With the Houston Texans in prime position to win the AFC South division title for the first time in franchise history, every game will be important from here on out. Even though every game is crucial for this team on the rise in the NFL, the Texans will have a relatively easy task coming into Week 9 as they set to face off against the lowly Cleveland Browns.

The Cleveland Browns may have been a team that looked to be on the verge of a breakout season before the regular season began with some impressive performances in the preseason, but Colt McCoy and company have seemingly fallen apart since the beginning of the season. With Pro Bowl running back and Madden cover athlete Peyton Hillis fighting for a new contract in Cleveland, the Browns haven’t been able to depend on their star running back out of the backfield and as a result have really struggled on offense this season.

The only way I see the Cleveland Browns even having the slightest chance of making this a competitive game is if Peyton Hillis somehow breaks out of his current funk, but that probably won’t happen. With that being said, the Houston Texans will almost certainly cruise to another dominant victory over a lesser opponent in Week 9.

As of right now, the Houston Texans are favored to win this Week 9 matchup with a -11 point spread. With superstar wide receiver Andre Johnson likely back from injury, the Texans shouldn’t have too much trouble covering this spread.

Take the Texans at -11.

Tim Tebow mania has struck the Mile High City as everyone Denver Broncos fan has seemingly bought into their new starting quarterback after he was able to lead a thrilling come-from-behind victory over the lowly Miami Dolphins. Even though Tebow was able to lead the team to 15 unanswered points against Miami last weekend, the fact is that the Dolphins are probably the worst team in the league.

With that being said, the Denver Broncos and their new starting quarterback Tim Tebow will have their hands full this weekend in the Mile High City as they will host the up-and-coming Detroit Lions. This will be an interesting matchup to say the least as all eyes will be on Tim Tebow once again to see if he is as good as people are making him out to be and whether or not he can get his second straight win as a starter this season.

The problem is that the Denver Broncos will be going up against a very good Detroit Lions squad that is looking to bounce back from two straight losses to the San Francisco 49ers and the Atlanta Falcons after starting the season 5-0.

The big question mark in this game right now is the health of quarterback Matthew Stafford. After injuring his ankle in the loss the Falcons, Stafford’s playing status has been in doubt for Week 8, but early reports have him suiting up against the Broncos this Sunday.

As of right now, the Detroit Lions are the favorites to get the win in Week 8 over the Denver Broncos with a -3 point spread. In my opinion, this spread is incredibly low if Stafford is go-to-go and taking the Lions is a no-brainer.

So take the Lions at -3.

Sun. Oct. 30, 2011 1 p.m. EST

Last week the New Orleans Saints absolutely blew up offensively with 62 points and five touchdowns passes from superstar quarterback Drew Brees against the winless Indianapolis Colts. Not only was this performance impressive by the Saints, but Brees’ numbers were incredible as he threw more touchdown passes (5) than he did incompletions (4).

In Week 8, the Saints could be on the verge of another offensive explosion as they will face off against another winless team in the St. Louis Rams. It could be argued that the Rams are better defensive team in comparison to the Colts as they were able to contain the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers just 24 points recently, but that probably won’t make a difference against the Saints who are team that is functioning like a well-oiled machine right now.

There is no doubt that the New Orleans Saints are playoff bound this season as they seem to have the edge in the NFC South right now, but they will need to keep their foot on the gas pedal with teams like the Atlanta Falcons and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers breathing down their necks.

As of right now, the New Orleans Saints are favored to get another big win in Week 8 with a -14 point spread in their favor. Even though spreads this large make most people nervous, the Saints are the one team in the league besides the Packers that are capable of covering this spread every single week.

Predictions for Saints vs Rams? Take the Saints at -14.

Green Bay Packers @ Minnesota Vikings Sun. Oct. 23, 2011 4:15 p.m. EST

At this point in the NFL regular season, the consensus is that the defending Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers are without a doubt the best all-around team in the NFL. With an offense that seems unstoppable with quarterback Aaron Rodgers under center and a defense that has been good enough to hold leads all season long, the Packers are the only undefeated team left in the league and could be ready to run the table.

In Week 7, the Green Bay Packers will be put in another easy-win situation in which they should cruise to victory and improve their flawless record to 7-0. The only disadvantage that the cheese heads will have in Week 7 is that they will have to play this NFC North division showdown against the Minnesota Vikings on the road.

Even though the Vikings have been able to give the Packers a run for their money the past two years with former cheese head Brett Favre under center, this season is much different as Donovan McNabb has turned out to be a bust and head coach Leslie Frazier has decided to give rookie Christian Ponder a shot under center.

I’m not quite sure why Frazier picked this week to make the change considering that the Vikings will be playing against the best team in the league, but that is what he has done as Ponder will get the start against the Packers.

As of right now, the Green Bay Packers have been favored to get the win over the Minnesota Vikings with a -9 point spread. Take the Packers at -9.

The Denver Broncos will be coming off their much-needed bye week this weekend as they will go on the road to face off against the winless Miami Dolphins. This matchup may look extremely unappealing on paper with just one win between both teams, but it could prove to be very entertaining with a future NFL superstar getting his first real start as an NFL quarterback.

Even though Tim Tebow started the last three games of last season, the Denver Broncos only made that move due to an injury to starter Kyle Orton and this time around new head coach John Fox has turned the team over to the second-year quarterback out of Florida. Along with getting his first start this season, Tebow will also be playing in front of a lot of his fans from his college days as the Dolphins will be paying tribute to the Florida Gators championship team from 2008.

With all this momentum for Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos finally giving him the starter role under center, this team is in prime position to get their second win of the season over a very bad Miami Dolphins squad.

For some reason, the Miami Dolphins are actually favored to get the win in Week 7 over the Denver Broncos with a -1.5 point spread, but I really can’t see Tim Tebow and company losing this one.

We at ZonerSports take the Broncos at +1.5.

This season the Cleveland Browns were thought to be a team that would finally turn the corner and become a legitimate force to be reckoned with in the AFC Conference, but that just hasn’t turned out to be the case with Colt McCoy and company failing to live up to expectations thus far. There is no question that this team has the talent to become a playoff caliber squad, but they still seem a year or two away from making any kind of impression.

Fortunately, this weekend the Browns might be able to add one more win to their record when they go head-to-head against the lowly Seattle Seahawks. As another team that has failed to live up to expectations this season, the Seahawks have made a change at quarterback this week by putting Charlie Whitehurst under center.

Personally, I believe that Whitehurst is the better option at quarterback for the Seahawks, but in order to make a lasting impression on head coach Pete Carroll, the backup quarterback better put on a show against the Browns in Week 7.

As of right now, the Cleveland Browns have been given the edge in this matchup with a -3 point spread. Even though Browns are the better team this season, running back Peyton Hillis might be sitting this one out and that is enough to convince me that the Seahawks will pull off the upset.

Our picks? Take the Seahawks at +3.

Heading into this NFL regular season, the Minnesota Vikings were considered to be a legitimate playoff contender with a new starting quarterback in Donovan McNabb and a solid young core of talented players led by perennial Pro Bowl running back Adrian Peterson. Even though Peterson has been as advertised in the first three weeks of the season, McNabb has not as the six-time Pro Bowler has struggled under center in Minnesota as the Vikings have gotten out to a 0-3 start to the season.

Despite being a very disappointing 0-3 heading into Week 4, the Minnesota Vikings aren’t a bad football team; they just have trouble holding onto big leads. This could be a problem with the defense as Jared Allen and company haven’t been able to hold off opposing offenses in order to pull out wins, but Donovan McNabb seems to get the blame.

In Week 4, the Minnesota Vikings will go on the road to take on another 0-3 team that has failed to live up to expectations in the Kansas City Chiefs. As the defending AFC West division champions, Matt Cassel and company were thought to be a force to be reckoned with once again this season, but that hasn’t been the case as the team has suffered devastating injuries on both sides of the football and could end up being the worst team in the NFL at season’s end.

As of right now, the Minnesota Vikings are favored to get the win in Week 4 with a -1 point spread. Even though the Vikings haven’t been able to close out games this season, I believe this spread is the lock of the week as there is no way they don’t come out on top against the Chiefs.

Our betting predictions for Minnesota Vikings vs Kansas City Chiefs

Take the Vikings at -1.

The Tennessee Titans came into this NFL regular season with a new-look as they had released longtime quarterback Vince Young and had to find a new starter after losing veteran Kerry Collins to retirement. Even though the Titans drafted a very promising young quarterback in Jake Locker out of Washington, the team needed a veteran under center in order to compete in the AFC Conference and possibly contend for a playoff spot.

Fortunately, the Tennessee Titans were able to get their hands on veteran free agent gunslinger Matt Hasselback and so far the results have been much better than anticipated. Hasselback might not be putting up numbers like Tom Brady (New England Patriots), Drew Brees (New Orleans Saints) or Aaron Rodgers (Green Bay Packers), but he is doing enough to get the job done as the veteran has led the Titans to a 2-1 record heading into Week 4 against the Cleveland Browns.

Much like the Tennessee Titans, the Cleveland Browns have been much better than anticipated this season with second-year quarterback Colt McCoy leading the way. With an identical 2-1 record, the Browns will be fighting for a chance to improve their stance within their division with a win over the Titans.

As of right now, the Cleveland Browns are favored to get the win in Week 4 over the Tennessee Titans with a -1 point spread. This spread could get much bigger for the Browns over the week with the status of running back Peyton Hillis being released.

Predictions for Tennessee Titans vs Cleveland Browns

Take the Browns at -1.