Our guide to every NFL game in Week 9: Matchup previews, predictions, picks and nuggets

The Week 9 NFL schedule for the 2024 season is stacked with great matchups, and we have you covered with what you need to know heading into the weekend.

Our NFL Nation reporters bring us the biggest keys to every game, and analytics writer Seth Walder makes a bold prediction for each matchup. The ESPN Research team provides a big stat to know and a betting nugget for each contest, while our Football Power Index (FPI) goes inside the numbers with a game projection. Fantasy analyst Eric Moody finds fantasy football X factors, and three analysts — Kalyn Kahler, Moody and Walder — give us final score picks for every game. Everything you want to know is here in one spot to help you get ready for a loaded weekend of NFL football.

Let’s get into the full Week 9 slate, including an NFC North showdown between the Lions and Packers and the quarterback Joe Flacco-led Colts taking on the Vikings. It all culminates with a “Monday Night Football” matchup between the Buccaneers and the Chiefs on ESPN. (Game times are Sunday unless otherwise noted.)

Jump to a matchup:
DAL-ATL | MIA-BUF | LV-CIN
LAC-CLE | NE-TEN | WSH-NYG
NO-CAR | DEN-BAL | JAX-PHI
CHI-ARI | DET-GB | LAR-SEA
IND-MIN | TB-KC

Thursday: NYJ 21, HOU 13
Bye: PIT, SF

1 p.m. ET | FOX | ESPN BET: ATL -3 (51.5 O/U)

Cowboys storyline to watch: The Cowboys are at a crossroads. Will they be contending for the playoffs or draft positioning in the second half of the season? Only once since 1989 have the Cowboys made the playoffs after starting 3-5 — in 2018 when their midseason trade for wide receiver Amari Cooper sparked a 10-6 finish. But a 4-4 record after eight games is no guarantee either. In that same time span, they’ve made the playoffs twice out of the five times they were .500 after eight games. — Todd Archer

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