NFL Predictions Week 10: Projecting Winners for Week's Top Games

Week 10 is huge for a few teams. Some squads are facing a seemingly insurmountable uphill climb toward the playoffs if they lose.

The Chicago Bears are one of those teams.

At 3-5, most would say the Bears have drastically underachieved. The team spent a pretty penny to shore up its defense in the offseason, it has a stellar set of offensive weapons in Brandon Marshall, Alshon Jeffery, Matt Forte and Martellus Bennett and it locked up quarterback Jay Cutler as well.

Unfortunately, Cutler isn't delivering the way the organization had hoped. Heading into another head-to-head meeting with Packers star QB Aaron Rodgers, the Cutler's shortcomings are about to be placed on center stage again.

In the first meeting, the Bears were competitive through the first half with the Packers. Chicago trailed 21-17 at the break, and it seemed as if we were headed for a high-scoring affair.

Rodgers and the Packers held up their end of the bargain by tacking on another 17 points in the final 30 minutes. Chicago was shut out in the second half, thanks in part to Cutler's two third-quarter interceptions.

To put it plain, Rodgers is simply better than Cutler, and that is the biggest difference between these two teams. That will be the case for as long as both are involved in this storied rivalry. Here's a look at the rest of the games, along with some predictions, slated for the Week 10 schedule.

Just below the table is a closer look at another compelling matchup.

Sunday, Nov. 9	Prediction
Monday, Nov. 10	Prediction
Kansas City at Buffalo	Buffalo
Miami at Detroit	Miami
Dallas at Jacksonville	Dallas
San Francisco at New Orleans	New Orleans
Tennessee at Baltimore	Baltimore
Pittsburgh at NY Jets	Pittsburgh
Atlanta at Tampa Bay	Atlanta
Denver at Oakland	Denver
St. Louis at Arizona	Arizona
NY Giants at Seattle	Seattle
Chicago at Green Bay	Green Bay
Carolina at Philadelphia	Philadelphia

The Saints Will Keep the Niners Reeling

Bob Leverone/Associated Press

The San Francisco 49ers are another team desperately in need of a win. They have lost two games in a row, and at 4-4 in the rugged NFC West, the Niners need to turn things around quickly. Offensively, San Francisco has struggled.

During the current losing streak, the Niners have scored 13.5 points per game. It's difficult to win in this era with that type of point production.

San Francisco still has two games remaining against the Seattle Seahawks and one left against the division-leading Arizona Cardinals. It's hard to imagine a scenario where the team can make the playoffs with six or more losses.

That makes every game a must-win from here on out.

Unfortunately for the Niners, they are heading into a matchup with a New Orleans Saints team that looks to have things figured out on both sides of the ball. New Orleans' run-pass balance has been excellent.

Running back Mark Ingram has eclipsed the 100-yard mark in each of the last two games, and quarterback Drew Brees is averaging 304 yards passing in that span. Ingram is listed as questionable, per Mike Triplett of ESPN.com, but with the work the Saints offensive line has been doing, his fill-ins should be capable of producing if Ingram is limited or ruled out.

Defensively, the Saints are getting great pressure on the quarterback.

They have recorded seven sacks during the current two-game win streak. Niners QB Colin Kaepernick has already been sacked a league-high 27 times this season. Bet on him seeing that total climb on Sunday as the Saints bury the Niners deeper in the hole.

All stat references per Pro-Football-Reference.com.