During NFL Week 9 action, a half-dozen teams are home dogs, including a marquee matchup between Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens hosting the undefeated New England Patriots. This week’s Home Dog Alert also includes the Jacksonville Jaguars (in London), Miami Dolphins, Denver Broncos, LA Chargers, New York Giants, and Kansas City Chiefs (without Patrick Mahomes).
Aside from the Chiefs playing without Mahomes, the Ravens (5-2) are the only other winning team mentioned in this NFL Week 9 Home Dog Alert with Tom Brady coming to Baltimore. If there’s any team that has a chance of preventing the Patriots from a perfect 16-0 season, it’s the Ravens.
NFL WEEK 9 – HOME DOGS:
Jacksonville Jaguars +1.5 (in London)
Miami Dolphins +3
Denver Broncos +3.5
LA Chargers +3.5
Baltimore Ravens +3.5
NY Giants +7
KC Chiefs +3.5
On Thursday Night Football, the Arizona Cardinals were a 10-point home dog against the undefeated San Francisco 49ers. The Cardinals sprang to life in the second half, thanks to newly acquired RB Kenyan Drake. Jimmy G and the Niners held on to win and remain undefeated at 8-0, but they only won 28-25, and the Cardinals back-doored a cover. Home dogs started NFL Week 9 with a 1-0 record.
Indianapolis (5-2) at Pittsburgh (3-4) opened as a pick ’em. The line fluctuated back and forth since Sunday evening. At press time, the Steelers are a 1-point home dog.
Jacksonville Jaguars +1.5
The Jaguars (4-4) host the Houston Texans (5-3) in London for their annual game in the United Kingdom. If Gardner Minshew can limit his turnovers and Leonard Fournette (4.9 yards per carry) grinds down the Texan’s front line, then the Jags could give the Texans a good fight.
Even with one-eye, quarterback DeShaun Watson is a dominant force. TV execs would love a Watson/Minshew shootout that goes down to the wire.
The Texans will be without their defensive leader, J.J. Watt, who is out for the season with a torn pectoral muscle. The Jags are no slouch on defense, allowing only 20.4 points per game.
Dolphins +3
After starting the season 0-4 ATS, the Dolphins (0-7) covered their last three games. The Dolphins are in full-blown tanking mode, but at least the offense woke up in the last three weeks.
The Dolphins scored 26 points in the first four games, and never posted more than 10 points in a game. In their last three losses, the Dolphins offense improved slightly. They averaged 17 points per game, and never scored fewer than 14 points.
If there’s a team that could — and would — lose to the winless Dolphins, it would be the LOLJets. The Jets (1-6) opened as a 5.5-point favorite, but no one has faith in the Jets, with early money pouring in on the Fish.
Denver Broncos +3.5
The Broncos (2-6) lost starting QB Joey Flacco to a neck injury. Brandon Allen will start against the Cleveland Browns (2-5). John Elway signed Allen after he got dropped from the LA Rams practice squad. Yeah, the Broncos signed an untested quarterback off the street to play in Week 9.
Baker Mayfield, Freddie Kitchens, and the Browns have their own set of problems while riding into Denver on a three-game losing streak. Luckily, the Browns face a struggling team that’s going nowhere in this much-needed slump buster in Week 9.
LA Chargers +3.5
The Chargers (3-5) are a mess, and not in a good way. Phil Rivers leads the 10th-worst offense in the NFL that averages 19.6 points per game. They face a solid Green Bay Packers (7-1) defense that coughs up only 20.4 points per game.
Then again, this is a Chargers team that will lose an easy game, but somehow find a way to win a game they have no business in winning. They snapped a three-game losing streak last week with a 17-16 upset over the Chicago Bears courtesy of a missed field goal as time expired.
The Chargers play close games. It’s what they do. Seven out of their eight games this season were decided by one score or less. The only easy game for the Chargers was a 30-10 blowout against the tanking Dolphins in Week 4.
If the Chargers can wake up Mel Gordon and their rushing attack, this one has the potential to be a fun back-and-forth shootout with Rivers and Aaron Rodgers throwing down in the fourth quarter.
The Chargers are 1-3 at home this season. More opposing fans show up to games than do Bolts fans. You can expect this game will be filled with Wisconsin cheeseheads at Lambeau Field West.
Baltimore Ravens +3.5
The Ravens host the Patriots (8-0) in a huge Sunday Night Football game between two division leaders that could be a potential playoff matchup in January 2020. Every Tom Brady and Bill Belichick hater in the free world will be fading the evil empire and betting the Ravens (5-2) heavily in this one.
The Patriots have had a cakewalk through the AFC East. They now face their toughest opponent of the season. The Ravens lead the NFC North, and should secure the division title with the Big Ben-less Steelers not much of a factor, along with the overrated Browns and winless Bengals.
Lamar Jackson and the Ravens have the second-best offense in the NFL with 30.6 points per game. The high-flying Ravens square off against the best defense in the NFL. If there’s any squad that can shut down L-Jax, it’s this grouping of Patriots defenders that allowed only 7.7 points per game this season.
NY Giants +7
The Giants (2-6) host the Dallas Cowboys (4-3) on Monday Night Football in NFL Week 9. The Cowboys won’t walk into a second ambush at the Meadowlands, especially in a division game. The last time the Cowboys visited the Meadowlands, they were embarrassed by Sam Darnold and the NY Jets. The Cowboys failed to show up, and they gifted the Jets their lone victory of the season.
Daniel “Danny Dimes” Jones looked more like Danny Pennies the last couple of games. The rookie QB will be tested against the seventh-best defense in the NFL that allows only 17.7 points per game.
Kansas City +3.5
Patrick Mahomes is officially out and will not play against the Minnesota Vikings. KC backup Matt Moore gets the start once again. The visiting Vikes are 6-2 after winning four in a row. The Vikes are 5-3 ATS this season. KC struggled at home this season with 1-3 record.