Matthew Ross
For the most part, Week 9 went as predicted, perhaps with Washington pulling off the biggest surprise. I think we were able to permanently busy a couple of teams from contention this season (hello, Broncos). But we also learned that some teams will remain an enigma (hello, Jets).
2017 NFL Week 9 Betting Recap
-The Jets are feisty and hard to figure out. But just because they beat Buffalo doesn’t mean they’ll be a good money line football wager moving forward. As for the Bills? Well, this is interesting. Is this the beginning of a slide? Can Kelvin Benjamin help? We’ll find out.
-The Panthers are back. This is the team that we thought we would see. As for Atlanta, I am baffled. Other than losing the offensive coordinator, they brought back their NFC title team. It’s very strange. Don’t trust them moving forward.
-The Jags won without Leonard Fournette and that makes them 2-0 without him this season. Wow. I think we can start looking at them as a playoff team now. It’s safe to lay the points and money in certain matchups. The Bengals are toast. Marvin Lewis is dead man walking.
-Poor Texans. Tom Savage is awful. I don’t think they’ll win another game this season. Meanwhile, the Colts weren’t much better in the win. They stink too.
-The Eagles are the league’s best team. Period. It’s not even close right now. We’re looking for a chink in the armour and can’t find it. The Broncos can’t score and now the defense is frustratingly giving up big plays and penalties.
-The Rams are humming along and look to be a contender for a first round bye. Wow. As for the Giants? I don’t think they will win more than one game the rest of the way.
-The Washington effort in Seattle on the defensive side was outstanding. It blew me away. Cousins wasn’t great but he was missing some big weapons and key offensive linemen. The Seahawks are still good, but they just might finish behind the Rams now in the division.
-Way to salvage your season, Raiders and Marshawn Lynch. It wasn’t pretty but the win is the only thing that matters. As for Miami, how in the world did they win four games this season?
-Tennessee plays ugly but they win ugly. The Titans have to be thinking that they can win a division this season. Not bad this early on in Marriota’s tenure. As for the Ravens? Another strange team. They have 7-9 written all over them.
-A big win by the Cowboys. If the offensive line and Zeke Elliott look like that the rest of the way then they will be in the playoff hunt next month.
-So the Cards won a game. So what? Drew Stanton isn’t going to win many more of them.
-I keep waiting for the Saints to collapse on defense. But they haven’t. So we have to respect them. As for Tampa, they might be the most disappointing team in the league. I am erasing them from any money line bets.
Matthew Ross is a sports commentator and a radio host on TSN 690 Radio in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Follow him @MatthewWords.
