There is an exciting slate of 12 games on Sunday. Here are final score predictions for all of the Week 9 Sunday contests, with reasoning.
Keep track of my “Sunday Score” all season long. This weighted formula gives me five points for every correct outcome. For every team whose score I predict exactly correct, I get an additional three points. Here’s how I’ve fared so far:
Sunday Score: 375
Winner/Loser picked correctly: 63/102
Week 9
Houston Texans 27, Jacksonville Jaguars 23
Generally, I predict international games to be closer in scoring, so I am expecting this contest to finish with a difference less than one possession. With that said, the Texans should appear to dominate without running up the score.
Indianapolis Colts 20, Pittsburgh Steelers 10
The Colts’ struggles last week against Denver were worrisome, and it doesn’t help that Indy will be challenged by a talented Pittsburgh defense this week. However, I also recall that the Dolphins dominated much of last week’s game against Pittsburgh before the Steelers finally pulled ahead.
Chicago Bears 23, Philadelphia Eagles 34
I have no clue what to expect from this game. The Bears looked bad against a Chargers team that is supposedly bad but actually quite talented while the Eagles dominated in a game against a Bills team that has a great record but has beaten some easy opponents.
New York Jets 19, Miami Dolphins 17
The Dolphins have appeared to be in a position to win in two of the past three weeks, yet they are still 0-7. This Jets team is bad, but the Dolphins have shown a trustworthy pattern of choking away leads.
Minnesota Vikings 30, Kansas City Chiefs 27
This game could end up being quite close, even if Patrick Mahomes doesn’t play. If he is active, I feel comfortable picking a Vikings win due to the fact that the reigning MVP won’t be playing at 100 percent.
Tennessee Titans 17, Carolina Panthers 20
Christian McCaffery is too good and Kyle Allen is oddly dominant while being less than mediocre. This will be a weird game that doesn’t get enough attention despite the close score. The Panthers do have the edge in this one.
Washington Redskins 10, Buffalo Bills 27
Dwayne Haskins will play some good football on Sunday. However, while this Bills team is quite overrated, their defense remains dominant. Buffalo’s secondary will make Haskins see ghosts all day as the Bills get another victory over a weak team.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13, Seattle Seahawks 37
In a week that should contain some close games, we will see a blowout in Seattle.
Detroit Lions 24, Oakland Raiders 26
This contest could really go either way. The Raiders will be playing at home and showed some positive signs against a strong Texans team last week, so I’ll give them a slight advantage against Detroit.
Green Bay Packers 41, Los Angeles Chargers 17
Their season may already be halfway over, but I am not comfortable predicting the Chargers to do anything right. The Packers will improve to an impressive 8-1.
Cleveland Browns 27, Denver Broncos 6
It’s not Joe Flacco and it’s not Drew Lock. Rather, Brandon Allen will be the signal-caller for Denver on Sunday. Myles Garrett is salivating at the thought of pressuring this inexperienced rookie as the Browns bounce back following a tough loss in New England.
New England Patriots 28, Baltimore Ravens 27
2019’s most exciting game will contain 2019’s top two AFC teams and 2019’s top two quarterbacks spending 60 minutes in a heated battle before we see 2019’s most exciting finish. Newcomer Nick Folk will miss a pair of field goals for the Patriots, but a late James White touchdown will be crucial and bail him out.
