What a Halloween treat it was to watch the Bengals lose to the Dolphins in a dramatic overtime finish. There are few times when I'm happy to be wrong about my predictions, but that was definitely one of them. Not only did the Bengals lose their third game but they lost yet another star defender when Geno Atkins went down with a torn ACL. I'm not saying that I celebrate an injury, but the Ravens chances of beating the Bengals in two weeks improve significantly without the ferocious pass rush of Atkins. The Bengals, in fact, will be without Atkins, shutdown corner Leon Hall, and possibly Rey Maualuga. The Bengals will still possess a potent offense, but suddenly they don't appear to be nearly as complete of a team.
The first game of Week 9 was quite a thriller, but it certainly won't be the only one. Some teams with fantastic records will be seriously tested by teams with poor records, and we will also see some interesting matchups between divisional rivals. Without further ado, let's take a look at this week's picks!
WEEK 9 NFL PREDICTIONS
CHIEFS AT BILLS- This could be a total trap game for an undefeated Chiefs team that only narrowly defeated the Browns and Texans in the last two weeks. The Bills lack a serious pass offense, they lack a serious pass offense or defense, but they rank 7th in rush offense. The Chiefs also lack a serious passing game, but they have an elite defense and also the 11th ranked rush offense. On paper, the Chiefs should win this game, but the Chiefs have only narrowly beat poor teams recently and the Bills have a habit of staying in games against good teams this year. It's only been a couple of weeks since the Bengals narrowly beat the Bengals in overtime 27-24. There is little statistical evidence I have to back up this prediction, but if the Bills can take the Bengals into overtime at home, I believe they'll beat a Chiefs team that hasn't impressed me for the last two weeks. This will be a close one. BILLS 23-20.
VIKINGS AT COWBOYS- Why waste time explaining this one? COWBOYS 42-17.
TITANS AT RAMS- The Titans aren't a bad football team. They have a losing record, but mostly because their last 3 games have come against elite teams. The Titan will be coming off of a bye and the Rams will be starting Kellen Clemons again. The Rams rushing attack looked potent against the Seahawks for most of the game, but their inability to gain yardage on 3rd or 4th and short situations is troubling. Zac Stacy looked explosive, but he almost certainly won't be 100%, and the Rams haven't had a single rushing touchdown this season. The Titans coming off of a bye will win this one with slightly better passing and comparable defense. TITANS 24-17.
SAINTS AT JETS- The Jets will put up a fight in the first half, but I don't see any way they match the firepower of the Saints offense. Jimmy Graham should be good to go and he just might be the second best offensive weapon in the league behind Megatron. The Saints should pick off Geno Smith 2 or more times. SAINTS 27-19.
CHARGERS AT REDSKINS- The Chargers have only beaten horrendous teams on the road thus far with wins over the Jaguars and Eagles. They, however, have lost to both of the mediocre teams they've played on the road. I would like to say that the Redskins should win this game, but thus far the Redskins have only won two games and both of those wins have come against teams playing without their starting quarterback. The Chargers should be able to light up the Redskins secondary and play defense just well enough to edge the Skins in D.C. this weekend. High powered pass offenses simply thrive against the Skins and I don't see that changing anytime soon. CHARGERS 31-21.
FALCONS AT PANTHERS- The Panthers are a good team and the Falcons are not. The Falcons can't stop the run and the Panthers can DEFINITELY run the ball. The Panthers have won 4 of their last 5 games against crappy teams, this should make 5 of 6. PANTHERS 33-14.
EAGLES AT RAIDERS- The Raiders have only lost one home game this season and that was when Terrell Pryor was out. The Eagles have little offense to speak of and even less defense. Michael Vick is injured, and this should be the year that the Eagles finally realize that they need to cut ties to a quarterback that has never stayed healthy for them. RAIDERS 26-10.
BUCCANEERS AT SEAHAWKS- Well the NFL certainly made this won easy for me. Thanks, guys. SEAHAWKS 38-13.
RAVENS AT BROWNS- Jason Campbell didn't look bad against the Chiefs last week. With that said, the Ravens are going to be stronger after their bye week and didn't allow the Browns to score a single touchdown in their last meeting. The Browns no longer have a running back that should have much success against the Ravens defense, and the Ravens should sack Campbell at least 3-4 times. I have read that the Ravens have taken away Juan Castillo's power in the organization, and that paired with the return to health of Ray Rice and Bernard Pierce should mean a decent offensive day for the Ravens. I don't think this will be a blowout, but the Ravens should make this a relatively comfortable win. I feat the birds will once against start relatively slow, but the second half should be big. RAVENS 24-13.
STEELERS AT PATRIOTS- The Steelers have looked impressive at times in the past 3 weeks. They, however, won't be able to beat the Steelers in Foxborough. It's not because the Patriots are unbeatable, it's because they're too strong at home and the Steelers aren't strong enough on the road. The Steelers should be tough for the Patriots defensively speaking as they have the 2nd ranked pass defense in the league. That doesn't mean the Patriots won't score, because they will. If the Steelers were healthy I might even give them a shot to win this. The Steelers are not healthy. David DeCastro will be out with an ankle injury, and that will be enough to stifle the Steelers offense. This game could still be close though, but if the Saints can't win in New England, the Steelers most certainly will not. PATRIOTS 27-23.
COLTS AT TEXANS- This could be a trap game for the Colts. They'll be without Reggie Wayne for the first time in a long time, and they'll be playing on the road. The Texans still have a solid defense and can still run the ball. The Texans have the highest rated pass defense in the NFL by yardage allowed, and that could stifle a quarterback who acts as the lynchpin of his team's offense. The Colts will be without one of their starting cornerbacks to matters worse. The Colts struggle to stop the run, and Arian Foster should give them fits. I wouldn't ordinarily pick the Texans, but with both of these team coming off of bye weeks, I have to give this one to the home team that can run the ball. TEXANS 21-17.
BEARS AT PACKERS- This isn't the usual hard-nosed rivalry we've come to know between these two teams. The Bears are bad and the Packers are pretty good. The Bears will not and cannot beat the Packers at home. PACKERS 31-17.
Well, this is it, Ravens fans. It's do or die. If the Ravens can't beat the Browns in Cleveland with Jason Campbell at the helm, then there's simply not reason to believe that they can win enough games in the regular season to secure a playoff spot, let alone win a playoff game. I have faith that the Ravens can beat a team they haven't lost to since Kyle Boller was quarterback and Brian Billick was head coach. There's really not much else to say; it's simply do or die.
AS ALWAYS
GO RAVENS!!!
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