2009 NFL Week 9 Predictions

Week 9 in the 2009 NFL season is sure to provide more drama for football fans. The excitement will come from divisional rivalries, defensive gems, and offensive explosions. The most captivating games may have all three.

Last week's matchups definitely gave analysts a run for their money. Some contests seemed like no-brainers. Other battles perplexed even the most experienced football followers. As the weeks go on some picks get easier while others become more difficult. With that said, here are your 2009 NFL Week 9 predictions:

Cincinnati 31, Baltimore 24: The Bengals are coming off of a bye week and playing at home. They beat the Ravens in Baltimore in a low scoring Week 5 game. Since then both teams have had a chance to tune up their offenses so look for the points to be put on the board this week.

Indianapolis 35, Houston 17: Peyton Manning will not spend another Sunday outside of the end zone. The Texans have put together a nice three game winning streak but will not be able to overcome the Indi defense. Look for the Colts to remain undefeated.

Green Bay 31, Tampa Bay 10: The winless Bucs will stay winless. There is no reason to think the Packers will not go into Florida and handle the Buccaneers.

Chicago 24, Arizona 21: Statistically speaking these are two mediocre teams on both offense and defense. The Bears carry an edge on defense. The Cardinals are undefeated on the road, however Kurt Warner has been inconsistent and the Cardinals' running game is the worst in the NFL.

New England 28, Miami 24: The Dolphins can't expect two special team returns and a defensive touchdown in one quarter again. The Patriots have the third ranked offense and the sixth ranked defense. Only the top tier teams can compete with that kind of balanced attack and Miami is not quite there yet.

Jacksonville 21, Kansas City 17: The Jaguars just lost to the Titans but the Chiefs are just plain bad. Jacksonville has a significantly superior offense. Look for Maurice Jones-Drew to have another outstanding game.

Atlanta 31, Washington 14: While the Falcons have lost two straight games, those games have been against strong opponents. The Redskins will not be able to stop the Falcons' offensive attack.

New Orleans 35, Carolina 24: It's hard to imagine someone stopping the Saints powerful offense, least of all the Panthers. Carolina can put some points on the board but nowhere near what New Orleans can do.

Seattle 24, Detroit 14: The Seahawks are just an average passing team but the Lions have a horrible pass defense (28^th). Detroit has not won on the road this season and home is the only place Seattle has won. That trend will continue this week.

San Francisco 17, Tennessee 14: The 49ers have been competitive in almost all the games they've played this year but can't seem to win against average to above average teams. They are playing a far below average team this week and should have a good chance. The Titans have a respectable running game but that plays into the 49ers strength.

NY Giants 28, San Diego 24: The Giants have lost three straight and are quickly seeing their division slip away. If there was ever a must win in Week 9 this would be it. Teams seem to have a tendency to lose the week after playing the Raiders. Maybe it's the shock of playing a real NFL team the next week. Whatever the case, history is not on the Chargers' side.

Philadelphia 27, Dallas 24: This game can very well go to the Cowboys. There is not much to sway an opinion one way or the other. The only advantage the Eagles seem to have is being at home and having more wins within the division.

Denver 21, Pittsburgh 17: Coming off of a fresh spanking by the Ravens, the Broncos will figure out what went wrong and get back to their dominant defense. The only two losses for the Steelers have come on the road and Mile High is not an easy place to play.

Byes: Buffalo, Cleveland, Minnesota, NY Jets, Oakland, St. Louis