Each Friday of the 2018 NFL season, we’ll be picking every game (except for Thursday Night Football, of course) against the spread.
Here are the picks for Week 9.
Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings (-5)
The Pick: Vikings
Kirk Cousins and company will make up for last week’s mistakes this Sunday against the Lions. The Vikings played well against the Saints last week despite the loss, holding Drew Brees and the offence to just 270 yards.
Kansas City Chiefs (-8) at Cleveland Browns
The Pick: Chiefs
I can’t pick the Browns against one of the league’s best teams after overhauling the coaching staff. I just can’t.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Baltimore Ravens (-2.5)
The Pick: Steelers
These teams are going in two different directions: The Steelers seem to have hit their stride, particularly on offence, while the Ravens have lost back to back and three of four.
New York Jets at Miami Dolphins (-3)
The Pick: Dolphins
I’m going to be honest: Both of these teams are pretty bad, and I’m only going with the Dolphins because they’re at home.
Chicago Bears (-10) at Buffalo Bills
The Pick: Bills
I’ll probably regret this pick, but I’m going to bank on the Bills defence and the Buffalo crowd to help keep this one close.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers (-6)
The Pick: Panthers
Fitz-magic can’t play defence and the Bucs are dreadful on that side of the ball, while the Panthers have emerged as one of the NFC’s best over the past few weeks.
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Atlanta Falcons at Washington (-1.5)
The Pick: Falcons
Matt Ryan and the Falcons have had trouble outside of their dome this season, but I still haven’t bought into Washington yet. A win here and I’ll think about it.
Houston Texans at Denver Broncos (-1)
The Pick: Texans
What the Texans have done over the last six weeks is impressive, and the addition of Demaryius Thomas should help Deshaun Watson and the offence to stay hot.
Los Angeles Chargers at Seattle Seahawks (-1)
The Pick: Seahawks
The Chargers were my pre-season pick to rep the AFC in the Super Bowl, but they’ve beaten only below-average to average teams. Seattle is L.A.’s first big test in a while, and I like the Seahawks to come out on top at home.
Los Angeles Rams (-1.5) at New Orleans Saints
The Pick: Saints
This will be the stiffest test for the unbeaten Rams this season. The Saints can beat you in many different ways, and I like them to be the team to hand L.A. its first loss.
RJ Bell on Twitter
Saints feed off crowd engagement. When entering home game with a winning record, New Orleans has won 22 STRAIGHT (17-4-1 Against The Spread)
Green Bay Packers at New England Patriots (-5)
The Pick: Packers
This is purely a gut pick. Aaron Rodgers didn’t get his shot to win the game last week in L.A. I think he gets that chance in New England and takes it.
Tennessee Titans at Dallas Cowboys (-5.5)
The Pick: Titans
This is a tough pick. On one hand, the Cowboys are undefeated at home and I fully expect them to win. On the other, I could see the Titans keeping this one tight.
