NFL: Week 9 Preview
It’s set to be another exciting round of NFL action and it all kicks off in the early hours of Friday morning in the ‘Battle for the Bay’.
A grudge match to kick things off
There won’t be a ring or confetti for either of these two teams but that will take nothing away from the spectacle as the Oakland Raiders make the short trip to Levi’s Stadium to face the San Francisco 49ers.
San Fran go into this game on a miserable run, as they find themselves on a six-game losing streak.
Oakland aren’t fairing much better either as they have suffered their third-straight defeat last time out, against the Indianapolis Colts.
Watching the tape over for that final quarter would not have been a happy experience for the Raiders’ players and staff, as they let the Colts notch up 21 points in those last 15 minutes.
Running back Matt Breida will be one to look out for in the 49ers roster, while receiver Marquise Goodwin should cause the Raiders problems.
If quarterback C.J. Beathard can rise to the occasion for this grudge match, then the 2.04 with the 49ers -3 on the full-time spread could be the way to go.
Saints to stall Rams’ run
On Sunday the only unbeaten side remaining in the NFL, the Los Angeles Rams, face one of their toughest games of the season, as they travel to New Orleans Saints.
This is a big match-up in the NFC and could go a long way in deciding who will be the top seed in the play-offs this season.
The head-to-head battle between the quarterbacks Drew Brees and Jared Goff is an intriguing one, but the old head might just get the edge in this one.
It has been an outstanding start by the Rams but this could just be a bridge too far for Goff and co. The Saints are 1.80 to get the win on home soil at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and extend their own winning run to seven games.
A rare treat at The Gillette
If the Saints v Rams quarterback head-to-head was not good enough, then let’s have a look at the match-up in the early hours of Monday morning, as Aaron Rodgers’ Green Bay Packers travel to Tom Brady’s New England Patriots.
These are two of the biggest names in the sport, althhough remarkably Rodgers has never started a game at the Gillette Stadium since his debut season in 2005.
With the current scheduling in the NFL, these two teams only meet at the home of the Pats once every eight years, with Rodgers missing the last game in 2010 due to concussion.
So, these kinds of game are to be cherished as it looks highly likely this is the only time we will these QB legends face each other in New England.
The Pats have certainly turned a corner of late and their 25-6 beating of the Buffalo Bills last time out shows they are in a good place.
This really does look like a game that could come down to the wire and Rodgers might just be able to pull something out of the bag on the road, with Green Bay a tempting 3.05 to take the spoils.
