NFL Week 9 picks straight up and against spread: Do Lions or Packers take control of NFC North?

NFL Week 9 picks straight up and against spread: Do Lions or Packers take control of NFC North?

October 31, 2024

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Halloween is nigh, and it’s a scary time for quite a few NFL teams. Week 9 could be a last act of desperation for many squads attempting to escape a season-killing defeat.

Start with the New York Jets, who host the Houston Texans on All Hallows’ Eve and could have their nightmare of a season officially staked in prime time.

But other clubs will also harbor fears as the calendar reaches November. The Cincinnati Bengals, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars and Miami Dolphins all entered the 2024 season with, at minimum, playoff expectations – and those are in jeopardy of going up in a poof of smoke for any of them Sunday.

Two teams that do seem likely to stick around for a while are the NFC North rival Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers, who will share the most anticipated stage of Week 9 – which will be at Lambeau Field, long a house of horrors for the Lions but now a building they’re hoping to leave with a three-game winning streak. Whoever prevails will sit alone atop the division.

Our panel of NFL warlocks gaze into their crystal balls to forecast the future …

(Odds provided by BetMGM)

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