"Sunday Night Football" will feature a pair of future Hall of Fame quarterbacks as the Saints visit the Buccaneers in an NFC South clash. Against Tom Brady and Tampa Bay, New Orleans is an early 4.5-point underdog, the most points Drew Brees has gotten in a start since 2017. In prime-time games, underdogs and unders continue to be the trend. Underdogs are 17-7 against the spread (ATS) in such contests this season and 43-31 ATS since the start of last season. Meanwhile, unders are 17-9 this year and 48-27-1 in the past two seasons in prime time.
In what was expected to be another marquee matchup, the 7-0 (6-1 ATS) Pittsburgh Steelers visit the 0-8 (ATS) Dallas Cowboys. Dallas has tied the most consecutive games without a cover to begin a season in the past 35 seasons (2003 Oakland Raiders, 1991 Cincinnati Bengals).
Also of note, eight games have totals in the 50s, which ties Week 6 of this year for the most such games in our database.
Here are the top things to know for each game in Week 9.
Odds listed are from Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill and subject to change.
Sunday's games
Seattle Seahawks (-2.5) at Buffalo Bills, 1 p.m. ET
• Buffalo has failed to cover four straight games.
• Each of the past nine meetings went over the total (since 1995).
• Seattle is 11-4-2 ATS when line is between -3 and +3 since 2018.
• Seattle is 11-4-1 ATS in its past 16 road games.
• Buffalo is 4-8 ATS as a home underdog under Sean McDermott.
Denver Broncos at Atlanta Falcons (-4), 1 p.m. ET
• Atlanta is 0-4 outright at home and as a favorite this season. The Falcons also are 2-7 outright as a favorite since the start of last season. Since 2018, they are 6-15 ATS and 8-13 outright as a favorite.
• Denver is 3-0 ATS on the road this season (2-1 outright).
• Denver is 12-6 ATS as an underdog under Vic Fangio, including 9-3 ATS when getting less than a touchdown.
Chicago Bears at Tennessee Titans (-5), 1 p.m. ET
• When Ryan Tannehill starts regular-season games for Tennessee, overs are 15-2, including 6-1 this season.
• Tennessee is 1-5 ATS as a favorite this season.
• Chicago is 5-2 ATS and 4-3 outright as an underdog this season.
Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings (-4), 1 p.m. ET
• Minnesota is 26-13-1 ATS as a home favorite under Mike Zimmer. However, the Vikings have lost three straight outright in that situation, including both games this season.
• Minnesota has covered each of the past five meetings.
• All three Minnesota home games have gone over this season. Each of the past three Detroit road games have gone over this season.
• Minnesota has covered four straight games.
• The under is 25-12-1 in Minnesota division games since Zimmer took over in 2014.
Baltimore Ravens (-3) at Indianapolis Colts, 1 p.m. ET
• Since John Harbaugh took over, Baltimore has faced Indianapolis five times in the regular season. All five games were covered by Indianapolis, and all five games went under the total. Overall, Indianapolis has covered the past eight regular-season meetings (since 2004).
• Baltimore is 10-2-2 ATS on the road in Lamar Jackson starts, including 8-1-1 ATS excluding games as a double-digit road favorite.
• Indianapolis is 0-3 ATS as a home underdog under Frank Reich.
• Baltimore is 0-3-2 ATS after a loss with Jackson at quarterback.
Carolina Panthers at Kansas City Chiefs (-10.5), 1 p.m. ET
• Among 193 quarterbacks to make at least 40 starts in the Super Bowl era (including the playoffs), the two best cover percentages belong to Teddy Bridgewater (32-11, .744) and Patrick Mahomes (30-13-1, .698).
• Bridgewater is 20-4 ATS in his career as an underdog (including the playoffs). He is 15-2 ATS when getting at least 3 points as an underdog (including the playoffs). Carolina has covered four straight games as an underdog.
• Kansas City is 6-1 ATS in its past seven games as a home favorite.
Houston Texans (-6.5) at Jacksonville Jaguars, 1 p.m. ET
• Jacksonville is 0-5 ATS following a straight up (SU) loss this season.
• Jacksonville is 0-4 ATS against teams with losing records in 2020.
• Since 2017, the over has hit just once in seven meetings between these teams.
• Houston is 0-3 ATS on the road this season.
New York Giants at Washington Football Team (-3), 1 p.m. ET
• New York is 4-0 ATS in road games in 2020 and 16-4 ATS on the road since 2018.
• Daniel Jones is 1-7 SU but 7-1 ATS as a road underdog in his career.
• Washington is 2-10 ATS following a bye since 2008.
• Washington is 0-3 ATS as home favorite since 2018.
Las Vegas Raiders at Los Angeles Chargers (-1.5), 4:05 p.m. ET
• Since the start of the 2018 campaign, the Chargers are 3-11-1 ATS as home favorites.
• The over is 6-1 in Las Vegas games this season.
• The Raiders are 4-1 ATS in their past five tilts as road underdogs.
Pittsburgh Steelers (-14) at Dallas Cowboys, 4:25 p.m. ET
• Dallas has failed to cover games by an average of 10.1 points per game this season. That's on pace to be the second-worst mark in the Super Bowl era (1981 Baltimore Colts: -10.7).
• This is the most points Pittsburgh has been favored by on the road since 1977 (as long as the line is at least 12.5).
• Pittsburgh is 0-6 ATS as a double-digit favorite since 2017.
• Dallas is 3-0 ATS as a home underdog since 2018.
Miami Dolphins at Arizona Cardinals (-5), 4:25 p.m. ET
• Miami has covered games by 11.5 points per game this season, on pace to be the best mark in the Super Bowl era (current record: 11.1 by Oakland in 1967).
• Miami is 14-5 ATS since its Week 5 bye last season, the best record in the NFL over that span.
• The Dolphins are 5-2 ATS this season and have covered each of their past three games by at least 14 points each.
• Unders are 6-1 in Arizona games this season.
• Arizona is 1-4 ATS as a home favorite since 2018.
New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-4.5), 8:20 p.m. ET
• All seven New Orleans games have gone over the total this season. The only teams in the past 35 seasons to start with eight straight overs were the 2013 Broncos (8), the 2002 Saints (9) and the 2000 Buccaneers (9).
• Tom Brady is 34-18-1 ATS when the total is in the 50s, and the under is 30-23.
• Brady is 172-112-6 ATS in his career (.606), while Drew Brees is 151-123-7 ATS in his career (.551).
• New Orleans is 24-9 ATS as an underdog since 2014 and 7-1 ATS as an underdog since 2018.
• Brees has not been an underdog of at least four points in the regular season since Week 3 of 2017 against Carolina (with New Orleans winning 34-13 as a 5.5-point underdog).
• Since 2014, Tampa Bay is 6-18-1 ATS as a home favorite, including 2-8-1 ATS since 2018. The Buccaneers are 1-1 ATS as home favorites this season with Brady.
• The over is 4-2 in meetings between Brees and Brady. Brees is 4-2 ATS. In Week 1, New Orleans covered against Tampa Bay, with the game going over.
Monday's game
New England Patriots (-7) at New York Jets, 8:15 p.m. ET
• Bill Belichick is 6-1 ATS in his career in New England when facing a team 0-3 or worse outright.
• New York is 1-7 ATS this season, second worst in the NFL behind Dallas (0-8).
• Seven of the past eight meetings have gone under the total.
• New York is 1-9 ATS off more than six days rest since 2017 (1-4 ATS under Adam Gase).