We are half way through the 2016 NFL season and once again we have our NFL betting tips here at Before You Bet! You can read our 2016 NFL Week 9 Preview & Betting Tips to find out where we are putting our money this week!
NFL Week 9 Betting Tips
Atlanta Falcons at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Friday 4th November 11:25am)
This is a reverse-revenge situation for the Atlanta Falcons, as they lost their first game of the season to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs defeated the Falcons 31-24 at the Georgia Dome in that game. After that the Falcons went on a rampage winning the next four games in a row. They lead the NFC South by 1.5 games but Tampa Bay have an opportunity to close the gap.
Both teams will enter this game off the back of emotional week 7 outcomes. Tampa Bay lost in overtime to the Oakland Raiders (in front of a home crowd) and Atlanta beat the Packers by one point in the dying seconds. In terms of betting I would argue that momentum will be on the Falcons side.
The one-two punch of Matt Ryan and Julio Jones will be very hard for the Bucs defense to stop. The Bucs are giving up 390 total yards per game (ranked 26th). This is music to Matt Ryan’s ears as he leads the NFL in passing yards (2,636) and touchdown passes (19). The Falcons do a great job of sharing the ball around but there is no doubt who Ryan’s favourite target is. Julio Jones has been targeted 70 times this season. He currently has over 800 yards receiving and four touchdowns.
Another thing going against the Bucs is availability. They will be missing their top two running backs Doug Martin and Charles Sims. As well as their number two receiver Vincent Jackson.
Prediction: Atlanta 31 Tampa 24
Tip: Atlanta Falcons at the line (-3.5) - $1.84 at Sportsbet
Indianapolis Colts at Green Bay Packers (Monday 7th November 8:25am)
These two teams are known for participating in some high scoring shoot outs. In the past five matchups, the OVER has gone 4-1. If you have been betting the Colts games going OVER the total, you would be 6-2 so far this season. All these are contributing factors for the total being 54.0 points.
Despite losing by a single point to the Falcons. It appears something may have clicked for Aaron Rodgers and his offense. Rodgers completed 28/38 passes for 246 yards and four touchdowns in the loss to Atlanta. This is not good news for the Indianapolis defense. They allowed second string quarterback Nick Foles to tear them apart and that was in front of 65,000 Colts fans at Lucas Oil Stadium. I can’t imagine how they will hold up on the road in front of 80,000 Packers fans.
Indianapolis are one of the worst teams defensively. They allow almost 290 passing yards per game (ranked 31st) as well as allowing almost 29 points per game (ranked 28th). The Colts will have trouble picking up first downs against this Packers front, that is allowing just 74.4 yards per game of rushing (ranked 2nd). This could be a real break out game for the Packers, which would ignite their playoff run.
Prediction: Indianapolis 20 Green Bay 35
Tip: Green Bay Packers at the line (-7.5) - $2.01 at Sportsbet
Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders (Monday 7th November 12:30pm)
This is the most exciting game of the week. It is an AFC West divisional rivalry game, that may have playoff implications later in the season. Both teams currently sit at 6-2 and the winner of this game will have pole position in the AFC West.
In terms of wins. The AFC West is the best division in the league. Oakland, Denver and Kansas City all look like playoff teams and San Diego is very underrated. However, if we compare the quality of wins between Oakland and Denver, I would have to give the edge to Denver.
Oakland’s quarterback Derek Carr is in the MVP discussion. He has put up over 2300 passing yards and 17 touchdowns giving him a 100.9 QBR. A big part of his success is the talented receivers at his disposal. Amari Cooper is having a break-out season with over 780 yards receiving. Along with Michael Crabtree who has 569 yards and 6 touchdowns.
When Oakland faced Kansas City in week 6 (a good defensive team) they struggled. Now they will be faced with a similar situation.
The Broncos defense continues to come up with big disruptive plays. They allow the least amount of passing yards in the NFL (183.9) and if Trevor Siemian doesn’t turn the ball over the Broncos can win this game.
Prediction: Denver 21 Oakland 20
Tip: Denver Broncos to win - $2.02 at Sportsbet
Buffalo Bills at Seattle Seahawks (Tuesday 8th November 12:30pm)
The Seattle Seahawks came out of the bye week and played two very taxing games. They beat the Falcons by 2 points in week 6 and had an overtime draw against the Cardinals in week 7. This put them in a tough situation last week against the Saints which resulted in a 25-20 road loss. Now they have a chance to bounce back against a Buffalo team that is trying to avoid a three-game losing skid.
The Bills got smashed by the number one ranked AFC team (Patriots) last week and now they will face the number one ranked NFC team (Seattle). Last week’s loss will be fresh in everyone’s mind but it was a tough spot for the Bills. They have proven they can mix it with some of the top teams.
Although I don’t believe they will win this game. They should be able to keep it close. The Bills have the bye week in week 10, so we should see a big effort against the Seahawks.
Prediction: Buffalo 21 Seattle 24
Tip: Buffalo Bills at the line (+7.0) - $1.84 at Sportsbet
Take note: Any of the tips in this article are simply the author’s opinion, so bet at your own risk and always gamble responsibly. Also be sure to check out the Before You Bet Twitter Page for all our thoughts in the lead up to bets! Happy punting!
