Week 10 Recap
With two of the more improbable wins that you will ever see, the Broncos and Chiefs prevailed on Sunday, meaning that there are now three seven-win teams in the AFC west, including the Raiders. No matter who wins the division, the West may very well end up with three representatives in the AFC playoffs.
In the NFC, the Cowboys won their eighth straight game and now hold the best record in football, following the Patriots Sunday night loss to Seattle. No other team in the NFC has reached the seven-win mark yet and Dallas has the inside track at the number one overall seed in the playoffs.
Week 10 Prime Time Games
Thursday Night Football – New Orleans Saints @ Carolina Panthers
Sunday Night Football – Green Bay Packers @ Washington Redskins
Monday Night Football – Houston Texans @ Oakland Raiders (Mexico City)
What to Watch for in Week 10
Lock of the Week – Pittsburgh Steelers (-7.5) over Cleveland Browns
The losers of four straight games, Pittsburgh is desperate for a win in order to keep pace with the first place Baltimore Ravens — outside of the West, it will likely take a division title to make it into the playoffs. Luckily for the Steelers, they will face a hapless Cleveland team that hasn’t won a game yet and can’t decide which quarterback is worthy of staying on the field. Pittsburgh’s offense can keep pace with any team in the league, but their defense has been a sieve. The Browns, however, rank 28th in total offense and 30th in scoring. Look for Pittsburgh to handle Cleveland easily and get back to the .500 mark.
Matchup of the Week – Arizona Cardinals @ Minnesota Vikings
After starting the year off 5-0, Minnesota has lost four consecutive games, but they’re still in the hunt for a playoff spot. The Vikings calling card this year has been their defense, but they have shown some vulnerabilities lately. The Cardinals have a top-10 offense and are also hoping to get hot at the right time and track down a playoff birth in the ultra-competitive NFC. The winner of this game could ultimately determine which of these two teams are still playing in January.
Player to Watch – Martellus Bennett (TE, New England @ San Francisco)
Most of the negative attention that the 49ers defense gets is for their inability to stop the run, but only three teams in the league have allowed more touchdowns through the air. Tom Brady and Company will be able to move the ball at will and Bennett will get full starter snaps in Week 10 while Rob Gronkowski waits for a punctured lung to heal. Brady has always favored his tight ends near the goal line and Bennett could have a field day in San Francisco.
TJ Hernandez is an editor at 4for4.com and the founder of RosterCoach.com. You can follow him on twitter @TJHernandez.
*The blog is for entertainment purposes only and in no way should be used in making wagers of any kind.