NFL Week 9 ‘Monday Night Football’ game picks and predictions

Week 9 of the 2022 NFL season is nearly complete, and what a week it was. Our Atlanta Falcons lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Los Angeles Chargers. The Detroit Lions and New York Jets upset the Green Bay Packers and Buffalo Bills, respectively. On Sunday Night Football, we also got to watch an entertaining contest between the Tennessee Titans and Kansas City Chiefs—which the Chiefs won in overtime.

This week’s Monday Night Football matchup features Atlanta’s most hated rival, the New Orleans Saints, taking on the Baltimore Ravens in a hugely important matchup for each team’s playoff hopes. Baltimore is trying to stay atop the AFC North with the Cincinnati Bengals closing fast, while the Saints are trying to stay afloat in a surprisingly wide-open NFC South.

Let’s get right to tonight’s picks, which I’ll be making on a straight moneyline (aka picking the winner) basis. I’ll still provide the information on the spread and over/under, for those interested. At the bottom, I’ll show the rest of the staff’s picks for the game.

All odds are taken from DraftKings Sportsbook and are subject to change. See the current odds here.

Monday Night Football: Baltimore Ravens (5-3) at New Orleans Saints (3-5)

The pick: Ravens -125

Spread: Ravens -1.5 | Over/Under: 46.5 | Moneyline: Ravens -125, Saints +105

Two of the NFL’s most inconsistent teams face off on Monday Night Football, and this one is tough to predict. On the one hand, I’m not going to pick the Saints, because I hate them. On the other, it’s hard to trust the Ravens without their top weapons (Mark Andrews and Rashod Bateman are out). Baltimore has been playing everyone tough and I just don’t trust this New Orleans team, which is completely unreliable from week to week. I wish I felt better about the Ravens in this one, but they’re the pick.

Staff picks

What are your picks and predictions for tonight’s Monday Night Football matchups?

Odds/lines subject to change. T&Cs apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for details.