NFL Betting: Week 9 Recap and Wagering News

There were some sites to behold in Week 9 – many of which were hard to believe. The Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Buccaneers were both double-digit road underdogs on the NFL betting lines but nearly shocked the Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks straight up. Meanwhile, Nick Foles of the Philadelphia Eagles tied an NFL record with seven passing touchdowns and Tom Brady of the New England Patriots, who had just four passing touchdowns combined in the previous five weeks, had four on Sunday.

Here’s our recap of a wild Week 9:

The Musical Chairs of the Last AFC Wild Card

The AFC playoff race is going to be interesting. There are six spots and four will go to the division winners. However, the teams with the two best records in the AFC are in the West, which means that either Denver (7-1) or Kansas City (9-0) is likely going to claim one of the two available wild card berths. That means the remaining, non-division winning teams will have to fight it out for one spot.

The musical chairs has already begun and those who give out NFL betting tips can only tell you that it’s going to be an unpredictable race.

Currently, the New York Jets hold down the No. 6 seed after becoming just the second team this season to stump the New Orleans Saints. However, many will recall that the Jets were blown out 49-9 the previous week by the Cincinnati Bengals and that they have alternated wins and losses every week, so don’t expect them to run away with this.

After that, we’ve got a three-way tie for seventh as the Tennessee Titans, Miami Dolphins and San Diego Chargers are all 4-4. The Titans (three games) and Dolphins (four games) ended losing streaks this week to get back into the race while the Chargers failed to win or cover the NFL point spread in Washington, which bumped them down a notch. And there’s also the Cleveland Browns (3-5), who continue to hang around, and the Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens (3-5), who figure to have a say.

Most of these teams have only played out half of their schedule, so things are going to get very interesting in November and December.

Totals Betting: Another Week for the Overs

NFL online betting handicappers have hopefully taken notice: overs have been trending this season. Once again, it was an over week with nine of the 13 games (with one push) climbing above the total.

Significant Injuries to Note

Darren McFadden, Oakland Raiders

Breaking news: Darren McFadden is hurt again. Those who bet on the NFL are simply shocked (sarcasm). This time, the man who has missed 13 of a possible 32 games over the last two seasons, has a hamstring injury and will likely miss a couple of games.

Arian Foster, Houston Texans

Foster (hamstring) was questionable to play this week but suited up. He promptly was removed after the first series on Sunday Night Football after suffering a back injury. Keep an eye on his status going forward.

Stinging NFL Point Spread Loss of the Week

The San Diego Chargers. Those who backed the Chargers on the NFL betting odds (PICK) figured that with three shots from the half-yard line that they’d be able to punch it in for a touchdown. However, that thinking proved wrong.

With less than a minute remaining in the game and two timeouts, the Chargers had first and goal just inches away from a potential game-winning touchdown. Instead, they couldn’t punch it in, settled for a game-tying field goal to make it 20-20. The Redskins won the coin toss in overtime, got the ball first and then drove the length of the field for a game-winning touchdown. It was yet another stinging loss for the Chargers and for those who backed them on the NFL odds.