The Armchair Quarterback’s Guide To The NFL: Week 10 (No Bullies Allowed)

The Armchair Quarterback’s Week 10 Predictions

After having my best week of the year in week 9, it was back down to earth in week 10. It was still a winning week, but at just 7-6 it was my worst week of the season. That puts the overall record for the season at 92-41. My prediction of a Texans upset looked genius in the first half, but it didn’t hold up. Let’s see if I can rebound this week. To do so, I’m going to have to bring my “A game” because there are a bunch of tough games to pick this week.

Let’s get to it.

Redskins at Vikings

Thursday night games have been pretty ugly overall this season and the matchup of the 3-5 Redskins and 1-7 Vikings doesn’t exactly sound like it will break that trend. I was impressed with the effort the Vikings gave last week when they almost knocked off the Cowboys, while the Redskins pulled out their close game against the Chargers. The bottom line is that the Vikings haven’t won a game in the United States this season. While both teams’ defenses have been equally awful, the Redskins have been able to consistently move the ball on offense.

Redskins 27
Vikings 23

Eagles at Packers

The Packers are scrambling due to the loss of Aaron Rodgers to injury for at least a few weeks. Last season that would have been a death blow. This year the Packers have reestablished their running game with Eddie Lacy and they will have to rely on it now that Rodgers is out. The Eagles have been a completely bipolar team this season. They scored a combined 10 points in back to back home loses to the Cowboys and Giants and then went on the road and dropped 49 on the Raiders. So how is one to know what team will show up this week? I like the Packers power run game to control the clock and I think with a full week to prepare Mike McCarthy will have Seneca Wallace looking better than he did last week. I’ll take Green Bay at home in a close game.

Eagles 23
Packers 24

Jaguars at Titans

Here’s what you need to know about this game. The Titans want to run the ball to set up play action for Jake Locker. The Jaguars are by FAR the worst in the league at stopping the run. They are giving up 30 yards a game more than the second worst team in the league. The Titans are a pretty consistently tough team and I don’t see them taking the Jags for granted and getting upset here. Sorry Jags fans, your woes continue (unless you’re excited about getting the first pick, in which case you’ll like this pick, especially when you see my Tampa Bay prediction).

Jaguars 13
Titans 23

Bills at Steelers

I know this seems strange to say, but this could be a bad match up for the Steelers. Pittsburgh is actually the 2nd worst team at stopping the run and the Bills run more often than any other team. The Bills are already averaging more PPG than Pittsburgh and now they are getting EJ Manuel back. I won’t pick the Bills to win on the road very often, but I think Pittsburgh has given up on this season while the Bills still have some fight in them.

Bills 23
Steelers 17

Raiders at Giants

This is a match up of two pretty bad football teams. The Raiders had been pretty competitive, and then they let Nick Foles and the Eagles steamroll them on their own home field. The Giants have been even worse. However, in the last two games (both wins) they’ve stopped turning the ball over. Plus, the Giants are at home and coming off their bye week. Finally, the Giants entire offense is their passing game and Oakland happens to have one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL.

Raiders 23
Giants 27

Rams at Colts

The Rams have managed to put up a decent fight in their past two games without Sam Bradford. However, the Colts have shown that they are talented enough to beat anyone in the league with wins over the Broncos, Seahawks, and 49ers. The Rams have earned my respect with how they have continued to fight after losing their QB, but the Colts are just too good.

Rams 16
Colts 27

Seahawks at Falcons

Poor Tony Gonzalez, he could be reliving his glory days back with the undefeated Chiefs right now, but since the Falcons wanted to keep up appearances despite the fact that they are dead in the water, he’s out of luck. Seattle has been struggling lately, but their defense is so much better than the Falcons, I’m just not sure how Atlanta could pull this off. I think the Seahawks will create some turnovers and win a low scoring game.

Seahawks 17
Atlanta 13

Bengals at Ravens

The Bengals disappointed on Thursday night against the Dolphins and the loss of Geno Atkins is huge, but I still believe this is the best team in the AFC North. The Ravens just haven’t been able to get their offense right this season. The Bengals have been the better team on both offense and defense this season and the Ravens have now lost consecutive games to the Steelers and Browns. I think the Bengals will be able to rebound from their loss to the Dolphins and win a very close game in Baltimore.

Bengals 27
Ravens 26

Lions at Bears

The Bears turned some heads by going into Green Bay and pulling out a win without Jay Cutler. Granted, Green Bay lost Rodgers too, but the fact remains that the Bears were able to win on the road against a rival with their back up QB. There is some speculation that Cutler could be back this week, but it’s still up in the air at this point. Meanwhile, Calvin Johnson has been on absolute fire lately. In his past two games alone he has 23 receptions for 484 yards and 3 TDs. With Chicago’s QB situation still in question and Megatron playing on another level, I’ll take Detroit here.

Lions 31
Bears 27

Panthers at 49ers

I’d really like to pick the Panthers to pull the upset on the road here. They’ve won four games straight and their defense is giving up the 2nd fewest points in the NFL. However, the 49ers have been “En Fuego” after having lost two early games to the Seahawks and Colts. Since those two loses the 49ers have won their last five games by a combined score of 174-61. That’s an average score of about 35-12. As good as the Panthers have been playing, the 49ers have been playing better.

Panthers 20
49ers 27

Texans at Cardinals

I feel bad for the Texans. For one half of football it looked like the team they thought they would be this season had finally arrived. Then Gary Kubiak went down at the end of the first half and the entire thing fell apart. My thoughts and prayers go out to Kubiak and his family and hopefully he’s back to coaching as soon as possible. I’m a sucker for this Texans team. I just keep picking them to win, thinking that the talent on their roster will eventually win out. Plus Case Keenum has looked really good so far. The Cardinals are a solid but not spectacular team, but I still think that Houston has more talent. Look for JJ Watt and the gang to harass Carson Palmer and for the Texans to finally pull one off.

Texans 23
Cardinals 20

Broncos at Chargers

The Broncos had their bye week disrupted by the health complications of their head coach John Fox. Jack Del Rio is taking over while Fox is recovering, but I think it’s safe to say that the offense will keep operating exactly how Peyton Manning wants it to. The Chargers are basically a poor man’s version of the Broncos. They can throw the ball well, run it okay, and aren’t very good on defense. The Broncos are clearly the better team and are my pick here. However, if they are distracted by the loss of their coach and are looking ahead to their match up with the undefeated Chiefs the next week, the Chargers are dangerous enough to knock them off.

Broncos 37
Chargers 30

Cowboys at Saints

This should be a fun matchup on Sunday Night Football, and is really the only watchable prime time game this week. If you like passing offense, this should be the game for you. These teams are averaging a combined 584.7 yards passing per game with 41 TDs and only 13 interceptions. That having been said, the Saints pass defense has been significantly better than the Cowboys and the Saints are almost unbeatable at home.

Cowboys 27
Saints 34

Dolphins at Buccaneers

WOO HOO!!!!!! Now this is a Monday Night Football match up to get excited about! I mean, come on! Richie Incognito’s soon to be former team going up against Greg Schiano’s team. What could be better? (Okay, don’t answer that) Look, all kidding aside, what a horrible prime time game. So bad, in fact, that ESPN is simply advertising it as a football game on Veterans Day. Seriously, that’s the add. “Hey, we really appreciate Veterans, and we happen to have a game on the day set aside for honoring them.” That’s it. No mention of the teams or their players. Classic!

For Buccaneer fans, at least you can go into one game this season knowing that your locker room isn’t the one that is the most messed up. I think Miami is headed for a complete blow up, especially if the reports of the coaching staff asking Incognito to “toughen up” Martin are true. The Bucs finally win one and fall a game back in the race for the first overall draft pick. I’m not sure if you should be happy or sad Bucs fans.

Dolphins 17
Buccaneers 20

Now on to this week’s Odds and Ends…….