As remarkable as it sounds, we've reached the midway point of the 2026 regular season now that Week 9 is on our doorstep. The first half of the year has heard underdogs bark loudly, and there's no reason to think that'll subside as we barrel down this second leg of the season. That's especially true this week as there are eight home underdogs on the Week 9 slate.
Normally, this is a recipe for the league to flip on its head, particularly after a Week 8 schedule that was mostly chalk. Last week, we correctly identified the Raiders as a live road underdog as they came out with the outright win over the Jets, but favorites largely owned the rest of the schedule. Water may find its level in Week 9, however, which is why we have three road favorites firmly on upset alert as we look forward to another week in the NFL.
Green Bay and New England have sort of mirrored each other to this point in the season. They both started the year 1-2 and have since surged back into playoff contention with 4-1 records over the past five weeks. Jordan Love leads the NFL in passing yards entering Week 8, while Drake Maye leads the league in total yards and touchdowns from Weeks 4-8.
So, both of these teams are quite hot heading into this Week 9 matchup in Foxborough. That said, injuries have plagued the Patriots offense, with wideout A.J. Brown missing Week 8 with a knee injury and tight end Hunter Henry leaving last week's win over Miami with a foot injury.
Those are two pivotal outlets for Maye in the passing game that he may not have when he goes up against an emerging Packers defense. Over the last five games, the Packers have given up 14.6 points per game, which ranks third in the NFL. With a potentially limited cast around Maye, Green Bay's strength could end up winning the day and the game.
Most of the attention for this game will go to the best-on-best matchup between the Bills offense and the Vikings defense. After all, Buffalo is averaging a league-best 33.3 points per game entering Week 9, while Minnesota is holding opponents to a league-low 13.3 points per game. Something will need to give there, and it could be the Vikings' blitz-heavy defense that has the advantage.
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