NFL Week 9 Previews and Predictions, Part II; Sunday and Monday Games

Due to unforeseen personal reasons, The AOSN is presenting an abbreviated NFL preview article this week. Normal service will resume next week.

Bye Week: Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons

TheAOSN.com picks:

  CINCINNATI BENGALS 24-10

Even without Giovanni Bernard and A.J. Green, Cincinnati has the offense to win this, and this is a great matchup for their struggling defense.

  CLEVELAND BROWNS 20-13

Two teams seemingly moving in opposite directions, as Cleveland are raising some eyebrows this season while Tampa’s 2014 is a season to forget thus far.

ARIZONA CARDINALS 27-24

Great matchup that could have playoff seeding implications, as both teams have had fantastic first halves of the season. Assuming Tony Romo is able to play through the pain, the deciding factor will likely be which (overused?) feature back is the most productive: Andre Ellington or DeMarco Murray?

KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 21-13

Eric Decker and Percy Harvin are wonderful offensive options to have, but they need quarterbacks who can throw accurately to them to make an impact.

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS 30-20

This one is going to be a close one, but San Diego has had the benefit of some extra days of rest, and Ryan Tannehill struggled against an average Jacksonville defense last week.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS 21-17

In a battle of first-year head coaches, two rookies are going to be key for Minnesota: Teddy Bridgewater and Jerick McKinnon. Oh, and some guy named Griffin is starting under center for Washington. You may have heard of him before.

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 24-17

The high-speed offense Philadelphia favors may be slowed down by a Houston pass rush keyed by the All-Universe talent of J.J. Watt., and the resurgent Arian Foster may stretch a very vulnerable rushing defense to keep Houston in it, but ultimately, if Nick Foles and co. can establish ball control, they should win this one.

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS 27-13

St. Louis’ defense has just unraveled almost from the get-go, from Sam Bradford’s injury before a single down was played to the emerging Brian Quick‘s season-ending shoulder injury picked up last week. Not a good time to travel and face a team fighting to stay in the playoff picture after their own shaky start to the season.

DENVER BRONCOS 21-17

Peyton Manning looks to finally have the defense his offensive talent has needed to back up a title run. With Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders in fine form and several other options should they be covered, New England will be stretched to the max.

Editorial Update: Snow in the New England territory will possibly keep this game from being high scoring.

SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 31-3

Derek Carr has looked fairly impressive as a rookie, but it is safe to say that he has never faced anything like what he will face on the field and from the stands in Seattle. Meanwhile, it’s almost unthinkable given how dominant they were in the Super Bowl, but the defending champions could be in real danger of missing the playoffs if they do not begin to show some consistency. Step one begins with this matchup.

BALTIMORE RAVENS 24-17

There is currently a logjam of AFC teams at 5-3, and this matchup has both divisional and conference implications. Though Ben Roethlisberger had a career outing last week, he will not find the going as easy against Baltimore, which may not be the same defensively-dominant team it was en route to their 2 Super Bowl wins, but have quietly become the 2nd-ranked scoring defense in the league. Which evergreen will have the bigger day? Roethlisberger or Steve Smith? The answer to that may be the key factor in this game.

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 27-20

New York is coming off a bye, and as badly as they looked early in the season, they can keep postseason hopes alive with a win at home on Monday night. If the dueling quarterbacks are locked in, rookie receivers Odell Beckham, Jr. (NY) and Donte Moncrief (IND) have a chance to make a big splash on national tv.

(Schedule image: https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/scoreboard/)