NFL Predictions Week 10: Early Odds, Picks and Projections for Upcoming Schedule

Week 10 of the 2016 season features a whole lot of parity.

The point spreads this week highlight a ton of close matchups along with a few outliers with multiscore differences. That's just the way the schedule fell this week.

For instance, as of opening odds, six matchups featured point spreads within two points. But two saw the spread set at more than a touchdown.

Let's break down the Week 10 schedule and point spreads and then make some picks for each matchup.

Note that the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, Indianapolis Colts and Oakland Raiders are all on bye weeks in Week 10.

Date	Away	Home	Point Spread	Pick
Thursday	CLE	BAL	BAL -8	Ravens
Sunday	HOU	JAC	JAC -1	Jaguars
Sunday	DEN	NO	Even	Broncos
Sunday	LA	NYJ	NYJ -2.5	Jets
Sunday	ATL	PHI	PHI -1	Falcons
Sunday	KC	CAR	CAR -2.5	Chiefs
Sunday	CHI	TB	TB -2	Buccaneers
Sunday	MIN	WAS	WAS -1.5	Vikings
Sunday	GB	TEN	GB -1	Packers
Sunday	MIA	SD	SD -4	Chargers
Sunday	SF	ARI	ARI -12.5	Cardinals
Sunday	DAL	PIT	PIT -3	Cowboys
Sunday	SEA	NE	NE -9.5	Patriots
Monday	CIN	NYG	NYG -2	Giants

Safe Bet: New England Patriots (-9.5)

Bill Wippert/Associated Press

A 9.5-point cover is a hefty bet to make, but if there's any team that can win by a touchdown and a field goal, it's the New England Patriots—especially against the Seattle Seahawks.

The Patriots are averaging 27.1 points per game, putting them sixth in the league in total scoring. And that average is dragged down immensely by a big fat goose egg in their first matchup against the Buffalo Bills, a game that saw third-string quarterback Jacoby Brissett struggle to play through his thumb injury suffered the week before.

Of course, when Tom Brady returned to the field, the Patriots made things right with a 41-25 walloping in their second matchup with Buffalo.

And speaking of Buffalo, the Bills—and more specifically their outing against the Seahawks on Monday night—are another reason to feel confident about the Patriots.

Seattle hosted the Bills in Week 10, and the game was far from a blowout. The Bills stayed in it until the end, keeping the final decision close at 31-25.

Even more suspect for Seattle's win were the implications of a bizarre series of field-goal attempts just before halftime in which Richard Sherman jumped offsides and was not called for roughing the kicker on the Bills' Dan Carpenter, who had to leave the field. Then, the official was still standing over the ball as the play clock expired, which led to a delay of game penalty on the Bills, who were just trying to kick their field goal.

Carpenter missed the kick after all the high jinks, but the Bills should have been closer had it not been for the delay of game penalty and the uncalled personal foul.

Seattle's win looks respectable on paper, but it was anything but a dominant performance. And that was against Buffalo.

Needless to say, New England has a good chance of covering the spread.

Big Gamble: Carolina Panthers (-2.5)

Ryan Kang/Associated Press

A team doesn't have to win by much to cover a 2.5-point spread, but it seems more likely the Kansas City Chiefs could stay within the spread.

Does anyone trust this Panthers team to even beat the Chiefs straight-up at this point, let alone by three or more points?

Carolina struggled to put away the Los Angeles Rams in Week 9, defeating them by a narrow three-point margin.

Now the Panthers are 3-5, and even worse, those three wins have all come against teams that now have losing records.

Meanwhile, as Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer pointed out, over the last 20 games, the Chiefs have gone 17-3, including the postseason.

Don't underestimate this Chiefs team, which looks to be getting Alex Smith back in time to face the Panthers, as BJ Kissel reported:

This is not what anyone would have expected prior to the start of the season, but it's the reality we live in now. The Panthers are not a good bet in Week 10. If you're looking for an underdog, however, the Chiefs might just be it.

NFL Odds via Odds Shark and current as of Tuesday, Nov. 8.