5 betting takeaways from NFL Week 9

Find line reports, best bets, and subscribe to push notifications in the Betting News section.

If you thought you had a firm idea of the NFL hierarchy after the first half of the season, you may want to take another look following a wild week that saw two top teams lose and an undefeated squad hold on for dear life. Here are five betting takeaways from Week 9.

Bills earn statement win over Seahawks

Did you forget about the Bills? You'd be forgiven if you did after an uninspiring four-week stretch that included two big losses and a pair of unconvincing wins against weak competition. But all that was in the rearview mirror Sunday, as Josh Allen totaled 429 yards and four touchdowns in his team's 44-34 upset win over the Seahawks (-3), who allowed the most points in the Pete Carroll era.

Buffalo's offense has been on fire for a while - the Bills are only the 13th team in NFL history to record at least 20 first downs in each of their first nine games, according to analyst Warren Sharp. The last two teams to do that went to the Super Bowl. We've long said this Buffalo team is the best value in the Super Bowl market, and that remains true at its current price of +2000. Buy, buy, buy.

As for the Seahawks? We've been concerned for weeks that their defense would hold them back in their title quest, and it doesn't look like that'll change anytime soon. Seattle's pass defense is simply inept, which is a major problem against teams like the Chiefs and Packers - and, yes, the Bills.

Saints embarrass Buccaneers in prime time

It seemed the Buccaneers (-3) were entering this game with a perfect opportunity to prove themselves better on offense and defense compared to the Saints, who have looked lethargic all season. So much for that. New Orleans poured it on early and often in its 38-3 win over its division rival, reasserting itself as one of the best teams in the NFC.

That's been a hard case to make over the last six weeks, a stretch in which the Saints went 1-5 against the spread with two outright losses as favorites and four near-losses. Sunday was different. Michael Thomas was back, but he only caught five passes for 51 yards. Instead, New Orleans showed off its deadly versatility: Three players rushed for at least 35 yards, and 10 players had at least 10 yards receiving.

This game likely said more about the Saints' upside than anything about the Buccaneers, who are still 6-3 with four blowout wins and a clear title profile. Their sluggish offense has come back to bite them four times this year, though, and with a narrow path to a divisional crown, their short Super Bowl price (+1000) isn't looking so hot right now.

Dolphins continue stellar ATS run

Just one week ago, I wrote that the Dolphins were "quickly becoming one of my favorite teams to bet each week." Sure enough, they were one of my best bets this week against the Cardinals (-6). Much of that was because of their defense, which has now forced five fumbles and returned two of them for touchdowns over the last two weeks.

This week, though, was mostly about the offense, which teased its potential in Sunday's 34-31 win over Arizona. Tua Tagovailoa bounced back from a shaky debut to post 248 yards and two touchdowns, while the rushing game did just enough in Myles Gaskin's absence to keep the offense on schedule.

Don't worry about the Cardinals, who were in this game until the end and were probably a bit overvalued after a flashy win over Seattle. No, this game was about the Dolphins, who are now 6-2 ATS on the year and again undervalued this week against the Chargers (+2.5).

Steelers survive scare to stay perfect

A win is a win, right? After rolling through their first seven games with relative ease, the Steelers (-14) survived a dart into the end zone as time expired to beat the lowly Cowboys. Pittsburgh is now 8-0 for the first time in franchise history.

It wasn't the prettiest performance for the Steelers, who were simply inefficient against a very weak Dallas team. The defense held Garrett Gilbert and Co. to 19 points, which was to be expected. The problem for bettors is that the offense hasn't shown the elite ceiling to justify Pittsburgh's short title price (+550), and Sunday's 24-point showing was more of the same.

Offense is still an issue for the Cowboys, though their inspired effort on both sides of the ball helped snap their 0-8 ATS start to the year. Gilbert looked like the team's most competent quarterback since Dak Prescott went down, so perhaps he can breathe some life into Dallas' quest to win the NFC East (+850).

Chargers foil bettors once again

Even when everything aligns for the Chargers, they still find a way to disappoint. It was a familiar story Sunday when their last-second touchdown was overturned in a 31-26 loss to the Raiders (-1).

This came a week after a booth review confirmed a Broncos touchdown as time expired, sealing Los Angeles' third loss this year when leading by at least 17 points. The Chargers never led by that margin this week, but the result was still frustrating for a team that could easily be riding a five-game ATS win streak.

Instead, the Bolts are 2-2-1 ATS in that span and 3-3-2 ATS on the year. Next week's tough test against the red-hot Dolphins isn't an ideal matchup, but I'm still generally a buyer on this team's week-to-week price. Luck surely has to swing in their favor eventually ... right?

C Jackson Cowart is a betting writer for theScore. He's an award-winning journalist with stops at The Charlotte Observer, The San Diego Union-Tribune, The Times Herald-Record, and BetChicago. He's also a proud graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, and his love of sweet tea is rivaled only by that of a juicy prop bet. Find him on Twitter @CJacksonCowart.