NFL Week 10 Picks: Home Teams Destined to Lose

As the cold wind starts to pick up, hints of snow in the offing, there's nothing like a little home cooking to soothe the soul. A bowl of soup, some hot chocolate and a nice movie on the TV.

There's no doubt that, after a long season, NFL players are looking forward to some time with the family at home in Week 10. The home teams this week, you would think, have the advantage. 

But oh boy, those teams are in for a rude awakening. I'm predicting five home teams to lose, and there is certainly the potential for more. 

It's that time of the season when teams in contention need to win their home games. Week 10 may have a big impact on the playoff picture.

Below are my picks for the entire Week 10 slate, and then we'll preview some of the most vulnerable home teams. 

Away	Home	Projected Winner
Oakland Raiders	New York Giants	Raiders
Seattle Seahawks	Atlanta Falcons	Seahawks
Detroit Lions	Chicago Bears	Bears
Jacksonville Jaguars	Tennessee Titans	Titans
Philadelphia Eagles	Green Bay Packers	Eagles
St. Louis Rams	Indianapolis Colts	Colts
Buffalo Bills	Pittsburgh Steelers	Steelers
Cincinnati Bengals	Baltimore Ravens	Ravens
Houston Texans	Arizona Cardinals	Cardinals
Carolina Panthers	San Francisco 49ers	Panthers
Denver Broncos	San Diego Chargers	Broncos
Dallas Cowboys	New Orleans Saints	Saints
Miami Dolphins	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Buccaneers

New York Giants

The New York Giants have won two straight and are still technically in the NFC East playoff picture.

And while the Oakland Raiders got absolutely demolished by the Philadelphia Eagles, I think they're going to come to New York and win.

How can I be so sure? Easy—Terrelle Pryor.

The Giants run defense isn't bad—they give up 102.3 yards per game—but they have long struggled with mobile quarterbacks. The best mobile quarterback in the league right now is Pryor. He's rushed for 485 yards, including this 93-yard scamper against the Pittsburgh Steelers:

Cam Newton is the most similar quarterback to Pryor that the Giants have faced. The Panthers do have better running backs, so it's not exactly equal. But Newton ran for 45 yards on just seven carries against the Giants, a healthy 6.4 yards per carry.

Pryor is going to run the ball much more than that, and he could easily eclipse 100 yards. He has averaged 100 yards in the last two weeks.

The Giants will struggle with Pryor, and they will lose by a score of 28-20.  

Green Bay Packers

Boy, that injury to Aaron Rodgers could not come at a worse time.

Not only did they have a chance to start to pull away in the NFC North, but now they're going to struggle to even make the playoffs.

I think Seneca Wallace is a decent player. He's a great athlete. Look at what he did at Iowa State:

But that was in college, and he doesn't have the arm strength or accuracy to be a really effective quarterback.

The Packers are in trouble. Eddie Lacy has been fantastic, but there's only so much one player—a rookie, no less—can do.

I think the Eagles march into Lambeau and rock the Pack. I really do. Green Bay has given up 250.5 yards per game through the air, which is 20th in the league, and gave up 272 passing yards to Josh McCown.

Nick Foles, coming off of his magical seven touchdown game, is going to go off again. Maybe not seven touchdowns, but he will put up numbers. I think the Eagles win this one by a score of 42-17.  

San Francisco 49ers

I am on the Carolina Panthers bandwagon, and I think they go into San Francisco and shock the Niners.

The Panthers are in the top 10 in every major statistical category, except for passing yards. The Cats give up just 13.25 points per game. The Niners? 18 points per game.

The Niners can only run the ball on offense—they're last in the league in passing yards. But they have the second-best rush defense in the league, giving up just 79.1 yards per game. Luke Kuechly is an awesome middle linebacker, and he has 64 tackles and three picks on the year.

I think the 49ers will struggle with the two-headed monster of Cam Newton and DeAngelo Williams on the ground. Let's also not forget that Jonathan Stewart is back and is starting to be implemented into the offense.

It will be a battle of rushing attacks. The Niners have the best in the league. The Panthers have the eighth. But I think the Panthers actually have a better defense overall. Look for them to win a close one by a score of 14-10.