Week 9 NFL Picks: Will Kyle Shanahan’s depleted 49ers upset Packers?

The Green Bay Packers come in to Thursday Night Football as more than a touchdown favorite over the San Francisco 49ers. Kyle Shanahan and his team took the Packers’ proverbial lunch money twice last year, once in the regular season and once in the NFC Championship Game, but this week nine matchup is very different.

The Packers come in with most of their key players healthy or at least with a chance to play. The 49ers, meanwhile, do not have a single player who touched the ball on offense in either of last year’s victories available, either due to injury or COVID-19 protocols. As a result, the Packers will be defending the likes of Nick Mullens, Jerick McKinnon, Trent Taylor, and Jordan Reed instead of Jimmy Garoppolo, Raheem Mostert, Deebo Samuel, and George Kittle.

We at Acme Packing Company are hesitant to go all-in on the Packers tonight, however, given how Shanahan has been able to scheme up ways to beat Mike Pettine’s defense. Even back in 2018, his offense put up 30 points and over 400 yards with C.J. Beathard leading the way.

With that in mind, here are our picks, in which a majority of contributors do pick the Packers to win tonight. Still, there is some trepidation here, with multiple writers split on either side of the 7.5-point spread.

Give us your predictions in the comments!