I can't say that I'm excited about tonight's matchup between the Jaguars and Colts. Yes, Andrew Luck has proved just as good as many thought he'd be, but few predicted that he would have exactly the same number of passing yards (2,404) as Manning with the exact same team record (5-3). No, Luck is nowhere near the offensive general that Peyton Manning has been for so many years, but he certainly has the potential to turn into such an elite quarterback--and soon.
Unfortunately for us, Andrew Luck and Peyton Manning are not facing off this evening. Instead, the Colts are facing a team that has won a single game thus far. That single win, however, came against the Colts in week. Since then, the Colts have improved to 5-3 as Luck has continued his rapid development, and the Jaguars have dropped the last 5 straight games to enter this week 1-7. Divisional games are tough to predict, but I have little doubt that the Colts will make short work of possibly the worst team in football.
Despite a boring Thursday night matchup, there are some games for which I am anxious to watch this weekend. The biggest matchup of week 10 will also be the last. The Houston Texans will travel to Chicago to face off against a Bears team with the same record of 7-1. Aside of matching records, the Bears and Texans both suffered their only loss to the Green Bay Packers. Both teams possess strong defenses, but the Texans have a better quarterback and more overall offensive firepower. The Bears' defense has shown that it can consistently make up for a lack of offensive might by scoring defensive points and giving its own offense a short field with turnovers. This should be quite a game.
The second most exciting matchup should be the unbeaten Atlanta Falcons traveling to play the Saints in New Orleans. The Falcons haven't played a single team with a winning record yet, and it is for this reason that a lot of analysts and fans have a difficult time referring to them as the league's best team despite their flawless record. The Saints have fallen far from the dominant team that crushed teams last season, but they've picked up a bit of an offensive rhythm recently and have won three out of their last four games. Both teams play well in domes, but New Orleans is going to have a big advantage being at home. This is a divisional battle that you don't want to miss.
Another interesting though less exciting matchup will be the recently surging Detroit Lions facing the Vikings in Minnesota. The Vikings began the year by going 4-1 through their first 5 games, but have since lost 3 out of their last 4 and may soon cease to be relevant in the playoff conversation with other teams in their division looking quite strong as of late. The Lions probably won't go to the playoffs with the schedule that's ahead of them. If they win this game, however, they'll improve to 5-4 with a fighting chance of winning a wildcard spot. This isn't a monumental game, but it'll still be worth watching.
I will, of course, also be excited to watch the Ravens play the Raiders in Baltimore, but it will hardly be an exciting matchup if Darren McFadden can't play. Two out of the three Raiders' wins have come against teams with only one win on the season. The Raiders beat the Steelers in Oakland, but the Steelers were still trying to find their footing while dealing with injuries to major starters. Carson Palmer certainly knows the Ravens well, but he no longer has the benefit of an outstanding receiving corps, a solid running game, and a stout defense to give him an edge over the Ravens--especially in Baltimore. I'm hoping this game will be more about the Ravens putting together a complete and dominant performance on both offense and defense to build some momentum going into Pittsburgh the following week. The Raiders shouldn't be overlooked, but they're clearly not a team to be feared--especially in Baltimore. Now on to the week 10 predictions!!
WEEK 10 NFL PREDICTIONS
COLTS AT JAGUARS- You neve know what can happen in divisional games, and the Jaguars did already beat the Colts earlier this season, but Andrew Luck has simply looked to good in the last month to lose another game to this awful team. MY PREDICTION: COLTS 24-12.
GIANTS AT BENGALS- The Giants looked pretty bad against the Steelers, but the Giants often play quite poorly at home and brilliantly on the road...who the hell knows why. 2 out of the Giants 3 losses have been at home, and the only road loss they've had was a divisional matchup against the Eagles wherein the Giants missed what would have been a game-winning field goal. The Bengals have lost their last four games, but the last two were close losses to strong Steelers and Broncos teams. Bengals don't have the defense to stop the Giants offense, and they don't have the receiving corps or the quarterback needed to shred the Giants defense. MY PREDICTION: GIANTS 31-24.
TITANS AT DOLPHINS- The Dolphins are simply a stronger team than the Titans this year and should come away with a win at home in this one. Expect the Titans to try to pick on the Dolphins secondary, and but also expect the Titans to struggle to stop the Dolphins rushing attack. MY PREDICTION: DOLPHINS 26-23.
LIONS AT VIKINGS- Stafford is back on track right now, and the Vikings will have problems with Percy Harvin less than 100% if he plays at all. MY PREDICTION: LIONS 31-17.
BILLS AT PATRIOTS- Hmmmmmm *scratches head*. MY PREDICTION: PATRIOTS 42-21.
FALCONS AT SAINTS- This will certainly be a close game as almost none of the Falcons' games have been decisive victories thus far. I think their winning streak will come to an end in New Orleans this week. MY PREDICTION: SAINTS 35-30.
CHARGERS AT BUCCANEERS- I like the Bucs in this matchup. The Chargers simply aren't what they once were offensively. I'm hoping for a good game from Vincent Jackson against this former team. MY PREDICTION: BUCCANEERS 33-21.
BRONCOS AT PANTHERS- The Broncos should win this game, but it should be noted that Panthers have only barely lost to some serious teams in the last 5 weeks and they beat the Redskins pretty soundly last weekend. I assume this game will be decided by a touchdown or less, but this could be a big upset for the Broncos, especially since they'll be playing on the road. MY PREDICTION: BRONCOS 28-21.
RAIDERS AT RAVENS- The Ravens should win this game. They tend to run the ball more heavily in the second half of the season under the play-calling of Cam Cameron, and last weekend was a good example. Expect Ray Rice to touch the ball 25+ times and Flacco to involve Dennis Pitta more than in the last 4-5 weeks. This game should help to prepare the Ravens for other upcoming games against teams gunslinger QBs that will likely look to exploit a weakened Ravens secondary. I hope to see more "bend but don't break defense" and a solid dose of the no-huddle from Flacco. MY PREDICTION: RAVENS 28-17.
JETS AT SEAHAWKS- The Jets offense is simply not strong enough to put many points up on the Seattle defense. The Jets also have serious issues stopping the run and I fully expect Marshawn Lynch to exploit that to a great degree. The Jets have lost 4 of their last 5 games. Now, granted, 3 of those games have come against some pretty dangerous opponents, but their 30-9 loss against the Dolphins showed just how vulnerable they can be to teams that can run the football well. MY PREDICTION: SEAHAWKS 20-13.
COWBOYS AT EAGLES- This is a classic showdown of two teams I couldn't possibly care less about at this point. Each team has talented players and over-hyped QBs that we tend to never see in the playoffs. This is a divisional matchup that could go either way, but somehow I see the Cowboys squeaking this one out in the end. MY PREDICTION: COWBOYS 27-21
RAMS AT 49ERS- Good luck, Rams...you'll need it. MY PREDICTION: 49ERS 35-12.
TEXANS AT BEARS- This one is tough to predict. Most of the Texans' home games have been rather convincing wins, but they've only played 3 games thus far on the road and two of them have been rather close. The Bears' last two home games, however, have been rather narrow wins against lesser opponents. The Bears have had most of their dominant wins on the road this season and don't appear to have a particularly strong homefield advantage. A team must have a very good quarterback to find the weaknesses in this Texans' defense (hint: there are very few) and that's not something the Bears have. I'll be rooting for the Bears here, but I expect the Texans to squeak this one out in dramatic fashion. MY PREDICTION: TEXANS 24-17.
CHIEFS AT STEELERS- I hate it when I have to say this, but the Steelers are going to win this game. MY PREDICTION: STEELERS 35-10.
Obviously, nothing will be more exciting than see the Ravens truly unleash their offense the way they did in week one. I just hope that's actually what they do. They're going to need practice at being explosive on offense at home to get ready to outscore a surging Steelers team and the Manning brothers down the stretch. Winning on the road is going to be tough, but some of their toughest opponents will be at home as well and they'll need to be able to win regardless of the setting in the second half. As always GO RAVENS!!!
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