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NFL Week 9 kicks off with a Thursday Night Football matchup between the Houston Texans and New York Jets. The Texans need to stop losing star players, while the Jets’ star players have to step up and try to save the season (if that’s even possible at this point). Whichever team loses this game will have serious question marks surrounding them moving forward. So, with that, let’s get into the ClutchPoints NFL Week 9 picks, predictions, and odds column.
Seven days ago in this space, we wrote… “Last week started the dog days of the NFL season. … Injuries will still happen and can shake the foundation of the league, but until the Holiday Season begins, most weeks will be status quo.”
This proved prophetic as this NFL picks column had a great week (more on that below) as most favorites took care of business. While that may or may not be the case in this coming week of games, the thought process remains the same. We know who is good. We know who is not. And while there will be surprises every given Sunday, let’s not get too cute and out-think ourselves between now and Thanksgiving.
Week 8 was the last bye-free slate until Week 13. So, we now wish the Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49ers safe travels on their midseason vacations.
With just two teams stepping away this weekend, the NFL Week 9 lineup will include a Thursday game, eight 1 p.m. ET games, just four games in the late Sunday window, a Sunday nighter, and a lone Monday night affair.
We’re back, baby! It’s been an up-and-down season in the NFL Week 9 picks, predictions, and odds column, but in Week 8, we showed up and showed out, just like most of the favorites on the board. This week, we were a superb 12-4 straight up and a makin’-money 9-7 against the spread. This puts us at 69-54 straight up and 54-69 versus the number.
With that, let’s get right into the NFL Week 9 picks, predictions, and odds.
Previous Weeks: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 8
Courtesy of DraftKings, here are the NFL odds.
Houston Texans at New York Jets (-2)
Thursday Night Football starts us off with a banger as the always-in-the-news Jets host the Texans. Houston comes in as the much better team this season at 6-2 vs. the Jets’ 2-6 record. However, the talent on the Texans is falling fast as Stefon Diggs officially went out for the season with a torn ACL.
Still, the Jets are the Jets, and even though they are the home team, they have fatal flaws that seem to show up every week. Until Aaron Rodgers and company prove they have solved some of their problems, it is the policy of the NFL Week 9 picks, predictions, and odds column to take the other side, especially getting points.
Pick: Texans 24-18
New England Patriots at Tennessee Titans (-3.5)
The Patriots proved last week that they haven’t rolled over on the season yet by beating their AFC East-rival Jets and proving their coach wrong when he called them “soft.” And while the Titans played the much better team in the Lions, losing 52-14 is not a good look.
This is a bad game between two of the three or four worst teams in the league, so betting on this is probably foolish. That said, we pick every game here in the NFL Week 9 picks, predictions, and odds column, so let’s take the points and the Pats, who are still all-in on developing Drake Maye this year.
Pick: Patriots 17-14
New Orleans Saints (-7) at Carolina Panthers
Ugh. Remember just above when we called the Patriots and the Titans two of the worst three or four teams in the NFL this season? Well, these teams fit into this category, too, with the Saints joining the club when Derek Carr is out.
Carr may return this week, but with Rashid Shaheed out for the season, the offense won’t be the same one he left. We’ve had good luck here betting against the Panthers this season, but it seems a little much to think the Saints are a touchdown better than anyone right now, even with Carr back.
Pick: Saints 23-20
Denver Broncos at Baltimore Ravens (-9)
Even good teams have tough days against division rivals, and that seems like all Week 8 was for the Ravens. That said, we all underrated the Browns with Jameis Winston at quarterback, and that came back to bite us.
In this game, the oddsmakers have been underrating Sean Payton, Bo Nix, and the Broncos all season. They are like Baker Mayfield and the Buccaneers last season. What they really are is a team that shows up and does what it is good at, which has resulted in five wins so far. The Ravens probably win this one, but not by more than a TD.
Pick: Ravens 33-30
Las Vegas Raiders at Cincinnati Bengals (-7)
One of the few games we got wrong straight up and against the spread last week was Bengals vs. Eagles. So, are the Eagles better than we thought right now, or are the Bengals just a bad team? While there is probably some truth to both those statements, we’ll give Cincinnati one more week of the benefit of the doubt and say it was more the former.
Plus, the Raiders are just bad, and even though they hung with their division rival Chiefs last week, there aren’t many positives to hang your hat on. The balance of talent here is still squarely on the Bengals' side, so we’ll take them to win big.
Pick: Bengals 27-17
Los Angeles Chargers (-2) at Cleveland Browns
In another, is this or that true scenario, was last week’s Browns win a one-week new QB bump, or did this team rediscover its spark with Jameis Winston under center? And yes, this game is all about the Browns because all we know about the Chargers is that they are just about the most average team in football.
We need to see at least one more week of Winston before we make any decisions here, but this sure feels like when the team swapped out Deshaun Watson and a cast of who cares for a professional, if not great, QB in Joe Flacco last season. Plus, as a perfectly average team, the Chargers should fall to 4-4. It just makes sense.
Pick: Browns 24-23
Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills (-6)
The Dolphins looked much better with Tua Tagovailoa back last week, but they still didn’t look great, and they still lost to the Cardinals. The Bills crushed the Seahawks on the road and spanked the Dolphins the last time the teams met.
Honestly — and I hate to even write this — but I don’t even want to watch this game. Buffalo has concussed Tua twice in the last three seasons, and it is my personal opinion that he should not be playing football, especially while choosing not to wear a Guardian cap. It really is scary what could happen, in this game especially, given the history, and I just wish the NFL and the Dolphins would step up and make a tough choice to protect a player’s brain and life.
Thanks for coming to my TED Talk. Back to our scheduled unserious program. Bills by a billion.
Pick: Bills 35-13
Dallas Cowboys at Atlanta Falcons (-2.5)
This is tough, as you never know which Falcons or Cowboys team is going to show up on a given Sunday. The Cowboys are not playing winning football, especially missing their biggest names on defense. That said, the Falcons only seem to beat the bad teams in their won division.
If either of these teams won this game by three scores, it wouldn’t be a shock. That said, the Falcons have looked closer to their best all season than the Cowboys and are at home. It’s not with a lot of confidence, but in the NFL Week 9 picks, predictions, and odds column, we’ll take the Birds.
Pick: Falcons 20-16
Washington Commanders (-3.5) at New York Giants
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Count the NFL Week 9 picks, predictions, and odds column writer among the believers that Jayden Daniels is the truth and arguably the best rookie quarterback in at least the last decade. He’s going to be a thorn in the Giants’ side for the next decade-plus, and that starts now.
We shouldn’t care that over 80% of the public money is on the Commanders or that the spread started at Commanders -1.5 and is now up to -3.5. That number could crest a touchdown or more, and we should still take the young signal-caller over Daniel Jones and company. Hail to the Commanders!
Pick: Commanders 28-12
Chicago Bears at Arizona Cardinals (-1)
The Bears are a much better team than many thought this season, but they are still a young team with a rookie quarterback, and usually — outside of Jayden Daniels and the Commanders — that means wild inconsistency. That said, if you look up “wild inconsistency” in the NFL dictionary, there is a picture of Kyler Murray running around the field.
After coming back and beating the Dolphins on the road, this is just the type of game you’d expect the Cardinals to lay an egg in. And after a gut punch like the Bears got, they could come back with more resolve. All that said, let’s remember how young the Bears are and give the Cardinals a little more credit for starting to mature.
Pick: Cardinals 31-28
Jacksonville Jaguars at Philadelphia Eagles (-7.5)
The Eagles seem to have gotten over their early-season issues and are starting to look like one of the better teams in the NFL. On the flip side, the Jaguars have won two of their last four, but still struggle to beat good teams.
In this one, the Eagles are the better team, and while they do play down to their level of competition at times, this should be a game that they win easily at home.
Pick: Eagles 26-13
Los Angeles Rams (-1.5) at Seattle Seahawks
After Bills Mafia took over in Seattle, the Seahawks’ vaunted home-field advantage doesn’t seem as scary anymore. While Rams fans won’t show up at Lumen Field like the Bills fans did, the aura of the 12th Man doesn’t loom as large here.
More importantly, the Rams are getting healthy after their early season health struggles, and with Matthew Stafford and a full complement of offensive weapons, this is a dangerous team. Giving points on the road is a little scary, but the Rams should win this one outright.
Pick: Rams 27-21
Detroit Lions (-3.5) at Green Bay Packers
This is easily the game of the day on the NFL Week 9 calendar as the NFC North continues to be the best top-to-bottom division in the league this year. The winner of this one gets sole possession of first place in the division, so this should be a banger.
This should be a tight game, and it’s tempting to split the difference here and take the Lions to win and the Packers to cover. However, even though Jordan Love will probably play, he’s not 100 percent and that will make a big difference. It’s be easier without the hook here, but let’s take the Lions anyway.
Pick: Lions 33-28
Indianapolis Colts at Minnesota Vikings (-5)
The Colts are a better team with Joe Flacco at quarterback but let’s not kid ourselves and think that they are a great team with the 39-year-old under center. The offense will put up points now, but without Anthony Richardson, the QB will take more sacks and the running game will not be as dangerous.
On the Vikings side, the team has come back down to earth, losing its last two after starting 5-0. This is the perfect game to get back on track, though, leading into an easy part of their schedule with the Jaguars, Titans, Bears, and Cardinals coming up. This will be the start of another Minnesota win streak.
Pick: Vikings 24-17
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Kansas City Chiefs (-8.5)
The narrative here will be that the Chiefs will win this game but not cover after the Buccaneers offense still looked competent following the loss of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. However, the Chiefs continue to build their squad with the additions of DeAndre Hopkins and Josh Uche, making them better than the weeks before.
Kansas City will stay undefeated here, and they will do it in style ahead of tough games against the Broncos and Bills. The streak won’t last much longer, but it will linger for at least another week.
Pick: Chiefs 35-20
Establish the Pass Podcast Week 9 Predictions
| Matchup | Blake | Dillon |
| HOU @ NYJ | Jets | Texans |
| DEN @ BAL | Ravens | Ravens |
| MIA @ BUF | Bills | Bills |
| WSH @ NYG | Commanders | Commanders |
| LV @ CIN | Bengals | Bengals |
| DAL @ ATL | Falcons | Falcons |
| LAC @ CLE | Browns | Chargers |
| NE @ TEN | Titans | Titans |
| NO @ CAR | Saints | Saints |
| JAX @ PHI | Eagles | Eagles |
| CHI @ ARI | Cardinals | Bears |
| DET @ GB | Lions | Lions |
| LAR @ SEA | Seahawks | Rams |
| IND @ MIN | Vikings | Vikings |
| TB @ KC | Chiefs | Chiefs |
| Record | 76-47 | 74-49 |
