Week 10 NFL Projections

Last week: 8-6
Season: 80-33

New Orleans Saints 27, Atlanta Falcons 20

Atlanta has been vulnerable to the pass thus far, and the quarterback of the Saints is named Drew Brees. The Falcons are one of the better teams at stifling the run, but New Orleans doesn't run much anyway. At just 1-3 against winning teams so far, the Falcons haven't proven that they can beat elite teams in the league yet, so the Saints present a matchup that Ryan and crew will have a difficult time overcoming.

Pittsburgh Steelers 20, Cincinnati Bengals 13

The Bengals' 6-2 record looks pretty on paper, but it is really just a product of a relatively easy schedule. I'm not trying to take away from what they've done this year, but they only have one quality win, a 23-20 contest against the Bills. Other wins include Cleveland, Jacksonville, Indy, and Seattle. The Steelers should have a rude awakening in store for Cincy.

Dallas Cowboys 28, Buffalo Bills 24

Dallas needs this win to stay in the playoff hunt, and they draw a tough matchup against the 5-3 Bills. That being said, Buffalo's defense has kept them from being among the NFL's elite teams this year. DeMarco Murray should be able to run right through them, and Dez Bryant could break out against this spotty secondary. While Buffalo is capable of scoring with anyone, Dallas should have the better day.

Detroit Lions 23, Chicago Bears 20

Picking the Lions to win makes me second-guess myself, and this decision is probably influenced by the fact that Matthew Stafford is my fantasy QB. Chicago looked exceptional on offense last week; Jay Cutler marched his team down the field numerous times against the Eagles. While Philly's run D has been awful, they still showed indications of a complete offense, because Matt Forte has already proven himself. So why am I picking the Lions (who Matt Forte will run all over next week. He's also on my fantasy team)? Well, no one has seemed to notice that they have one of the worst passing defenses in the league. They'll rush the QB a lot, but Stafford could throw for 300 yards and a pair of scores en route to a big-time win.

San Francisco 49ers 24, New York Giants 20

It's up to Eli Manning in this one. While his big win against New England apparently made him "elite," I'm not buying it. San Fran won't give up anything on the ground, so Manning will need to play probably better than last week if he wants to get his team to 7-2. And Patrick Willis and crew won't let that happen.

New England Patriots 27, New York Jets 24

Patriots, three straight losses? Get outta here. I'd love to see it happen, but I'm not ready to buy the talk that they are no longer elite.

St. Louis Rams 17, Cleveland Browns 13
Philadelphia Eagles 27, Arizona Cardinals 20
Jacksonville Jaguars 13, Indianapolis Colts 10 (If Indy is ever going to win, though, this would be the week.)
Denver Broncos 20, Kansas City Chiefs 17
Miami Dolphins 23, Washington Redskins 17
Houston Texans 31, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 14
Tennessee Titans 24, Carolina Panthers 20
Baltimore Ravens 20, Seattle Seahawks 10
Green Bay Packers 24, Minnesota Vikings 12
Oakland Raiders vs. San Diego Chargers had already started when I wrote this post.