NFL Week 9 Pick’em Pool Advice, Picks & Predictions (2023)

by Phil Wood |
Nov 01, 2023

We're about to hit the midway point of the season, and there are still plenty of unknowns around the league. Eight teams have two or fewer losses, while 18 teams are at or below .500. Major injuries continue to play a key role, as Kirk Cousins suffered a season-ending injury in Week 8. Meanwhile, the trade deadline brought some huge movement, such as the Washington Commanders sending Chase Young to the San Francisco 49ers and Montez Sweat to the Chicago Bears.

Here is our best NFL pick-em advice for Week 9.

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NFL Week 9 Pick'Em Pool Advice

Miami Dolphins vs. Kansas City Chiefs

The Dolphins are 6-2, but the narrative circling the media is that they haven't beaten anyone. It's a fair argument, considering they were blown out by the Buffalo Bills, and they lost by 14 to the Philadelphia Eagles in a game that was much closer than the final score suggests. But they have destroyed every team that is weaker than them. The same can't be said of the Chiefs.

The Chiefs failed to score a touchdown in their 24-9 loss to the Denver Broncos. Patrick Mahomes finished the game 24-38 for 241 yards and two interceptions. The defense allowed only 240 yards, but 153 of those came on the ground.

The Dolphins are averaging 151.8 rushing yards per game. That's the best mark in the NFL. Additionally, they got Jalen Ramsey back at corner last week, and his presence was immediately felt as he picked off Mac Jones and forced a fumble. With an improving defense and the best run offense in football, the Dolphins are finally going to get a marquee win.

The Pick: Miami Dolphins

Los Angeles Rams vs. Green Bay Packers

Matthew Stafford suffered a UCL sprain in his right thumb in the Ramsâ€™ 43-20 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The Rams are saying he's day-to-day, which is great news for a team that is just 3-5 but also only one game out of the seventh seed in the NFC.

If Stafford is unable to go, Brett Rypien will start against the Packers. That has led to the Packers being favored by three points by all the major sportsbooks. Yet, no matter who starts for the Rams, they're going to win this game.

The Packers' 2-1 start was a definite fluke. They've lost four in a row. They fell by 14 points to two of their division rivals, and they lost to the Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders. The Ramsâ€™ defense is going to be too much for an offense that hasn't scored more than 20 points since Week 2. We trust Sean McVay to develop a proper game plan for Rypien, but we also believe, based on Stafford's history, that he will be out there on Sunday.

The Pick: Los Angeles Rams

Indianapolis Colts vs. Carolina Panthers

The Panthers finally picked up their first win of the year, defeating the Houston Texans 15-13. This week, they're home underdogs against the 3-5 Colts.

The Colts have lost three games in a row, with their defense allowing at least 37 in every game. The offense has played quite well with Gardner Minshew under center. They've scored 65 points in their last two games.

In this matchup, the Colts are simply going to outscore the Panthers. The Panthers have allowed all but one of their opponents to score 20 points or more this season. Their offense has only hit that mark three times. Unfortunately for the Panthers, the Colts have scored at least 20 in every game this season. Against a weak offense, we expect the Colts' defense to have a necessary get-right game and lead the way to victory.

The Pick: Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Chargers vs. New York Jets

The Jets won the ugliest football game in recent memory to extend their winning streak to three games and get back above .500. While the Jets are certainly in the postseason picture, it's hard to be very confident in a team that needed overtime to beat a squad that had -9 passing yards.

The defense has held all but the Dallas Cowboys to 23 or fewer points this season. That type of effort has been necessary, considering how bad the offense has looked for the majority of the season. They're averaging just 18 points per game.

The Chargers have the worst pass defense in football, but the Jets can't take advantage of that. We saw what the Chargers were able to do to the inexperienced Tyson Bagent on Sunday night as they cruised to a 30-13 victory. Justin Herbert and all his weapons will put up more than 20 points in this game, which will be more than enough against this bad offense.

The Pick: Los Angeles Chargers

Make sure to check out our other best bets for Wednesday:

Phil Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Phil, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.

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