Welcome to Hagan’s Haus, where football is the only thing that matters. You won’t find me in a church on Sunday because football is my religion and the number one priority in my life. I am so excited that the NFL season is finally back in action! I pride myself on studying the game of football. We can’t get all our picks or predictions right, but I am going to leave it here in the open every week for everyone to see. In Hagan’s Haus, it’s all about bragging rights.
Who is the best? Because winning is the only thing that matters. We don’t get points for second place. I challenge you to post comments on your weekly picks and compare them to mine. This isn’t about point spreads. I will give a score prediction, but winning is winning. Doesn’t matter if it is by an inch or a mile. So try and beat me in picking NFL games. I promise you it won’t be easy, but it will be fun. Here are Hagan’s Haus 2017 Week 9 NFL picks.
Last week: 10-3
Overall: 66-52
Teams on byes: Cleveland, Minnesota, New England, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Los Angeles Chargers
Thursday Night
Buffalo Bills (5-2) 45 @ New York Jets (3-5) 14: Nobody circles the wagons like the Buffalo Bills, as Chris Berman would say. This team is marching toward the playoffs behind a great defense. Buffalo is only allowing teams to score 16.4 points per game.
This week, they are going to suffocate New York’s offense. The bold prediction is that LeSean McCoy is going to go over 150 yards, and the Bills rout the Jets by more than four scores.
Sunday Morning
Baltimore Ravens (4-4) 20 @ Tennessee Titans (4-3) 34: Baltimore is coming off a huge 40-0 win over Miami. Tennessee is not Miami. It is going to take more than good defense to win this game.
Tennessee is coming off a bye week, which gives them an advantage. The Titans will look to run the ball down the throat of the Ravens. Tennessee has the ninth-ranked rushing attack, while the Ravens can’t stop the run, giving up 132.8 yards per game.
The Titans will run the ball and open up the pass so that Marcus Mariota has a huge day with four total touchdowns.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-5) 34 @ New Orleans Saints (5-2) 37: These teams are trending in opposite directions. Both were expected to be in the other’s shoes.
Drew Brees has had some big games against the Bucs over the years, and this will be another. Tampa Bay is ranked 30th in pass defense.
New Orleans will put up a lot of points and push the Bucs to the depths of the sea. Okay, maybe not the sea, but definitely the depths of the NFC South.
Los Angeles Rams (5-2) 31 @ New York Giants (1-6) 27: New York should just throw in the towel on the season. They should have also sent away Eli Manning so that he doesn’t have to end his career on a rebuilding team.
The Giants have failed to live up to expectations and are going to lose their seventh game in eight tries. Los Angeles had a week off and will be looking to get back to having the No. 1 scoring offense in the NFL. Houston has surpassed them by 0.4 points. Todd Gurley will have 200 all-purpose yards to send the Rams to 6-2.
Denver Broncos (3-4) 16 @ Philadelphia Eagles (7-1) 24: Denver has no help at quarterback, and it is holding the entire team back. Philly can stack the box with seven, eight or even nine defenders, and they know that Trevor Siemian will not be able to beat them. Denver’s defense can only do so much to stop the bleeding this season.
The Eagles, on the other hand, are flying high behind Carson Wentz. The addition of Jay Ajayi is going to help this offense even more, even if it isn’t right away. Philly wins this one at home fairly easily.
Atlanta Falcons (4-3) 24 @ Carolina Panthers (5-3) 27: In what most would consider a head-scratching move, Carolina shipped out Kelvin Benjamin to Buffalo minutes before the trade deadline ended. This could be the move that actually improves Cam Newton’s play.
Before you go crazy, think about this. Cam Newton won league MVP when Kelvin Benjamin missed the entire season.
Cam will have a huge game this week. Atlanta snuck by the Jets and still do not look like a Super Bowl contender. This week they will lose ground when they go into Carolina.
Cincinnati Bengals (3-4) 20 @ Jacksonville Jaguars (4-3) 24: Sacksonville is hosting the Cincinnati Bengals this week, and it could mean another 10 sack performance by this great defense. This is the type of game the Jaguars must win if they are serious about making the playoffs.
The Bengals must also win this game to get back into the thick of things. Cincinnati can win this game, but it will come down to who can get to 20 points first, and the Jaguars will do so thanks to their rushing attack.
Indianapolis Colts (2-6) 21 @ Houston Texans (3-4) 34: Houston has found something special in Deshaun Watson, who is tied for first in the NFL in touchdown passes with 19. This man has also pushed the Texans to the No. 1 scoring team in the NFL. He is doing wonders, and once this team becomes fully healthy, they will be dangerous.
This week they get to take on the dreadful Indianapolis Colts. Houston should roll at home to get back to .500 on the season.
Sunday Afternoon
Arizona Cardinals (3-4) 17 @ San Francisco 49ers (0-8) 20: San Francisco made a blockbuster trade to acquire coveted backup Jimmy Garoppolo from the Patriots. He won’t be ready this week, but will be the future of this franchise at quarterback.
This week, they host the Cardinals in a game they can steal. If they contain the Cardinals offense, which is missing Carson Palmer and David Johnson, then the offense can ride Carlos Hyde to a win. With the moment from the big trade, the 49ers will do both of these to get their first win of the season.
Washington Redskins (3-4) 19 @ Seattle Seahawks (5-2) 27: Seattle is the NFC’s version of the Patriots. No matter their flaws, or what is going on in the rest of the league, they pile up wins.
Russell Wilson isn’t getting the national recognition he is used to, but is still having an excellent season. Wilson has 15 touchdowns and just four interceptions through the air. He will be a handful for the Redskins this week.
Washington lost what was somewhat of a playoff game last week. The Redskins are not going to win this game on the road, and they will miss the playoffs again with Kirk Cousins.
Kansas City Chiefs (6-2) 30 @ Dallas Cowboys (4-3) 27: Dallas has gotten back to the formula that made them successful last season, which is running the ball effectively. In the last two games, the Cowboys are averaging 217 yards on the ground.
To have a shot in this game, they must run the ball to control the clock and keep Kansas City’s offense off the field. They won’t be able to stop this offense for four quarters and ultimately will lose.
Sunday Night
Oakland Raiders (3-5) 34 @ Miami Dolphins (4-3) 20: Oakland has been very underwhelming. This is a must win, or they can kiss the playoffs goodbye.
Miami has officially thrown in the towel on the season by trading Jay Ajayi. Jay Cutler came out of retirement to collect millions and has averaged just over 150 yards passing per game.
Miami has nothing going for them anymore, and this shouldn’t be a contest. Derek Carr will have a big day to keep Oakland’s season alive.
Monday Night
Detroit Lions (3-4) 31 @ Green Bay Packers (4-3) 27: In the beginning of the season, this game had the possibility of being a great primetime game. But the Packers have lost Aaron Rodgers, and the Lions have lost three straight and do not look like a playoff team.
Neither team can run the ball effectively. This could be an all out aerial attack, and Matthew Stafford is better than Brett Hundley. The Lions will win in Green Bay to push both teams to 4-4.
Featured image from http://turnonthejets.com
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