Predictions for Week 10 in the NFL

Welcome back to Touchdowns and Kicks with Jimmy G: Predictions Edition

In Week 9 I was 10-4, making me 45-23 overall, a shade under 2/ (66.2%).

I promised to delve into the mailbag for this edition, but I will save the readers emails and answers until Tuesday afternoon, when I post my Week 10 thoughts.

For now, here are my predictions for Week 10 in the NFL. Almost every game is huge.

Atlanta over Carolina: Testeverde and Carr won’t play for the Panthers. Undrafted Matt Moore will start at QB. Matt Who? Exactly.

Kansas City over Denver: The Chiefs need this game badly. A win here coupled with a Charger loss to the Colts will give KC a one game lead over the Chargers without even calculating the head to head win earlier this season. The Broncos desperately need this game as well. Interesting fact: the Broncos may be imploding but a win against KC could vault them into a 3 way tie for 1st in the AFC West, if the Colts beat the Chargers.

Indianapolis over San Diego: This is huge for both teams but more so for San Diego. If the Colts lose and the Titans beat the Jags, Tennessee and the Colts would be tied at 7-2. If the Chargers lose, as I already mentioned in the KC Denver note, they can fall behind KC by a game plus a tiebreaker. This is a big game and Norv Turner is on the sidelines: Chargers lose.

New Orleans over St Louis: This is NOT an absolute must win for the Saints because they play in a weak NFC South. The Saints also play the Bucs and Panthers back to back in three weeks, so they can make up any lost ground at that time. However, when you are fighting for a playoff spot, you cannot afford to lose to an 0-8 team, which is exactly what the Rams are.

Tennessee over Jacksonville: This is an ABSOLUTE must win for Jacksonville. A loss puts the Jags at 5-4, 2 games back of Tennessee for the 1st wild card, three games back if you include the sweep at the hands of the Titans. I’d feel a lot better about the Jags chances if the had David Garrard at QB, but with Quinn Gray taking the snaps, Titans squeak out another close victory.

Baltimore over Cincinnati: Turn out the lights, the Bengals have quit on Marvin Lewis. A good coach will most likely find himself looking for work, contract status be damned. For the Ravens, this is an easy game before the brutal four week stretch of tough opponents begins: Browns, Chargers, Patriots, Colts. The Ravens need to get to 5-4, then beat 2 of those 4 tough teams to stand at 7-6 with an outside chance at making the playoffs. I am not comfortable choosing the Ravens but they need this game badly while the Bengals, they don’t seem interested anymore.

Dallas over the NY Giants : Yet another huge game. A Giants win makes them 7-2, tied with Dallas for 1st in the NFC East. A Dallas win makes them 8-1, 2 games up on the Giants, three games up if you include the tiebreaker( Dallas beat the Giants in Week 1) So this in effect is a 2 game swing either way. The Giants have had the week off after travelling to London. The Giants are the team that is most desperate but I don’t think they can stop Tony Romo and the Cowboy offense.

Seattle over San Francisco: The 49ers have absolutely no offense whatsoever. The Seahawks are an average team which plays in a very weak division. Ugly game, Seattle moves to 5-4

Detroit over Arizona: Maybe it’s not time to believe in the Lions just yet, but even with a week off, I haven’t seen enough from Cards coach Ken Whisenhunt to believe the Cards can win a must game. Perhaps the theory of “meet the new boss, same as the old boss” will apply to Whisenhunt when it is all said and done. Either way, the Cards have to win these games to get me on their side.

Washington over Philadelphia: An ABSOLUTE must win game for Joe Gibbs and the Redskins. A win makes them 6-3 with a game at Dallas next week. The two wild card teams in the NFC at the moments are the Lions and Giants, both at six wins. The Skins are playing a distracted Eagles team whose season in already over. A playoff wannabe cannot lose a game like this and the Redskins won’t.

Chicago over Oakland: The Jamarcus Russell era will start after this game for the Raiders, not that it will make a difference this season. The Bears are three games out of a playoff spot, last in their division. They play Seattle and Denver after they finish with Oakland. If they are going to make a playoff push, it starts against the Raiders.

Steelers over the Browns: I don’t believe in the Browns just yet and the Steelers are too strong right now, short week be damned. A win by the Steelers will give them a 2 game lead over Cleveland and possibly the Ravens as well, three games if you include the head to head tiebreakers the Steelers possess over both.

Green Bay over Minnesota: I cannot believe that the Packers are winning all these games in the 4th quarter. I always predict that they will lose and they win. This week I predict they will win.

Buffalo over Miami: The Bills are 4-4 and they play New England next week. Any chance of making the playoffs rests on winning this game. This is a big game and Dick Jauron is on the sidelines. The Bills win (only because the opponent is Miami)

That’s it for me. Remember to read my blog on Tuesday afternoon when I post my Week 10 thoughts and analysis.