NFL Week 9 game picks Rams lose first game Pats top Packers

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NFL Week 9 game picks: Rams lose first game; Pats top Packers Published: Nov 01, 2018 at 08:04 AM Elliot Harrison Franchise quarterbacks playing against franchise quarterbacks -- that's the theme of Week 9. There's the highly anticipated Aaron Rodgers- Sunday nighter at Gillette. brings the NFC's top offense to New Orleans to face the most balanced attack ever generaled by . and the against and the should get third billing ... but it will this weekend. Not surprisingly, each of those games carry weight in . Back to at for a moment -- a few big-time receivers will surely figure into the outcome, be it , Jordan Ford Jersey or a guy who's played for both organizations, . Yet, all three of them combined might fail to equal one receiver's production in the wildest game in the history of this L.A.-New Orleans series. They called him Flipper, and his day in November of 1989 has never been equaled: Now, on to more important matters: Did you watch all 375 "Friday the 13th" movies on Wednesday night?? Can't mi s ! On to your thoughts ... Not until they eat their Bru sels sprouts. FINALLY! Some respect from for my team! And we added today! This defense just got even scarier. Brandon Pierce (@bspierce7) Define . For thoughts on the full Week 9 slate, see below. Beyond the premier quarterback matchups, a pair of divisional tilts are worth noting: Lions- and Steelers- . Your thoughts are always worth noting: is the place. THURSDAY, NOV. 1 23, 20 A fun game, if only for how cruddy each of these teams are right now. , you might say. You know, the and played some cool games in the past. In 2000, Jeff Garcia brought the Niners back from two touchdowns down, late in the fourth quarter ... only to get Tim Brown'd in OT. San Francisco and the then- opened up the 1994 season on "Monday Night Football," with Jerry Rice continuing his a sault on the NFL record books (seven catches for 169 yards and two touchdowns PLUS a 23-yard score on that memorable evening). In 1970, the first year of the AFL-NFL merger, the needed to beat their Bay Area counterparts to win the NFC West on the last day of the season. They were two of the top teams in the early '70s, although it only felt like one showed up on that day. San Francisco's defense played a near-perfect game, while NFL MVP John Brodie to sed three touchdown pa ses en route to a, well, 38-7 rout. The 2018 ' defense has been up and down, though the unit has definitely shown more flashes than Oakland's D, which ranks 31st in points allowed. I this defensive discrepancy would be the difference ... but then in place of the injured on Thursday afternoon. This made me skeptical of the Niners' ability to put points on the board. Thus, I jumped back in the file and changed the pick. (The magic of internet journalism!) SUNDAY, NOV. 4 17, 14 Want to take the in a home upset. The i sue here is that, unlike the team , Chicago does have at least a morsel of a pa sing game. Another thing weighing on your gallant prognosticator? Something known as the Nate Peterman Complex. A rather new phenomenon, which requires forsaking your sensical approach to picking games because you want a much-maligned player to do well, and you happen to love the , or something like that. I love Joe Cribbs, Don Beebe and Aaron Schobel as much as the next guy -- heck, than the next guy -- but ... win. That defense will be too much for Buffalo. Anticipating a knuckleball of a contest, with le s-than-stellar quarterback play. 34, 20 On paper ... iPad ... Microsoft Surface Pro ... Android ... iPhone ... papyrus ... calligraphy sheet ... this is a Panther win all the way, right? Not so sure. could either produce four touchdowns or four interceptions. Felt it would be the former earlier in the week, but Fitzmagic's tricks can be like the guy at the local podunk theater who has cards visibly showing up his sleeve (unbeknownst to him). Remember ? Maybe it's better you don't. It might not matter which Bucs pa sing attack we see if the ' offense motors like it did last week. The greatest sample of cla sic Norv Turner is found in this little stat: first-down rushing. Carolina leads the NFL with a staggering 5.7 yards per carry. Think Turner's men will keep that up against this Tampa front, dictate the flow of the game and win. 30, 24 Already heard those folks who think this is where the fall ... the trap game. Or, as alternate theorems go, maybe the uber-aggre sive defense swamps Kansas City's multiple offense, which is equal parts complex and high school, with plays that typically work to near-perfection. Sounds great. I am still taking Kansas City. While not afraid to predict upsets (I was dumb enough to against the -- it , for half a quarter), I don't see how Cleveland will score enough points with a new OC and rookie QB, especially if this matchup evolves (devolves) into a track meet. Kareem The Hunt will run all over the league's 28th-ranked rushing defense, before carbon freezing them in Gregg Williams buyer's remorse. 20, 17 While I think the are close to becoming a playoff-caliber group -- and certainly equal to the at this point -- picking the home team to win this week. New York's troubles against the run are inexplicable, given the players this team has up front (as well as a safety like in run support). Miami should work and in this contest, similar to what the Fins did in -- but with more volume. Give those guys 30 carries instead of 20; don't make feel the need to force throws. Drake is averaging 4.9 yards per carry, Gore 4.6. Ride 'em. 23, 20 Pivotal game in the AFC North -- and, perhaps more than usual, the quarterbacks are key to this outcome. 's road struggles -- at least compared to his typical play at Heinz -- are well-documented. Look no further than on the opening Sunday of this season. is not above criticism here, either, as he faltered . Flacco to sed two critical -style interceptions, while not even eclipsing 200 yards on 39 pa ses. Taking the in this matchup, as they know that going 0-2 vs. the could decimate their hopes for winning the division. Pittsburgh is also right now, understandably. 27, 16 Nicolas Batum Jersey The are not tanking. Yes, they just suffered an to Seattle. And yes, in the wake of said lo s, . But they also . And the Tate deal -- which netted Detroit a third-round pick -- felt like the kind of purely financial, big-picture move that's common in the NFL's salary-cap era. That said, it's OK to wonder where the spark on this offense will come from -- always thought of Tate as the igniter for this team. For the to win in Minnesota -- and not to sound like a broken Motown 33 here -- they should get their running backs more involved. The lack of usage at times is mind-boggling. What the heck happened with ? One week after the rookie's , the barely ran him. Detroit's defense is suspect. will eat defenders alive if they don't get down time, and perhaps fewer po se sions to contain the Vikes' offense. Prediction: pa ses the 100-yard mark again, on his last catch of the day. More important: Minnesota will be running on Sunday. We hope. 26, 20 The produced too much offense for their last two opponents, going over 400 yards in each game. In fact, they've eclipsed that mark -- which is always the sign of a fine day at the office for the QB and OC -- in five of their past six. But faces a different task this week: a secondary that is playing better (at least since ) and just added another piece in . Running on Washington's front these days is no fun, either -- the rank second in rush defense, with and Daron Payne mucking up the line of scrimmage and cleaning up. That's why opponents typically opt to throw on Washington, and why Ryan's play is pivotal to Atlanta's succe s on Sunday. Other side: and go big this week. 22, 20 A lot of folks will be going with the at home, especially with the having played nobody during this five-game winning streak. That's fair, as Denver is a tough place to play, even for the league's elite (SEE: , ). , came out of the season-long catacombs, resembling the monster he was in 2017. With this week, revenge means nothing while attention connotes strategy. How will the defend with their former teammate -- former teammate -- on the other side? How will Houston capitalize? The sad irony for faithful would be if Thomas were to catch thrown his way, as his occasional drops drove Denver fans to throw their Randy Gradishar football cards at the TV set. (Or maybe it was the Gerald Willhite cards. Or Sammy Winder Starting Lineup figurines.) Key stat: While Denver's defense owns a superior reputation to Houston's unit, the relevant difference in these groups comes on big plays allowed. I'm talkin' plays of 20-plus yards. The have yielded the fifth-fewest in the league -- and they've played one more game than every defense ranked in front of them. The ? Tied for 30th. Oy. 27, 23 A lot of people chalked this up as an easy win back in August. Not so easy now, eh? Most surprising team in the NFL: , hands down. Then maybe the , because of . Seattle is a respectable 4-3, something that was predicted by precisely no one. The defense ranks fourth in points per game allowed, also predicted by precisely no one. Meanwhile, the Bolts have dropped just two games, both to top-flight quarterbacks in Mahomes and . That said, their wins have come against , , , and . Meet Lou Williams Jersey , who has played very well this season without taking off out of the pocket much. Where the are lighting it up: chunk rushing plays. They are getting 10 yards or more on 20 percent of their runs. That's an astronomical figure, and it might be the difference against a team that allows 4.5 yard per carry. 31, 28 The game of the week, if you ask me. Young quarterback making a push for MVP vs. the most prolific pa ser in the history of the game. Supremely talented quarterback at throwing intermediate routes vs. a man who has made his living off those skinny posts and (especially) seam routes. Long story short: Aaron Rodgers- isn't nece sarily the most exciting quarterback matchup of the week. competing against is equal in every respect, save for maybe historical relevance. Goff-Brees feels like a young Peyton Manning facing Dan Marino in 1999. Or a baby-faced Marino going up against Dan Fouts in 1984. (I have that game on DVD. Cla sic OT thriller.) The difference in this matchup could be the playing at home -- although crowd noise won't be enough if New Orleans can't get to Goff. That's why I like the idea of the offering up an Ingram/Kamara combo platter with . Did you know that, as unbeatable as the have seemed, they allow the highest percent of rushes gaining 4 yards or more in the NFC? Yep, 51.5 percent of opponent rushing plays pick up easy real estate. It's been a non-factor against most of Los Angeles' opponents -- quite concerning versus these , though. 34, 30 The stellar group of researchers at the NFL West offices -- Jack Andrade, Bill Smith, Eric Lemus and the gang -- put together a book of knowledge on the Aaron Rodgers- faceoff that rivals the booklet that by the guy in the Riddler suit promising that the government could bankroll your life. Well, this Packers- game is so money, it it's money -- NBC will hype it up to Madden-Favreian proportions. And the truth is, this matchup special. Green Bay came from potentially knocking off the undefeated McVays last week. And when the Pack and Pats last faced off, Green Bay pulled out one of the top games of 2014, with . Both Rodgers and Brady posted pa ser ratings north of 100 in that contest. Because these two reside in separate conferences, as well as Rodgers' injury history, the future first-ballot Hall of Famers have only played against each another as starters that one time. This is Meeting 2.0 -- similar to Joe Montana and Dan Marino, who only duked it out twice. Ditto Brett Favre and Peyton Manning. Hopefully this Rodgers-Brady bout replicates the Packers- cla sic from 2004. Since 2014, Brady paces the NFL in touchdown pa ses; Rodgers is second on that list. More relevant is that Brady is 9-2 during that span at home in prime time, while Rodgers is 3-6 on the road. Non-QB intrigue: How does Green Bay handle ? If the play in dime coverage, White won't nece sarily have the advantage of beating linebackers to the spot Brady is throwing to. White might be the key figure in this game, especially if can't go. MONDAY, NOV. 5 24, 13 win. Here's why: The struggle to run the football, conventionally anyway, while their sacks-to-pa s-attempts ratio is terrible. That alone makes this game in Dallas le s than encouraging, matchup-wise. Tenne see averages a paltry 3.6 yards per rush on first down. (The ' rushing average is skewed by 's 6 yards per run.) So if the running backs can't get by Dallas LBs , and , which is probable, it will be teeing-off time for the ' pa s rush. Then again, has done a poor job evading the rush, failing to routinely get the football out quickly himself. Like Mariota, he needs to use his legs more. These come to town boasting a top-three defensive unit (by points allowed), despite receiving hardly any support from the offense for the balance of the season. The difference this Monday should come from , who ranks second in the league in rushing. That, in addition to the home crowd, will a sist an already-superior defense. This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be mi sing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an i sue.
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