NFL Picks Against the Spread Week 10: Underdogs That Will Flourish on Sunday

Everybody loves a good underdog.

The world would cease to exist without the little guy or gal fueling every story ever known to man and woman. From David beating Goliath to David Eckstein winning MLB World Series MVP in 2002, the underdog gives us all a reason to believe.

OK, so none of that is particularly relevant to a group of NFL games where the wrong team seems to be favored slightly by Vegas. None of these games could produce an upset for the ages. Instead, everyone would just wonder why they didn't see that coming in the first place.

The odds, courtesy of Vegas Insider, are against these underdogs, but look for them to prevail anyway. 

Buffalo Bills (+3) at Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are no longer the Steelers.

Pittsburgh gets the benefit of the doubt as the home team against another shaky opponent, but few other 2-6 teams would receive the same slack. Despite their horrid play this year, many fans still envision the Steelers as Super Bowl champions due to their past successes.

But we're only concerned with this year's iteration, which is just a bad football team. A week after losing to the Oakland Raiders, the Steelers stained the franchise by allowing 610 yards and 55 points to the New England Patriots.

Pittsburgh can still stop the pass when not facing Tom Brady, but it ranks 31st with 131.3 rushing yards allowed per game. Is now a bad time to mention that Buffalo boasts one of the league's best rushing attacks?

C.J. Spiller just amassed his first 100-yard rushing performance since Week 2 last Sunday, Fred Jackson will never go away, and now the Bills' speedy quarterback will return. Per the team's official Twitter page, Manuel has returned to practice with plans to play this Sunday.

Look for Buffalo to run all day on Pittsburgh to escape Heinz Field with a victory. 

Houston Texans (+3) at Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals have a better record (4-4) than the Texans (2-6) with two wins against NFC playoff contenders in the Detroit Lions and Carolina Panthers. It makes sense that they're favored, but that doesn't mean it will prove correct.

Even during a six-game losing streak, Houston has allowed the fewest yards among any NFL defense. Without pick-sixes to ruin the day, the Texans came incredibly close to beating the Kansas City Chiefs and Indianapolis Colts.

Although the Cardinals are no push-over, Carson Palmer is not Andrew Luck and their solid defense displays too many secondary blunders to match Kansas City's dominance.

Arizona's main strength comes against the run, where opponents average just 88.3 yards per game. The team, however, does not fare as well against the pass, and Case Keenum just torched the Indianapolis Colts for 350 yards and three touchdowns. That was a top-10 passing defense before Keenum was through with it.

Even without Arian Foster, who will sit out with an injured back according to ESPN's Tania Ganguli, Houston should generate enough plays through the air to end its losing drought.

Carolina Panthers (+6) at San Francisco 49ers

It appears that the general public opinion of Carolina rests in the fluke corner. Winning its last four games by a combined 82 points has not changed the team's perception enough to at least make its match with San Francisco a tossup.

Until the Panthers beat a legitimate adversary, it's fair for them to assume the underdog role against the 49ers, who are also scorching hot with a five-game winning streak. But the Panthers, who played the Seattle Seahawks tough in a 12-7 defeat to initiate the season, have lost just one game by more than five points this season.

A favorable schedule also aided the 49ers, so we should assume this matchup will put the Panthers in their place. If Thomas Davis and Luke Kuechly can stop Colin Kaepernick and Frank Gore from establishing the run, their physical secondary can stifle Anquan Boldin and Vernon Davis.

If Carolina loses, it can still beat the spread in a low-scoring affair. But Carolina will win a close one outright to announce its legitimacy.  

Away	Home	Prediction
Jacksonville Jaguars	Tennessee Titans (-13)	TEN 24-10
Philadelphia Eagles	Green Bay Packers (-2)	PHI 27-23
Buffalo Bills	Pittsburgh Steelers (-3)	BUF 23-20
Oakland Raiders	New York Giants (-7)	NYG 27-16
St. Louis Rams	Indianapolis Colts (-9.5)	IND 31-13
Seattle Seahawks (-5)	Atlanta Falcons	SEA 20-10
Cincinnati Bengals (-1.5)	Baltimore Ravens	CIN 20-13
Detroit Lions	Chicago Bears (-1)	DET 31-23
Carolina Panthers	San Francisco 49ers (-6)	CAR 24-23
Houston Texans	Arizona Cardinals (-3)	HOU 27-20
Denver Broncos (-7)	San Diego Chargers	DEN 40-31
Dallas Cowboys	New Orleans Saints (-6.5)	NO 34-24
Miami Dolphins (-2)	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	TBD 16-13