NFL Week 9 Viewer's Guide: Top Matchups Plus SI Team Pub Predictions

Each week we count down the Sunday-Monday games in terms of viewer appeal, and the best matchup for Week 9 was a game that was supposed to already have been played.

13. N.Y. Giants at Washington, 1 p.m. — The Giants put up a good fight against Tampa Bay on Monday night, but there's no getting around the fact this is a game between two bad teams. It's a game that could affect the Dolphins, though, when it comes to the 2021 draft.

12. New England at N.Y. Jets, Monday 8:15 p.m. — Week 9 ends with a dud after the struggling Patriots face the hapless Jets.

11. Houston at Jacksonville, 1 p.m. — This battle of one-win teams now will feature rookie sixth-round pick Jake Luton making his NFL starting debut for the Jaguars. Deshaun Watson keeps this from being the worst game.

10. Detroit at Minnesota, 1 p.m. — Dalvin Cook is coming off a great game for the Vikings and the former Miami Central High star always is fun to watch. The big story here will be the availability of Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford in light of his COVID-19 status.

9. Denver at Atlanta, 1 p.m. — The Falcons are 2-1 under interim head coach Raheem Morris, and they should be 3-0 had Todd Gurley simply fallen down before reaching the goal line against Detroit. The Broncos are coming off their last-season victory against the Chargers looking to even their record on the season.

8. Pittsburgh at Dallas, 4:25 p.m. — That this game is being show to practically everybody in the country in the late-afternoon slot speaks only to the national appeal of both teams, and not to the quality of this matchup. With Garrett Gilbert or Cooper Rush scheduled to play quarterback for the Cowboys, this has all the makings of a dud and an easy win for the Steelers — unless, of course, the letdown factors comes into play one week after their big win against Baltimore.

7. Carolina at Kansas City, 1 p.m. — Patrick Mahomes is fun to watch, sure, but this doesn't look like a competitive game.

6. Las Vegas at L.A. Chargers, 4:05 p.m. — So how are the Chargers going to blow a big lead this week? Justin Herbert and the Chargers will be coming to Miami in Week 10 as he tries to continue putting up big numbers as a rookie.

5. Chicago at Tennessee, 1 p.m. — Ryan Tannehill and the Titans will look to end a two-game slide against a Bears team that also has lost two in a row and might be headed back to mediocrity.

4. Miami at Arizona, 4:25 p.m. — The focus will be on the matchup of exciting young QBs Tua Tagovailoa and Kyler Murray, but it might be more about the Dolphins' surging defense against Arizona's top-ranked offense.

3. Baltimore at Indianapolis, 1 p.m. — This is a really interesting battle of AFC contenders featuring the Colts' stout defense and a Ravens offense looking to bounce back after a turnover-filled outing against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

2. Seattle at Buffalo, 1 p.m. — This game obviously has clear implications for the Dolphins. The Bills have put together a 6-2 record at their halfway mark, but really haven't played great football since September. This is a great chance for them, especially QB Josh Allen, to make a statement against Russell Wilson and the Seahawks.

1. New Orleans at Tampa Bay, 8:20 p.m. — The Buccaneers will look to avenge their Week 1 loss at New Orleans when Tom Brady threw a couple of interceptions in this battle for first place in the NFC South.

And here are the SI team publisher predictions: