Week 10 NFL Picks: Final Vegas Odds and Predictions for Sunday's Slate

The NFL season has already reached the double-digit plateau, as 22 teams eye a Week 10 victory this Sunday.

Compared to the marathon seasons of the other three major American sports, football flies by before fans' very eyes, who are suddenly left with seven weeks before the playoff seeds are locked in. Few phrases are spewed out more carelessly than "must-win game," but it's important for some teams to emerge on the win column during the weekend.

Two months from now, the season will have already cleared way for the playoffs, so there's no time for certain teams to build a bigger hole in the standings. Let's take a look at some pivotal games riding the Week 10 docket.

Away	Home	Spread	Prediction
Kansas City Chiefs	Buffalo Bills	Even	20-13 KC
Miami Dolphins	Detroit Lions	DET -2.5	24-21 MIA
Dallas Cowboys	Jacksonville Jaguars	DAL -7.5	28-14 DAL
San Francisco 49ers	New Orleans Saints	NO -5	31-23 NO
Pittsburgh Steelers	New York Jets	PIT -3.5	34-16 PIT
Tennessee Titans	Baltimore Ravens	BAL -10.5	35-17 BAL
Atlanta Falcons	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	ATL -2.5	28-27 ATL
Denver Broncos	Oakland Raiders	DEN -12	42-14 DEN
St. Louis Rams	Arizona Cardinals	ARI -7.5	24-13 ARI
New York Giants	Seattle Seahawks	SEA-10	27-10 SEA
Chicago Bears	Green Bay Packers	GB -8.5	37-27 GB
Carolina Panthers	Philadelphia Eagles	PHI -7.5	27-23 PHI

San Francisco 49ers at New Orleans Saints

Despite both teams entering their meeting at 4-4, the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers find themselves in drastically different scenarios.

With the rest of the NFC South a bumbling mess, the Saints still occupy first place after a disappointing beginning to 2014. The 49ers, however, are not as fortunate, already three games behind the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC West.

While two victories were enough to turn the tables for New Orleans, two losses were enough to toss San Francisco's playoff status into jeopardy. Identical records aside, Jim Harbaugh's squad enters the Superdome with much more urgency than Sean Payton's crew.

Dave Martin/Associated Press

Drew Brees acknowledged as much to ESPN.com's Mike Triplett. "They probably feel this week like we did a couple of weeks ago, where you're just in desperate need for a win," he said. "And because of that we know the type of team that's gonna come in here." 

A once imposing San Francisco rushing attack has lost steam as of late, averaging 3.3 yards per carry during the past three games. Such continued regression from Frank Gore will force Colin Kaepernick to trade blows with Brees inside the latter's home fortress.

The Saints are fresh off two impressive victories over the Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers. It's now safe to look best at three losses incurred by a combined six points and say the Saints are better than a .500 squad.

Barring the 49ers forcing a batch of turnovers, they'll fail to break their losing snide.

New York Giants at Seattle Seahawks

Not one New York Giants game has ended by a single-digit margin this season. Their chances of changing that on the road against the Seattle Seahawks are slim.

There's a simple pattern to New York's season: Lose to good teams and beat bad ones. The G-Men have fallen to five teams with at least six victories while besting three clubs at .500 or worse. In those five defeats, opponents have outscored them by 17.2 points per game.

Seattle should continue this trend, as New York's No. 22 rushing defense isn't equipped to shut down Marshawn Lynch. Russell Wilson has floundered after a brilliant performance three weeks ago, but the No. 28 passing defense presents him a golden opportunity to heat up again.

As for the Giants conquering the Seahawks' No. 4 defense, don't bet on it. They'll once again play without Rashad Jennings, who will miss his fourth straight game with a knee injury, per ESPN.com's Dan Graziano:

Averaging a microscopic 3.0 yards per carry, Andre Williams is no match for Seattle's front seven. While turnover-prone Eli Manning has stopped giving the ball away, throwing one turnover since Week 2, he's poorly protected behind a leaky offensive line.

Pete Carroll should plan the defense around stopping Odell Beckham Jr., who caught eight passes for 156 yards on Monday night. Fellow wideouts Rueben Randle and Preston Parker only recorded five receptions on 17 targets.

Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers

In this NFC North clash, both offenses are built to exploit the opposing defense's weakness.

The Green Bay Packers have surrendered an NFL-worst 153.5 rushing yards per game. That's good news for Matt Forte, who compiled 171 yards from scrimmage against them on Sept. 28.

Although Forte has already exceeded 1,000 total yards, the Chicago Bears have scored 22.5 points per game. Per the team's Twitter page, the star running back said his offense is capable of producing many more points:

The Bears will need to do so on Sunday night, as they allow a 67.2 completion percentage and 8.2 yards per attempt to opposing quarterbacks. It shouldn't come as a surprise that Aaron Rodgers carved them up earlier this season, netting 303 passing yards and four touchdowns.

From that game forward, Rodgers has completed 70.9 percent of his throws with 14 touchdowns and two interceptions. How can anyone bet against him?

Expect a closer game than Week 4's 38-17 final, as Forte is right about his offense's massive talent. It still, however, won't be enough to top Chicago's divisional foe.