Best NFL Picks and Predictions Today for Week 9 (Cowboys Will Upset the Falcons in Atlanta)

Week 9 will mark the final slate of games in the first half of the 2024 NFL season. Not only do teams have one more game to improve their standing at the halfway mark, but us bettors have only this final week to improve our records in the first half of the season.

If you're looking for a few bets to place today to hopefully boost your bankroll ahead of the second half of the season, you've come to the right. You can check out this week's edition of the "Road to 272 Bets" to find out my best overall bet for each game, but here I'm going to give you my very best favorite, underdog, and total to bet on.

Let's dive into it.

NFL Best Bets Today

Cowboys +142 vs. Falcons via FanDuel
Bengals -7.5 (-110) vs. Raiders via DraftKings
Chargers vs. Browns OVER 42 (-110) via Caesars

Cowboys +142 vs. Falcons

My favorite upset bet of the day is for the Dallas Cowboys to take down the Atlanta Falcons.

I have a lot of concerns about the Falcons defense, which ranks 23rd in opponent EPA per play and 26th in opponent success rate. They also rank 30th in the NFL in opponent third down conversion rate, allowing opposing offenses get successfully convert third downs 49.04% of the time.

I still believe we'll see positive regression from the Cowboys in the coming weeks. They're too talented a team to continue to play this poorly. Let's remember this is largely the same roster that went 12-5 last season while posting significantly better numbers.

I think Dallas gets back on track with a win on Sunday.

Bengals -7.5 (-110) vs. Raiders

There are plenty of big point spreads this weekend and the Bengals are the team I'm most confident in covering the big number.

The Raiders offense has been horrific this season, ranking dead last in the league in EPA per play, even worse than the likes of the Carolina Panthers. They can't run the football and Gardner Minshew makes too many mistakes to sustain an offense throughout the entire duration of a game.

The Bengals' strong offense will help Cincinnati run away with this game.

Chargers vs. Browns OVER 42 (-110)

The Browns are a different team with Jameis Winston at quarterback. The Browns were able to upset the Ravens in his first start while averaging 6.1 yards per play, the 10th-best mark across the NFL last week. I envision them being able to do some damage against a Chargers defense that has been largely overperforming this season. Their defense has benefitted from playing the worst defenses in the NFL to start the year, including the Raiders, Panthers, Steelers, Broncos, and Saints without Carr.

Meanwhile, the Chargers offense has started to find its rhythm and Ladd McConkey had his breakout game against the Saints last week.

Despite the Chargers being a strong UNDER bet all season, I think we'll see some regression in that area on Sunday. I love the OVER at 42.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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You can check out all of Iain's bets here!