2026 NFL Week 9 Picks Straight Up, Odds & Spreads For All 15 Games

Welcome to our 2026 NFL Week 9 Picks Straight Up! Crazy to think, but we are halfway through the 2026 NFL season. We have witnessed wild upsets, breakout seasons, and plenty of wins if you have been following this article (once again, we went two for two with our featured picks in Week 8). Hopefully, we can add to that tally this week.

So, without further ado, it is time to bring you our expert 2026 NFL Week 9 Picks Straight Up. Below, you will find my picks, some highlighted matchups, and the odds and spreads for every game this week.

2026 NFL Week 9 Picks Straight Up for All 15 Games

With Week 9 here, we have some great matchups on paper and only two teams on bye! The Tennessee Titans and Pittsburgh Steelers get some much-needed rest this week, leaving 30/32 teams in the Week 9 schedule. In the following section, you will find my predictions, with the teams I anticipate coming away with a victory highlighted in bold. Odds are courtesy of BetMGM:

NFL Week 9 Picks Straight Up: Cincinnati Bengals ML (-155 at DraftKings Sportsbook)

I will be the first to admit, international games do scare me. That being said, I love the price we are getting the Bengals at here. Yes, they did play the Titans extremely close last game, allowing over 40 points to a Titans team that has not been all that impressive offensively this season. That said, the Bengals let Joe Burrow cook, leading to the victory, despite three interceptions thrown. I trust the Bengals to let Joe cook again, and I do not see Michael Penix being able to keep pace in a shootout against Cinci.

A big reason why I do not trust Penix in this spot is how he has performed against pressure. Penix has looked like two different players, essentially when pressured vs. when kept clean. This season, Penix has been a bottom-three passer when pressured; meanwhile, he was able to hand the 49ers their first loss largely due to his ability to get the ball out quickly without pressure in his face. This time around, despite a poor showing last week, I think the Bengals defense will be able to get after Penix and make his life difficult. Despite his struggles, dating back to his time in Miami, one of Cam Ward’s strengths has been his play extension ability. Penix does not have this same strength. Going up against the defense that is currently seventh in pressure percentage and fourth in sacks, I think the Falcons offense could be in for a long day. Primetime Bijan might prove us wrong, but I love the price we are getting the Bengals at here and will happily back them this week.

NFL Week 9 Picks Straight Up: Green Bay Packers ML (+143 at Caesars Sportsbook)

I have seen this labeled as the toughest game to pick according to folks on X, but I do not see it that way. Unfortunately, I am taking the Green Bay Packers. First, the elephant in the room: Micah Parsons has been cleared to practice. If he suits up this weekend, the Packers are adding a top-five defender in football to their already top-ten defense. While the Patriots have looked a lot better than they were to start the season, they are still without A.J. Brown, leading to some inconsistencies from their receiving room, and TreVeyon Henderson is still MIA, meaning their run game is one-dimensional. 

Meanwhile, Jordan Love has been cooking on the offensive side of the ball. Despite some occasional drops, Matthew Golden and Christian Watson have opened up the pass game and allowed Jordan Love to lead the league in passing yards, while being a top-five deep ball passer. This concerns me specifically for the Patriots defense, which ranks bottom 10 in QB hurries and boasts one of the slower deep safeties in the league: 33-year-old Kevin Byard. Even with a lackluster run game, I think the Packers’ offense matches up fairly nicely against the Patriots defense. I like the price here and think the Pack snags a W here to remain competitive in a monstrous NFC North.

2026 NFL Week 9 Odds & Spreads For All 15 Games

We just unveiled our 2026 NFL Week 9 picks, and below are the spread odds for each matchup, provided by BetMGM Sportsbook:

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