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NFL Week 10 Picks: Final Predictions and Over-Under Odds Before Thursday Night
November 8, 2018
The Pittsburgh Steelers are starting to find their groove after a slow start, and they are normally a tough team to beat when their offense is operating at a high level.
However, the Carolina Panthers are coming to visit, and they are also playing excellent football. While teams like the Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans Saints, Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots are getting most of the headlines, the Steelers (5-2-1) and Panthers (6-2) are surging right now and both could be in an excellent position by the end of the regular season.
The Steelers are already in first place in the AFC North, while the Panthers are trying to chase down the Saints in the NFC South. Since the Saints have wins over the Minnesota Vikings and the previously unbeaten Rams, they are the division's glamour team, but the Panthers have plenty of firepower with quarterback Cam Newton, running back Christian McCaffrey and tight end Greg Olsen.
McCaffrey was a star as a rookie and has been even better in his second season. He did most of his damage as a receiver last year, but he is equally as valuable as a runner this year.
The 22-year-old has rushed for 502 yards and is averaging 4.6 yards per carry. His most impressive stat is the number of big plays he has had. McCaffrey has 17 runs of 10 yards or more, and that explosiveness has to concern the Steelers.
Newton is also having a solid year with a 15-4 TD-interception ratio and an average 236.6 passing yards per game. He remains a threat on the ground (342 rushing yards and three TDs), and that's one of the key reasons the Cats are so difficult to defend.
The Steelers appeared to have a huge issue this year due to the Le'Veon Bell holdout, but James Conner has filled in nightly and has nine rushing touchdowns. Combine Conner's ability on the ground with the 1-2 receiving punch of Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster and the Steelers regularly light up the scoreboard.
The Steelers are 3.5-point favorites in this Thursday night meeting, and we see it as a back-and-forth game, with the home team taking charge in the final quarter and earning the 27-23 victory.
NFL Week 10
Carolina Panthers (+3.5, 52 O/U) at Pittsburgh Steelers: Steelers 27, Panthers 23
Detroit Lions (+6.5, 45 O/U) at Chicago Bears: Bears 28, Lions 17
Arizona Cardinals (+16.5, 49.5 O/U) at Kansas City Chiefs: Chiefs 38, Cardinals 10
New England Patriots (-6.5, 46.5 O/U) at Tennessee Titans: Patriots 28, Titans 21
New Orleans Saints (-5.5, 54 O/U) at Cincinnati Bengals: Saints 36, Bengals 32
Atlanta Falcons (-4, 50.5 O/U) at Cleveland Browns: Falcons 38, Browns 16
Jacksonville Jaguars (+3, 46.5 O/U) at Indianapolis Colts: Colts 28, Jaguars 27
Washington Redskins (+3, 51.5 O/U) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Redskins 31, Buccaneers 20
Buffalo Bills (+7, 37 O/U) at New York Jets: Jets 22, Bills 12
Los Angeles Chargers (-10, 50 O/U) at Oakland Raiders: Chargers 38, Raiders 14
Miami Dolphins (+10, 47.5 O/U) at Green Bay Packers: Packers 37, Dolphins 23
Seattle Seahawks (+10, 50 O/U) at Los Angeles Rams: Rams 31, Seahawks 30
Dallas Cowboys (+7, 43 O/U) at Philadelphia Eagles: Eagles 34, Cowboys 24
New York Giants (+3, 44 O/U) at San Francisco 49ers: 49ers 30, Giants 20
All point spread information courtesy of OddsShark.
New England Patriots at Tennessee Titans
The Patriots are having their typical regular season because they started slowly by losing two of their first three games before straightening themselves out.
The whispers were fairly loud after they dropped back-to-back games to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Detroit Lions, but they have reeled off six straight wins and are clearly on their way to yet another AFC East title.
The Titans have been ordinary this season, but they took a step up in Week 9 as they defeated the Dallas Cowboys on the road in their Monday night game.
The most impressive aspect of that 28-14 victory was the play of quarterback Marcus Mariota. Instead of the tentative play that has typified his game this year, the 25-year-old was sharp in his passing and decision-making. Mariota completed 21 of 29 passes for 240 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
If he can pick it up against the Patriots where he left off against the Cowboys, the Titans should have an excellent chance to compete for 60 minutes.
The Pats have not been playing with their full roster in recent weeks, as both tight end Rob Gronkowski (ankle/back) and rookie running back Sony Michel (knee) have missed the last two games. However, both were at practice Wednesday, and that means they could be in the lineup Sunday.
The Pats generally respond well to challenges from up-and-coming teams, and we expect that to be the case here. If Tom Brady has his full complement, look for the Patriots to put this road game away in the fourth quarter.
New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers
With three wins between the two teams, the Monday night game between the Giants and 49ers may be the least attractive game on the prime-time schedule.
The Giants are going through a miserable season because Eli Manning appears to have lost the quickness needed to escape the pass rush and make plays. A big part of the blame must go to the offensive line, but Manning is a shell of what he once was.
The Niners had high hopes this season, but dreams of competing with the Rams and pushing for a winning record went down the drain when quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was lost for the rest of the campaign.
The Niners had won just one game prior to their Week 9 meeting with the Oakland Raiders, and that's when they got a lift from unknown quarterback Nick Mullens, who completed 16 of 22 passes for 262 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
While the Giants are struggling every week and apparently can't compete for 60 minutes, Kyle Shanahan still has the Niners fighting hard.
They will take advantage of their home field on Monday night and roll to a win over the Giants.