, despite throwing 5 interceptions, kept his team in the game until the very last play. You can’t really ask for much more. He’s been playing very well for most of the year. If the Packers can win this game, that’ll really help their chances. The playoffs are still a long shot, but still attainable. Pick: Packers.

Philadelphia Eagles (4-3) at Washington Redskins (4-3) - This will be an interesting game. Terrell Owens may not play, and if he doesn’t, I’ll pick the Redskins. However, the latest update is that he did practice today, which increases his chances of playing this Sunday night. Pick: Redskins. « No Owens due to his suspension. I think the Eagles are a better team without T.O., but I think it’ll take a week or so to get past it.

Indianapolis Colts (7-0) at New England Patriots (4-3) - Easily the game of the week. The Colts are 7-0 and are looking very good this year. Even without having Peyton manning put up huge number like last year, the Colts are still getting the job done. Their defense is much improved this year, and I think that’ll be enough to finally get them past the Patriots. Tedy Bruschi’s return last week gave the Patriots an emotional lift but it didn’t really cause them to play better football. They were pretty much owned by the Bills for the entire game. Don’t expect the Colts to be that easy. Pick: Colts.

Note: Buffalo (3-5), Dallas (5-3), Denver (6-2) and St. Louis (4-4) have a bye week this week.

Picks Summary

AWAY - HOME - PREDICTION - RESULT
Raiders - Chiefs - Raiders - Chiefs Χ
Texans - Jaguars - Jaguars - Jaguars √
Titans - Browns - Browns - Browns √
Bengals - Ravens - Bengals - Bengals √
Panthers - Buccaneers - Panthers - Panthers √
Chargers - Jets - Chargers - Chargers √
Lions - Vikings - Lions - Vikings Χ
Falcons - Dolphins - Falcons - Falcons √
Giants - 49ers - Giants - Giants √
Seahawks - Cardinals - Seahawks - Seahawks √
Bears - Saints - Bears - Bears √
Steelers - Packers - Packers - Steelers Χ
Eagles - Redskins - Redskins - Redskins √
Colts - Patriots - Colts - Colts √

UPDATE: 11-3 this week. Great week of football.
Running total: 80-50.

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