NFL Best Bets for Week 9 (Buccaneers Dominate Rams, Raiders, Seahawks Predicted to Win Outright)

The NFL season is nearing its halfway point, and some of the league’s contenders and pretenders are truly taking shape. With only so much football left to bet on, why not get in on the action in Week 9?

That’s what the BetSided team is doing and so far this season, we are 18-18-1 on our picks. Can we finally break back over .500 in Week 9?

Here’s where each of our editors is leaning this week:

NFL Best Bets for Week 9

• Las Vegas Raiders Moneyline (-124) at Jacksonville Jaguars
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers -3 (-110) vs. Los Angeles Rams
• Baltimore Ravens -2.5 (-110) vs. New Orleans Saints
• Seattle Seahawks Moneyline (+110) vs. Arizona Cardinals
• Buffalo Bills vs New York Jets Under 46.5 (-110)

Las Vegas Raiders Moneyline (-124) at Jacksonville Jaguars

The Las Vegas Raiders have plenty of flaws, but I’m not going to fade them due to one bad offensive performance against a New Orleans team at home that’s starting to gel on both sides of the ball.

Before last week, this was an offense that was highly rated this year, including coming in third through the first seven weeks in Estimated Points Added Per Play.

The Jaguars come back from London after yet another rough performance, and are starting to see their bright start turn gloomy these last several games. Their once promising defense has unraveled over the last several weeks, ranking bottom 10 in yards-per-play allowed in their last three games, while Trevor Lawrence continues to turn the ball over at an alarming rate.

Via Brandon Anderson of TAN, every NFL team that played in London the previous week that had to play the following week has either been tied or trailed in the 4th quarter; a remarkable trend that’s now 9-for-9.

The Raiders have stewed long enough in their embarrassing performance at New Orleans, and should come out with a far better game plan against a Jaguars team that’s lost a ton of confidence. – Ben Heisler

Tampa Bay Buccaneers -3 (-110) vs. Los Angeles Rams

Between these two disappointing teams, I have less faith in the Rams to be able to get things back on track. Their offense is horrendous this season, ranking 31st in the NFL in yards per play, averaging only 4.8 yards per snap.

The Buccaneers outrank them in yards per play at 5.2 (24th in league) and they have a huge advantage on defense, ranking 7th in opponent yards per play compared to the Rams at 14th.

Unless Los Angeles gets a brand new offensive line, its season is doomed. The Rams rank 28th in QB sacked percentage, allowing Matt Stafford to be taken down on 8.45% of his drop backs. Now, they have to face a Tampa Bay pass rush that ranks third in QB sack percentage, getting a sack on 8.5% of their opponent drop backs.

Finally, nobody throws the ball more than these two teams. They rank first and second in pass play percentage. It's important to note that the Buccaneers rank fourth in opponent yards per pass attempt, and the Rams 25th, giving Tampa Bay a huge advantage.

I'll back the Bucs to win and cover at home. – Iain MacMillan

I know nobody wants to back the Bucs, but this situation is setting up too nicely for Tampa Bay to get back in the win column. For starters, the Rams offense is 31st in EPA/Play, only ahead of the Panthers, and now may be without their leading receiver Cooper Kupp, who hasn’t practiced this week at the time of this writing (Thursday). 

The Bucs offense is far from its elite form during the Tom Brady era began, but they are 19th in EPA/Play and has the passing game to stretch the Rams defense. On defense, the team remains physical at the point of attack and can overwhelm a patchwork Rams offensive line. 

If Kupp can’t play, the Rams offense has zero game changing players on the field, and will fail to hold up against the Bucs. If he plays but isn’t 100% I still don’t think these two teams are equal on a neutral field. – Reed Wallach 

Baltimore Ravens -2.5 (-110) vs. New Orleans Saints

The Saints’ defense showed up to play last week against the Raiders, but don’t expect that level of play to continue. New Orleans is 20th in touchdowns allowed, 28th in points allowed per game and are 17th in opponent yards per carry. 

Baltimore should be able to rip off some big plays against the Saints to beat them – especially on the ground. New Orleans has given up at least 30 points in three of its last four games. Last week was an outlier, not the new norm. – Donnavan Smoot

Seattle Seahawks Moneyline (+110) vs. Arizona Cardinals

There’s no way I’m trusting Kliff Kingsbury’s squad in this spot, especially since they already lost to the Seattle Seahawks this season. 

Seattle has been terrific against the spread this season, and Geno Smith has rejuvenated a team that looks like it completely couldn't stand Russell Wilson. Kingsbury's Cardinals have not been great at home, especially as favorites with him as the team's head coach.

Since 2019, Arizona is just 5-11 ATS as a home favorite, and I wouldn't be shocked if it loses this game outright. – Peter Dewey

Buffalo Bills vs New York Jets Under 46.5 (-110)

It’s a scary proposition to fade the Bills offense, but that’s exactly why the under typically has value in their games.

The under hit in each of the last five games Buffalo was a road favorite in, and it’s hit in each of the Jets’ last three games overall as well. This is a matchup of two stellar defenses, so I expect both trends to continue. 

Each team ranks in the top six in the NFL in opponent yards per play, with the Jets having the edge at No. 3 (4.7). We've seen strong defenses slow the Bills down late, and Zach Wilson's turnover problem (three last week) makes me believe the Jets will struggle to score as well. 

Buffalo leads the NFL in yards per play overall, but the Bills are much better at home (7.7) than on the road (6.0). New York is 21st in yards per play (5.2), while both defenses have excelled at creating turnovers in recent weeks. 

It’s not the most exciting bet, but the value is on the under in this AFC East showdown. - Joe Summers

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.