NFL Week 9 Predictions – Best Bets For Selected Games

We are in week 9 of a brand new season of NFL action, punter James Godlonton takes us through selected games and provides the best bet for six games.

New Orleans Saints v Atlanta Falcons (Sunday – 20:00)

The Saints lost starting QB Jameis Winston to a season-ending ACL injury. They were however still able to pick up a win against Tom Brady and the Buccs. There will be questions over who will start at QB against the Falcons, but it’s more likely the focus of the offence will be pounding the rock. After trading for Mark Ingram to bring him back home, they will likely ask their QB, whoever it is, to hand off the ball to Kamara and Ingram all day long. For this reason, I expect their score to be relatively low and this be a tight game.

The 3-4 Falcons only have wins against three of the worst teams in the league in the Giants, Jets and Dolphins. They’ve had a fairly inconsistent season so far but have the weapons available to score points. It’s their defence that has let them down more often than not. This should be an opportunity for them to improve and try and steal a win against a weakened division rival.

This is the riskiest bet of the week, but without a starting QB and the saints likely to run the ball a ton, I see this game staying close, even if it means the Falcons score garbage time points to close the gap

Suggested Bet: Falcons +7

Carolina Panthers v New England Patriots (Sunday – 20:00)

The Panthers squeaked home with a narrow 19-13 road victory vs the Falcons last week. Sam Darnold was disappointing again only mustering 129 yards with no TDs. He did however manage to keep drives alive with his feet, continuing to surprise people with his contributions on the ground picking up 66 yards on only 8 attempts. The Panthers have put an end to their 4 game losing streak but it was far from a confident showing.

Are the Patriots back? The Patriots looked a mess through the first 5 games of the season but have now put in 3 solid team displays in a row. An overtime loss to the high-flying Cowboys was followed by a blowout win against the Jets and a hard-fought win against a really good Chargers team. This may not be the Patriots that walked into the playoffs every year with Tom Brady, but they are certainly looking more like a playoff team as the season goes on.

Suggested Bet: Patriots -3.5

Baltimore Ravens v Minnesota Vikings (Sunday – 20:00)

North as they watched the Bengals lose to the Jets and their backup QB. They will be rested and feel ready to go again when the Vikings come into town.

The Vikings are coming off a disappointing loss where they became the 3rd team to lose to a backup QB in week 8. They now sit at 3-4 on the season and their playoff hopes are looking slimmer with every game. Kirk Cousins has been below par this season and their running game hasn’t been as efficient as it was last year. They will need a drastic change to be competitive in this match-up.

The Ravens should have too much firepower for the miss-firing Vikings and will just about cover this spread at home.

Suggested Bet: Ravens -6

Cincinnati Bengals v Cleveland Browns (Sunday – 20:00)

The controversial call of the weekend comes when a Browns fan is faced with calling the result of a pivotal division matchup that could make or break the Browns season. Full Disclaimer when following this bet.

The Bengals weren’t terrible last week in their loss. But that doesn’t change the fact that they relinquished top spot in the AFC North to a previously hopeless Jets team who played a QB who’d never started in the league. White, the QB in question, lit up the Bengals on route to becoming only the 2nd QB after Cam Newton to throw for 400 yards on their NFL debut.

The Browns on the other hand were handed a painful defeat by their division rivals and ugly big brother in the Steelers. The Browns had multiple opportunities in the 2nd half to put points on the board, but a fumble and 2 drops by their most dependable receiver in Landry, cost them dearly. Drama also surrounds the Browns now with superstar OBJ having been told he’s excused from practice after his dad posted a video on Twitter roasting QB Mayfield and highlighting all the opportunities where his son, OBJ, was open. A reminder though, the Browns put together their best season in over 2 decades last season, and that all started when OBJ tore his ACL last year, against guess who? That’s right, the Bengals.

I expect Baker Mayfield and the Browns to fight tooth and nail for this win and I’m willing to fall on my sword if this goes wrong. Browns to revive their playoff hopes.

Suggested Bet: Browns to win