We went 3-1 in our NFL picks against the spread for Week 8, including the Cincinnati Bengals going into Northern California and defeating the San Francisco 49ers.
Heading into Week 9, there are a number of games to pay attention to. That’s especially true when it comes to the relatively thick NFL injury report for this week.
The Miami Dolphins find themselves as 2.5-point underdogs as they get set to take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Germany Sunday morning. Miami is coming off a win over the New England Patriots while Denver scored all of nine points in a stunning loss to the Denver Broncos. Do these trends carry over across the pond?
In another edition of this article for the 2023 NFL season, we will focus on the four games (listed below) that offer up NFL picks against the spread worth your bet.
NFL picks against the spread, Week 9 edition
| Game | Date, time |
| Miami Dolphins (+2.5) vs Kansas City Chiefs | Nov. 5, 9:30 AM ET (Germany) |
| Los Angeles Rams (+3.0) at Green Bay Packers | Nov. 5, 1:00 PM ET |
| Indianapolis Colts at Carolina Panthers (+2.5) | Nov. 5, 4:05 PM ET |
| Dallas Cowboys (+3.0) at Philadelphia Eagles | Nov. 5, 4:25 PM ET |
Miami Dolphins come out on top in Germany
There is no home-field advantage in this game. Though, we do expect that the Chiefs will be represented a bit more given their status as the defending Super Bowl champions and as an international brand. We’re also pretty sure Taylor Swift will help with that. Alas, that’ll be the only mention of Swift in this article.
As for the game itself, Miami is coming off another solid offensive outing in a 31-17 win over the Patriots. Tua Tagovailoa and Co. fell down 7-0 early before outscoring New England 31-10 the rest of the way. The quarterback threw for 324 yards with three touchdowns in the win. On a record pace, Tyreek Hill caught eight passes for 112 yards and a touchdown. Jaylen Waddle added 121 yards and a score himself.
What’s the moral of this story? Miami’s big three is alive and well heading to Frankfurt. The same thing can’t be said for Kansas City’s offense. It was a complete and utter disaster in last week’s road loss to the last-place Broncos. Kansas City committed five turnovers and racked up less than 300 total yards of offense against a defense that yielded 70 points to Miami back in Week 3.
Sure, Denver’s defense has been much better recently. But this is not a great sign for a Chiefs offense that just has not been the same this season. Pick Miami to win, and thank us later.
Related: Week 9 NFL power rankings
Los Angeles Rams take advantage of Green Bay Packers struggles
At this point, it might not even matter who starts under center for the Rams. Matthew Stafford (finger) is questionable to go heading in. If he can’t, veteran journeyman Brett Rypien will get the start.
First off, it’s not like Stafford has been great this season (8 TD, 7 INT). Secondly, Los Angeles has relied more on a defense that has allowed a mere eight passing touchdowns in as many games.
In the midst of a four-game losing streak, Green Bay is completely lost on offense. It is averaging 15 points per game during that span. Young quarterback Jordan Love has been a disaster class in those four games, with four passing touchdowns and eight turnovers. At this point, it’s hard to pick the Packers to win a game. They’re getting the points simply because this game is inside the friendly confines of Lambeau Field.
Related: Week 9 NFL defense rankings
Carolina Panthers grab second consecutive win (NFL picks lock)
Carolina’s Week 8 win over a surprisingly good Houston Texans team was not a fluke. Frank Reich changed things up during the bye week, and it worked out swimmingly for a team that entered its off-week with a 0-6 record.
Rookie quarterback Bryce Young was tasked with more easy and intermediate passes. The end result was the No. 1 pick completing 22-of-31 passes for 235 yards in a solid outing. Defensively, Carolina played more coverage. It led to C.J. Stroud throwing for a mere 140 yards in the game.
We’re expecting a repeat of this Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts. Gardner Minshew has lost three of his four starts as Indy’s starting quarterback. He was no great in throwing for 213 yards on 41 pass attempts against the New Orleans Saints last week. Look for Carolina to duplicate its Week 8 game plan and limit the Colts just enough to win a second consecutive game.
Dallas Cowboys make a statement against Philadelphia Eagles
At 7-1 on the season, Philadelphia boasts the best record in the NFL. But it has not been all roses for Jalen Hurts and Co. Last week’s narrow 38-31 win over the Washington Commanders was a prime example of this. The Eagles yielded 26 first downs and 472 yards of total offense to a very questionable Commanders offense.
All said, Philadelphia has had two close games against Washington, lost to the New York Jets and opened the season with narrow wins over the Patriots and Vikings. This is not the same dominating team as last season’s iteration.
On the other side sits a Cowboys offense that came out of its Week 7 bye to dominate a surprisingly good Rams defense to the tune of 43 points and nearly 400 total yards of offense. Dak Prescott threw four touchdowns in the win. Taking on an Eagles defense that has yielded 16 passing touchdowns against four interceptions on the season, we’re expecting Prescott to eat here.
Meanwhile, Dallas boasts the second-best overall defense in the NFL. This should lead to an upset road win, and a major statement for Jerry Jones’ squad.