Week 9 Preview: Power Rankings, Panel Picks, and Best Bets
Welcome back to the weekly ATA NFL preview, which took a one-week hiatus, but is back in business as the first half of the regular season reaches its end.
Though I was unable to publish my power rankings last week, I drafted them before Thursday Night Football between the Chargers and Vikings, and here’s what I came up with.
That’s week eight, but now it’s time for week nine. And as Ravens vs Dolphins progresses through the second quarter, let’s not waste any time jumping into this week’s preview.
32. Tennessee Titans (down 1)
Record: 1-7
31. New York Jets (up 1)
Record: 1-7
30. New Orleans Saints (down 2)
Record: 1-7
29. Las Vegas Raiders (no change)
Record: 2-5
28. Cleveland Browns (down 1)
Record: 2-6
27. New York Giants (down 3)
Record: 2-6
26. Miami Dolphins (down 4)
Record: 2-6
25. Cincinnati Bengals (up 1)
Record: 3-5
24. Washington Commanders (down 3)
Record: 3-5
23. Arizona Cardinals (no change)
Record: 2-5
22. Minnesota Vikings (down 1)
Record: 3-4
21. Carolina Panthers (down 2)
Record: 4-4
20. Atlanta Falcons (down 2)
Record: 3-4
19. Dallas Cowboys (down 2)
Record: 3-4-1
18. Baltimore Ravens (up 7)
Record: 2-5
17. Chicago Bears (down 4)
Record: 4-3
16. Houston Texans (up 4)
Record: 3-4
15. Pittsburgh Steelers (up 1)
Record: 4-3
14. Jacksonville Jaguars (up 1)
Record: 4-3
13. San Francisco 49ers (down 1)
Record: 5-3
12. Los Angeles Chargers (down 2)
Record: 5-3
11. New England Patriots (no change)
Record: 6-2
10. Denver Broncos (no change)
Record: 6-2
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (no change)
Record: 6-2
8. Buffalo Bills (no change)
Record: 5-2
7. Los Angeles Rams (no change)
Record: 5-2
6. Philadelphia Eagles (no change)
Record: 6-2
5. Seattle Seahawks (down 1)
Record: 5-2
4. Green Bay Packers (up 1)
Record: 5-1-1
3. Detroit Lions (no change)
Record: 5-2
2. Kansas City Chiefs (no change)
Record: 5-3
1. Indianapolis Colts (no change)
Record: 7-1
Panel Picks
Recently, Theo has gained a game on George and Ray every single week, and week seven wasn’t any different. He’s now got a four-game advantage with the rest of the panel playing catch-up.
Let’s see if we can in fact catch up.
Primetime Games
Early Window
Late Window
Best Bets
Week seven was a bad week for betting. I had my hopes up after the Rams held the Jaguars to seven points in London, which helped my first bet hit. But then, Jaxson Dart unleashed on the Broncos and the Falcons put up a dud on Sunday Night Football.
I’m still in the red, but have three picks that I expect to help me recoup my losses.
Let’s start with a marquee game with Chiefs vs Bills. Their playoff matchups tend to be high-scoring affairs, but their regular-season games as of late haven’t had as many points. Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen have played five regular-season games against each other, and the under on total points has hit four out of five times. I like the game this Sunday to go under 52.5 points at -115 on FanDuel.
Since week three, the Steelers have allowed 79.4 yards per game to tight ends, including 143 to Tucker Kraft, 90 to Hunter Henry, and 81 to Harold Fannin Jr. Those are atrocious defensive performances against several average tight ends, and this week, they’re facing the tight end leader in receiving yards in Tyler Warren. That’s why I like Warren to go over 79.5 receiving yards at +230 on DraftKings.
Finally, I’m rolling with the Broncos to win outright against the Texans at +105. Houston is favored by 1.5 points coming into this game, which I don’t understand; Denver should be favored. Their defense is going to murder the Texans’ weak offensive line, and their offense is riding a 44-points performance which will give them confidence on Sunday.
Pats are definitely a top 10 team currently