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- Week 10 NFL Predictions: Giants Topple Bears

Chris Pokorny November 11, 2006
Chris Pokorny
PFC Owner & Writer

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Each team in the NFL has played eight games, and the bye weeks are over. That means that we have officially reached the half-way point of the season, and it's time to start looking at who the current playoff seeds are. At the beginning of the season, my Super Bowl pick saw the Indianapolis Colts defeating the Carolina Panthers. I also pegged the Chicago Bears to have a tough time winning their division, as well as the Baltimore Ravens finishing fourth in their division. Let's take a look at just how wrong I was...(Note, the following list should represent the playoff seeds as they stand heading into Week 10)...

AFC
1. Indianapolis Colts (Homefield Advantage)
2. Denver Broncos
3. Baltimore Ravens
4. New England Patriots
5. San Diego Chargers (Wildcard Team #1)
6. Jacksonville Jaguars (Wildcard Team #2)

NFC
1. Chicago Bears (Homefield Advantage)
2. New York Giants
3. New Orleans Saints
4. Seattle Seahawks
5. Atlanta Falcons (Wildcard Team #1)
6. Minnesota Vikings (Wildcard Team #2)

Out of all the races, the second NFC wildcard spot is a mess. The Vikings haven't played well enough to warrant a playoff spot as of late, but they own the tiebreaker based on four conference victories. However, this is a completely different half of the season, and anything can change at this point. The bye weeks are gone, go lets get to my picks for this week, starting with the games of the week...

NBC MAKES THE RIGHT CHOICE

Chicago Bears vs. New York Giants. This is the first game of the season in which NBC was able to choose which game they would air, and they've struck gold. No longer will we have to suffer through a Sunday Night game without any implications near the end of the season. This game should certainly have an impact come the end of the season, possibly determining who has home-field advantage in the playoffs from the NFC. The Bears and Giants are currently ranked first and second, respectively, as you can see on my list above. Both teams are coming off of tough games, but the Giants had a much more pleasant result when they defeated the Houston Texans 14-10 last week. The Bears suffered their first loss of the season to the Miami Dolphins, and suddenly have some concerns over the turnovers that Rex Grossman is producing.

Both teams learned of several injuries during the week that should impact this game. The Giants lost Amani Toomer for the season, and will be without Michael Strahan this week. The Bears could be without linebacker Brian Urlacher, but chances are that he'll be able to play still. So far this season, the Bears haven't had any problems winning when they do not turn the ball over. This game should be different for the Bears, in the sense that they'll play not to make turnovers, keeping the game close for most of the game. Both teams have their share of defensive playmakers, but it'll be Eli Manning that gets the better of the Bears with the return of Plaxico Burress.

The Bears defense was absolutely torched by Ronnie Brown last week, something that doesn't occur very often. The Giants always have an effective running attack with Tiki Barber, and the change of pace with Brandon Jacobs will be too tough to overcome. The Bears have not been able to run the ball nearly as well as they envisioned, which has played into Grossman's costly turnovers. Giants 20, Bears 10

RISING OR FALLING?

San Diego Chargers vs. Cincinnati Bengals. The past several weeks, it's been difficult to pinpoint why the Bengals have been struggling so much to win as of late. They're not playing horrible on offense, and the aren't playing horrible on defense. However, they're not playing elite football in either one of those categories. When the Bengals are rolling, they are able to rally at any point of a game with Carson Palmer, and then allow the defense to come up with a clutch turnover, despite giving up yards. Instead, while Palmer is playing rather well, he has been throwing the football too high, forcing the Bengals to punt more often than they would like. The Bengals have not created the appropriate turnovers defensively, which has put them in catch-up mode too often.

Unfortunately for the Bengals, the Chargers are a team that do not turn the ball over very often. The interceptions thrown by Phillip Rivers are far and few between, and good luck trying to get LaDainian Tomlinson to fumble the ball very often. Despite allowing 25 points to the Cleveland Browns last week, most of Cleveland's scoring was the result of idiotic penalties. The Chargers red zone defense, which has not been good, improved tremendously against Cleveland. The Chargers linebacking group is still hurting, but they should still be able to get enough pressure against the Bengals' offensive line. It should be another close game for the Bengals, but unless they can come up with a big turnover, it'll be the Chargers coming out on top. Chargers 28, Bengals 27.

SECOND TIME A CHARM?

New York Jets vs. New England Patriots. Although it doesn't seem like it, this is a huge game this week. If the Jets can pull off an upset special on their division rival finally, they will only be one game out of the division lead. Unfortunately for the Jets, they have not been able to defeat a winning football team yet. The last time these two teams met earlier this season, the Patriots were dominating the game until the fourth quarter. That's when Chad Pennington caught fire and Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery made amazing plays to allow the game to appear much closer than it should've been. The Jets' offense has been rather potent this season, but Chad Pennington has been awful during two of his road games - once against the Jaguars, and the other against the Browns.

The biggest woe for the Jets: their run defense. Teams are averaging 140 yards on the ground per game against the Jets, including teams that are horrible at running the ball this season (like the Browns). The Patriots got away from the running game in their loss to the Colts last week, and the receivers were not able to come through for Tom Brady, forcing his final line to read "four interceptions". The Patriots will use a heavy dose of Laurence Maroney and Corey Dillon early and often in an attempt to dominate the time of possession and force Pennington and his troops to have "must-score" situations any time they get the ball. Patriots 28, Jets 13.

TURNING THINGS AROUND

Washington Redskins vs. Philadelphia Eagles. After their season looked doomed, a blocked field goal by Troy Vincent and a weird runback by Sean Taylor has kept hopes alive for the Redskins. Washington has a golden opportunity to pick up another division win, but they'll have to do so on the road to an underachieving Eagles team coming off their bye week. The Redskins offense moved the ball surprisingly well last week without their top receiver, Santana Moss, but they failed to capitalize on several red zone situations early in the game. The Redskins went on a hot run last year around this time, and their offense needs to move the ball similar to the way they did last week against the Cowboys.

Despite a scuffle before the bye week, the Eagles have played very well on offense this season, including in their ability to run the football. One of the underrated returns that not many people are mentioning or aware of is the return of Donte Stallworth. Stallworth was playing tremendous football under the Eagles' system and developed solid chemistry with McNabb before his injury. He returned before the Eagles' bye week against the Jaguars, but only now do the Eagles feel he's back to 100%. The Eagles will look to go to the air often to relive McNabb's successful passing attack from earlier this season. The Redskins will keep things close, but not close enough. Eagles 21, Redskins 17.

REST OF THE WEEK

Baltimore Ravens vs. Tennessee Titans. After losing two games in a row and in danger of collapsing, Brian Billick fired his offensive coordinator. Since, the Ravens have played well offensively and are turning the defense's turnovers into touchdowns. That won't be good news for the Titans, who can't throw the football at all this season. Vince Young won't be able to roll out and run effectively against the Ravens' quick defense. One of the underrated differences between this year's Ravens team compared to last year's is their ability to win on the road. Ravens 18, Titans 3.

Buffalo Bills vs. Indianapolis Colts. Until the Colts can stop teams from gashing them in the running game, they won't be blowing out very many teams - whether it be at home or on the road. Regardless of what other teams do though, Peyton Manning is bound to have a successful game, and Joseph Addai continues to progress in his ability of running the football. The Bills will be without Willis McGahee this week, allowing Anthony Thomas to get the start. The Colts have been vulnerable to backup running backs as well, giving up over 100 yards on the ground to Travis Henry and Mike Bell. Colts 31, Bills 21.

Cleveland Browns vs. Atlanta Falcons. Despite scoring 25 points last week, the Browns offense struggled to do a whole lot. Phil Dawson came through with six field goals, a result of the Browns not being able to execute against a Chargers team that isn't very good defending other teams in the red zone. The Falcons are coming off of a tough loss to the Detroit Lions, a game where Michael Vick struggled to throw the football. The Falcons' pass defense is ranked 31st in the league and have just lost two more members of their secondary, which will allow the Browns to keep the game close. However, Warrick Dunn should have success on the ground against Cleveland's defense, which spends too much time on the field. Falcons 23, Browns 16.

Green Bay Packers vs. Minnesota Vikings. If it wasn't for costly mistakes late in games this season on offense, the Packers would actually be a legitimate playoff contender right now. However, just like against the Rams earlier this season, a Brett Favre turnover near the red zone cost the Packers a shot at moving to .500 last week against the Bills. The Vikings have suffered a huge dropoff on offense suddenly, falling with a season-low three points last week to the San Francisco 49ers. Brad Johnson isn't throwing the ball effectively, and no one on the offense is establishing themselves as the "go-to-guy". The Packers' running game will elevate them in somewhat of an "upset" over the Vikings here. Packers 17, Vikings 16.

Houston Texans vs. Jacksonville Jaguars. Just three weeks ago, the Jaguars were upset by the Texans 27-7. That was the last time Byron Leftwich played, and the Jaguars have made a big turnaround over the past two games under David Garrard. Not only has the offense started to click again, but the defense has been hitting on all cylinders. David Carr responded to his benching with a tough mentality against the Giants last week, but another upset wasn't in the works for Houston. This game should be the complete opposite of what we saw a few weeks ago. In fact, that's what my prediction will be. Jaguars 27, Texans 7.

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Miami Dolphins. No one wants to face Larry Johnson right now. Johnson is back to his form from a year ago, and the Chiefs offense is red hot under Damon Huard. The Chiefs won't have to worry about Trent Green's return until next week, so all of their focus will be on the Dolphins team that just upset the undefeated Chicago Bears. One thing needs to be made clear though: this is still the same Dolphins team that has played horribly this season. The Dolphins defense will keep it close, and the Chiefs will miss linebacker Derrick Johnson, but they'll have enough to grind out their second straight victory on the road. Chiefs 24, Dolphins 21.

San Francisco 49ers vs. Detroit Lions. This game may not seem very important this week, but it means a lot to the 49ers. San Francisco has a solid opportunity to pick up their fourth victory of the season, something many people thought would be difficult for them to reach all season. The 49ers have played well at home this season, but things haven't been very bright for them on the road. The Lions' offense has been underrated this season, and Kevin Jones and Roy Williams have been playing very well. Look for the Lions to pick up their second straight win of the season for the first time this year. Lions 23, 49ers 6.

Denver Broncos vs. Oakland Raiders. The Broncos defense has not been as effective the past two weeks, but a visit from the Oakland Raiders offense will change that in a flash. Despite the return or Jerry Porter to Oakland's lineup, it has made little to no impact in the development of Andrew Walter. The Raiders continue to give up sacks at a rapid pace, something the Broncos will be looking to feast on. With Champ Bailey having another Pro Bowl season, the Raiders probably won't be able to put any points on the board via their offense. One thing to look for: Aaron Brooks is getting healthy, and could be back in action soon. Broncos 17, Raiders 0.

New Orleans Saints vs. Pittsburgh Steelers. Week after week, I've been taking the Pittsburgh Steelers to win and finally get back on track. It's getting tiring to constantly see the Steelers look as if they had the talent to win, only to make so many mistakes to dig themselves in a hole early. Ben Roethlisberger is still a good quarterback, but the key for the Steelers has to be getting the running game back to what it used to be. The downfall of Tommy Maddox came when the Steelers stopped running the ball. The Saints will fall victim of a Steelers team waiting to explode, and will drop their second in a row to an AFC North team. Steelers 27, Saints 17.

Dallas Cowboys vs. Arizona Cardinals. This game features teams that have suffered the two most devastating collapses of the season. Everyone remembers the Cardinals collapse to the Bears a few weeks ago, and we all know how shocking the Cowboys' final play against the Redskins turned out last week. The Cardinals probably couldn't even run the ball against the Jets though, and Tony Romo has been nothing but positive since taking over for Drew Bledsoe. The Cowboys will make sure this game doesn't have to come down to a field goal. Cowboys 41, Cardinals 17.

St. Louis Rams vs. Seattle Seahawks. The last time these two teams met, it was arguably one of the most exciting games of the season. This time around, it should still be a shootout, but under different circumstances. The Rams are struggling to win now, and the Seahawks have Seneca Wallace and Maurice Morris instead of Matt Hasselbeck and Shaun Alexander. With a win, the Seahawks can all but clinch the NFC West already, providing two divisional wins over the Rams before their main tandem can return to the field. It'll be close like last time, but the Rams won't be able to overcome the Seahawks' home-field crowd. Seahawks 23, Rams 20.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Carolina Panthers. The Buccaneers will play three games over a span of 11 days, giving them their final chance at making a run at the playoffs. Unfortunately, they'll start off on the wrong foot against the Panthers. Carolina is coming off the bye week and are looking to make adjustments after their two-game losing streak. Jake Delhomme must convert more often on third-down to Steve Smith and Keyshawn Johnson, because that's been one of the primary problems for the Panthers this season. Panthers 26, Buccaneers 9.

Well, now to my survivor pick again. I might as well throw in the towel, because I have lost my third straight survivor pick. I was shocked when I lost two in a row for the first time ever, so you can imagine my disbelief now. This week, I'm taking Denver Broncos to defeat the Oakland Raiders. I'm already bummed that I've lost three in a row, why not make it four and have the Raiders upset Denver?

Predictions Record to Date: 79-49(Still needs to improve.)
Last Week: 7-7(I did great with the afternoon games.)
Survivor Streak: Lost 3 (Phi over Hou, Bal over Oak, Was over Hou, Cle over Oak, NO over TB, Dal over Hou, Jac over Hou, Pit over Oak, Chi over Mia.)

We're back to a 16-game week, and that always calls for more action, and more upsets in another exciting week of the NFL.

-Chris Pokorny


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