NFL Picks Week 10: Examining Recent Odds and Expert Predictions

As we head into the second half of the NFL season, every matchup seems to have playoff implications in some way.

Every team in the league has now played at least eight games, which means we now have a pretty good indication of which teams are the contenders and which are the pretenders. Obviously, this does not mean a team with a winning record is not going to fall apart, and vice versa, but the amount of "fluke wins" should decrease.

That being said, we still know that anything can happen on any given Sunday in the NFL. Here is a breakdown of the spreads for Week 10 with help on predictions from experts around the web.

Away	Predicted Score	Home	Pick ATS*
Cleveland Browns	28-31	Cincinnati Bengals	CLE +7
Atlanta Falcons	13-16	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	TB +1
Tennessee Titans	10-27	Baltimore Ravens	BAL -10
Pittsburgh Stelers	34-17	New York Jets	PIT -5
San Francisco 49ers	20-27	New Orleans Saints	NO -5
Dallas Cowboys	24-17	Jacksonville Jaguars	DAL -6
Miami Dolphins	21-24	Detroit Lions	DET -2.5
Kansas City Chiefs	14-20	Buffalo Bills	BUF +1.5
Denver Broncos	38-21	Oakland Raiders	DEN -11.5
St. Louis Rams	17-30	Arizona Cardinals	ARI -7
New York Giants	10-21	Seattle Seahawks	SEA -9
Chicago Bears	24-28	Green Bay Packers	CHI +8
Carolina Panthers	14-24	Philadelphia Eagles	PHI -6

Top Picks

Cleveland Browns (+7) at Cincinnati Bengals

USA TODAY Sports

The Cincinnati Bengals keep finding ways to win at home, now going 14 games in a row without a loss. However, the squad has not been as dominant as of late, especially on defense.

In Week 9, the unit allowed 23 points to the previously hapless Jacksonville Jaguars and now have the No. 31 run defense in the NFL. This is good news for both Ben Tate and Terrance West trying to get a stranglehold of the starting running back job for the Cleveland Browns. 

Meanwhile, Bleacher Report's AFC North Lead Writer Andrea Hangst believes the Browns have what it takes to pull off the upset:

"

While the Bengals get home-field advantage on a short week and clearly possess the talent to win, especially with A.J. Green expected back, the Browns pull off the road win here. Why? For one, the Bengals will probably be without the services of top corner Leon Hall, who suffered a concussion in Week 9. The other reason is Andy Dalton's susceptibility to pressure, which the Browns defense will be bringing every time he touches the ball. The Browns know how to win ugly, and they'll do it again on Thursday night, where ugly games are the norm.

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Cleveland has won four out of its last five games, but consistency is still a problem as the one loss came to the Jaguars.

With tight end Jordan Cameron out with a concussion, Brian Hoyer will have limited options to spread the ball around. The Browns should have what it takes to keep it close and cover the spread, although a win at Paul Brown Stadium will simply be too difficult to pull off.

New Orleans Saints (-5) vs. San Francisco 49ers

Although the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers are no longer in the same division, Jim Harbaugh's team has gotten quite familiar with the surroundings of the Superdome, according to Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area:

Unfortunately, this has not led to too much success, as Jim Derry of The Times-Picayune argues on behalf of the Saints: "The Saints not only have won NINETEEN CONSECUTIVE GAMES at home under Sean Payton, they also have won five out of six under the roof of the Superdome against San Francisco. Only a maroon looking to get blasted by a bunch of crazed fans would pick against the Black and Gold here."

Derry even believes New Orleans will cover a growing spread, which certainly would not be too surprising considering how well the squad has played in the last two games.

While there were questions about the Saints to start the year, the team blew out the Green Bay Packers before going on the road to defeat the Carolina Panthers, two wins with a combined 39-point margin.

Mark Ingram has brought back some balance to the offense, while Drew Brees remains almost impossible to stop in the dome, making things difficult for the 49ers defense dealing with numerous injuries.

Additionally, San Francisco has struggled offensively in recent weeks, scoring just 10 points against the St. Louis Rams after totaling just 17 against the Denver Broncos. Whether the blame goes to quarterback Colin Kaepernick, offensive coordinator Greg Roman, head coach Harbaugh or someone else, things clearly are not clicking.

If things are not turned around, this could be another rough outing for the 49ers.

Philadelphia Eagles (-6) vs. Carolina Panthers

USA TODAY Sports

The big question coming into this game is whether Mark Sanchez can fill in for the injured Nick Foles, who is out for an extended period of time with a broken collarbone.

Sanchez made some mistakes in relief of the starter last game, but the former New York Jets passer did enough to beat the Houston Texans. Eagles head coach Chip Kelly certainly believes he will have a chance to succeed, via Zach Berman of The Inquirer:

"

I feel great about Mark. We felt great about him all along. I always said you need two quarterback. ...I thought he did a great job in our system. He played outstanding in the preseason and showed no rust when he got in there against Houston yesterday. We feel real confident. We feel obviously really bad for Nick that he’s out, but we feel very confident in Mark if we have to go in that direction.

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Pete Prisco of CBS Sports does not think this will be a problem for the Eagles this week against the Panthers: "The Eagles will be without Nick Foles, who is out with a broken clavicle. That means Mark Sanchez is in as the starter. I think he will be fine in this system. The Panthers are 25th in total defense, so he will get his shots. Cam Newton will do some good things to keep up, but will come up short."

Carolina has had its own problems offensively after Newton only completed 10 of his 28 pass attempts against the Saints. A lot of this can be blamed on a lack of protection from a makeshift offensive line, but he still missed his targets when he got a chance.

Playing at home, Sanchez should be able to keep the Eagles offense running smoothly and defeat a Panthers squad trending in the wrong direction. 

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