NFL Picks, Week 9

As the NFL season hits the halfway mark, we have one of the most anticipated games of the year--Bills-Chiefs.  It's a national exclusive in the 4:25 doubleheader window.  Some people wrote articles and blog posts saying how they don't understand why it's not in prime time and how the NFL "missed an opportunity" with that game, but (A) you don't see CBS complaining, (B) each team only gets a certain amount of primetime games, (C) people will watch this one regardless of when it's on and (D) the national doubleheader late game often gets a similar (if not better) audience as the primetime games.  The odd thing about it is how all three primetime games this week pale in comparison to the doubleheader late game, which is clearly the game of the week.

Thursday Night: Miami (Loss)

Bears (4-3) at Bengals (3-5): Cincinnati-I wouldn't have thought it a month ago, but the Bengals have a real chance of getting back in the race.  At least they did before that loss to the Jets (congratulations Jets, you won't lose this week either!).  Which makes this even more of a must-win for Cincinnati.  If they're 4-5, they're in the discussion.  If they're 3-6, they're not.  Same applies for the Bears.  A 5-3 record will look a whole lot better than 4-4.

Vikings (3-4) at Lions (5-2): Detroit-Fortunately, it's not a long trip from Toronto to Detroit.  Because Kevin Burkhardt's gotta be tired after that incredible World Series finale!  You know John Smoltz will be watching too!  Anyway, this is a vastly different situation than the last time these two met in Detroit.  They aren't playing for the top seed in the NFC this year.  In fact, the Vikings are looking like they won't even make the playoffs.  Especially after the Lions beat them to go 6-2 and drop Minnesota to 3-5.

Panthers (4-4) at Packers (5-1-1): Green Bay-That one little blip in Cleveland aside, the Packers have been the most consistently solid team in the NFL this season.  Them having already had their bye and that tie have really thrown things out of whack, though!  After the Eagles and Bucs have their bye this week, things will be a lot less confusing!  Green Bay will be 6-1-1 and clearly leading the way in the NFC.

Chargers (5-3) at Titans (1-7): Chargers-Yes, you have the Jets and Saints, and the Dolphins are sure making a run for it.  But the Titans still, ever so slightly, hold the title of "worst team in the league."  (Getting fired in Tennessee sure worked out for Mike Vrabel, didn't it?)  The Chargers have had some puzzling results this season, but they know they can't lose to the worst team in the league.  Expect them to take care of business.

Falcons (3-4) at Patriots (6-2): New England-Atlanta's at it again.  Every time the Falcons get a big win, they go and lay an egg against a team that has no business beating them!  That's what makes the Falcons such a frustrating team to watch.  You never know which team will show up any given week!  Will it be the one that beat the Bills and dominated the Vikings?  Or the one that got shut out by Carolina and lost to Miami?  In New England, my guess is it'll be the latter.

49ers (5-3) at Giants (2-6): San Francisco-San Francisco laid an egg in Houston and is a half-game back in the division as a result.  They can't afford another bad performance against the Giants.  As if the loss in Denver wasn't enough for a Giants team finally starting to gain momentum, last week was so much more than just a loss to the rival Eagles.  Losing Cam Skattebo for the season was a big blow.  Just for the energy he brings.  I'm very curious to see how both teams bounce back.

Colts (7-1) at Steelers (4-3): Indianapolis-Who had the Colts having the best record halfway through the season?  Anybody?  Bueller?  Bueller?  You can't blame it entirely on their schedule, either.  Not after they went into SoFi and beat the Chargers.  Still, a trip to Pittsburgh is definitely their toughest test this season.  While a Steelers victory wouldn't surprise me in the slightest, I think Indianapolis is ready to make a statement.  And they'll do exactly that.

Broncos (6-2) at Texans (3-4): Denver-There's that one team every year where it seems everything goes their way.  Denver's giving off that vibe this season.  The Broncos are obviously good.  But they could easily be 4-4 instead of 6-2.  And their two actual losses were by a combined three points!  They've thrown a couple blowout wins in there, too, including last week against Dallas, so there's no reason to think they aren't for real.  The Texans will find that out this week.

Jaguars (4-3) at Raiders (2-5): Jacksonville-Jacksonville is actually a legitimate playoff contender.  There's even a shot they can catch Indianapolis if the harder part of the Colts' schedule leads to a few losses.  If they want that to matter and actually make the jump to the next level, the Jaguars need to win the games they're supposed to win.  A matchup with the Raiders falls into that category.

Saints (1-7) at Rams (5-2): Rams-The NFC West race is gonna be tight all season.  I think all three teams involved understand that.  Which is why you need to take advantage of games like this one.  The Rams know that they can't lose at home to the Saints.  One of the three will end up with a bad loss somewhere along the line.  That could be what costs them the division title.  That won't happen to the Rams here.

Chiefs (5-3) at Bills (5-2): Buffalo-This has become the NFL's marquee rivalry over the past few seasons.  Kansas City always finds a way to win their annual playoff meeting, but during the regular season, it's mainly gone the other way.  Last year, the Bills handed the Chiefs their first loss of the season (not that it mattered much in the end), and two years ago they won in Arrowhead.  Expect another battle.  And don't be surprised if the pattern repeats.  The Bills win, get the tiebreaker (if necessary) and knock the Chiefs to 5-4 at the midway point.

Seahawks (5-2) at Commanders (3-5): Washington-Washington's kind of like Atlanta.  You never know which Commanders team will show up.  If they want to make a serious playoff push, though, they need to actually start playing consistently good football.  Which is what the Seahawks have been doing.  Seattle's in a really good position, but needs to keep it going with how tight the NFC West is.  That cross country trip is always tough, but they already won in Pittsburgh this season and the Sunday night thing shouldn't be as jarring as an afternoon kickoff would be.

Cardinals (2-5) at Cowboys (3-4-1): Dallas-We've seen two very different Dallas Cowboys teams this season.  At home, they score 34 points a game.  On the road, they can't score at all (except for a win over the Jets).  And, please, stop whining about needing a pass rusher when you traded Micah Parsons for no reason!  Anyway, they're at home on Monday night, which means they'll actually score.  And the win over Arizona will get them back to .500.

This Week: 0-1
Last Week: 8-5
Overall: 79-42