By: Nick Radivoj

The trade deadline has come and gone as we saw an exciting flurry of moves from contenders who have pushed their chips in to win it all now. We are on to Week 9 as Week 8 brought us good company going 12-3 on the weekend bringing out season total to 63-58-3 (52%) on the year. We welcome back the Chiefs and Chargers from byes but say goodbye to the Broncos, Browns, Cowboys, Giants, Steelers, and 49ers. A lot of teams on bye this week but still plenty of NFL for us to consume.

Philadelphia Eagles (7-0) at Houston Texans (1-5-1)

When: 8:15 PM on 11/3

Line: Eagles -14

O/U: 45

A homecoming of sorts for QB Jalen Hurts as the Houston native looks to put on a show for his family at home. The Eagles have been one of the best teams all year on offense and defense and I expect that trend to continue here. Houston QB Davis Mills hasn’t taken that second year lap that some were hoping for and there may be even more trouble in paradise as WR Brandin Cooks seems to want out of Houston. I’m playing under in this game as I think that Philadelphia will comfortably have a lead and run out the clock throughout the second half like they’ve done multiple times throughout this year.

The Play: Under 45

Los Angeles Chargers (4-3) at Atlanta Falcons (4-4)

When: 1 PM on 11/6

Line: Chargers -3

O/U: 49

Los Angeles travels on the road after hopefully healing up during their bye week as they will be without WR Mike Williams for this game do to injury and expect WR Keenan Allen to be back in full strength from his injury. Since the Chargers are coming off the bye week that means travel shouldn’t be an issue here in this one like it normally could impact a team. Atlanta as a team loves to run the ball and drain the clock while doing so. They should have some success in the run game as the Chargers are built more to defend the pass than stopping the run. I believe the Chargers will take advantage of a depleted Falcons secondary and come out of Atlanta with a win.

The Play: Chargers -3

Miami Dolphins (5-3) at Chicago Bears (3-5)

When: 1 PM on 11/6

Line: Dolphins -5

O/U: 44

Dolphins just pushed their chips in gearing up for a playoff run after trading their first round pick for star edge rusher Bradley Chubb from the Denver Broncos. Chubb brings in exciting pass rush capability to pair up nicely with Jaelan Phillips on the other side who has been racking up pressures left and right. Meanwhile, Chicago has traded 2 key defensive players in Robert Quinn and Roquan Smith which Miami will surely take advantage of. Miami should have success on offense throughout the afternoon both via the pass and ground game. Miami wins by a touchdown and improves to 6-3 on the year.

The Play: Dolphins -5

Carolina Panthers (2-6) at Cincinnati Bengals (4-4)

When: 1 PM on 11/6

Line: Bengals -7

O/U: 42.5

Bengals were embarrassed on the road Monday night against Cleveland losing by multiple scores to an under .500 Browns team. Cincinnati has plenty of playmakers on offense which makes it curious as to why this Cincy team has difficulty moving the ball periodically throughout the year. HC Zac Taylor has proven time and time again that he fumbles play calling with star wideouts and a budding QB. Although without Ja’Marr Chase, Joe Burrow still has Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd to make plays for him. This feels a lot like when another NFC South team visited Cincinnati and received a beatdown and I expect more of the same here. Carolina has shown progression since moving on from Matt Rhule but will face a Bengals team looking for revenge.

The Play: Bengals -7

Green Bay Packers (3-5) at Detroit Lions (1-6)

When: 1 PM on 11/6

Line: Packers -3.5

O/U: 49.5

Although they suffered a loss on Sunday Night Football by the hands of the Buffalo Bills, Green Bay showed some promise on both sides of the ball. Green Bay is still missing a trusted outside threat but with time some young players could begin to develop and the health of Randall Cobb and Allen Lazard could also improve helping QB Aaron Rodgers. Luckily, Green Bay will be facing one of the worst defenses in the NFL in Detroit and should be able to move the ball at will throughout the afternoon. Detroit has shown throughout the season that their offense can be explosive but if Green Bay can build up a lead of their own then they should be able to control this one from start to finish.

The Play: Packers -3.5

Indianapolis Colts (3-4-1) at New England Patriots (4-4)

When: 1 PM on 11/6

Line: Patriots -5.5

O/U: 39.5

It was not the story book ending many were looking for in QB Sam Ehlinger’s first career start as a professional as Indy ends up blowing a 9 point lead late against Washington to fall yet again. Things won’t get easier for the young QB as he will take on a Bill Belichick lead defense which will surely have disguised coverages to confuse the young QB making his second start. I expect both coaches to be contempt with leaning on their ground game as Ehlinger is young and Mac Jones has been prone to throwing turnovers as of late. Leaning on the ground game, the teams will be able to bleed the clock and have this one go under the total. I will gladly take a 20-14 final and see everyone at the window.

The Play: Under 39.5

Buffalo Bills (6-1) at New York Jets (5-3)

When: 1 PM on 11/6

Line: Bills -13

O/U: 47

I was originally leaning on playing the under in this one but with the health of star S Jordan Poyer in question I wanted to give myself some breathing room. I expect Buffalo’s offense to do more of the same on Sunday afternoon as they will put up north of 20 points but the key here is their defense. Their defensive line should have no problem hunting on second year pro QB Zach Wilson who has struggled as of late to keep the ball out of the other teams hands. More responsibility has fallen on the QBs hands since the injury to RB Breece Hall and as Buffalo will surely build a lead then he will be forced to throw and potentially cause more turnovers. I don’t normally love laying the points when the line is this large but for Buffalo I will make an exception.

The Play: Bills -13

Minnesota Vikings (6-1) at Washington Commanders (4-4)

When: 1 PM on 11/6

Line: Vikings -3.5

O/U: 43.5

An already weak Washington secondary just found themselves getting a bit weaker as they trade CB William Jackson to Pittsburgh at the trade deadline. I expect Minnesota should find success through the air behind star WR Justin Jefferson and company. Washington will have to play comeback ball yet again with Minnesota able to build themselves a comfortable lead. Washington has playmakers of their own with electric wide receivers on the outside and a QB willing to extend plays and make the throw downfield to give his guys a chance. Minnesota wins this one but finds themselves over the total to get us to the window.

The Play: Over 43.5

Las Vegas Raiders (2-5) at Jacksonville Jaguars (2-6)

When: 1 PM on 11/6

Line: Raiders -1

O/U: 48

Las Vegas seemed to have forgotten to get off of the plane last week against New Orleans as they were shut out 24-0 to fall to 2-5 on the year. Although they will need to make a climb, their season is not over as they’ve shown they can be an explosive offense behind RB Josh Jacobs and WR Devante Adams. I will excuse the poor performance from Adams last week as he was dealing from flu symptoms throughout the week but we need him to perform big here. Jacksonville has improved drastically this year but doesn’t quite reflect in the win column yet as they are a young team who hasn’t figured out quite yet how to close games off and take home the win. The old saying lose big, lose little, then win little, win big applies here as the Jags are probably a year or so away from making noise as long as they keep improving.

The Play: Raiders -1

Seattle Seahawks (5-3) at Arizona Cardinals (3-5)

When: 1 PM on 11/6

Line: Cardinals -2

O/U: 50.5

This play may look questionable as we all saw what ranspired last matchup between these 2 ending 19-9 with Seattle being victorious. I’m rolling with the over here in this one as Arizona has seemed to have gotten their offense back on track with the return of Deandre Hopkins back to the lineup. Hopkins has logged over 100 receiving yards in both games since coming back from suspension and should be the main target for Kyler Murray here yet again. Seattle has many play makers of their own with budding RB Kenneth Walker able to break a long touchdown run at any point in time. Arizona laying the points is also an interesting play here as I expect these teams could split their season series but will play the trend of overs coming our way halfway through the season now.

The Play: Over 50.5

Los Angeles Rams (3-4) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-5)

When: 4:25 PM on 11/6

Line: Buccaneers -3

O/U: 42.5

What was once an exciting matchup on paper has now lost most of its buzz as these prior Super Bowl winners find themselves below .500 and in dire need of a win to keep their playoff hopes alive. Los Angeles offense is built around their run game being establishes so that they can set up play action passes off that but as their run game has been nonexistant it has led to their offense being a fire tire to start the year. They received help last week in the WR room as Va Jefferson returned from injury and Allen Robinson seemed to be more involved than previous but still face an uphill battle in both protecting Matthew Stafford and creating explosive plays. Meanwhile, Tom Brady has looked less the part than normal as his offensive line is a shell of itself than what he’s had in front of him in his previous years with the Bucs. I’m grabbing the key number of 3 here with the Rams as I trust Sean Mcvay to develop an offensive gameplan than I do Todd Bowles and Byron Leftwich to cover this line.

The Play: Rams +3

Tennessee Titans (5-2) at Kansas City Chiefs (5-2)

When: 8:25 PM on 11/6

Line: Chiefs -12.5

O/U: 46.5

Kansas City hasn’t had as much a problem on offense as may suggested prior to the season when they lost star WR Tyreek Hill. Their outside paraphile numbers still suggest that they have one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL. They still have star TE Travis Kelce and with WR Juju Smith-Schuster rounding into form the possibilities for this Chiefs offense are endless. I fully expect Titans HC Mike Vrabel to come into this game with the intent to take the air out of the ball and the stadium leaning heavily on RB Derrick Henry. I expect Derick Henry to log over 20 carries in this one and drain the clock limiting the amount of possessions that Patrick Mahomes and his offense get to score. Under is a good play here but ultimately grabbing the points with the dog to keep this one within 2 scores.

The Play: Titans +12.5

Baltimore Ravens (5-3) at New Orleans Saints (3-5)

When: 8:20 PM on 11/7

Line: Ravens -3

O/U: 48.5

I have gone back and forth on this game multiple times throughout the week but landed on the over. My hesitation was do to the fact that New Orleans jhas looked shot on defense all year but finally showed up last week shutting out the Raiders. New Orleans showed last week what their talent on offense can do behind star RB Alvin Kamara and rookie WR Chris Olave and if they are able to jump out then Lamar Jackson and Baltimore will have to win in a shootout like they’ve done multiple times this season. I see grabbing the points here with New Orleans as a great play as well as they have an incredible home field advantage and could run away with this one with Lamar possibly being short a few key offensive weapons.

The Play: Over 45