Trav’s 2023 Week 9 NFL Predictions

Week 8 is in the books and things kind of got back on track. My record was 7-1, which raises my overall mark to 49-27. The winning percentage jumps a little from 61.8% to 64.5%. The only loss came from the Cincinnati Bengals beating the San Francisco 49ers on the road. It marked the 3^rd consecutive loss for the Niners who started the season 5-0. With the trade deadline being today, I’m sure a lot of contenders will make moves to improve their rosters. The big news of the weekend had to be Kirk Cousins tearing his Achilles, which means he’s out for the season. Cousins was in the middle of having a career year on the final year of his contract. Will Levis made his NFL debut for Tennessee and all he did was pass for four touchdowns. It looks like Tennessee has found their quarterback of the future.

Miami returned to their winning ways by defeating the New England Patriots. In a battle of New York, this was one of the uglier games as the Jets beat the Giants in OT. Jacksonville won their 5^th consecutive game by defeating Pittsburgh 20-10. Philadelphia had trouble with Washington again, but they still escaped with the 38-31 win. Dallas blew out the Rams and Matthew Stafford was hurt in the process. Seattle continues to be overlooked as they defeated Cleveland to move atop of the NFC West. Kansas City only managed to score 9 points in their loss to Denver. The Chargers ended their 2-game losing streak after defeating Chicago on Sunday Night. Detroit returned to their winning ways after beating the Raiders on Monday Night. This week I’ll be predicting another 7 games with the hopes of continuing my winning ways.

We kick things off in the AFC with the Thursday Night game. The Tennessee Titans head to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers. The Titans started Will Levis against Atlanta last week and he tossed 4 TDs. Derrick Henry ran for over 100 yards and Deandre Hopkins caught three of his touchdown passes. The performance may have prevented a fire sale from the organization during the trade deadline. Levis will face one of the toughest defenses in the league in Pittsburgh, how will he do? The Steelers fell to the Jaguars last week and Kenny Pickett and Minkah Fitzpatrick went down with injuries. How will those injuries affect both sides of the ball? Pittsburgh will get after Levis and could create turnovers in the process. I’m thinking this will be a low scoring game with the Steelers barely getting by the Titans. Pittsburgh Win 19-17

We have this high-profile game between two AFC powerhouses taking place in Germany. The Miami Dolphins will battle the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs. Miami and Kansas City are two of four AFC teams tied for the best record at 6-2. The Dolphins lead the league in offense as they are first in passing, rushing and points scored. Tyreek Hill is on pace to have over 2,000 receiving yards. This will be the first time Hill faces off against his former team. Kansas City had their 6-game winning streak ended by the Broncos on Sunday. Kansas City enter this matchup allowing the second fewest points in the league. Can they control the high-powered Dolphins offense? Will Mahomes rebound from a game where he didn’t pass for a TD? I’m going with the Chiefs in a close one. Kansas City Win 34-31

We have a pair of 4-4 teams in the NFC who lost a key member of their squad. The Minnesota Vikings will travel south to Atlanta to face the Falcons. As we all know, the Vikings lost Kirk Cousins for the season with a torn Achilles. The big question now is, who will be the Vikings QB for the remainder of the season? Minnesota has won four of their last five games after starting the season 0-3. Justin Jefferson is still at least a couple weeks away from returning. The Falcons lost the heart and soul of their defense in Grady Jarrett to a torn ACL. Atlanta has dropped two of three and now are tied with the Saints atop the NFC South. Whoever starts for the Falcons, I’m still picking them to win. Atlanta Win 24-17

We have a battle between two teams that’s atop of their division. The NFC West leading Seattle Seahawks head to Baltimore to face the AFC North leading Ravens. We have talked about the Eagles, 49ers, Lions and Cowboys, but look out for Seattle. They are 6-2 heading into this pivotal matchup against the Ravens. Seattle has won five of their last six games after losing their opener. The running game is starting to look like they may have one of the better duos in the backfield. Baltimore is another team flying under the radar this season. The defense leads the league in scoring. They are a top-5 team in rushing and they boast a 3-game winning streak. This will be a tough test for both teams. The Ravens will rely on that stout defense to win a close one in the end. Baltimore Win 23-17

We have one of the biggest rivals in the NFL as the Dallas Cowboys visit Philadelphia to battle the Eagles. Both teams come into this game on a 2-game winning streak. The Cowboys defense has only allowed 37 points to the Rams and Chargers. This was after they were blown out by San Francisco 42-10. The offense and Dak picked apart the Rams defense en route to the 43-20 win. How will the defense handle the tough and physical Eagles offensive line? The Eagles come into this matchup ranking in the top-10 in pass and rush offense. The offense is scoring 28 points a game and that ranks 3^rd in scoring. Jalen Hurts and his injured knee is the big storyline heading into this game. I’m picking the Cowboys to edge the Eagles. Dallas Win 27-26

We have the Sunday Night game and it’s between two of the better teams in the AFC. The Buffalo Bills make the trip to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals. The Bills rank in the top-5 of passing, scoring and even defense. The one flaw they have is the ability to run the ball efficiently. Buffalo signed Leonard Fournette with the hopes of improving that run game. Buffalo have been an up-and-down team all season. Cincinnati started the season 1-3 but has won three in a row ever since. During that run, they have beaten the Seahawks and 49ers. Joe Burrow looks like he’s over his calf injury from preseason. Can the Bengals spread the ball around to Chase, Higgins, and Boyd? The Bengals are in their groove now and I’m picking them to win again. Cincinnati Win 27-24

We have the Monday Night Football game as the Los Angeles Chargers head to New York to face the Jets. The Chargers ended their 2-game losing streak on Monday Night by defeating the Chicago Bears. Justin Herbert is getting closer to having his broken finger to feeling better. Los Angeles didn’t make any moves before the trade deadline, but they are getting healthier as a team. The Jets have won three games in a row. Many thought the Jets would trade for another QB when Aaron Rodgers went down. My thinking was that they would trade for one and 8 quarterbacks were named to replace him. The Jets are hoping to continue their winning ways. I’m going with the Chargers to go on the road to win this one. Los Angeles Win 24-20

There we are my predictions for the 2023 Week 9 NFL season. What games intrigue you the most for the 2023 Week 9 NFL weekend? What do you think about my picks? Check out my top 5 teams in both conferences below. Leave some feedback below about anything NFL related or my 2023 Week 9 NFL predictions.