Week 10 NFL Picks: Underdogs That Will Cover the Spread in Losing Efforts

Betting on the NFL would be pretty easy if it weren't for point spreads, but there is nothing wrong with a bit of a challenge. Generally speaking, it's best to pick the team that you think is going to win, but if the line is just right, then picking a team that is likely to lose can still be a good play.

There are several Week 10 games that look to be very close on paper, so this is a strategy that could very well come into play.

Here are three underdogs that will lose the game on Sunday, but win you money by covering the spread anyway.

Indianapolis Colts

While the undefeated Indianapolis Colts don't exactly instill confidence in bettors, you have to think that they are going to win, or at least, come close to winning at some point. The Colts will be at home in Week 10, but they are three-point underdogs against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Jags aren't particularly impressive in their own right, but they certainly should win the game based on running back Maurice Jones-Drew's matchup against Indy's porous run defense. Even so, Jacksonville tends to play a lot of low-scoring, ugly games, meaning the Colts should be able to hang around.

There aren't a lot of games on the schedule that look like possible wins for the Colts, but this is one of them. The Jaguars and Colts always seem to play close games, and even though Indianapolis is without quarterback Peyton Manning, I think that will continue. I expect a one-point win for Jacksonville off a late Josh Scobee field goal.

Buffalo Bills

Few teams in the NFL this season have been more surprising than the 5-3 Buffalo Bills, but after a loss to the New York Jets last week, they seem to be coming back down to Earth a bit. When Buffalo's offense is clicking it can hang with the league's best, but the defense continues to be a problem.

Defensive deficiencies aren't a good thing to have against the Dallas Cowboys, and the Bills will find that out on Sunday. The Cowboys are a very streaky team in their own right, but they will be 5.5-point favorites against Buffalo on home field.

While I think Dallas will ultimately come out on top, the Bills do have enough firepower on offense with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and running back Fred Jackson to come out on top. With the exception of last week, Buffalo's losses have been very narrow, as have many of their wins. Because of that, I think the Bills will hang tough but fall just short in the end.

Minnesota Vikings

Although 2011 hasn't been kind to the Minnesota Vikings, there is reason for optimism. The Vikes have generally played much better in recent weeks, and that has coincided with the ascent of rookie quarterback Christian Ponder to the starting job over Donovan McNabb.

The Vikings will have their hands full on the road against the undefeated Green Bay Packers on Monday night, and the line reflects that as they are 14-point underdogs.The Vikings played the Packers very tough just three weeks ago, though, as they lost by just six points.

It could be a different story at Lambeau Field, but the Vikes seem to have the tools to hang with the Packers. While Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is going to move the ball on Minnesota's suspect secondary, Vikings running back Adrian Peterson can help Minnesota possess the ball. As long as Peterson runs well, then the Vikings should certainly keep it within two scores.