Who You Got?! Week 9

Last Week: 6-6-1

Overall: 69-49-2

Thursday Night Football (5:30 pm AZ time):

Atlanta Falcons @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Matt Ryan and Julio Jones are both playing at an elite level this season for the Falcons. The Bucs have Jameis Winston and Mike Evans who are playing at Pro Bowl levels to make this game a shootout. The difference here will be the defenses, as the Falcons will have the edge. Vic Beasley will make lots of noise and the Falcons win this game by seven and take a commanding lead over the NFC South.

Sunday Morning Football (11:00 am AZ time):

New York Jets @ Miami Dolphins

The Jets are bad this year. The Dolphins are surprisingly competitive and could make this game a blowout. I don’t think the Dolphins are talented enough to blow any team out, but they will certainly give this Jets offense fits. Jay Ajayi has been a one-man wrecking ball the last couple of weeks, including back-to-back 200 yard performances in weeks six and seven. He won’t get even close to that number against a stout Jets run defense, but don’t be shocked to see him get 70+ yards and a touchdown in a Dolphins win. Give me the home team by 10 or fewer.

Philadelphia Eagles @ New York Giants

The Giants will give the Eagles a ton of problems, and having a rookie quarterback could force the Eagles into some trouble. However, the Giants surprising lack of pass rush (just nine sacks as a team), despite major offseason money spent on the pass rush, could lead to Carson Wentz having time to limit mistakes and win a close road game. Look for Eli and Odell to make big plays, but ultimately watch the Eagles win the time of possession battle and get a big division win and go to 5-3 on the year.

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Kansas City Chiefs

The Jaguars have to be the most disappointing team in the league. Coming in with big expectations due to a young defense and improving Blake Bortles, the team was expected to challenge for a playoff spot at a minimum. Instead, they are 2-5 on the year and looking at another top five draft selection. Gus Bradley will more than likely lose his job this offseason, and a blowout loss on the road to the Chiefs won’t help his case. Bortles is prone to turnovers, so expect Marcus Peters and company to get in on the action and force Bortles into some bad decisions.

Detroit Lions @ Minnesota Vikings

Have the injuries finally caught up with the Vikings? We will get a definitive answer this week, facing a must win game at home against the Lions. Matthew Stafford is playing MVP caliber football and is winning them games practically by himself. Let’s put it this way, if Jay Cutler can have success against one of the league’s premier defenses, Matthew Stafford can have a field day. That being said, keep your expectations low on Stafford’s upside. Last week was the exception, not the rule. Lions get a HUGE win on the road and begin to send the Vikings into a downhill spiral.

Dallas Cowboys @ Cleveland Browns

Chalk up another losing record for the Browns. This game won’t be close. Dak Prescott and Zeke Elliott will terrorize this Browns squad. Thankfully, the Browns will likely get first rounder Corey Coleman back this week to join Terrelle Pryor in an improving pass attack, but that won’t even be close enough to compete with the best team in the NFC.

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Baltimore Ravens

This game is a is going to be a coin flip. I am simply going to pick the home team here. Throw out the records for this game, this is going to be classic smash mouth football. Joe Flacco will air it out against the Steelers secondary and the Ravens defense will clamp up a Steelers offense that won’t be at 100% even if Ben Roethlisberger returns to action. Home team by six or fewer.

Sunday Afternoon Football (2:05 and 2:25 pm AZ time):

New Orleans Saints @ San Francisco 49ers

Drew Brees is the king of gunslingers and will be facing one of the league’s worst defenses. Even on the road, the Saints will pile up the yards and keep the game to high scoring for a bad 49ers’ offense to compete with.

Carolina Panthers @ Los Angeles Rams

The Panthers are coming off a HUGE, potentially season saving win against the Cardinals. Facing another NFC West opponent on the road, don’t expect the Rams to just roll over and let the Panthers get another crucial win. That being said, the Panthers have Cam Newton and company to light up this Rams defense and the Rams offense simply doesn’t have enough to keep up. I expect Todd Gurley and Tavon Austin to both have really nice fantasy days, but their lack of scoring will ultimately doom the Rams.

Tennessee Titans @ San Diego Chargers

The Titans are riding hot right now behind Marcus Mariota’s dynamic play. The Chargers have been surprisingly competitive behind a solid defense and a gunslinger mentality in Philip Rivers. I completely expect this game to come down to the wire, but ultimately will pick the hotter team to win a crucial game. If the Titans win this game, they will be 5-4 on the year. Raise your hand if you saw that coming… now put your hands down, you liars. The Titans are in the mix for a playoff spot. Expect them to make this game a major statement win.

Indianapolis Colts @ Green Bay Packers

As much as I want to take the Colts as an upset team here, their defense is too terrible to overlook. Aaron Rodgers will take full advantage of this god-awful defense and turn in an A+ effort game. Thankfully for the Colts, the Packers secondary hasn’t been as good as it was supposed to be, and Andrew Luck will light them up and keep this game close. With no run game, the Packers will have to lean entirely on Rodgers to win them this game. Lucky for them, Rodgers will rise to the occasion and get a crucial win in a tight NFC North playoff race.

Sunday Night Football (6:30 pm AZ time):

Denver Broncos @ Oakland Raiders

The home team and unstoppable Raiders offense will get a big win against the division rival Denver Broncos. Derek Carr has turned in an MVP caliber performance thus far this season and against a Broncos’ shutdown secondary, he will struggle but do just enough to win this game. The Broncos offense will do enough to keep them in the game for three quarters, but ultimately blow it in the fourth quarter and watch the Raiders emerge to a 7-2 record and first place in the AFC West.

Monday Night Football (6:30 pm AZ time):

Buffalo Bills @ Seattle Seahawks

The Seahawks home-field advantage is as good as it gets. This game will be a lot closer than people will think, but the Bills are slumping and will fall victim to a Seahawks defense that will limit everything the Bills try and do on offense. Russell Wilson really needs to get going, but won’t have the dominant performance he needs against a very good Bills defense. This is a tight, low scoring affair that the Seahawks get at home.