With sports betting recently becoming legal in the United States, we’ve partnered with the experts from Total Sports Picks to share their best NFL bets each week this season.
Here’s the Total Sports Picks team’s Week 9 preview.
Minnesota Vikings at Kansas City Chiefs (1:00pm ET)
The Chiefs couldn’t get over the line in Week 8 but they showed real heat under their backup quarterback Matt Moore. They went down to the Packers by seven points at home, however, Moore put up 267 yards and two touchdowns as the Chiefs piled on 24 points in the loss. The Chiefs will be without Pat Mahomes once again this week, thrusting Moore back into the spotlight against another tough defense in the Vikings.
Minnesota have allowed just 16.5 points per game in the season so far, the third fewest of any team in the NFL. They held their opponents to 10 points or under for the second time this season as they defeated the Redskins on Thursday night 19-9. They’ll have the added benefit of the 10 day break when they face the Chiefs on Sunday.
We love the look of the Chiefs here. The odds are currently off the board at most bookmakers due to the uncertainty of Mahomes, but some have started the Vikings as 2.5 point favorites on the road. Moore was really impressive against the Packers and even with him in the line-up we like them to cover at home.
Pick: Chiefs +2.5 (-110 at SugarHouse)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Seattle Seahawks (4:05pm ET)
The Buccaneers suffered a tough loss to the Titans last weekend to fall to 2-5 on the season. Much like last year, they have one of the leakiest defenses in the league and are one of just three teams in the NFL (along with the Dolphins and Falcons) to allow more than 30 points per game. They have also turned the ball over 17 times this season, which is the second most of any team in the league, behind only the Giants.
The Seahawks captured a good away win in Week 8 as they traveled to Atlanta on Sunday. Russel Wilson put up 182 yards and two touchdowns in the seven point win while running back Chris Carson continued his good year with 90 rushing yards and a touchdown. Seattle are 6-2 on the season but will need to keep winning to stay in the hunt in a tough NFC West alongside San Francisco.
Five of the Buccaneers seven games so far this season have hit the over and they have allowed 30+ points in all but two games. We think the Seahawks put up 30+ with relative ease here, making the over pretty good value.
Pick: OVER 51.5 points (-110 at SugarHouse)
New England Patriots at Baltimore Ravens (8:20pm ET)
The game of the day sees the Baltimore Ravens hosting the New England Patriots. The Patriots continued to roll in Week 8 as they downed the Browns by 14 points to move to 8-0 on the season. The Patriots defense has been ridiculous to date, allowing just over six points per game and amassing 25 takeaways already. They are on track to become the first defense to surpass 200 fantasy points in a season, having already racked up 164 points through just eight games.
The Ravens have been getting the job done on the other side of the ball. Lead by star quarterback Lamar Jackson, Baltimore has piled on 30.6 points per game, the second most of any team in the league and currently leads the NFC North division with a 5-2 record. They were fantastic on the road in Seattle in Week 7 and will be on the back of a bye for their home game against the Patriots.
The Patriots are 10-2 against the spread in their last 12 games and have had the wood over the Ravens in recent history. They start as just three point favorites on the road. With the home field advantage, the spread means the bookmakers have these two teams even, which we just don’t agree with. Back the Patriots at the small line they are 5-1 against the spread in their last 6 on the road.
Pick: Patriots -3 (-110 at SugarHouse)
Want to see the Total Sports Picks team’s bets for ALL of this weekend’s games? Click here to see their full list of Week 9 NFL Picks.
