NFL Pick’ems: Week 10

Last Week’s Record: 6-8

Overall Picks Record: 82-54

Ah, the unpredictability of the NFL – it’s why we love, and sometimes hate the game. This week doesn’t get any easier with some close matchups, but it does get more fun!

Let’s have a go!

Los Angeles Chargers (4-5) @ Oakland Raiders (4-4)

Winner: Los Angeles Chargers

The Chargers put a whooping on the NFC-contending Packers last week, a game that showed San Diego is not ready to concede this season by any means. The way the last two weeks have gone for the Chargers – the fortunate missed field goal in Chicago, the dominant win last week – it feels like momentum is back on their side. San Diego is playing winning football again, and it starts with their defense that was pegged as a top-10 unit at the start of the season. This will be a challenge as the Raiders rank 6th in rushing and 11th in yards per game. The Chargers focus should be on limiting as much space as possible to spectacular rookie RB Josh Jacobs, and rely on their playmaking secondary to get a turnover or two to make the difference.

The Raiders kept their hopes alive last week with a hard-fought victory over a desperate Lions team. The offense has been consistent in putting up yards, but the defense has lacked physicality since losing a few key players, including Jonathan Abram and Vontaze Burfict early in the season. Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock may have the beginnings of a solid young core put together. However, the Raiders as a whole are still at least a year away from contending for a spot in the postseason, if all goes well.

New York Giants (2-7) @ New York Jets (1-7)

Winner: New York Giants

Ah, yes, ’tis always a splendid occasion when the boys of York get together for a little footy, innit? Except when the boys of York are a combined 3-14 on the season… In any case, it’s usually a spirited match between these co-city clubs as they’re constantly jockeying for the attention of the Big Apple’s faithful. While neither team was expected to be contending this season, the Jets were definitely hoping to be more competitive than they’ve been through eight games. They hit rock bottom last week by losing to the Dolphins, a team that has, over the past two months, gone winless and traded away most of their core players. Since his return from illness in Week 7, Sam Darnold is 1-3 with nine interceptions to five touchdowns. Oh, and then there was the infamous “seeing ghosts” comment against the Patriots. Yeah, that’s not going away any time soon.

Daniel Jones has made his fair share of mistakes with eight interceptions in his last six games. Jones also has 10 fumbles this season, something he will need to correct going forward. It’s turning out to be more of a traditional rookie season for Jones – lots of mistakes, with flashes of potential. For now, he’s shown enough promise for Giants fans to feel fairly confident in the future. The biggest question: is Pat Shurmur the type of coach that can develop a raw product at QB into a refined, efficient passer? Only time can tell.

Atlanta Falcons (1-7) @ New Orleans Saints (7-1)

Winner: New Orleans Saints

All is right with the world in the New Orleans as their leader and living legend Drew Brees returned last week. He looked none the worse for wear, throwing for 373 yards and three touchdowns in the Saints’ victory over the Cardinals. At this stage in the season, the Saints look like the most complete team in the NFL, hands down. Yes, the 49ers are undefeated, but the Saints have defeated multiple contenders including the Seahawks, Texans, and Cowboys, while the Niners have beaten… the Rams? The Saints and Niners will have a chance to decide who’s the biggest dog in the NFC when they match up in Week 14. For now, the Saints will keep stacking wins. At home against the struggling Falcons, this should be a fairly straightforward victory.

Dan Quinn is a damn-good head coach; he’s well-liked and respected amongst his peers, and by his players. But sometimes, damn-good head coaches can be tuned out, and that appears to be what’s happened in Atlanta. It’s not particularly shocking, all things considered. When you suffer one of the most embarrassing comebacks in the most important game in the history of your franchise – and you’re the guy running the show… There’s almost no coming back from that, except in Hollywood’s “tropiest” creations. The reality is, that Super Bowl loss will inevitably end with Quinn being let go, if not this year then next, ending a chapter in Falcons history and beginning anew.

Kansas City Chiefs (6-3) @ Tennessee Titans (4-5)

Winner: Kansas City Chiefs

Let’s take a moment to recognize the awesome job done by Andy Reid and Matt Moore, who led the Chiefs to two victories after Mahomes went down. Moore has proven to be one of the better backup QBs in the league over his career, while Reid continues to scheme up a productive offense almost no matter who’s on the field. It’s been super impressive, as the offense has looked nearly as creative and dangerous as it did with Mahomes. All signs point to a much-anticipated return for Mahomes this week from a dislocated knee in Week 7. Another good sign was the defense’s performance against Davlin Cook last week, holding the league’s leading rusher to 71 yards on 21 carries. The run defense has been a major problem and it looks like the Chiefs have made some adjustments, but at what cost to the pass defense?

The Titans have enough talent on both sides of the ball to consistently make their opponents work for a victory – and work hard. Just not enough talent to consistently win themselves. Since taking over for Marcus Mariota, Ryan Tannehill is completing 71% of his passes and has undoubtedly improved the efficiency of the Titans’ passing game. However, the mistakes and turnovers continue to plague this team. While the defense is good enough to have led the team to a few victories against some faulty offenses, the mistakes become fatal against a quality opponent. With Mahomes returning, the Chiefs are firmly in that category.

Baltimore Ravens (6-2) @ Cincinnati Bengals (0-8)

Winner: Baltimore Ravens

The Ravens did it. Not only did they defeat the undefeated Patriots, they bullied and bludgeoned the Boogeymen! The Patriots defense took a beating like they have not taken in a long time, which you could see by their reactions on the sidelines. Frustration, yelling, screaming. Problems can have that effect on even the strongest of wills – and Lamar Jackson, as Bill Belichick so aptly described before the game, is a problem. Now, whether the Ravens can do the same thing in a playoff game at Foxboro is another question for another time. But for now, Jackson and the Ravens offense is looking nearly unsolvable.

The Bengals are winless halfway through the season, and Andy Dalton has been benched as a result. Dalton made his displeasure known, as the veteran QB believes the Bengals could have traded him before the deadline to acquire some future draft capital. This is the first time Dalton has ever talked about not wanting to be a part of the Bengals organization, so it is pretty significant for both parties. One’s things for sure, the Bengals sacrificed too many years of Dalton’s prime under Marvin Lewis, trying to force success where it was never going to happen.

Buffalo Bills (6-2) @ Cleveland Browns (2-6)

Winner: Buffalo Bills

The wheels have officially come off the Cleveland bandwagon. The Browns’ 24-19 loss to the Broncos – with Brandon Allen at QB – is a low point for a team that had playoff aspirations to start the season. Losing is one thing, but the constant, intentional side-shows and distractions led by Odell Beckham Jr., Baker Mayfield, and now Jarvis Landry are an embarrassing trend. It’s clear Beckham Jr. has not matured past the childish behavior he so brazenly displayed in New York – the tantrums, the crying, the net that kicked back… This week, he and Landry were forced to change cleats that violated NFL regulations during halftime, or they would have been disqualified from the game. This is a known rule for all players, so to not comply with it is an intentional act, one that shows Beckham Jr. is still all about “Numero Uno”.

The Bills were exposed last week by an elite pass-rushing group in the Eagles D-line. It’s been a marker of futility for the Bills with Josh Allen’s propensity for fumbling the ball, on top of his seven interceptions on the season. It sounds intuitive, but if the Bills can’t protect Allen it is much more detrimental to their success than some of the other teams that have a similar record. While Allen is great at avoiding the rush and running for yardage, he cannot make plays outside the pocket a Russell Wilson or even a Kirk Cousins. That being said, he should be able to find plenty of room to work against the Browns, while the defense does what they do best – smothering quarterbacks and receivers.

Arizona Cardinals (3-5-1) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-6)

Winner: Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Buccs nearly beat the Seahawks in Seattle last week, and had to have gained some modicum of confidence in doing so. For Jameis Winston, the goal has been to limit turnovers, and he was able to do that by not liking every throw he ever saw. His connection with WR Mike Evans has become one of the most dangerous in the league, and has been keeping the Buccs in games of late. Over the past two games, Evans has an absurd 23 receptions for 378 and three touchdowns. While the Cardinals’ Patrick Peterson is still one of the better corners in the game, this is a tough matchup for any secondary.

The Cards put up a fight against the undefeated 49ers last week. Newly acquired RB Kenyan Drake had 162 total yards and a touchdown, while Kyler Murray had his most efficient day as a passer with a career-high 130.7 passer rating. Things didn’t go as well for Kliff Kingsbury, as his ill-timed timeout cost his defense a stop on fourth down. In a matchup of two unbalanced teams, Bruce Arians gets the edge over the rookie head coach.

Detroit Lions (3-4-1) @ Chicago Bears (3-5)

Winner: Chicago Bears

The fall has been hard and fast for both of these clubs. The Bears were smacked around in Philly, while the Lions lost another heartbreaker in Oakland. Now, the Lions are dealing with a back injury to Matt Stafford, meaning Jeff Driskel will get the start at QB. At this point, it’s tough to tell how much of the blame should fall on Matt Patricia, or the players themselves for the Lions’ undisciplined play. It’s not as if these same Lions players weren’t committing bad penalties or blowing assignments before Patricia got there – they definitely were. It takes time, years to change the culture of a losing franchise. So far, Patricia hasn’t shown any signs that he’s different than the other dozens who have tried.

The Bears Matt Nagy has shown signs of being different when he coached them to a 12-4 record just last season. At the moment, however, Nagy needs to either refind his game or reinvent himself. He has a young quarterback, Mitch Trubisky, that is struggling right now. It’s up to Nagy to put a gameplan together that works for where Trubisky is at this moment; if he’s struggling with the deep and intermediate throws outside, leave those plays for later in the game. Get him into a rhythm and show some of the creative magic we saw offensively last season.

Miami Dolphins (1-7) @ Indianapolis Colts (5-3)

Winner: Indianapolis Colts

Shockingly, the Dolphins not only tried, but did in fact win a game over the Jets last week. It appears pride is more important than a draft pick, and in the end, it makes sense. No one really wants to go winless for 17 weeks, right? That sounds like a horrible thing to experience as a driven professional athlete. It’s more shocking that they were actually able to do it with the current roster they’re fielding right now. Props to Brian Flores for getting his guys up for that game.

The Colts’ Jacoby Brissett will be inactive after his ankle was nearly crushed by the butt of his 6’5, 331 LB guard Quenton Nelson last week. Brian Hoyer will get the start, and while he looked a bit hesitant at times, he ultimately played a good game in relief of Brissett. The Colts offensive line should be able to power through this defense, leading to plenty of touches for Marlon Mack. The third-year RB is on pace for his first 1,000-yard season, but hasn’t been able to find the endzone often this season with just three touchdowns.

Green Bay Packers (7-2) @ Carolina Panthers (5-3)

Winner: Green Bay Packers

The Packers were hit by a sledgehammer of momentum in a 26-11 loss to the Chargers, the first game they’ve been soundly beaten in all season. Davante Adams returned, but the Wi-Fi was out between him and Aaron Rodgers all game. That’s not likely to continue for long, as Adams has arguably been the most consistent receiver in the league over the past two seasons. Aaron Jones is emerging as en electric running back, something the Packers have not had in over a decade. The Packers defense has been giving up more yardage in recent weeks but still presents a major challenge to deal with in pass-rushers Za’Darius and Preston Smith.

Going into to Lambeau to beat Aaron Rodgers is a feat few quarterbacks have accomplished, so Kyle Allen will need to be on his toes. The undrafted free agent bounced after a stinker of a game against the 49ers with a win against the Titans last week. He’s shown the ability to make a variety of throws in his short career, but he’ll need to take it to the next level if he going to lead the Panthers to a win here. Christian McCaffrey continues to be the engine of the offense in a historically great season so far, averaging 156 total yards per game. It’s been a successful formula so far, but Panthers need to show they can beat a top-flight defense.

Los Angeles Rams (5-3) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (4-4)

Winner: Los Angeles Rams

The Steelers are, albeit by the skin of their teeth, still alive in the hunt to make the playoffs. Along with steady QB play from Mason Rudolph and one game from Devlin Hodges, the Steelers defense has stepped up in recent weeks. There’s been no bigger contributor than Minkah Fitzpatrick, who the Steelers acquired from Miami for a first-round pick back in Week 2. The free safety has instantly become a dynamic playmaker in this defense, and is proving to be an excellent acquisition by the Steelers front office. Fitzpatrick has been a turnover-machine, crescendoing into a 96-yard interception returned for a touchdown last week against the Colts.

Meanwhile, the Rams are coming off a bye week and a comfortable win over the Bengals in Week 8. This week will be more of a challenge as the Steelers have been surprisingly solid without Ben Roethlisberger, coming into this matchup on a three-game winning streak. Rams WR Cooper Kupp exploded for 220 yards and a score against the Bengals, and is quickly emerging as one of the better receivers in football. L.A. continues to limit the workload of Todd Gurley, presumably to save him for a playoff run. It’s worked out so far – and with the trade for Jalen Ramsey, the Rams have been infused with a new energy that should carry them to a close victory this week.

Minnesota Viking (6-3) @ Dallas Cowboys (5-3)

Winner: Dallas Cowboys

Kirk Cousins’ performance didn’t end up in a win and will go down as another loss against a winning team – this one, however, can’t be laid on his shoulders. The 8th-year QB had a strong outing with 220 yards and three touchdowns. Most surprising was the lackluster performance from Dalvin Cook, who finished with just 71 yards on 15 carries against a statistically weak run defense of the Chiefs. The absence of Adam Thielen has allowed defenses to tighten the noose, and focus on the Vikings key weapons, i.e. Cook and Stefon Diggs.

The Cowboys defense, and in particular their linebacker core, has as good a chance to stop Dalvin Cook as any. The speed of LBs Jaylon Smith and Leighton Vander Esch is a combination unique to Dallas. Few defenses can deploy a single linebacker with their kind of speed, and the Cowboys have two of them. By stopping the run, and pounding away with Zeke Elliot on the other side of the ball, the Cowboys can win the time of possession battle in this game. The Vikings secondary has been showing signs of vulnerability, so Amari Cooper’s elite route-running skills should be on full display in this matchup.

Seattle Seahawks (7-2) @ San Francisco 49ers (8-0)

Winner: San Francisco 49ers

What a game this should be with both quarterbacks coming off monster performances last week. Jimmy Garropolo had a coming-out party of sorts with four touchdowns in a tougher-than-expected game against Arizona. Meanwhile, Russell Wilson continues to play on another plane, submitting his latest masterpiece with a378-yard, five-touchdown day. That included the game-winning touchdown pass in OT to tight end Jacob Hollister, capping a 40-34 victory over Tampa Bay. The defense has to be a concern for Seattle though, as they’ve allowed an average of 28 points over their last five games. Jadaveon Clowney has been active with QB pressures and hits but has not been able to finish plays thus far, coming into the game with just two sacks this season.

The Niners continue to roll behind a balanced attack on both sides of the ball. Aside from Garropolo’s big day, the Niners’ stable of running backs is a handful to deal with for any defense. With RB Tevin Coleman back from injury and the addition of WR Emmanuel Sanders, the Niners have the ability to send waves of speed that few defenses have been able to contain. On defense, the line has been terrorizing quarterbacks led by rookie Nick Bosa, who looks like a bonafide superstar. The balance of the Niners, plus home-field advantage should allow them to pull out a narrow victory against a dangerous Seahawks team.

Note: This page is updated throughout the week to account for the latest injury updates and news around the league.