NFL Week 9 Vegas contest picks: Top spread selections from Las Vegas contest expert

If one has been playing the underdogs the last few weeks like I have, it has been a rough patch of the season in both NFL betting and in football contest play. Per @EvanHAbrams on Twitter/X, favorites are 33-10 SU since Week 6. Through the first eight weeks of the season, favorites are 67-54 ATS, the most profitable start of the season for favorites since 2009.

In Week 8, only one game was decided by a single possession. Every other game was separated by multiple scores. That trend continued on Thursday night with the Ravens blowing past the Dolphins 28-6.

So, how do we treat Week 9? Shall we continue to ride with the favorites, or will the dogs finally bark again?

Unfortunately for Survivor players, two bigger favorites in Week 8, the Falcons and the Bengals, lost outright and took out over half of the remaining entries in Circa Survivor. They were the only two favorites out of 13-games that saw the favorite not only not cover the spread but also lose the game. Heading into Week 9, just 2,057 entries of an original 18,718 remain alive. Only 18 entries are still alive in the $5K SuperSurvivor at Westgate and just 13 remain in Circa Grandissimo.

Against the spread, the top-five consensus picks in both the SuperContest and Circa Sports Million struggled yet again, each going 2-3. Combined, the top-five consensus plays are now 31-48-1 ATS (39%) through the first eight weeks of the campaign.

The Ravens were a 7.5-point road favorite on Thursday night. The Chargers are 8.5- or 9.5-point road favorites at Tennessee. The Rams and Packers are both home favorites of roughly two touchdowns. For Survivor players, this looks like a good menu to choose from, but from an against the spread perspective, do we dare trust an underdog to show up?

So which teams have strong value on the spread for Week 9?... Join SportsLine right now to see who you should back in Week 9, all from Las Vegas contest expert Brady Kannon!