NFL Week 9: Picks and Questions

Week 8 did not go as anyone planned. Our picks were so terrible (combined 5-10) that my 1-4 (near 0-5) record doesn’t even look that bad. Hopefully the good karma of the past week can parlay into our Week 9 picks.

Last week

• Lauren: 2-3
• Scott: 2-3
• Nolan: 1-4

Season

• Lauren: 21-19
• Scott: 19-21
• Nolan: 22-16-2

Lauren’s Picks

Seattle -3 at Buffalo

Kansas City -10 vs. Carolina

Chicago +6.5 at Tennessee

Pittsburgh -14.5 at Dallas

Arizona -5.5 vs. Miami 

Scott’s Picks

Seattle -3 at Buffalo

Baltimore +1 at Indianapolis

Houston -7 at Jacksonville

Pittsburgh -14 at Dallas

Arizona -6 vs. Miami

Nolan’s Picks

Seattle -3 at Buffalo

Kansas City -10 vs. Carolina

Baltimore +1 at Indianapolis

Pittsburgh -14 at Dallas

Tampa Bay -3.5 vs. New Orleans

Five Questions Entering Week 9

*insert obligatory Tua Tagovailoa question here*

Tua Tagovailoa made his first career start last week, but he didn’t have to do anything because Jared Goff gifted Miami the win by the second quarter. I don’t anticipate the Kyler Murray and the Cardinals doing the same, which means Tagovailoa will have more on his plate. The Dolphins are threatening in the AFC East and Buffalo will likely lose to Seattle this week, so this game could be a huge turning point for Miami.

Can the Buccaneers hit the ground running with Antonio Brown?

This week, Tampa Bay adds Antonio Brown to a receiving core of Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, Scotty Miller and Tyler Johnson, not to mention the revitalized Rob Gronkowski. With Tom Brady playing at an MVP-level, the Bucs look unstoppable… on paper. I think Brady finds Brown early and often today, but I’m curious about the long-term effects with so many mouths to feed. Although, nobody’s going to care about their target share if the Bucs keep winning.

Are the Patriots tanking?

Before the season, it was ludicrous to claim Bill Belichick and the Patriots were #Tanking4Trevor. Anyone who made such a claim was an idiot. There was no way Belichick was just going to give up a season. Because of what? Josh Allen?

But through half a season, the Patriots are clearly not good enough to compete with the Bills or even the Dolphins and their Wild Card chances are all but gone as well. This week, they face the 0-8 Jets.

At this point, I don’t think it’s inconceivable Belichick could tank this game. I don’t think he will, but it’s not impossible, right? After all, the only person dumb enough to win a game and ruin his team’s chances at Trevor Lawrence is Adam Gase.

How does COVID affect Baltimore and Detroit?

Due to the NFL’s half-assed COVID-19 protocols in relation to close contacts, Matthew Stafford and almost the entire starting defense for the Ravens were forced to isolate and miss practice this week. They’ve all been cleared, except Ravens CB Marlon Humphrey.

The dichotomy here is interesting. Detroit’s most important player on offense was affected, while all the Ravens’ most important defensive players were affected. Will the lack of practice affect offense more than defense, vice versa or not at all? Who knows?

Will Seattle take the bait?

The Seahawks finally let Russ cook this season, but the Bills will test Pete Carroll’s commitment to the passing game. In Week 6, the Bills dared the Chiefs to run and take the ball from Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs obliged and Clyde Edwards-Helaire ran for over six yards per carry on 26 attempts. The Bills run defense is terrible, yet they held Kansas City to just 26 points. The problem against Kansas City was the offense, so it seems likely Buffalo will run a similar game-plan against Seattle.

Will Seattle lean into the Bills run-funnel defense or realize that Buffalo has nobody to defend DK Metcalf and Tyler Lockett? Conversely, can Josh Allen redeem himself against Seattle’s beatable pass-funnel defense? Everything about this game is must-watch television.