Each Friday of the 2018 NFL season, we’ll be picking every game (except for Thursday Night Football, of course) against the spread.
Here are the picks for Week 10.
Washington at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-3)
The Pick: Washington
Washington suffered a rash of injuries last week and seem to be showing us their true selves, but I still believe they’re a better team than the Bucs – Fitzmagic or not.
Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears (-6.5)
The Pick: Bears
The Lions allowed more sacks (10) than they scored points (9) last week, and now face a Bears team welcoming Khalil Mack back into the fold. Good luck, Matthew Stafford. (Note: I purposely avoided a Mark Morrison reference here.)
Arizona Cardinals at Kansas City Chiefs (-16.5)
The Pick: Chiefs
I don’t feel that I need to justify this pick, but here it is: The Chiefs went to Cleveland last week (a tough place to play) and beat a Browns team (which has flaws, but is better than Arizona) by 16 points. Plus, three of Arizona’s six losses have been by more than 17 points.
Atlanta Falcons (-6) at Cleveland Browns
The Pick: Falcons
Public betting is overwhelmingly in favour of the Falcons (75 per cent, in fact), and I’m with them. Atlanta has won three straight and last week dispelled the notion it can’t win on the road, blowing out NFC East-leading Washington to the tune of 38—14.
New Orleans Saints (-5.5) at Cincinnati Bengals
The Pick: Saints
Winners of seven straight, the Saints are the best team in football right now and are 4-0 on the road this season. New Orleans faces a Bengals team that will be without their best player in A.J. Green.
New England Patriots (-6.5) at Tennessee Titans
The Pick: Titans
This is my weekly going-with-the-gut pick. Tennessee, for the most part, has been a tough out at home and the Patriots are 2-2 on the road – both straight up and against the spread.
Jacksonville Jaguars at Indianapolis Colts (-3)
The Pick: Colts
Andrew Luck is playing behind the best offensive line of his career and the offence is benefitting: The Colts are averaging more than 34 points per game over their last five.
Buffalo Bills at New York Jets (-7)
The Pick: Bills
For reasons mostly unknown, I’m picking the Bills again. Maybe it’s the size of the spread. Josh Allen is still a question mark for Sunday’s game, but if he does return Buffalo will have a legit chance of winning straight up.
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Los Angeles Chargers (-10) at Oakland Raiders
The Pick: Chargers
Sure, the Chargers are one of the league’s hottest teams, but I’m going with L.A. because I’ll never pick the Raiders again after last Thursday’s dreadful showing in San Francisco.
Miami Dolphins at Green Bay Packers (-10)
The Pick: Packers
The Dolphins are 0-4 straight up on the road this season and 1-3 against the spread. The Packers, on the other hand, are coming off two away losses but both were games they hung in against top-level opponents.
Seattle Seahawks at Los Angeles Rams (-9.5)
The Pick: Seahawks
The Rams have covered just once in the last six weeks and these two teams always play each other close.
Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles (-7)
The Pick: Eagles
This spread started out at -5.5 and has grown to a full touchdown, but I still like the Eagles at home against a Cowboys team that is scoring fewer than 14 points a game on the road.
New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers (-3.5)
The Pick: Giants
Nick Mullens’s magical NFL debut was fun, but I like the Giants to have a bounce-back week after the bye. (I’m definitely going to regret this, aren’t I?)