NFL Week 10 Preview – Weekend

Evan submitted his picks via txt once again.

Bengals @ Steelers, Sunday 1pm
Matt: This is Pittsburgh’s time of year. They have already won 5 in a row and will be cranking it up as they head towards the playoffs. The Bengals are the surprise team of the year so far. They are playing well on both sides of the ball and Ced Benson is having a career year. If they win, they will have a huge leg up on winning the AFC North. I think if Benson can have a decent day on the ground, the Bengals have a good chance to win this one. I will be rooting for the Bengals, but the Steelers at home will be too tough. Steelers by a FG. Pick: Steelers
Ahad: I still find it hard to believe that the Bengals competing for the division title. Marvin Lewis stopped Chad whatever his last name is this week from sending mustard to the Steelers. Despite the fact that the Steelers have a short week, I still like them in this matchup. Losing Chris Henry will slow down the Bengals offense. The Steelers should be able to contain Benson. I don’t think the Bengals have the firepower on defense to win this one. Pick: Steelers
Mike: I’m on Matt’s page. I think more teams are going to jump on the Steelers 8-week preseason schedule that bleeds into the start of the regular season. It’s a pretty good plan. Let the other teams get beat up during the first quarter of the schedule. Take any wins you get as a bonus and go 10-2 the rest of the way against those banged up teams. You’ll make the playoffs every time. That being said, the Bengals are doing it. They aren’t looking ahead because their 3 games after this are against teams with 2 wins or less. Look at the Bengals schedule. They have 4 games left against teams that currently have 2 wins or less. They win those and they get to 10 wins, everything else, again, is a bonus. I think Steelers are rolling enough to pull this one out, but close. Pick: Steelers
Evan: Steelers

Chiefs @ Raiders, Sunday 4:05pm
Matt: These teams are jockeying for draft position for next year. The Raiders won the previous matchup this season by 3 points, and I would expect a similar game this time around. When Oakland has shown up this season, they haven’t played all that bad. They played two close games against the Chargers and beat the Eagles. The Chiefs cut LJ this week and will be relying on their youngsters to carry the load. I think the Raiders, with two week to prepare, will win this one. Pick: Raiders
Ahad: This game might be worse than the Detroit/St. Louis game. Maybe cutting LJ will cause the Chiefs to come together. Look for the Raiders to run the ball, because they sure can’t throw it. I think the running game will be the difference. Pick: Oakland
Mike: You know how in a lot of close matchups in the preview they say that the game will be lost by whoever makes the 1st mistake. What do you say here. The 5th mistake, the 20th? I just want to txt this one in. Pick: Raiders
Evan: Raiders

Eagles @ Chargers, Sunday 4:15pm
Matt: The Eagles did not fare too well on their last trip to the West Coast. The Chargers are playing better, but they always seem to underachieve early. This is their time of year as well, much like the Steelers, to make a strong push towards the playoffs. I expect the Eagles to play better than last week, and much better than they played against the Raiders. Look for the Chargers to blitz a lot to put pressure on McNabb. He did not handle the pressure that well last week. I think the team that wins the 4th quarter will win the game, and that is typically Philip Rivers’ time to shine. Pick: Chargers
Ahad: This week the Eagles have been hit with some losses in the secondary to go along with all of the other injuries. They will be without their 3rd and 4th corners for at least 4 weeks. Also the linebacker position has become a problem. They still might be feeling the impact of the loss to the Cowboys. The Chargers have become a passing team and will look to continue that this week. Things don’t look good for the Eagles this week. Pick: Chargers
Mike: I forget the rule about traveling west. The Chargers were able to overcome the traveling west, just barely, with help of the Giants being terrible. The Eagles are hurting though. The defense is dropping like flies. And where did Andy find this Peters guy? The only time I hear about him is when he gets hurt or has a penalty. I’m not going to get to watch this on but, if things don’t change, I think listening to Andy Reid calling plays while driving is more dangerous than txting. Pick: Chargers
Evan: Eagles

Patriots @ Colts, Sunday 8:20pm
Matt: Brady vs. Manning. Can’t beat it, really. So who’s defense will play better? My gut tells me the Colts, as they play better at home on the fast track. I still don’t think Brady is all the way back yet, and I don’t think the Patriots are as good of a team right now as everyone seems to be making them out to be. Their defense will be exposed by Manning. Pick: Colts
Ahad: The Colts undefeated streak ends here. They should have gone to OT last week, if not lost the game. The injuries on the defense will catch up to them at some point. Pick: Pats
Mike: I feel like we should have just let Matt go on his own this week. The Colts are winning on the Manning comebacks. Close games no matter who the opponent. This is a primetime prove yourself gave for both teams. The Colts are a few steps ahead of the Pats this year, so they need to go out and prove it. Pick: Colts
Evan: Patriots

Standings
Ahad 29-17 (3-2)
Matt 24-22 (2-3)
Evan 25-21 (3-2)
Mike 20-25 (2-3)