Trav’s 2024 Week 9 NFL Picks

Week 8 is in the books, and the Kansas City Chiefs are the only undefeated team in the league. The Minnesota Vikings were the final team to lose a game in the NFC, but they have not dropped two in a row. The Vikings lost to the Rams in the Thursday Night game after a controversial no call on a facemask. We had a few developments over the past few days in the NFL. Anthony Richardson has been benched and Joe Flacco is now the starter for the Indianapolis Colts. In other AFC South news, Stephon Diggs is out the remainder of the season after tearing his ACL. Carolina traded Dionte Johnson to the Baltimore Ravens as the trade deadline approaches. My Week 8 NFL picks garnered me a 4-5 record and my overall mark is now 49-32. The winning percentage drops from 62.5% to 60.5%.

The Rams beating the Vikings on Thursday night was my first defeat. Philadelphia locked down the Bengals offense in the second half on their way to the win. Despite the return of Tua, Arizona went to Miami and pulled off the win. In my fourth defeat, the Buffalo Bills went to Seattle and blew out the Seahawks. My final loss came when the 49ers took care of the Cowboys again in the Sunday Night game. My Week 9 picks will be a total of 8 games this week. Check out Trav’s Week 9 NFL picks below.

As always, we start things off with the Thursday Night game. The Houston Texans head to New York to battle the Jets. Houston sits atop of the AFC South with a two games lead over Indianapolis after beating them last week. The big blow from Houston is Stephon Diggs tearing his ACL and missing the remainder of the season. Nico Collins is already on the sidelines with his hamstring injury. Can the Texans leave with the win in New York? The Jets are currently on a 5-game losing streak. They have fired their coach, traded for Davante Adams and Hasaan Reddick is back with the team. How will Aaron Rodgers and the entire team react with their season being almost over? This feels like a make or break moment for the organization. With the Texans down two receivers, I’m going with New York to win. Jets Win 24-23

We head to Atlanta as the Falcons host the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys enter this game with a 3-4 record and a lot riding on this one. With the Eagles and Commanders both having two losses, this game has a lot riding on it. Dallas needs to find a running game and Dak must eliminate his turnovers. The defense is still missing Micah Parsons and Demarcus Lawrence. Can this Cowboys defense slow down the Falcons high powered offense? Atlanta enters this game on top of the NFC South after their win over Tampa Bay. The defense is still a work in progress. On offense, Kirk Cousins continues to look great along with their running game. Dallas has issues with stopping the run, so this could be a Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier game. I’m picking Atlanta to continue to win. Falcons Win 31-21

We have the Denver Broncos heading to Baltimore to face the Ravens. The Broncos have come around and look like a great team now. They have won five of six after dropping their first two games of the season. The defense is one of the best in the league and Bo Nix is slowly coming along. How will the Broncos defense play against Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry and the Ravens offense? Baltimore had their five game winning streak snapped in Cleveland last week. Lamar Jackson is still playing like the leader in the MVP race. Derrick Henry is still on pace to rush for over 2,000 yards. The defense continues to give up big plays and a lot of points. I’m looking for Baltimore to bounce back and get the win over Denver. Ravens Win 27-17

We have a battle between two quarterbacks that were picked first overall in the NFL Draft. Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears head to Arizona to battle Kyler Murray and the Cardinals. Chicago just had their three game winning streak snapped at the hands of Washington. The loss came when the Commanders hit the Hail Mary pass on the final play of the game. The offense looked great during their winning streak, but it was grounded in Washington. Who had Arizona being in first place in the NFC West at this point of the season? Arizona have won three of their last four games after starting 1-3. The Cardinals ground game is in the top 10 in the league. The defense still gives up a lot of big plays. I’m picking Chicago to win this one on the road. Bears Win 27-20

We have the game of the week as the Detroit Lions head to Green Bay to battle the Packers for first place. The Lions come into this game with a 6-1 record. They have won five in a row and coming off a 52-14 blowout win over Tennessee. The Lions will be without Jameson Williams as he’s suspended for two games and dealing with off the field issues. Detroit leads the league in scoring and is arguably the most complete team. Jordan Love is likely to miss this game due to a groin injury. Malik Willis has looked great during the times he’s been called in to play. Green Bay is ranked in the top 6 in scoring so they can score with any team in the league. I’m still riding the Detroit bandwagon and think they will win. Lions Win 35-31

We have an NFC West battle as the Los Angeles Rams head to Seattle to battle the Seahawks. The Rams have won two in a row after starting the season 1-4. The win last week against Minnesota changed a lot for this team. There were a lot of rumors that the team would be broken up. Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp were mentioned in a lot of trade rumors. Can the Rams make a run like last season? Seattle has dropped four of five after winning their first three games. They were blown out last week at home against Buffalo. They missed DK Metcalf as he missed the game due to a knee injury. Could Metcalf return for this critical division game? This should be a fun game to watch, but I’m riding with Los Angeles to win. Rams Win 26-21

We have the Thursday Night game as the Indianapolis Colts head to Minnesota to battle the Vikings. The Colts had their 2-game winning streak snapped by Houston last week. Anthony Richardson has been inconsistent in his play, so now the Colts have turned to Joe Flacco. Flacco was 2-1 as the starter before Richardson returned from injury. The return of Jonathan Taylor helped the offense as he rushed for over 100 yards. How will Flacco do against the Vikings defense? Minnesota have loss a pair of games in a row after winning their first five. Minnesota has traded for Cam Robinson, which will help the offensive line fill a void. Can the Vikings get back to playing winning football? It looks like T.J. Hockenson could return for this game. With this being a night game in Minnesota I’m picking them to win. Vikings Win 30-20

In the Monday Night game of the week, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers head to Kansas City to battle the Chiefs. The Bucs are headed in the wrong direction right now. They have dropped three of four games and have lost their top two receivers. Chris Godwin will miss the remainder of the season while Evans could return after their bye week. Tampa faces San Francisco next week, so the schedule isn’t kind to them. Kansas City remains undefeated as they continue to find ways to win. With the addition of DeAndre Hopkins, the offense looked great last week. Could Patrick Mahomes be turning the corner and start to look like himself? The defense continues to be one of the best in the league. Will Kansas City remain undefeated? I’m picking them to win once again. Chiefs Win 34-21

What do you think about my Week 9 picks? What games would you pick differently. Below you can check out my top 5 teams from the AFC and NFC. Leave some feedback below about anything related to my Week 9 picks.