Oct 13, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) runs with the ball against the Cleveland Browns during the first quarter at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

Danger lurks at every turn in the NFL, and what looks like a sure thing on the surface is often too good to be true.

We’ve seen a few examples the past few weeks.

The one-win Patriots upended the Jets.

The one-win Browns beat the Baltimore Ravens.

And already this week, the two-win Jets crashed the Houston Texans in primetime.

Let’s take a cautious look at what might be ahead Sunday in Week 9.

Jaguars at Eagles, 4:05 p.m. ET

The most encouraging signs for the Eagles the past two weeks is the play of the defensive front seven and offensive line. The talent and performance of those two groups will dictate whether Jacksonville still has a fighting chance in this game after halftime.

We’re zeroing in on the Jaguars’ poor defense on the deep ball.

Jacksonville is also banged up at wide receiver and not built to exchange blows with the Eagles’ surging offense.

Saquon Barkley had 111 yards from scrimmage last week and is over 110 scrimmage yards in six of his first seven games in an Eagles’ uniform. He ranks second in NFL with 766 rushing yards and is also No. 2 in total yards from scrimmage at 872.

Best Bet: Eagles RB Saquon Barkley over 103.5 total yards (-104, FanDuel)

Stake SportsBook Bonus

$100,000 Daily Race

For help with a gambling problem, call or text the NCPG – (1-800-522-4700)

Play now

Rams at Seahawks, 4:05 p.m. ET

Why are the Rams favored in Seattle on Sunday afternoon? Granted, they are a slight favorite at -1.5, but history is on the side of the visitor in this matchup. Not only do the Rams drive into this game with a two-game winning streak, Sean McVay is 10-5 against the Seahawks.

The Week 1 victory last season was the intro to the masses for RB Kyren Williams, who is the primary reason the Rams can strut into the stadium with supreme confidence Sunday afternoon.

Williams has a touchdown in 10 straight games and has 10 total touchdowns this season. Seattle is struggling to put up resistance against the run, allowing 139.1 yards per game, and also has a Matt Stafford problem. He passed for more than 325 yards in both games last season, and with Cooper Kupp returning last Thursday against Minnesota, the Rams’ offense looked legit.

Best Bet: Rams -1.5 and team total points over 24.5 (+178, FanDuel)

Stake SportsBook Bonus

$100,000 Daily Race

For help with a gambling problem, call or text the NCPG – (1-800-522-4700)

Play now

Colts at Vikings, 8:20 p.m. ET

A healthy Jonathan Taylor is the best thing Joe Flacco has going for him in a return to the starting lineup for Indianapolis. Taylor had his third 100-yard game in his last four starts at Houston last week, and the Vikings’ blitz-happy defense becomes a high-risk approach if they don’t pick the right alley to stop Taylor.

Flacco leans heavily on his possession-sure options, and that’s been Josh Downs this season.

He is over 9 targets in three of the past five games with three TDs and just missed out on another last week—replay review turned it into a first-and-goal instead. In a game when points could be plentiful, Flacco will know how to find Downs.

Best Bet: Colts WR Josh Downs anytime TD (+220 DraftKings)