NFL Pick Em' Week 9

Tennessee Titans (6-2) @ Los Angeles Rams (7-1)

Lines: Rams -8 // O/U 53.6

James: Rams

Patrick: Titans

Vincenzo: Rams

Zach: Rams

Nick: Rams

Maher: Rams

Ryan: Rams -8

One team just lost their best player and the other just traded for one of the most feared linemen of the past decade. The Titans were just starting to roll, putting together 4 straight wins and now a major problem has arised as rushing leader Derrick Henry is expected to miss most if not all of the rest of the season. Ryan Tannehill and this passing game needs to get going, good thing he has two absolute studs in Julio Jones and AJ Brown. The Rams have looked dominant all year outside of their lone loss to the defending champs. Von Miller is on board and something tells me this front 4 is going to wreak havoc on their opponents.

Chicago Bears (3-5) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3)

Lines: PIT -6 // O/U 39

James: Steelers

Patrick: Steelers

Vincenzo: Steelers

Zach: Steelers

Nick: Bears

Maher: Bears

Ryan: Bears

Chicago Bears rookie Justin Fields played by far his best game of the year last week against San Francisco, providing us with a 4th and 1 run that would put Chris Berman into cardiac arrest. The Bears are unfortunately riding a 3 game losing streak and still the worst passing offense in the league by wide margin (127 passing yards per game). The Steelers 3.7 yards per carry as a team is 5th worst in the league, meaning they’ll continue to need to rely on 39 year old Ben Roethlisberger, something Pittsburgh fans don’t want to hear. Regardless, the Steelers are on a 3 game winning streak and their defense has been reminiscent of some of the Mike Tomlin units we’ve seen in the past.

Cleveland Browns (4-4) @ Cincinnati Bengals (5-3)

Lines: Bengals -2.5 // O/U 47

James: Bengals

Patrick: Bengals -2.5

Vincenzo: Bengals -2.5

Zach: Bengals

Nick: Bengals

Maher: Browns

Ryan: Browns

Who would have thought at this stage of the season the Bengals would be legit 2.5 point favorites over the Cleveland Browns. There is very tense drama in the Browns locker room after the Odell Beckham Jr. release. The running game has been the lone strength for Cleveland as they are rushing for 160+ yards per game, the most in the NFL. The Bengals lost a stunner to Mike White and the Jets last week and need a rebound against their division rival to build momentum into the 2nd half of the season. Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase have been dominating opposing defenses. The rookie Chase is 3rd in the league in receiving yards, by far exceeding expectations thus far.

Los Angeles Chargers (4-3) @ Philadelphia Eagles (3-5)

Lines: LAC -2 // O/U 49.5

James: Chargers

Patrick: Chargers

Vincenzo: Chargers

Zach: Chargers -2

Nick: Chargers

Maher: Eagles

Ryan: Chargers

The 4-3 Chargers have been all over the place this season. They have a very solid pass defense which gives up the 5th least yards per game. On the other hand their run D has gotten torched, giving up nearly 160 yards per game which ranks last in the NFL. Justin Herbert has had solid success this year with his 3 dangerous weapons in Eckler, Allen, and Williams as he’s hovering around 285 passing yards per game. The Eagles are a very young team, who shows potential in the trenches each week but has fallen short more times than not. Jalen Hurts has been a Fantasy QB1 all year but has done most of his dirty work in garbage time. The birds are coming off a massive 44-6 W over the winless Lions in week 8.

Green Bay Packers (7-1) @ Kansas City Chiefs (4-4)

Chiefs -7.5 // O/U 48

James: Packers

Patrick: Packers

Vincenzo: Packers

Zach; Chiefs

Nick: Chiefs

Maher: Chiefs

Ryan: Chiefs

Aaron Rodgers has been all over the NFL news cycles as he’s going to miss this week and potentially week 10 with covid restrictions. 2020 First round pick Jordan Love is expected to make his NFL starting debut as the Packers head into Kansas City. Davante Adams is back off the Covid list but TE Robert Tonyan is done for the season with a torn ACL. Kansas City has flat out looked like a completely different team in 2021 as they are sitting at 4-4 and giving up over 27 points per game. Patrick Mahomes is currently leading the league in interceptions thrown as well, nevertheless the defending AFC Champs are still in a solid position to win at home this week against the 7-1 Packers.

Houston Texans (1-7) @ Miami Dolphins (1-7)

Lines: Miami -6 // O/U 45.5

James: Miami

Patrick: Texans

Vincenzo Miami

Zach: Texans

Nick: Miami

Maher: Miami -6

Ryan: Miami

We had to throw in a garbage game for the people in the back. The Texans vs Dolphins is an all time snoozer and I am totally juiced for it. Tyrod Taylor is back after a stint on the IR, coming back to his (small sample size) 70% completion percentage and 3 TD’s to 0 INT’s. The Texans didn’t go on an all out fire sale like most expected, hopefully we can see Taylor and Cooks get rolling. Tua and the Dolphins have been massively underwhelming after a 10 win season last year. The Phins are giving up the 2nd most yards per game and nearly 30 points per game this year and gain the 3rd least yards per game. This is going to be an ugly one but hopefully entertaining and filled with fantasy studs.

- Ryan Mobley / Upside Play