Upside Play Pick Em: Week 9

Creator: Vragovic, Will | Credit: Tampa Bay Times

Current Standings:

#1 Zach (31-14)

#2 Maher (29-16)

#3 Ryan (28-17)

#4 Vince (28-17)

#5 James (26-19)

#6 Patrick (26-19)

Seattle Seahawks (6-1) @ Buffalo Bills (6-2)

Current Lines: Sea -3.0 / O/U 55

What version of the Bills will we see this week? They’re coming off a 24-21 win against the Pat’s that made me doubt their early season offensive surge a little more, especially after a disastrous performance against the worst team in football. Zach Moss has been a huge help since coming back as he had 81 yards on 14 carries last week for two scores. The Bills seem to be turning into a gritty possession type squad instead of the air it out monster we saw in week 3 vs the Rams. If Josh Allen can make good decisions (20 Total TD’s, 7 turnovers) and this defense can stay healthy the Bills are a dangerous team. The Seahawks had a nice bounce back week against the bruised up 49ers as they took a 37-27 victory in a game where the final score makes it look a lot closer than it was. Russell Wilson is a clear MVP candidate thus far and DK Metcalf has been a beast with 680 receiving yards and 7 TD’s. The defense has been the problem so far giving up 460 yards per game which ranks dead last in the league. The RB situation is still slim for Seattle, so Russell Wilson is going to have to be on fire if they want to squeak out a win in Buffalo

James: Seahawks

Vince: Seahawks

Zach: Seahawks

Patrick: Seahawks

Ryan: Bills

Maher: Seahawks

Baltimore Ravens (5-2) @ Indianapolis Colts (5-2)

Current Lines: Even / O/U 48

The Ravens fell just short last week against the league best Steelers in a 28-24 loss. The Baltimore defense has been fantastic this year as they only allow 18.9 points per game, good for the second least in the league. Lamar Jackson leads the team in both passing and rushing so far, really proving how valuable he is to this playoff contender. Baltimore leads the league in rush yards per game at 178.7, but if they want to sneak out a win against Indy they’re going to have to get Hollywood Brown and Mark Andrews going against a top NFL secondary. The Colts offense has been underwhelming thus far, the huge contract they shelled out for Phillip Rivers is looking like a bit of a stretch as the veteran QB has mustered only 10 TD’s and thrown 6 INT’s thus far. Their defense has been able to bail them out as they lead the league in interceptions at 11, and have a +5 turnover differential. This is going to come down to which defense has a better night, get ready for a gritty one in Indy.

James: Ravens

Vince: Ravens

Zach: Ravens

Patrick: Colts

Ryan: Ravens

Maher: Ravens

Chicago Bears (5-3) @ Tennessee Titans (5-2)

Current Lines: Tenn -6.5 / O/U 47

The Bears are the biggest question mark team in the NFL by far. Their offense looks like a dumpster fire 50 % of the time and if they don’t give Khalil Mack and the defense some more points per contest it’ll be tough for them to keep up with their playoff pace. They average the second least rush yards per game and have forced a lot of third and long situations for struggling QB Nick Foles. Allen Robinson has been the lone bright spot so far as he’s averaged 78.9 receiving yards per game despite working with two struggling QB’s. The Titans were stunned last week in a beat down by the Bengals. The good news is they have Derrick Henry and it seems almost impossible to slow him down, he has 110 rush yards per game which leads the league along with 8 TD’s through 7 games. The Titans have a +8 turnover differential and have been great at controlling the field and keeping their offense on the field. QB Ryan Tannehill has been a stud so far with 17 TD’s and just 3 INT’s with a completion percentage sitting right around 67%.

James: Titans

Vince: Titans

Zach: Titans

Patrick: Titans

Ryan: Titans

Maher: Titans

New Orleans Saints (5-2) @ Tampa Bay Bucs (6-2)

Current Lines: TB -4.5 / O/U 50.5

The Saints are finally getting star receiver Michael Thomas back and fantasy owners around the world are rejoicing. The New Orleans offense will open up a lot of space with the emergence of the all pro WR back and will give Kamara a little support putting up points. The main reason they’ve gotten to 5-2 has been the excellence out of the backfield as Kamara leads the league in all purpose yards and has been a TD machine for the Saints. They average above 29 per game so far this year and allow just 328 yards per game on the defensive side. The Bucs have been hot lately and look to be a little more dynamic this week as Antonio Brown is set to take the field for the first time in 2020. Tom Brady has been magnificent for this Bucs squad as he has over 2000 yards already as well as 20 TD’s through 8 games. Tampa has the best Run D in the league so far as they’ve only given up 70.4 yards per game and have a team total of 14 takeaways. Going to be an exciting game in Florida this sunday with two returning superstars on the field.

James: Bucs

Vince: Bucs

Zach: Saints

Patrick: Saints

Ryan: Saints

Maher: Bucs

New England Patriots (2-5) @ New York Jets (0-8)

Current Lines: NE -8.0 / O/U 42

Who’s pumped for this AFC East showdown on Monday Night?? Yeah me neither. This game receiving a prime time slot is a true tragedy, but goodell has to get us to watch Adam Gase and the Jets somehow right? Alright in all seriousness it will be nice to see how far the Belichick led Patriots have fallen in this game. Cam Newton blew the game last week on a brutal fumble as they were driving into field goal range late, and this offense has only been able to put up 19.4 points per game. The good news is they have the third most rush yards per game and are heading into a matchup where they should be able to develop some offensive momentum. The Jets have been absolutely awful this year. I’m stunned they were given a primetime slot outside of Thursday night in general, instead of continuing to bash them I'm going to stop here.

James: Pats

Vince: Pats

Zach: Pats

Patrick: Pats

Ryan: Pats

Maher: Jets

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* Cover Photo Credit: Vragovic, Will | Copyright: Tampa Bay Times