NFL Picks Against the Spread 2015: Week 9

Before Week 9 of the 2015 NFL season schedule kicks off, I thought we would have some fun by taking a look at the spreads for this week's round of games. (Click here for NFL Week 9 picks without regard to the spread.)

Here are my suggestions when trying to beat the odds. You can find all of today's NFL betting lines and more at the SB Nation odds page via OddsShark. My record so far this season is 48-56-4 after going 4-7-2 last week. That wasn't good, but it could have been worse.

2015 NFL WEEK 9 PICKS AGAINST THE SPREAD

Green Bay Packers (-3) at Carolina Panthers: The Packers looked vulnerable in their loss on the road in Denver last week. I'd rather bet on the Panthers since they're getting points at home. Pick: Panthers +3

Miami Dolphins at Buffalo Bills (-3): The Dan Campbell Dolphins will probably give Buffalo a tougher fight than when these two teams first met earlier this season. Still, the Bills are at home and they're getting Tyrod Taylor back. They're also coming off their bye week and should be able to rebound here. Pick: Bills -3

Washington Redskins at New England Patriots (-14.5): That's an awfully big spread. Perhaps too big. The Patriots are 4-10 against the spread in home games where they're favored by two touchdowns or more. Washington won't be winning this game, but they might find a way to keep it reasonable or get a backdoor cover in garbage time. Pick: Washington +14.5

Jacksonville Jaguars at New York Jets (-7): Todd Bowles' team is looking to rebound with a win at home after losing in Oakland last week. Here's some high level analysis for you: the Jets are good and the Jaguars are not. Pick: Jets -7

Tennessee Titans at New Orleans Saints (-7.5): Former Eagles quarterback Marcus Mariota is back for the Titans, which is good news. The bad news for Tennessee is that the Saints have been playing much better in recent weeks and they're always more dangerous in the Superdome. Pick: Saints -7.5

Oakland Raiders at Pittsburgh Steelers (-5): I really think this Oakland team is underrated. They should be standard three point home underdogs here at least. I'll take the Steelers to win, but the Raiders could make this one close. Pick: Raiders +5

St. Louis Rams at Minnesota Vikings (-1): Since this game is essentially a pick 'em, I like the home team. The Rams are playing good football lately but the Vikings are no slouches either. Minnesota has lost five of their last six games, and their only loss during that stretch was a three point defeat to the undefeated Broncos in Denver. Pick: Vikings -1

New York Giants (-3) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: I don't think this Giants team is very good at all. Their defense is awful; they allowed 52 points last week. With that said, the Bucs aren't much better. They blew a 24-point lead a few weeks ago. But then they beat the Falcons last week, so ... who knows. The NFL is weird. I'll take the G-Men for now. Maybe I've jinxed them. Pick: Giants -3

Atlanta Falcons (-7.5) at San Francisco 49ers: I don't like this spread at first glance. The Falcons are looking more and more like frauds in recent weeks. They got beat by the Saints, only managed to beat the Titans (with Zach Mettenberger) by only three points, and lost to the Bucs. On the other side, the 49ers are pretty terrible. They're so bad that they just benched Colin Kaepernick for Blaine Gabbert. I don't know how anyone could reasonably bet on Blaine Gabbert. Pick: Falcons -7.5

Denver Broncos (-5) at Indianapolis Colts: This spread doesn't seem as big as it should be. The Denver defense is dominant and Andrew Luck leads the NFL in interceptions thrown. Peyton Manning has also thrown a lot of picks this year, but he's been a little less awful recently. The Broncos are the easy pick. Pick: Broncos -5

Philadelphia Eagles (-3) at Dallas Cowboys: The Eagles are well-rested coming off their bye week, but they're not completely healthy. Starting left tackle Jason Peters is out. Philadelphia REALLY struggled to get their offense going against Dallas in Week 2. It's hard to feel very confident in the Eagles' offense. The best thing the Eagles have going for them is that their defense looks strong and could cause problems for Matt Cassel. Philly might need to score on defense to win this one. Pick: Cowboys +3

Chicago Bears at San Diego Chargers (-4): San Diego's weak defense and poor special teams play have been dragging them down. The Chargers offense is still promising, however, and could exploit Chicago's defense. Pick: Chargers -4