Week 9: The Predictors' guide to NFL Week 9 primetime matchups:
The Sunday slate of games in Week 8 of the 2025 NFL season kicks off with an NFC East Divisional matchup as the Philadelphia Eagles host the New York Giants, and is rounded out by the oldest quarterback in the NFL hosting his former Super Bowl-winning team as the Green Bay Packers travel to Pennsylvania to take on the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Let's get into the top primetime matchups in the Week 9 NFL slate:
Ravens vs. Dolphins
Baltimore:
The Baltimore Ravens are coming fresh off their second win of the season, thanks to a two-touchdown performance from veteran running back Derrick Henry.
The Ravens’ six-foot-two, 252-pound running back finished the game with a team high 71 rushing yards on 21 carries, and found the end zone twice to account for Baltimore’s 14-point win.
Baltimore dropped four consecutive games to the Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs, Houston Texans and Los Angeles Rams before finally notching a 30-16 victory over Chicago on Sunday. Even more impressive, the Ravens won their first game of the season without their starting quarterback, Lamar Jackson, who has been sidelined with a hamstring injury since Baltimore’s loss to the Chiefs.
In Jackson’s absence, backup quarterbacks Cooper Rush and Tyler Huntley have stepped in to fill the void at quarterback. Rush has played in four games and completed 34 of his 52 passes for 303 yards; however, he threw four interceptions without throwing a touchdown, which forced Huntley to be elevated to a starter against the Bears.
Huntley threw for a season high 186 passing yards on 17 of 22 completions, and threw a touchdown against Chicago. Jackson is expected to start on Thursday night against Miami, but if he is inactive, Huntley is expected to be the starter once again.
Without Jackson, Henry has been Baltimore's offensive catalyst in 2025. He has rushed for 510 yards and six touchdowns, leading the team in both categories. His most productive game on the ground came in the Ravens’ 17-3 loss to the Rams, where he tallied a season high in carries (24) and rushing yards (122), averaging a first down every two carries.
Wide receiver Zay Flowers has been the Ravens' leading receiver through seven games, recording 41 receptions for 486 yards and a touchdown, and seems well on his way to his second consecutive 1,000+ yard receiving season.
Miami:
The Dolphins also secured their first win in over three games, dominating the Atlanta Falcons 34-10 on Sunday to capture their second win of the season.
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa just played his best game of the season. He finished the game, completing 20 of 26 passes for 205 yards and four touchdowns, while avoiding throwing an interception and only being sacked once.
This comes after throwing three interceptions in each of Miami’s last two contests - a 29-27 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers and a 31-6 loss to the Cleveland Browns. In those two games, Tagovailoa combined for just one touchdown pass and was sacked a total of four times.
With the absence of wide receiver Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle has stepped up as the Dolphins' WR1. Waddle leads Miami in receiving yards (504); however, he has had some competition in the backfield with De’Von Achane for who gets the most targets.
Waddle and Achane have each been targeted 50 times in eight games - most on the team - however, Achane (37) has recorded two more receptions than Waddle (35), while they have each recorded four receiving touchdowns.
Tight end Darren Waller has only played four games for Miami, but he has matched Waddle and Achane’s receiving scoring in nearly half the time. Waller has caught four receiving touchdowns, including two in the Dolphins' 27-21 win over the New York Jets in Week 4.
Yet, Achane takes the edge over Waddle and Warren when you include his rushing game. The Dolphins' primary running back has rushed for 539 yards and three touchdowns, bringing him to eight total touchdowns on the season, more than anyone other than Tagovailoa.
Stats to know:
Ravens:
- 21st in total offense / 28th in passing offense / 8th in rushing offense
- 28th in total defense / 28th in passing defense / 23rd in rushing defense
- 24.9 points per game / 30 points per game allowed to opponents
- 337.1 yards per game / 387.6 yards allowed to opponents per game
- Lamar Jackson has a 2-2 record vs the Dolphins in his career, throwing for 1,201 yards with 14 touchdown passes and only one interception with a career passer rating of 142.7.
- The Ravens are 11-7 all time on Thursday Night Football
- The Ravens are 2-5 against the spread this season
Dolphins:
- 28th in total offense / 26th in passing offense / 23rd in rushing offense
- 23rd in total defense / 11th in passing defense / 28th in rushing defense
- 21.8 points per game / 26.9 points allowed to opponents
- 299.9 yards per game / 356.5 yards per game allowed to opponents
-The Dolphins are 4-4 against the spread this season
- The Dolphins are 13-14 all-time on Thursday Night Football
- Tua Tagovailoa has a 2-1 record against the Ravens in his career, throwing for 864 passing yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions in those three games.
- Tagovailoa has thrown seven interceptions so far this season, third in the NFL behind Jake Browning (8) and Geno Smith (10).
Odds per DraftKings Sportsbook: Ravens -7.5 / Total O/U 51.5 / Dolphins ML +340
Best bets:
- Lamar Jackson over 235.5 passing yards (-111)
- Lamar Jackson is finally healthy after missing three games with his hamstring injury and will bring a revitalized sense of life to a Ravens offense that has struggled during his absence. Jackson is a fierce competitor and I have no problem seeing the two-time MVP shred a Dolphins secondary that has been above average this season, but Jackson will bring a jolt of energy in a primetime game that is a must win for the Ravens if they want any chance of making the playoffs.
- Tua Tagovailoa to throw an interception (-133)
- Not a lot of explanation is needed for this line. Tua has been terrible all season, the Dolphins are terrible and even though the Ravens pass defense is bottom four in the NFL the Fins will be playing from behind and will be forced to throw the ball down field. Tua is not good enough to be a consistent starter in the league.
Injury Updates and BUS Review
Ravens
BUS (last 4 weeks)
Week 5: 67.7
Week 6: 68.5
Week 7: BYE
Week 8: 80.1
Injury report updates:
The big update (and boost for the BUS) on the injury front for the Ravens is the expected return of QB Lamar Jackson. Jackson injured his hamstring in week 4 against the Chiefs and the Ravens lost 2 of 3 games he was out. The biggest risk when returning from these injuries is a high risk of re-injury so don’t be surprised if the Ravens’ play calling tries to take some pressure off the QB. That being said, Jackson is an elite mobile quarterback and likely won’t shy away from doing whatever he needs to to make a play. Things are looking promising on the defensive side of the ball as well. Starting LB Teddey Buchanan and CB Nate Wiggins both appeared on the injury report this week (ankle and groin injuries respectively) but were full participants in Wednesday practice. A less positive position group for the Ravens is the Dline, as DT Broderick Washington Jr was placed on IR and will undergo ankle surgery. Washington has been out due to the ankle injury since week 3, but the decision for surgery now indicates his recovery timeline will be longer than initially expected. Washington joins defensive lineman Nnamdi Madubuike who was placed on IR for a neck injury and will not return this season.
Dolphins
BUS (last 4 weeks)
Week 5: 82.5
Week 6: 80.7
Week 7: 84.0
Week 8: 72.6
Injury report updates:
The Dolphins have had a rough season that’s included noteworthy injuries like Tyreek Hill’s knee dislocation. The Wednesday injury report has six players listed, with TE Julien Hill ruled out and S Ashtyn Davis listed as questionable. Losing the tight end for another week likely means HC Mike McDaniels will use a similar heavy package with an additional O lineman, which had success against the Falcons. Safety is an interesting position group this week since It’s unlikely that Davis plays on Thursday, as he left the game against Atlanta early with a quad injury and did not practice Wednesday. Minkah Fitzpatrick and Ifeatu Melifonwu are both dealing with thumb injuries, but Fitzpatrick participated fully in practice and is set to play Thursday, whereas Melifonwu is questionable. If Melifonwu doesn’t play, Elijah Campbell should be ready to go after missing 3 games with a quad injury. On the D line, edge rusher Bradley Chubb has stated the plan is for him to play, despite dealing with both shoulder and foot complaints. He’ll be an important piece against the Ravens offense with Jackson back.
Chiefs vs. Bills
Kansas City
The Chiefs are on the hunt for their fourth straight win after knocking off the Washington Commanders 28-7 on Monday night football. Yet, standing in the way of their win streak is their AFC rival, the Buffalo Bills.
The Chiefs have been led to five wins behind none other than quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who is already halfway to his seventh season with 4,000+ passing yards. Kansas City’s signal caller has thrown 17 touchdowns and just four interceptions through the Chiefs' eight games, and has shared the scoring opportunities equally between his receivers.
Wide receiver Hollywood Brown leads the team in receiving touchdowns (4), with tight end Travis Kelce (3) and receivers Tyquan Thornton (3) and Rashee Rice (3) following closely behind him. However, the biggest catalyst to the Chiefs' offense has seemed to come from Rice, who has only played in two games this season after being suspended for the first six games of the season.
In his two games back, Rice has already tallied 16 receptions and 135 receiving yards, averaging eight receptions and 67.5 receiving yards per game - most on the team. In his first game back from suspension, Rice burst out to a dominant performance in Kansas City’s 31-0 victory over the Las Vegas Raiders. Rice tallied seen receptions for 42 yards and two touchdowns. The following week against Washington, Rice was perfect from the field. He caught all nine of his targets for a season-high 93 receiving yards and a touchdown.
Kelce leads the team in receiving yards (474) and is the Chiefs' second most efficient pass catcher. He is averaging 59.3 receiving yards per game. Rounding out Kansas City’s offense are running back Isaiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt. Pacheco leads the Chiefs in rushing yards (329); however has only scored a single touchdown on the ground this season. Hunt, on the other hand, has recorded 16 fewer carries than Pacheco for 245 yards, but has four rushing touchdowns in eight games, matching Mahomes' rushing production as well.
Buffalo
The Bills snapped a two-game losing streak with a 40-9 victory over the Carolina Panthers in Week 8 on the back of running back James Cook’s best performance of the season.
Cook finished the game with a season-high 216 rushing yards, including a 64-yard touchdown run, and finished the game with two rushing touchdowns. He is already more than on track to record his third straight 1,000+ rushing yard season, and has a chance to get closer to that mark against the Chiefs on Sunday. He has rushed for 753 rushing yards and seven rushing touchdowns, while racking up 12 receptions for 89 yards through the air.
While Cook leads the team in rushing touchdowns, his quarterback, Josh Allen, is not too far behind. The Bills’ signal caller has rushed for 261 yards and five touchdowns on just 49 carries this season. Through the air, he has thrown for 1,560 yards and 12 touchdowns, with just four interceptions.
Wide receiver Khalil Shakir leads the team in receptions (31), receiving yards (356), and is tied for the most receiving touchdowns on the team with tight end Dalton Kincaid (3). Kincaid is right on Shakir’s heels with 310 receiving yards and has recorded the most big plays of any pass catcher on the team (7).
Keon Colman and Joshua Palmer round out the remainder of Buffalo’s primary receiving corps. Coleman has tallied 27 receptions for 267 receiving yards and two touchdowns, while Palmer has recorded 234 receiving yards on just 14 receptions.
Stats to know:
Chiefs:
-5th in total offense / 5th in passing offense / 9th in rushing offense
-4th in total defense / 3rd in passing defense / 11th in rushing defense
-26.8 points per game / 16.4 points allowed per game to opponents
-386.4 yards per game / 285.1 yards allowed per game to opponents
-Patrick Mahomes is 1-4 vs the Bills in the regular season in his career
-Chiefs are 5-3 against the spread this season
Bills:
- 3rd in total offense / 15th in passing offense / 1st in rushing offense
-12th in total defense / 2nd in passing defense / 31st in rushing defense
-29.6 points per game / 20.9 points allowed per game to opponents
-395 yards per game / 330.6 yards allowed per game to opponents
-Josh Allen is 4-1 vs the Chiefs in the regular season in his career
-Bills are 3-4 against the spread this season
Odds per DraftKings Sportsbook: Chiefs -1.5 / Total O/U 52.5 / Bills ML +110
Best Bets:
- Rashee Rice anytime touchdown (-110)
- Rice has scored three touchdowns in his first two games this season. Rice is the Chiefs go-to target in the redzone and the receiving engine of that offense since returning from his six game suspension. He is Mahomes favorite target besides tight end Travis Kelce and Rice will need to score a touchdown if the Bills are going to win in Buffalo on Sunday afternoon.
- James Cook over 74.5 rushing yards
- Cook averages 107.6 rushing yards per game this season and even though the Chiefs have a top 12 rush defense, Cook will see a lot of work to take some pressure off of Josh Allen. If the Bills want to beat a bitter AFC rival, they will have to establish the run early and often and find success with it in order to allow Josh Allen to settle in and wear down a stout Chiefs defense. James Cook has been a top three running back all season, and this should not change on Sunday especially in the best game of the week 9 slate.
Injury Updates and BUS Review
Chiefs
BUS (last 4 weeks)
Week 5: 89.3
Week 6: 90.1
Week 7: 89.6
Week 8: 87.9
The Chiefs are coming into a major matchup against the Bills in good shape health-wise, which we see reflected in a high BUS over the past few weeks. Notable concerns for week 9 include RB Isaiah Pacheco who left the week 8 game with a sprained MCL. He is listed as week-to-week, which is pretty standard for MCL injuries which can be very painful but have a wide range of severities. Athletes who regain strength and range of motion quickly, and don’t have significant instability often return to play quickly, usually with a brace on the knee. The good news is RB Kareem Hunt was a full participant in practice, so expect him to pick up some of Pacheco’s load. Also on the offensive side of the ball, WR Hollywood Brown is dealing with an illness. On the O line, we are keeping an eye on guard Trey Smith who missed week 8 with a back injury but was a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice.
Bills
BUS (last 4 weeks)
Week 5: 90.1
Week 6: 89.3
Week 7: BYE
Week 8: 85.3
The Buffalo Bills offence is coming into week 9 in pretty good shape. WR Josh Palmer is listed as questionable with a knee injury and did not practice Wednesday, and backup RB Ray Davis not practicing due to illness. The defensive side of the ball is a bit more of a concern with starting DT Ed Davis being placed on IR with a biceps injury and fellow tackle DaQuan Jones not practicing with a calf injury. LBs Matt Milano and Terrel Bernard (pec and ankle injuries respectively) both participated fully, while outside LB Shaq Thompson was limited with a hamstring injury. Overall the Bill’s BUS has been trending down but adding Ed Oliver to IR may be balanced out a bit by the return of Milano and Bernard.
Commanders vs. Seahawks
Washington
The Commanders are on the hunt for their first victory since the beginning of October after dropping three straight games to the Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys, and Los Angeles Chargers.
The big news in Week 9 for Washington is that veteran wide receiver Terry McLaurin has once again been ruled out with a quad injury, which he reaggravated on Monday night against the Chiefs. McLaurin already missed four consecutive games due to the injury, and after catching his first touchdown pass of the season against Kansas City, he needed to exit the game in the second half.
This means that receiver Deebo Samuel will once again be Washington's primary receiver against Seattle on Sunday. Luke McCaffrey will likely be the go-to WR2 after Jaylin Lane's underwhelming performance against the Chiefs, and veteran receiver Robbie Chosen was re-signed to the team's practice squad after being released before Washington’s Week 8 Monday night contest. He will likely make his way into the active lineup on Sunday as well. Tight end Zach Ertz will be another primary target for Washington’s quarterback.
However, at the moment, the status of the Commanders' starting signal caller has not yet been confirmed. Quarterback Jayden Daniels has been dealing with a hamstring injury all season and has now missed three total games due to it, including Week 8 against Kansas City. In his absence, backup quarterback Marcus Mariota has started three games this season and played the second half against the Cowboys in Week 7 after Daniels retired in the second half due to his hamstring.
After an outstanding first five weeks of the season, rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt has had a quiet last three outings, failing to find the endzone in all three of Washington’s consecutive losses. In fact, the only games that the Commanders have won this season have been when Croskey-Merritt scores a rushing touchdown. The rookies notched 10 carries for 82 rushing yards and a score in a Week 1 victory over the Giants, he had eight carries for 26 yards and a touchdown for a win against the Raiders in Week 3 and had his best game of the season in a 27-10 victory over the Chargers, where he set career highs in rushing yards (111) and rushing touchdowns (2).
It is safe to say that while the Commanders' wide receivers have been the topic of conversation through the first half of the NFL season, their wins have been accompanied by their rushing game. If Washington is looking to steal a win over Seattle, Croskey-Merritt will need to have a big game.
Seattle
The Seahawks are looking for their third consecutive win on Sunday night after knocking off the Houston Texans 27-19 in Week 8.
Seattle’s five wins have come on the back of quarterback Sam Darnold, who is on pace to have another stellar season like he did with the Vikings in 2024. Darnold has thrown for 1,754 passing yards and 12 touchdowns in eight games, with nearly half of those yards going to wide receiver Jaxson Smith-Njigba.
Njigba has tallied 819 receiving yards and four touchdowns, and has recorded a team high 50 receptions on 70 targets this season. Even with the offseason addition of Cooper Kupp, Smith-Njigba is still the top target in Seattle. Kupp has tallied 24 receptions for 293 yards and a score and is the second leading receiver on the team. Smith Njigba leads the team in big plays with 14, while the rest of the 10 pass catchers have combined for just 13 big plays.
Running backs Zach Charbonnett and Kenneth Walker III have been the foundation of Seattle's ground game. Walker III leads the team in carries (95), rushing yards (430), and has scored three touchdowns on the season. Charbonnett, on the other hand, while tallying less than half of Walker III’s rushing yards (205), has scored five rushing touchdowns this season — most on the team.
Seattle’s defense is T-3rd in the league in interceptions (8), with linebacker Ernest Jones IV picking off three of them. The team has recorded 23 sacks on the season and allows the fewest rushing yards in the NFL (530); however, they are the only team in the league that has not forced a fumble.
Stats to know:
Commanders:
-16th in total offense / 24th in passing offense / 3rd in rushing offense
-27th in total defense / 26th in passing defense / 22nd in rushing defense
-23.4 points per game / 24.8 points per game allowed to opponents
-346.5 yards per game / 387.6 points allowed per game to opponents
-13-7 vs Seahawks all-time in regular season
-Commanders are 3-5 against the spread
Seahawks:
-11th in total offense / 8th in passing offense / 21st in rushing offense
-10th in total defense / 23rd in passing defense / 1st in rushing defense
-27.6 points per game / 19.4 points per game allowed to opponents
-358.9 yards per game / 329.4 yards per game allowed to opponents
-Seahawks are 5-2 against the spread
-Sam Darnold is 2-0 vs the Commanders in his career
-WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba has scored a touchdown in three-straight games and in 4/5 games
-RB Zach Charbonnet has scored four touchdowns in the last four games, including two last week
Odds per Draftkings Sportsbook: Seahawks -3 / Total O/U 47.5 / Commanders +136
Best Bets:
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba anytime touchdown
- Smith-Njigba is having a phenomenal season and is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL. Ride the hot hand and watch Sam Darnold find his favorite pass catcher against a Commanders secondary that is one of the worst in the league. We will see if Jayden Daniels plays and if he does expect the Seahawks to throw the ball downfield which only benefits JSN.
- Sam Darnold 2+ passing touchdowns -159
- Darnold has continued to shine in Seattle after leaving the Vikings in the offseason where Minnesota finished the regular season 14-3 in 2024. Darnold has cleared this line in 4/7 games this season and with how bad the Commanders pass defense is, this should be an easy hit for Darnold and bettors.
Injury Updates and BUS Review
Commanders
BUS (last 4 weeks)
Week 5: 78.0
Week 6: 77.2
Week 7: 76.2
Week 8: 69.8
The Commanders BUS has been trending down and this has been reflected on the field as they’re coming off a string of 3 losses. The most recent loss to the Chiefs was quarterbacked by Marcus Mariota while starter Jayden Daniels sat out with a hamstring injury. Daniels has returned to full participation in practices this week, so we expect to see him starting on Sunday. Daniels will also be without top target WR Terry McLaurin, who has been ruled out with a quad injury. Look for Deebo Samuels and TE Zach Ertz to possibly pick up some of those targets. Another notable injury is Matt Gay, the Commanders kicker who is not practicing this week with a back injury.
Seahawks
BUS (last 4 weeks) Week 5: 86.3 Week 6: 83.0 Week 7: 83.7 Week 8: 87.3
The Seahawks’ BUS is trending in the right direction, although Sam Darnold’s appearance on the injury report this week may raise some questions. Darnold took a hard hit in the Oct 20th game against the Texans, and is now dealing with a chest injury. Despite being on the report, he was a full participant at Wednesday practice. The Seahawks secondary is another point of concern, with S Julian Love nursing a hamstring and CB Devon Witherspoon coming back from a knee injury. Both hamstring and knee injuries can severely limit defensive backs as the ability to accelerate and execute sudden changes of direction are key skills for them.
