The Minnesota Vikings, the NFL's last unbeaten team, enter Week 9 as 3.5-point home underdogs against the AFC East-leading Buffalo Bills. The 6-1 San Francisco 49ers host the Las Vegas Raiders as 10-point favorites, while the Arizona Cardinals visit the Seattle Seahawks in a divisional matchup where the line has shifted after quarterback Sam Darnold was ruled out with a quad injury. The Cardinals rallied from a 14-point deficit to defeat the Dallas Cowboys 33-30 in overtime in Week 8. Other notable Week 9 lines include the Jacksonville Jaguars at the Baltimore Ravens (+10), the Los Angeles Rams at the Washington Commanders (+5.5), the Houston Texans at the Los Angeles Chargers (+4.5), and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers favored by 6.5 points over the Chicago Bears on Sunday Night Football.
A computer model that simulates every NFL game 10,000 times has generated five confident best bets for Week 9. Since its inception, the model has returned more than $5,000 for $100 players on top-rated NFL picks and entered the 2026 season on a 60-51 run on top-rated selections dating back to 2024. A successful parlay of the model's five Week 9 picks would yield a payout of nearly +3000.
The model's top pick is the Over 40.5 points in the Cardinals-Seahawks game, which hits in 75% of simulations. The Over has cashed in six of Arizona's last 10 games and three of Seattle's last five. Seattle ranks 11th in scoring at 24.0 points per game, while Arizona averages 21.9 points (21st). Despite Darnold's absence, the Cardinals' offense features running back Tyler Allgeier (72 carries, 323 yards, two touchdowns, including 147 yards and a score at Dallas) and tight end Trey McBride (66 receptions, 544 yards, five touchdowns). Seattle will turn to Drew Lock, who still has receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (64 receptions, 985 yards, nine touchdowns) as a primary target.
The model also identified four other matchups where it believes the line is significantly off, including multiple spread picks that hit well over 50% of the time in simulations. Detailed selections for those games are available through the model's projection system.
