The pundit's near-perfect Week 8 run pushes the season record to 73-49-1 heading into a Thursday night matchup where Jacksonville is favored over a Baltimore team starting third-string quarterback Joe Fagnano.
Pro Football Talk's weekly picks column opens Week 9 on a high note. The writer went 13-0 through Sunday of Week 8 before a Monday night pick of the Seahawks over the Bears fell short, leaving a final tally of 13-1 for the week. For the season, that puts the record at 73-49-1, good for 59.3 percent.
This week brings 30 teams in action, with the Steelers and Titans on bye. The column's first pick centers on Thursday night's Jaguars at Ravens game, which doubles as a short-week test for Jacksonville after the team avoided a trap game against a short-staffed Colts squad in Week 8. The pick: Jaguars 27, Ravens 13.
The matchup carries extra weight because Baltimore is turning to third-string quarterback Joe Fagnano with Lamar Jackson sidelined. That has made Jacksonville a rare double-digit road favorite for a Thursday night game, a notable line swing for a team on short rest walking into a division rival's building.
The picks continue from there, including a Bengals-Falcons matchup set for Madrid, with the writer calling Atlanta too inconsistent to trust against a hotter Cincinnati squad.