The New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos will both have four-game winning streaks on the line on Sunday afternoon as those two teams meet in the marquee matchup of the Week 9 NFL betting slate – with Peyton Manning and company opening as four-point road favourites for the contest at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
New England enters Week 9 at 6-2 straight up (SU) and 4-4 against the spread (ATS) on the season, and with a one-game lead on the idle Buffalo Bills in the AFC East division standings. Denver is 6-1 SU and 4-3 ATS on the season, and a game-and-a-half up on the San Diego Chargers in the AFC West standings after they bounced them 35-21 and paid out on the NFL betting lines last Thursday night.
Denver also covered the last time they faced New England, winning their playoff matchup 26-16 as a 4.5-point home favourite back in January. However, those two teams also met during the regular season last year with New England upsetting Denver 34-31 as a 2-point home underdog on the betting lines. The OVER has paid out for totals bettors in four of the last five games between the Patriots and the Broncos according to the OddsShark NFL Database.
The Miami Dolphins are also hanging around in the AFC East division race at 4-3 both SU and ATS on the season, and they will be up against the Chargers on Sunday afternoon as 1.5-point home favourites on the opening odds. San Diego is 5-3 both SU and ATS this season.
The AFC East versus AFC West clashes then continue in Kansas City as the Chiefs play host to the New York Jets as 7.5-point betting favourites on the opening lines at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The Chiefs have won two games in a row to sit at 4-3 SU and 5-2 ATS on the season, while the Jets are an ugly 1-7 SU and 1-6-1 ATS so far on the year.
Other big underdogs for Week 9 of the NFL season include Tampa Bay (+6) at Cleveland, St. Louis (+7.5) at San Francisco, Jacksonville (+13.5) at Cincinnati, and Oakland (+15.5) at Seattle. The Raiders enter Week 9 at 0-7 SU (3-4 ATS) on the season after losing 23-13 to the Browns over the weekend. Oakland has only scored over 14 points once so far this season, and that was in a 31-28 loss to the Chargers as 7.5-point underdogs on October 12.
With six teams on a bye this week that only leaves six more games on the schedule, including the primetime games of New Orleans at Carolina (-2.5) on Thursday, Baltimore at Pittsburgh (+1.5) on Sunday, and Indianapolis at the Giants (+3) on Monday. Rounding out the schedule for Week 9 of the NFL betting slate are Arizona at Dallas (-4), Philadelphia at Houston (+2.5), and Washington at Minnesota (+1).