Week 9 gets underway with the Baltimore Ravens, presumably with Lamar Jackson (whom coach John Harbaugh is “hopeful” will play), visiting the Miami Dolphins on “Thursday Night Football.”

In the early Sunday window, the Detroit Lions are heavy favorites over the NFC North rival Minnesota Vikings, and the surging Indianapolis Colts visit Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are coming off a loss the Green Bay Packers.

The Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills match up in perhaps the game of the day in a late afternoon tilt, with the Bills currently an underdog at home.

“Monday Night Football” closes out the week, as the Dallas Cowboys welcome the underdog Arizona Cardinals to Arlington, Texas.

So which games offer early appeal?

Matt Bowen, Pamela Maldonado, Ben Solak and Seth Walder looked at the odds and identified which ones are worth jumping on now before potential shifts later in the week.

Note: Odds at time of publication, courtesy of ESPN BET Sportsbook.

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Indianapolis Colts to cover -3.5 (+105) at Pittsburgh Steelers

Bowen: Tough to bet on the Steelers right now given the lack of team speed and the poor level of play we are seeing on the defensive side of the ball from Mike Tomlin’s club. Pittsburgh has given up 30-plus points in each of its last two games, and the Colts’ balanced offensive structure can create matchup issues and explosive-play opportunities. I’m taking Indy to cover the spread here.
Last week: Bucs -5.5 at Saints (Bucs won, 23-3)

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Dallas Cowboys to cover -2.5 (-120) vs. Arizona Cardinals

Maldonado: The difference is firepower. Dallas piles up the points at home with multiple explosive options in George Pickens, CeeDee Lamb and Jake Ferguson. The Cowboys defense, while leaky, still creates pressure and turnovers to disrupt. Arizona is scrappy, and Kyler Murray can produce when kept clean, but the Cardinals are bottom 10 in yards per play; they’re more steady than explosive. That doesn’t hold up well when Dallas starts hitting chunk plays. Murray in a shootout? I don’t see it.
Last week: Giants +6.5 at Eagles (Eagles won, 38-20)

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Detroit Lions to cover -9.5 (Even) vs. Minnesota Vikings

Solak: I’m happy to immediately fade J.J. McCarthy on his return to the starting lineup, as the second-year passer looked worse than Carson Wentz in his limited action before suffering an ankle injury. He catches a Lions team off of a bye at Ford Field, where Dan Campbell has historically been very strong against the spread (26-11, for a cover rate of 70%). Safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch are projected to return to action. Add in Alim McNeill against that Vikings interior offensive line that has struggled this year, and this smells like a blowout.

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Jaxson Dart to win Offensive Rookie of the Year (-105)

Walder: When Justin Herbert beat Justin Jefferson for the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2020, I took it as a lesson: if there’s a viable quarterback for this award, bet them. Herbert had a good rookie season, ranking 13th in QBR. But Jefferson recorded 1,400 receiving yards (in a 16-game season!)… and it still wasn’t enough. Emeka Egbuka, Dart’s main challenger, is having a nice season, but he is on pace for under 1,200 yards while Dart currently ranks 14th in QBR. Plus, the Giants have played the hardest schedule in the NFL thus far. More wins are coming their way with only the 12th-hardest schedule remaining.