Week 10 Picks for Every NFL Game

Football things are happening! This very weekend. Let's see what the Lady Blitz crystal ball has in store for everyone, shall we?

Top Shelf Games: Talent-rich, highly competitive and aged in oak barrels... spiritually speaking

San Francisco 49ers at New Orleans Saints (-4.5) - I’m more than a little hesitant to make this battle between two 4 - 4 teams the Lady Blitz Game of the Week, but seriously, look at what we’re working with below. It's a good time to call your mother because there are very few exciting, non-lop-sided matchups to show for Week 10. The 49ers could not be more desperate to save their season while the Saints look to continue their winning ways from the past couple of weeks in the comforts of the Superdome. I am extremely nervous about this game, especially if Patrick Willis returns to crash Drew Brees’s party. But given one of the best homefield advantages in the league and the Saints’ improved pass rush, New Orleans still has the edge here in a rekindled NFC rivalry.

Miami Dolphins at Detroit Lions (-3) - Here’s a game I would have never thought in a million years would have been interesting two months ago. But here we are with the 5 - 3 Dolphins and 6 - 2 Lions and two ferocious defenses that have carried the load this season.  I've gone back and forth on this one many times (okay, like twice), and I guess I like Detroit at home, getting a functional Megatron back and facing an overmatched Ryan Tannehill who's been pretty good lately albeit against bad teams.

Kansas City Chiefs (-2) at Buffalo Bills - This is sort of the O'Henry of impossible-to-predict matchups.  The Chiefs live and die by the run on offense, but the Bills defense is among the stingiest.  Buffalo is atoning for the loss of C.J. Spiller and Fred Jackson by airing it out with good-as-advertised Sammy Watkins.  But Kansas City has the top passing defense and one of the most disruptive lines in the league.  Only because I've picked no other underdogs this week, I'll curse Buffalo again.

Cleveland Browns at Cincinnati Bengals (-6) - In reality, I fear this will be the turning point where we give up on the Browns this season. But on paper, this is a big game for two winners who will try to out-ground and out-pound each other to get a leg up in the AFC North. Maybe Cleveland still has some surprises up its sleeve after keeping so many games in check on defense this season and taking opportunities when they come on offense. But the Bengals have been tough to beat at home and hope to finally get A.J. Green back on the field against a Browns team that has been torched in the secondary from time to time.

Well Drink Games: They may surprise you from time to time without all the high expectations

Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers (-7.5) - Similar to the Niners above, the Bears cannot afford to lose this game if they have any chance of making it to January. That’s too bad because while the Packers are not a perfect team, they’re darn close to it at Lambeau Stadium and they’ve been great at generating turnovers this year, Jay Cutler’s kryptonite. At its best, this game could evolve into a wild shootout to the finish. At its worst (or at its least interesting if you’re a Packers fan), Green Bay will amass an insurmountable early lead and Chicago fans will turn their attention to the Blackhawks or Derrick Rose's glass ligaments until the next offseason.

St. Louis Rams at Arizona Cardinals (-7) - Talk about two lovable division spoilers for the darlings of the NFC West. These teams have gone 3 - 1 so far against the heavily favored 49ers and Seahawks this season, and they look like they've had fun doing it. I can't count the Rams out in any divisional battle - they've been at their best over the past three years haunting Jim Harbaugh's nightmares. But the Cardinals are on a mission to protect that #1 seed and rocking a very underrated homefield advantage on Sunday.

New York Giants at Seattle Seahawks (-9.5) - It's silly to even entertain this the way the Giants have played this year, but if they happened to win this game up in Seattle, wouldn't you automatically put a little money on them winning the Super Bowl?  As shaky as the Seahawks have looked in recent weeks though, the Giants are cafeteria jello until proven otherwise.

Carolina Panthers at Philadelphia Eagles (-6) - The Sanchize returns on Monday night!  Heaven help us. The upside for Chip Kelly is that if he can weather the storm with Mark Sanchez while Nick Foles is out, he could legitimately challenge Bruce Arians for those Coach of the Year accolades. It's hard to give the Eagles the edge with such an unpredictable character under center, but Philly's defense has played quality football this season and the Panthers just don't have any answers on offense with that reshuffled line.  Things could get messy.

House Punch Games: Most likely to be lop-sided, sloppy and/or otherwise painful to digest

Dallas Cowboys (-6.5) at Jacksonville Jaguars - Even if Brandon Weeden plays quarterback, punter and nose tackle, I might still take the Cowboys over the Jaguars.  Here's to hoping they start getting acclimated to London on the annual flight of sparse attendance sorrow.

Tennessee Titans at Baltimore Ravens (-9.5) - I asked Joe Flacco and he didn't have anything interesting to say about this game either.

Pittsburgh Steelers (-5) at New York Jets - ...So, Ben Roethlisberger has thrown 12 touchdowns in the past two games and you're only spotting the Steelers five points against one of the worst defenses in the league?  W and T and F.

Atlanta Falcons (-1) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Considering the way they Falcons fed the Buccaneers' innards back to them on a platter in the Georgia Dome just a few weeks ago, that is quite a loss of faith in the point spread, Vegas.  The only person I feel worse for than anyone who has to suffer watching this game is Mike Glennon.  He hasn't been a spectacular quarterback, but he's been far more poised and non-toxic to Tampa than Josh McCown who will reprise his pick-sixing role against the Falcons on Sunday.

Denver Broncos (-11.5) at Oakland Raiders - Another house punch game, another good reason to call your mother on Sunday.  The thing is, the Raiders probably aren't the worst team in the NFL this year, but they have almost no chance to pick up a mercy win with the schedule ahead.


So How's My Pickin'?
Last Week's Record: 10 - 3
Season Record: 84 - 49 - 1