NFL Week 9 Games of the Week

The Denver Broncos no doubt are trying to get the taste of defeat out of their mouths after being dominated by the Baltimore Ravens 30 to 7 this past Sunday. The Broncos were 4 to 4 ½ point underdogs against Baltimore on the road. They looked like 20 point dogs as the Ravens absolutely crushed them.

Denver has a chance to make amends for the terrible loss when they host the Pittsburgh Steelers, coming off of a bye week, this Monday night. The Broncos are actually 3 point home dogs in the football betting sportsbook.

There’s a reason for that. Since losing two straight in weeks two and three to the Chicago Bears and Cincinnati Bengals, the Steelers have been excellent. They’ve won four games in a row straight-up including victories over the San Diego Chargers and the then undefeated Minnesota Vikings.

The victory over the Vikings was particularly impressive as the Steelers held RB Adrian Peterson to only 69 yards and a single touchdown. If the Steelers can keep the Broncos from running wild, then there’s no way that Kyle Orton puts up 334 passing yards the way that Brett Favre did in the Vikings’ game.

Orton just doesn’t play that way. Therefore, the Broncos could be looking at a second straight loss. Suddenly, Denver’s magical season would be up in the air as the Indianapolis Colts are still without a loss and the New England Patriots and the Steelers have only two.

The San Diego Chargers, who face the suddenly awful New York Giants on the road on Sunday, are only two games behind Denver. The Broncos need to step it up this coming Monday and get a victory or things could turn around on them in a hurry.

Indy and New Orleans Try to Stay Undefeated

The Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints, the last two undefeated teams in the NFL, both showed that they were human this past week when the Saints failed for the first time in 2009 to cover a spread and the Colts almost lost straight-up at home to the San Francisco 49’ers.

Indy’s win over S.F. was seriously in doubt up until Reggie Wayne’s 22 yard touchdown catch from RB Joseph Addai in the 4th quarter. Up until that point, the 49’ers had a 14 to 12 lead over the Colts.

Indianapolis is a 9 ½ point favorite this Sunday to beat the Houston Texans at home. The Texans are not a bad team and the Colts must fire on all cylinders in order to stay undefeated against Matt Schaub and the sometimes terrific Texans.

Saints Play a Hot Panther Squad

The New Orleans Saints, meanwhile, looked to have their game against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night under control until the Falcons’ D came to life in the second half of the game and kept the Saints from scoring in the 3rd quarter.

The Falcons actually cut the lead to 4 points, 28 to 24, before Pierre Thomas dove into the end zone off of a pass and catch from QB Drew Brees. That put the Saints up 35 to 24. The Falcons got a field goal late to give them a fighting chance, but couldn’t convert on a Hail Mary pass after they recovered an onside kick. The game ended up 35 to 27 in favor of the Saints. It was New Orleans’s first non-cover of the season.