NFL Super Pick ‘Em: Week 9 Locks Include Bears, Bills, Broncos, Raiders
It’s starting to get real for Tom Brady’s Emails.
TBE, NESN.com’s entrant into the Westgate SuperContest on behalf of Team OddsShark, pulled into a tie for fourth in the Team OddsShark standings thanks to (another) 3-2 showing last week. Needless to say, our super-picking trio of Mike Cole, Ricky Doyle and Ben Watanabe would be beginning to believe it could win the team crown — if there were any room for optimism in the cold, hard handicapping world.
Let’s lock ’em up for Week 9.
Buffalo Bills (-3) vs. Miami Dolphins, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
Ralph Wilson Stadium, Buffalo, N.Y.
Cameron Wake’s done for Miami and Tyrod Taylor’s back for Buffalo, making us a lot more confident in a return to normalcy in this rivalry. What amounts to normalcy, you ask? The Bills are 4-1 against the spread in their last five against the Dolphins and 8-3 ATS in their last 11 at home in the series.
Oakland Raiders (+4) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, Sunday, 1 p.m.
Heinz Field, Pittsburgh
On an upward trend, Oakland has won two consecutive games straight-up and is 4-2 ATS in its last six games. Meanwhile, the Steelers lost bellcow back Le’Veon Bell and Ben Roethlisberger doesn’t look fully recovered from his injury. Interestingly, the Raiders also hold a 5-1 ATS edge in the last six matchups with Pittsburgh, which is surprising given these teams’ recent histories.
New York Jets (-6.5) vs. Jacksonville Jaguars, Sunday, 1 p.m.
MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J.
The Jets are on a 1-1-1 ATS skid in their last three games, but they’re still 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 at home. Predictably, the Jags struggle to cover on the road, and with Ryan Fitzpatrick expected to start and the Jets good for at least one touchdown from their defense, that trend should continue.
Denver Broncos (-5) vs. Indianapolis Colts, Sunday, 4:25 p.m.
Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis
Peyton Manning found his stride last week, just in time for a return to the friendly climate-controlled environs of the Big Oil Can. Indianapolis is just 2-3-1 ATS in its last six games at home, and considering none of those opponents have featured a defense of Denver’s caliber, this one could get ugly. We’re more interested in what the over/under will be for how many times Andrew Luck gets sacked.
Chicago Bears (+4) vs. San Diego Chargers, Monday, 8:30 p.m.
Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego
Not to beat a dead horse, but we simply can’t overlook San Diego’s futility against the spread in its own building. They’ve dropped eight of their last nine games ATS at home, and they’ve covered once all season on their own turf. That came against the Lions, whose issues run even deeper than suddenly competitive Chicago.
Thumbnail photo via Mike DiNovo/USA TODAY Sports Images
