NFL Predictions Week 10: Playoff Contenders on Upset Alert

As the second half begins on the NFL schedule, the margin for error is disappearing for many teams hoping to earn playoff berths. This trio of teams could see their postseason dreams take a serious blow in tomorrow’s games:

Pittsburgh Steelers (at Cincinnati)

Pittsburgh is likely better than its 5-3 record, while Cincinnati is almost certainly worse than its 6-2 mark. Nevertheless, the Steelers will get all they can handle when they travel to Paul Brown Stadium.

The Bengals’ overachieving defense—no opponent has scored more than 24 points against them—will make Pittsburgh work for every yard. In a low-scoring game, Andy Dalton and Cincy will have a good chance to eke out a win similar to the one Baltimore earned last week against the Steelers.

Kansas City Chiefs (vs. Denver)

Which version of the Chiefs will show up at Arrowhead Stadium tomorrow? If it’s the out-of-sync bunch that got slaughtered by winless Miami last week, the Tim Tebow story will gain another stunning chapter.

Tebow could, of course, implode as he did against Detroit two weeks ago, in which case nothing can save the Denver offense. Unless the Chiefs get their act together, though, they’re in real danger of handing the Broncos’ QB another victory.

Chicago Bears (vs. Detroit)

The Bears have plenty of momentum coming off a well-played Monday night win over Philly, but face a dangerous matchup at home against the Lions. The Chicago secondary looked sharp against the Eagles, but defending Calvin Johnson (who’s eaten them alive in recent meetings) is a very different problem.

On offense, the Bears will be hampered by Devin Hester’s ankle injury, which will (at the very least) keep him from being 100 percent on Sunday.

Matt Forte should be able to make this game competitive almost by himself, but Matthew Stafford and the Lions have more than enough weapons to come out on top if the Bears aren’t at the top of their game.