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NFL Confidence Pool Picks Week 9: Expert Pick'em Predictions No Point Spread


by Chris Vasile - 10/30/2019

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce

In case you haven't noticed, NFL road underdogs are doing extremely well against the spread, which highlights all you need to know about the NFL and its ability to make you expect the unexpected. Thankfully for the sake of this article, we don't have to worry about picking teams against the spread. We just have to focus on which teams are going to win straight up, and even that's easier said than done. The NFL is the most unpredictable league in the world as you see terrible teams like the Jets beat good teams like Dallas on a weekly basis. That's not only a money burner if you take the favorites, but it busts Survivor Pools as well . Each week I'll be ranking every game from my most confident selections to the games I'm unsure of.

Week 9 Confidence List (my selection listed first)

San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals: I'm a big fan of what the Cardinals have done so far this season with a rookie QB and a rookie head coach. However, they are in over their heads in this one as San Francisco is legit and they are playing some amazing football right now. They should be able to overcome the short week based on talent and a great defense. The Cards are home on a short week after two straight road games - that's a tough spot to be in.

Buffalo Bills vs Washington Redskins: The Buffalo Bills don't beat good teams. Their five wins this season have come against teams with a combined seven wins and 31 losses. Good thing for Bills fans is that the Washington Redskins suck, and they should be able to win another game and pad their lead in the wild-card race. One thing is for sure, the Bills need more out of their offense as the defense cannot win them every ball game (see last week's game for full details). The Redskins are ranked dead last in third-down conversion percentage - allowing their opponents to convert on 50 percent of them. They also ranked 26th in total yards and 28th in rushing yards allowed. If the Bills can't get the offense going against this defense , there is no hope for them.

New England Patriots at Baltimore Ravens: This may be the best game of the week, and I'm not about to tell you to bet against the Patriots. Every single time I think they are ripe for the pickings; they show up in a dominating fashion and knock me down a peg or two. Baltimore is a good team, but they simply don't stack up to the Patriots in this one. The Patriots defense is on another planet (something the Ravens know all too well), and scoring against them is proving extremely tough. Tom Brady gets the win, and they move closer to their second 16-0 season.

Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants: The Giants showed some fight last week against the Lions. However, with the Cowboys coming off their bye and fighting for first place in the division, this game should be straight forward for "America's Team". The Giants are brutal against the run, and we expect Zeke to get the ball often in this one and produce some good stats while finding the endzone. The Cowboys have a solid all-around defense as well, so expect it to be a long day for Daniel Jones under center.

Green Bay Packers at Los Angeles Chargers: There comes a point in time where we are going to need to stop doubting the Packers or calling them fraudulent. Sure, they've beaten essentially nobody this season, but they just keep finding ways to win football games. Now they get to face a Chargers team that should have lost to the Bears and don't know which running back to use full time. Aaron Rodgers over Philip Rivers any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

Seattle Seahawks vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Just when you think you can trust Winston and the Bucs, they go and lose to the Tennessee Titans. The Bucs simply cannot get out of their own way, and as such, they continue to lose close ball games. Seattle was on cruise control last week vs Atlanta, but they should have a harder time with the Bucs. We'll still gladly take Wilson over Winston any day of the week, especially at home.

Carolina Panthers vs Tennessee Titans: I don't know how they are doing it, but the Tennessee Titans continue to win football games. They should have lost two weeks ago to LA and they should have lost last week to the Bucs - except both teams beat themselves. Now they take on a Panthers team who will be pissed off from the beating they took last week vs San Francisco. I can't say I trust either of these teams, but I'll take the team with Christian McCaffrey more often than not.

Minnesota Vikings at Kansas City Chiefs: This game is kind of a wait and see game before making any bets. If Patrick Mahomes somehow suits up, I'd side with the Chiefs at home to bounce back. If he doesn't, Matt Moore is going to be in for a long day as the Vikings defense is no joke. Kirk Cousins beats bad teams, and the Chiefs are just that without Mahomes.

Philadelphia Eagles vs Chicago Bears: Did the Philadelphia Eagles save their season last week with a win over the Bills? Probably not, but that was a convincing win, and they should be able to ride some of that momentum to a second straight win over a brutal Bears team. The Bears offense is pathetic, and it's only a matter of time before Trubisky is benched in favor of Chase Daniel. The talent on offense in Philly is there. And if they can score 21 points, they'll win this game with ease.

Indianapolis Colts at Pittsburgh Steelers: Can anyone tell me why the 3-4 Steelers are favorite over a 5-2 Colts? This has trap written all over it, and I'm falling for it because I don't see how Mason Rudolph outplays Jacoby Brissett. I also can't believe I even wrote that sentence. The Colts are a good team. They run the ball well and they play middling defense (same as the Steelers). The key to this game is preparation. And with an extra day to prep, we'll take Frank Reich and the Colts over Tomlin and the Steelers.

Jacksonville Jaguars vs Houston Texans (London): This is a huge game in the AFC South as Jags and Texans hook up in hopes of keeping pace or catching the division-leading Colts. The first meeting between these two teams came down to the wire as Houston escaped with a 13-12 win. Since then, both of these teams have gone 4-2 and have looked good at times in the process. This game isn't a home game for the Jags as they will play this one in London. It's hard to go against Watson in this game, but something tells me the Jaguars defense will be able to wreak havoc on the shoddy Texans O-line and the Jags offense will make a few more plays to come away with the victory this time around.

Cleveland Browns at Denver Broncos: I found out that Joe Flacco was out of this game as I was writing this, but it didn't change my opinion one bit. While the Browns may find ways to lose games because of stupidity, the Broncos just flat out suck. Cleveland has far more talent and upside than the Broncos do, and I don't care if this game is being played in altitude. At some point, the Browns are going to put it all together and win a football game, and this is likely the week they do it.

Oakland Raiders vs Detroit Lions: I really don't know. Do we trust Stafford and his injured offense, or do we trust the Raiders and their terrible defense? The jury is still out, but I believe Gruden is the better coach compared to Patricia, and he'll have his team ready to go in what will be their first home game since September 15.

New York Jets at Miami Dolphins: This game is almost as bad as the Monday night game we just saw between the Dolphins and Steelers. The Dolphins are showing signs up life offensively but are still in full-blown tank mode. The Jets thought they were going to be a decent team but fooled themselves. They should win this game given the urge to lose that Miami shows on a weekly basis. All I know is I'm not betting this one

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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