One of the easiest NFL picks this week was the Jacksonville Jaguars crushing the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday Night Football, a one-sided matchup that kicked off Week 9. While the slate of games on Sunday aren’t as strong as last weekend, there are some underrated matchups and it all wraps up on Monday Night Football with the Buffalo Bills vs Minnesota Vikings.

Let’s dive into our Week 9 NFL predictions for every game.

Cincinnati Bengals 28, Atlanta Falcons 24

The NFL International Series resumes on Sunday morning in Week 9, with the Cincinnati Bengals and Atlanta Falcons battling at Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid, Spain. Most teams might try and exploit a Falcons run defense that has been very inconsistent this season, but that’s not a strength for this Bengals offense. While Atlanta has been fairly stout versus the pass and finally has a healthy cornerback room, it doesn’t have the answers to stop both Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. Cincinnati simply has too much firepower and while Bijan Robinson at least gives the Falcons a chance for the international win, we think Joe Burrow and Co. come out on top.

Dallas Cowboys 35, Indianapolis Colts 24

We know that the Dallas Cowboys have lost to the Arizona Cardinals and the Jalon Daniels-led Tampa Bay Buccaneers, both at AT&T Stadium, this season. We still can’t envision Dak Prescott and Co. dropping this one. The Indianapolis Colts have clearly thrown in the towel on the 2026 NFL season; that was apparent from the lack of effort and execution in the blowout loss last Sunday. Unless Jonathan Taylor puts up 200-plus scrimmage yards, this Cowboys offense should put up 30-plus points and put it in cruise control on the path to a win.

Kansas City Chiefs 21, New York Jets 28

If Garrett Wilson (concussion) was active, this would be one of our upset NFL picks this week. The No. 1 receiver’s absence makes this matchup easier for the Kansas City Chiefs. There’s an equally troubling issue for the New York Jets. This defense has allowed 123.6 rushing yards per game this season (12th-most in NFL) and Chiefs running back Kenneth Walker III is due for a rebound game. Plus, with Kansas City’s ability to generate pressure and sack Geno Smith, we have the Chiefs coming out on top of a close game at home.

Detroit Lions 28, Miami Dolphins 17

The Detroit Lions are poised to be without Kerby Joseph, D.J. Reed, DJ Wonnum, and Jack Campbell in this matchup. While that opens the door to things being a little more interesting, Detroit is playing for Campbell and we expect this offense to take full advantage of Miami’s defense. Entering Week 9, the Dolphins have allowed the highest passer rating (119.5) and the highest passing touchdown rate (8.2 percent). The Dolphins are going to get taken to school by Jared Goff, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and Sam LaPorta. Quite frankly, we don’t see enough pass-catching talent from the Dolphins to even make this close.

Cleveland Browns 20, New Orleans Saints 17

We are calling this Week 9 matchup the stoppable force versus the movable object. The Cleveland Browns have one of the worst run defenses in the National Football League, surrendering 126.9 rushing yards per game and 4.7 yards per carry. While most teams can take advantage of that, the New Orleans Saints (86.0 rush ypg and 3.6 yards per carry) are not equipped to. What Cleveland does have is a stout pass defense (83.5 passer rating and 196.6 pass ypg allowed). On the other side, Shedeur Sanders draws his first start of the season after performing like one of the worst NFL quarterbacks in 2025. We will lean toward Cleveland, largely because of the young offensive weapons (KC Concepcion, Denzel Boston, Harold Fannin Jr., and Quinshon Judkins), but this should be a close, low-scoring game.

New York Giants 24, Philadelphia Eagles 17

With the way the New York Giants are performing defensively as of late, it might not matter that Devin Singletary is the starting running back in Week 9. New York is obviously short-handed in the backfield, but J.J. McCarthy is more than willing to take risky throws and give Malik Nabers and Isaiah Likely multiple opportunities to make contested catches. Pair that with how well this young Giants defense has played in recent weeks, led by Arvell Reese and Deonte Banks, we think the Philadelphia Eagles see their lengthy win streak against the Giants come to an end on Sunday.

Los Angeles Rams 31, Washington Commanders 21

Myles Garrett will be back on the field in Week 9, finally providing us the opportunity to witness two all-time greats play on the same Los Angeles Rams defensive line. That’s terrible news for Jayden Daniels, playing behind a Washington Commanders offensive line that is far from reliable. Washington also doesn’t have the guys at wide receiver to exploit a secondary without Jaylen Watson and potentially Trent McDuffie. This is also a great chance for Matthew Stafford to really get on track against a Washington defense that is allowing 243 pass ypg this season with a 100.6 passer rating.

Denver Broncos 21, Carolina Panthers 13

Here’s the problem for the Carolina Panthers. Bryce Young has been rattled by pressure as of late, seemingly seeing ghosts in the pocket. Not only do the Denver Broncos have one of the highest pressure rates in the NFL, but they also have the cornerback tandem to put Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker in tight coverage. Three-and-outs are going to be the norm for this Panthers offense on Sunday. On the other side of the ball, rookie running back Jonah Coleman should have a field day against a defense that is allowing 140.7 rush ypg with a 4.8 yards-per-carry average and 12 touchdowns in seven games.

Houston Texans 17, Los Angeles Chargers 10

Justin Herbert faced the Houston Texans in the NFL playoffs two years ago, completing just 43.8 percent of his passes with four interceptions and four sacks taken in a disastrous performance. If that’s how he fared after an excellent regular season, we can’t fathom how poorly things will go for this Chargers offense when Herbert is playing like the worst starting quarterback in the NFL. This is a get-right game for Danielle Hunter and Will Anderson Jr., who should have had this date circled on their calendar because the Chargers offensive line has been the worst in pass protection this season. We don’t even really feel the need to shed light on the other side of the ball; C.J. Stroud just needs to play fine for Houston to win.

Green Bay Packers 24, New England Patriots 21

Review: If the New England Patriots can keep Drake Maye upright and provide him with a clean pocket, he’ll hit some pinpoint throws downfield against these cornerbacks. There’s also a path to keeping this a tight game because of Rhamondre Stevenson’s return to being the featured back and cornerback Christian Gonzalez being able to take away either Christian Watson or Romeo Doubs. With that said, the Green Bay Packers defense has played very well as of late and Jeff Hafley will find ways to rattle Maye behind a banged-up offensive line, even with Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs out.

San Francisco 49ers 35, Las Vegas Raiders 21

In the last six games, opponents are averaging 33.8 PPG against the Las Vegas Raiders, with quarterbacks completing 68 percent of their passes with a 114.0 passer rating and 17 passing touchdowns. Meanwhile, Las Vegas is allowing 5.4 yards per carry and 161.7 rush ypg over that span. As well as Kirk Cousins is playing this season, San Francisco is going to completely overwhelm Las Vegas defensively, and Raheem Morris’ defense can cause some problems for this Raiders offensive line.

Seattle Seahawks 21, Arizona Cardinals 13

For the second time this year, Drew Lock will be the Seattle Seahawks starting quarterback against the Arizona Cardinals. In Week 9, it will be Gardner Minshew under center for Arizona, and Tyler Allgeier (10 yards on five carries in Week 2 versus Seahawks) is filling in for Jeremiyah Love. With how well Seattle kept Michael Wilson (18 yards on seven targets) and Trey McBride (41 yards on 10 receptions) in check last week, we can only see this ending with the Cardinals getting swept by the Seahawks.

Chicago Bears 27, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21

During this two-game win streak for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they’ve outscored their opponents 59-13 despite Baker Mayfield completing just 7-of-14 pass attempts for 62 passing yards. That’s obviously not going to work on Sunday Night Football against the Chicago Bears. Defensively, Tampa Bay has been one of the best units in football for the last month-plus. The trouble for Todd Bowles is Caleb Williams performed like an MVP and D’Andre Swift rushed for three touchdowns in a statement win just last week over Seattle’s defense. For the second consecutive game, Williams and the Bears make a statement on Sunday Night Football that this is the best NFL team right now.

Buffalo Bills 24, Minnesota Vikings 20

With Carson Wentz stepping in for Monday Night Football as the Minnesota Vikings starting quarterback, this passing game should look better than it has in recent weeks. The improved statistics will also be an indictment of the Buffalo Bills, who have allowed the 11th-highest passing touchdown rate (5.6 percent) and the third-most passing yards per game (254.7). With that acknowledged, Buffalo is well-positioned to take advantage of some of the same things the Detroit Lions used last week to slow down Minnesota’s blitz-happy defense. Pair that with Josh Allen’s ability to evade pressure and make big plays, and this should be a win for Buffalo.