I went 7-7 against the spread last week.

I was able to make a comeback last week after having a rough stretch in the early games, but nearly ran the table the rest of Sunday.

There are some COVID-19 issues on the Ravens right now, but they think it’s under control. They added seven to the COVID-19 reserve list. They haven’t had any positive tests since.

A few teams are dealing with quarterback injuries and we will see two new faces starting this week for the Cowboys and Jaguars.

How will Jaguars rookie QB Jake Luton fare against the Texans?

We pick every NFL game against the spread and throw out a few upsets in Week 9 of the 2020 NFL season.

Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers (+5.5) – My pick is Green Bay Packers

The Niners lost both TE George Kittle and QB Jimmy Garoppolo for multiple weeks. There are reports that Garoppolo’s ankle injury could be season-ending. The Packers have under-performed in two of their last three games. Some of that could be tied to losing RB Aaron Jones to injury. The Niners do have some studs on defense, but their offense could be a struggle. I think the Packers will get back on track and take care of a banged-up Niners team on Thursday night.

Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings (-4) – My pick is Minnesota Vikings

The Lions were manhandled by the Colts last week. They also lost WR Kenny Golladay to a hip injury and will miss this game. Detroit is a bad team without him. They can’t stretch the field and become very one-dimensional. I’m not super high on the Vikings either, but they did surprise me in their win over the Packers. This is a game the Vikings are setup to win and I think they will cover on Sunday.

Denver Broncos at Atlanta Falcons (-3.5) – My pick is Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta is coming off a 25-17 win in Carolina. It wasn’t a pretty win, but their pass defense in playing a lot better. The Falcons have been an overall better team since firing head coach Dan Quinn. Denver is coming off a nail-biting 31-30 win in the final seconds against the Chargers. Broncos QB Drew Lock won a lot of fans after that game. He showed a lot of leadership and a ton of confidence with his goal-line touchdown pass to win the game. This might finish near the spread, but I think this will be a letdown game for the Broncos. I’m taking the Falcons to cover at home.

Houston Texans at Jacksonville Jaguars (+7) – My pick is Houston Texans

Jacksonville started the year with a big win over Indianapolis, but they’ve gotten worse every week. They will also be without starting QB Gardnew Minshew due to a thumb injury. Rookie QB Jake Luton will start for the Jaguars. I don’t expect a ton from the Oregon State product. Houston may not be playing its best football right now, but they are better without former head coach Bill O’Brien. I expect a good game from Texans QB Deshaun Watson. He’s getting more comfortable with his new receivers. I’m taking the Texans to cover on the road.

Carolina Panthers at Kansas City Chiefs (-10.5) – My pick is Kansas City Chiefs

There’s a chance that Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey could return this week, but he’s currently listed as questionable. He has missed many weeks due to an ankle injury. They haven’t been awful without him, but they have lost three-straight games outright. The Panthers have been solid against the spread without McCaffrey (4-2 ATS in last six games). The Chiefs are playing their best football right now. They have covered three-straight games and they’ve done it with ease. The extra half-point does scare me a little, but I think the Chiefs win this game by two touchdowns.

Seattle Seahawks at Buffalo Bills (+2.5) – My pick is Seattle Seahawks

Seattle comes into this game 6-1 (5-2 ATS) and have an MVP candidate at quarterback. They’ve needed to score a lot since their defense is very weak. They have allowed at least 23 points in every game this season. The Bills are built differently, but they’ve also seen some growing pains on defense. They have young, fast defenders, but they have allowed big games against Tennessee and Los Angeles (Rams). The Titans were able to leap out and get a large lead on the Bills a few weeks ago. Buffalo hasn’t shown that they can come back when they are down. They have some nice pieces on offense, so it doesn’t really make sense. I will chalk it up to having a young quarterback. I like Seattle in this one.

Chicago Bears at Tennessee Titans (-5.5) – My pick is Tennessee Titans

The Bears are a better gambling team than they are in real-life. They are consistently undervalued because their offense is below-average. Public bettors tend to put their money on flashy teams that score a lot of points. The Bears defense is the reason they have covered in three out of their last four games. I’m not sold on Bears QB Nick Foles and actually think they would be as good or possibly better if they left QB Mitchell Trubisky as their starter. Foles is turning the ball over at the same rate as Trubisky. The Titans have lost back-to-back games, but last week’s loss to Cincinnati is confusing. The Bengals were able to limit turnovers and played smart football. I think the Titans will return to form and force some turnovers. I’m taking the Titans to cover.

Baltimore Ravens at Indianapolis Colts (+2.5) – My pick is Baltimore Ravens

The Colts and Ravens are both 5-2 outright, but the Ravens have played a tougher schedule. Baltimore lost to Pittsburgh and Kansas City and Indianapolis lost to Jacksonville and Cleveland…a huge difference. I don’t see the Colts as being on the same level as the Ravens. Baltimore is more explosive on offense and their defense is just as good as Indianapolis. The Ravens should force Colts QB Philip Rivers to throw a couple interceptions. I’m taking the Ravens to cover.

New York Giants at Washington Football Team (-3) – My pick is New York Giants

The Giants are the best one-win team in the NFL. Their last four games were within a field goal. Their defense is better than advertised and Giants QB Daniel Jones uses his athleticism at the right times. He could be better at limiting turnovers, but I like what head coach Joe Judge is doing right now. Washington has been a bit of a shit show this year (on and off the field), but they’ve played NFC East teams very close so far. I questioned Washington’s decision to bench QB Dwayne Haskins for Kyle Allen, but he has been an improvement so far. I was high on Washington TE Logan Thomas early this season, but the passes Haskins was throwing to him, just weren’t on target. Allen has been getting the ball to him and he has been one of the keys to why their offense has been better with Allen. I’m taking the points here since I think this game will be another close one for the Giants.

Las Vegas Raiders at Los Angeles Chargers (-1.5) – My pick is Las Vegas Raiders

I have a feeling this could be a shoot-out. The Raiders are coming off a low-scoring affair when they beat the Browns 16-6. They made Browns QB Baker Mayfield look like a quarterback who shouldn’t be in the league. Was that the Raiders defense or was Baker just having a a once-a-month bad outing? It was a little of both since his accuracy was dogshit in that game. The Chargers are coming off a bad-beat when they lost in the final seconds to Denver. Los Angeles had a big lead and they allowed Denver to make a large comeback for the win. This game should be a fun one to watch and I am taking the points in what I think could be a shoot-out.

Miami Dolphins at Arizona Cardinals (-4.5) – My pick is Arizona Cardinals

This is a battle between two good teams against the spread (they are both 5-2 ATS). The Dolphins switched quarterbacks and started rookie QB Tua Tagovailoa. I wasn’t a fan of the move since Ryan Fitzpatrick had this team in a position to be a potential playoff contender. Miami wanted to see what they have in Tua since they have a few picks in the first and second rounds in the next draft. I liked what I saw in his debut, but the training wheels are still on him. He didn’t throw the ball much, but he led the team to a win over the Rams, a probable playoff team. He won’t have starting RB Myles Gaskin for a few weeks after suffering a knee injury in that game. The Cardinals will be without their starting running back as well. Cardinals RB Kenyan Drake injured his ankle and he will be on the shelf for at least one more week. They can deal with the loss of Drake as RB Chase Edmonds is capable and QB Kyler Murray can handle some designed runs too. This could be close to the spread. The loss of Gaskin is huge and the Dolphins could struggle to score. Arizona has a solid pass rush and they will send the house to startle the rookie Dolphins quarterback. I’m taking Cardinals to cover.

Pittsburgh Steelers at Dallas Cowboys (+13.5) – My pick is Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers have been consistently covering games all season. They are undefeated outright and have covered five-straight games. They are clicking on offense and can clamp down on bad teams. The Cowboys haven’t even named a started for this game. All they have said was that they are benching rookie QB Ben DiNucci after his performance against the Eagles and QB Andy Dalton was put on the COVID-10 reserve list. Dallas will choose between Cooper Rush and Garrett Gilbert, both former backups that they’ve re-signed over the last two weeks. I don’t have high hopes for them. The Steelers should cover this game.

New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-5.5) – My pick is Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Saints started the year off flat, but have won their last four games outright (1-3 ATS in those games). They’ve been inching out wins in overtime against the Bears and Chargers. They also had recent wins over the Panthers and Lions that were within a touchdown. The Saints haven’t been extending leads this year as their offense is missing a true #1 receiver since Michael Thomas was injured early this season (he is currently listed as questionable). Also, WR Marquez Callaway is listed as questionable as well as he is dealing with an ankle injury, but it looks like they will be getting WR Emmanuel Sanders back from his bout with COVID-19. The Bucs are starting to get healthy at receiver and they activated newly-signed WR Antonio Brown. Tampa Bay’s offense should be even more dangerous with another weapon added. The Bucs had a nail-biter against the Giants last week, but as I said earlier, the Giants are better than their record. This game shouldn’t be as close. I just like this match-up and think the Bucs will cover this game on Sunday night.

New England Patriots at New York Jets (+7) – My pick is New England Patriots

The Patriots started the year off with wins over the Dolphins and Raiders, but ever since QB Cam Newton caught COVID-19, they’ve been awful. They played Buffalo close last week and only lost by a field goal, but they underperformed for weeks before that game. The Jets are clearly in tank mode and the unintentional ineptitude of head coach Adam Gase has added to them losing games by large margins. I think this should be a solid Patriots cover and I feel strongly about that.

*These picks are for entertainment purposes

Sweetbob’s NFL picks against the spread record in previous seasons:
2013: 133-95-10
2014: 131-114-9
2015: 150-108-9
2016: 143-120-13
2017: 144-115-16
2018: 141-118-13
2019: 159-119-7
2020: 66-52-0

Follow us on Twitter @Sweetbob & ‘LIKE’ us on Facebook!

About the Author…

Bobby Roberts (otherwise known as Sweetbob) is the creator of ‘America’s White Boy’ and contributor at Project Shanks. His writing has been featured on ESPN’s ‘SportsNation’, Sports Illustrated’s Hot Clicks, Guyspeed, and various other sites. You can follow him on Twitter at @Sweetbob