Another week of NFL picks and predictions gone by, another rather successful week if I do say so myself. Heading into Monday Night Football between the Ravens and Saints, my Week 9 picks record stands at a very respectable 8-4 with a couple of upset picks going awry. I should have known that Kirk Cousins and the Vikings would be proclaiming, “YOU LIKE THAT?” instead of Taylor Heinicke getting himself a pair of purple Jordans.
The biggest “L” of the week for me in Week 9 was predicting the Buffalo Bills to absolutely dog-walk the New York Jets. Look at what I wrote about this particular matchup:
"“The Bills will eat the Jets alive, and you hate to say that with as good of a story as the Jets have been in the first half of the 2022 season. Anything can happen on any given Sunday in the NFL, right? You can’t completely count the Jets out, you can’t discount the way Robert Saleh’s defense has played, but you also can’t sit here and act like the Bills aren’t just on a different level as a team.” Week 9 NFL picks and predictions"
Such is the way of things in the world of NFL picks and predictions. Even considering the outcome of Monday Night Football could make this week’s record look a bit worse, I am going to consider Week 9 a successful week of picks. As always, if you utilize any of these picks or predictions for gambling, please do so responsibly and at your own risk.
Teams on Week 10 bye: Bengals, Patriots, Jets Ravens
2022 NFL picks and predictions for Week 10
Atlanta Falcons (4-5) at Carolina Panthers (2-7)
Thursday, November 10, 8:15 PM ET
The epic return of Cordarrelle Patterson in Week 9 of the 2022 NFL season was spoiled by yet another clutch performance from Chargers running back Austin Ekeler. Those two players are two of the best dual-threats at the running back position in the NFL but the Falcons could not find a way to close this game out despite actually doing quite well against Justin Herbert, all things considered.
Over the last five weeks, the Falcons are on a bit of a pattern:
- Week 4: Win
- Week 5: Loss
- Week 6: Win
- Week 7: Loss
- Week 8: Win
- Week 9: Loss
- Week 10: ???
The Falcons are on track to win in Week 10 just based on their trend of winning and losing every other week over the last two months, but what about the Panthers? The Panthers are one of the worst teams in the NFL this season, and things aren’t really getting any better for them. Sam Darnold was activated off injured reserve on Monday, but is he going to play? If he does, does it really matter?
The Falcons have a good enough offense to win this game outright.
Prediction: Falcons win 28-20
Seattle Seahawks (6-3) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-5)
Sunday, November 13, 9:30 AM ET (NFL Network, game played in Germany)
For those interested in waking up early on Sunday morning, you might get yourself an absolute treat in terms of NFL matchups. Look, this season has been a horror show for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The fact that Rob Gronkowski decided to retire this offseason really put a damper on this team’s plans of contending out of the gates, but there have been other losses contributing to the Bucs’ offensive woes as well.
Center Ryan Jensen was lost for the season, the Bucs have had a wide variety of injuries at receiver, and Tom Brady has just not been himself. Not until late Sunday afternoon against the reigning Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams, that is. Brady overcame some bad drops from his receivers and engineered a vintage game-winning drive to give the Bucs some momentum and also a first-place label (even at 4-5).
The Seattle Seahawks, meanwhile, just continue to look like one of the best all-around teams in the NFC. Geno Smith did throw a pick-six to Zaven Collins of the Cardinals on Sunday, but the fact that the Seahawks won comfortably despite that just proves that Seattle is firing on all cylinders. Rookie running back Kenneth Walker is unstoppable at the moment.
Despite how good Seattle has been this season, I’m torn on this game for NFL picks purposes. The Bucs are at home, and I want to buy into the team we saw close out against the Rams. Everything about the sample size this season is telling me to pick the Seahawks, even on the road, but I just can’t resist the temptation to pick Brady with a little momentum behind him.
Prediction: Buccaneers win 30-27
Minnesota Vikings (7-1) at Buffalo Bills (6-2)
Sunday, November 13, 1:00 PM ET
Here it is, the NFL’s game of the week for Week 10 of the 2022 season. The Buffalo Bills are coming off a tough loss to the New York Jets this past week, after I really stuck my neck out for their operation as a whole. I’ll be honest, I didn’t see any way the Jets were coming out of that one victorious, but here we are.
Josh Allen gave his version of the Tebow speech after the game and it seems to have inspired everyone in the NFL community to love Allen even more. Allen taking ownership and saying he played like you-know-what against the Jets will certainly rally the Bills in this huge home game against an upstart Vikings team.
While Allen was talking about how “crappy” his performance was against the Jets, Kirk Cousins was stripping on the Vikings’ airplane and putting on chains. No, seriously.
https://twitter.com/PFF/status/1589409338372022273
Cousins is normally a pretty laid-back guy but to see him cut loose like this is fun for everyone. Clearly, the Vikings are buying into Kevin O’Connell’s program and they are grinding out some tough wins. Are they the most impressive team in the NFL? Not really, but this is a weird year so on the other hand, maybe they are.
The Vikings are what they are: 7-1. They are one of the best teams in the NFL. And going into this week’s matchup in Buffalo, we’ll see if they have what it takes to go up against a mad Bills team. Personally, I’m still betting on the Bills. If the Week 9 game was a revenge game for Kirk Cousins in Washington, then I suppose you could view this game as the same for Stefon Diggs, a player the Vikings traded away a couple of years ago.
I don’t think we’re going to have Cousins shirtless on the plane ride back from this one.
Prediction: Bills win 30-21
Detroit Lions (2-6) at Chicago Bears (3-6)
Sunday, November 13, 1:00 PM ET
The good news for the Chicago Bears is, it looks like this team has really flipped a switch offensively in recent weeks. The sustainability of Justin Fields running at the rate he is is a bit questionable, but he’s been absolutely electric the last handful of weeks. The bad news for the Bears? Well, the team was winning some of the games they had ugly offensive outputs, and they’ve been losing as the points per game have increased in the last month.
Justin Fields' 178 rushing yards against the Dolphins was the most in a regular season game by a QB in the Super Bowl era 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Lb3UM8O23B
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) November 7, 2022
The Bears are averaging over 30 points per game in the last three weeks, but they only have one win (an impressive win against the Patriots) to show for it. The wins will start coming if you keep scoring 30 points in the NFL, but the Bears defense has obviously taken a step back after the losses of Robert Quinn and Roquan Smith at the trade deadline.
This week, Chicago is taking on a Detroit Lions team that will come in with some confidence after taking down Aaron Rodgers and the Packers, regardless of how pathetic the Packers have been this season.
Detroit is also capable of scoring 30 points at any given time, so naturally, this is destined to be a low-scoring affair, isn’t it?
I am going to make a prediction based on what I want to see in this game, which is all the fireworks. These two offenses have the potential to go back and forth all game, but they also have shown at times this season that they can put up some absolute duds. Let’s manifest the fireworks, shall we?
Prediction: Bears win 32-30
Denver Broncos (3-5) at Tennessee Titans (5-3)
Sunday, November 13, 1:00 PM ET
What are we supposed to make of the Denver Broncos at this point? This team has been one of the league’s worst in terms of offensive output all season, but they will show flashes at times of being a formidable unit. Russell Wilson has not yet been as-advertised coming over from the Seattle Seahawks, and the Broncos’ record of 3-5 going into a Week 9 bye is indicative of a variety of struggles for this team.
- The offensive play-calling and Russell Wilson are not cohesive yet
- The team commits far too many penalties
- Injuries have absolutely devastated the roster
The Broncos were kind of a hot mess in the first half of the season, but they closed out their pre-bye week slate with a win against the Jaguars. It’s something. Going into Week 10, the Broncos have to go on the road and face a tough Tennessee Titans team. The Titans played the Kansas City Chiefs really tough on Sunday night, but couldn’t quite get the job done and part of that has to do with the fact that Malik Willis just really struggled in the second half.
The Titans play hard on defense, they are well-coached under Mike Vrabel, and they are somehow still probably going to the playoffs this year. Without a clear idea of what Ryan Tannehill’s health status will be this week, it’s hard to know exactly what you’re getting from the Titans here but they are a team that can get into some trouble if they have to throw a lot.
This matchup sort of feels like a toss-up regardless if Tannehill plays. The Broncos have lost a lot of close games this season and they have one of the best defenses in the league. I’ll take Russell Wilson, even with all of the Broncos’ struggles in the first half.
Prediction: Broncos win 23-17
Jacksonville Jaguars (3-6) at Kansas City Chiefs (6-2)
Sunday, November 13, 1:00 PM ET
The Jacksonville Jaguars finally held on to a fourth-quarter lead this past weekend. They overcame a huge deficit against the Las Vegas Raiders and once again rode Travis Etienne, who has been one of the biggest breakout stars in the entire NFL this season.
Jacksonville has had some tough finishes to games in recent weeks, but this team is clearly turning a corner. With that said, going into Kansas City and getting a win? That’s going to be brutally tough, even for Doug Pederson, a former disciple of Andy Reid’s.
The Kansas City Chiefs had a bit of a scare on Sunday night this past week against Malik Willis and the Titans. It feels like the Titans are the Chiefs’ one real kryptonite for whatever reason. Maybe the Jaguars can pick a few things from their division rivals and what we saw this past weekend, really doing a great job of getting to Patrick Mahomes and forcing him to have to throw the ball a whopping 68 times and get sacked four times while also throwing an interception.
Are the Jaguars going to hold the Chiefs to 20 points? I don’t see that happening in consecutive weeks. Kansas City is still arguably the best offense in the entire NFL in the post-Tyreek Hill era, something that is catching many by surprise. Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid haven’t really skipped a beat, and this team seemingly finds ways to make clutch plays defensively every week.
It really takes a perfect storm to be able to beat Kansas City. They are in pretty much every game and I think Jacksonville will have their work cut out for them just to stay in this game for four quarters.
Prediction: Chiefs win 35-23
Cleveland Browns (3-5) at Miami Dolphins (6-3)
Sunday, November 13, 1:00 PM ET
The Miami Dolphins continue to put forth some rather impressive offensive performances with Tua Tagovailoa at the helm. Each week Tua plays, it validates the Miami front office for making the bold and largely frowned-upon moves they made over the course of the 2022 offseason to fire Brian Flores and choose Tua over a coach that led them to back-to-back winning records.
Bradley Chubb had a tackle in his Miami Dolphins debut on Sunday, but Miami is obviously going to be expecting him to be a huge difference-maker as the season goes along. Miami paid Chubb a big-money contract to be a defensive cornerstone piece for them, and you’ve got to think that he could be the missing piece for this team. While Chubb was brought in to impact the game as a pass rusher, he’s going to need to help Miami keep Nick Chubb and the Browns’ ground game at bay in Week 10.
Cleveland surprised everyone on Halloween with a huge win over the Cincinnati Bengals and kind of a statement win that this team could do some damage this year if you don’t look out for them. Nick Chubb is just such a gifted runner and although he’s not the most consistent, when the Browns get a good game from Jacoby Brissett, this team is almost like the AFC version of the Seattle Seahawks. Let’s not get carried away, though.
The Dolphins have scored over 30 points in consecutive games and that unit is finding its groove now since Tua Tagovailoa came back from the scary injury he suffered on Thursday Night Football a few weeks back.
Prediction: Dolphins win 27-24
Houston Texans (1-6-1) at New York Giants (6-2)
Sunday, November 13, 1:00 PM ET
After a disappointing loss heading into the bye week, the New York Giants are back and we’re going to find out in Week 10 how good this team really is. Are the Houston Texans the biggest test of the season for the Giants? No. Are they the best team they’ll face all year? No.
But coming out of a bye week, a truly “good” team should be able to take care of business against a “bad” team. The Texans have certainly struggled this year but there are reasons to believe they can be dangerous on a week-to-week basis. Although he’s upset about not getting traded at the deadline, Brandin Cooks will be back for this game and will maybe prove that the Giants made a mistake by not throwing a pick Houston’s way to get him on their team.
Dameon Pierce has been one of the best young backs in the NFL this season, and really one of the best backs period.
Will the Giants be able to come out of the bye week and recapture the momentum they had in the first half of the season? There is no question that at 6-2, this is one of the most surprising teams in the NFL so far. The Giants have played really good defense all year, and it’s been good enough to keep them in games late, where the offense is coming through with some timely big plays.
Brian Daboll is an early NFL Coach of the Year candidate along with Robert Saleh of the Jets, but coming out of the bye week, we’ll get a really good, clear picture of what this Giants team is all about. I think it feels like one of those weird times when everyone is going to be picking the Giants to win, and somehow they will come out of the bye sluggish, and the Texans will take advantage with another big performance from Dameon Pierce.
Prediction: Texans win 23-20
New Orleans Saints (3-6) at Pittsburgh Steelers (2-6)
Sunday, November 13, 1:00 PM ET
The New Orleans Saints have been a really interesting team so far this season, and by interesting, I mean it’s interesting to try and figure out what in the world you’re going to see from them each week.
One week, Taysom Hill is looking like Florida Tim Tebow. Did Tebow really come up twice in this week’s NFL picks post? He did. He absolutely did. Another week, you have Alvin Kamara going off. Another week, Andy Dalton is throwing pick-sixes left and right.
The Saints need stability at quarterback in the worst way, but for the time being, their unpredictability is really just a microcosm of this NFL season so far. Anything goes.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a bit more predictable. This is a team that has struggled badly offensively, but that could have been predicted from a million miles away. The Steelers went with Mitch Trubisky and Kenny Pickett at the QB position to start the post-Ben Roethlisberger era, and the injury to TJ Watt has derailed this team’s hopes of winning ugly on a week-to-week basis.
Coming off the bye week, I don’t think it really matters all that much that the Steelers will be rested. The Saints just have better pieces and a much higher ceiling offensively. As a matter of fact, despite their inconsistencies, the Saints are 8th in the league in points per game this season.
I think New Orleans goes into Pittsburgh and gets themselves a win.
Prediction: Saints win 25-19
Indianapolis Colts (3-5-1) at Las Vegas Raiders (2-6)
Sunday, November 13, 4:05 PM ET
The Las Vegas Raiders are an absolute mess right now. Just a few weeks ago, it looked like they might be on the way to turning things around after a win against the Denver Broncos, a hard-fought loss against the Chiefs, and a win following the bye week in blowout fashion against the Houston Texans. Unfortunately, those days of positivity are dead and gone.
Twitter is full of people wanting Derek Carr gone and Josh McDaniels fired from the Raiders. Raider Nation is heated at the moment, and rightfully so. This team made massive investments all offseason long only to see the team be in last place in the AFC West halfway through the season, with virtually no hope of climbing out of this hole.
Another blown lead against the Jacksonville Jaguars this past weekend has the Raiders in shambles, but luckily for them, their opponent this week — the Indianapolis Colts — is just as much of a wreck.
Colts fans are already looking at life after Frank Reich, and what the possibilities are at quarterback beyond this year. The Matt Ryan trade hasn’t worked out. Jonathan Taylor hasn’t been the same guy we saw in 2021.
As this post was being written, head coach Frank Reich was fired by the Colts, who dropped to last place in the NFL in scoring offense in Week 9.
Quite frankly, how do you pick this game? This is about as toss-up as it gets on paper in terms of the direction these two teams are heading, but the Raiders have more talent on paper and playing at home, they’ve got to be able to beat Sam Ehlinger.
Right? Right?
Prediction: Raiders win 22-16
Dallas Cowboys (6-2) at Green Bay Packers (3-6)
Sunday, November 13, 4:25 PM ET
Does anybody feel bad for Aaron Rodgers at this point? Everyone in this situation contributed to making this bed. Rodgers has certainly done his share of blaming others and somewhat rightfully so, in my opinion. The Packers have done absolutely nothing to help Rodgers when it comes to adding at the receiver position, letting Davante Adams go this offseason for some draft picks.
With the window the Packers are in right now, how could they possibly justify that? Not only letting Adams go but not properly replacing him in the lineup, giving Aaron Rodgers an actual go-to target. For years, it’s been pretty much just Rodgers and Adams as the passing game for the Packers, and anything else is a nice bonus. Now, Rodgers and the Packers are losing in consecutive years on the road in Detroit. They are an embarrassing 3-6, and they are at this point with Rodgers getting paid $50-plus million a year.
This is a horrendous situation and the Packers just look like a bad team out there.
On the other hand, the Dallas Cowboys are coming off of a bye and they have looked like one of the NFL’s very best teams halfway through the season. Dallas is a legit 6-2 team after winning four games without Dak Prescott, who suffered an injury in the team’s Week 1 loss. Now that Prescott is back, the Cowboys are back on track, and they are winning in pretty much every phase of the game.
Defensively, though, is where Dallas has taken its biggest strides in the last two years. Micah Parsons is probably your NFL Defensive MVP this season, and the Cowboys are going to rely on him to wreak havoc in this game against Aaron Rodgers. Other than the Packers being at home, what evidence has Green Bay given anyone that they can actually beat Dallas outright this season? Anything can happen, it’s the NFL, but the smart pick here is Dallas coming off of a bye.
Prediction: Cowboys win 29-27
Arizona Cardinals (3-6) at Los Angeles Rams (3-5)
Sunday, November 13, 4:25 PM ET
When you look back on preseason NFL predictions, you’ll likely find that the Arizona Cardinals and Los Angeles Rams were two of the most predictably disappointing teams in the NFL.
The Los Angeles Rams lost a lot in the 2022 offseason, and it has shown in the way they play. Is it crazy that Cooper Kupp can’t single-handedly beat other NFL teams? He’s certainly trying his best, even with one good ankle out there. The Rams lost two key starters on the offensive line, they said goodbye to Von Miller, and they obviously couldn’t bring back Odell Beckham Jr. who is still recovering from an ACL injury he suffered in the Super Bowl. The losses the Rams have suffered have proven insurmountable.
And this year, there was no trade deadline deal to save them.
After offseason drama in Arizona, the Cardinals gave in and paid Kyler Murray the big bucks. Unfortunately, they have picked up where they left off in the second half of last season — disappointing and sluggish. The Cardinals are 5-11 in their last 16 games dating back to last season (including playoffs) after their bye week.
This is another game — similar to the Raiders and Colts — that for the purpose of NFL picks, I am just not sure which way to go. There’s nothing to point to on either the Rams or Cardinals right now as team tendencies to make me think one has a clear advantage over the other, so I’m picking this game based on star power.
The Rams have more of it.
Prediction: Rams win 27-22
Los Angeles Chargers (5-3) at San Francisco 49ers (4-4)
Sunday, November 13, 8:20 PM ET
The San Francisco 49ers are pretty well-liked by the folks in Vegas right now. They are 7-point favorites against the Los Angeles Chargers going into next Sunday night’s matchup, and I guess on the surface, there’s really not a lot separating these two teams record-wise, is there?
The 49ers are playing at home which gives them an advantage in the first place. They are also coming off a bye week which is another advantage in their favor. The last time we saw the 49ers, they absolutely dog-walked the Los Angeles Rams — on the road — so there is more than enough reason to believe San Francisco could come out of its bye week relatively hot.
The trade to acquire Christian McCaffrey paid instant dividends. McCaffrey threw a touchdown, ran for one, and caught another in the 49ers’ most recent game, so the opportunity to see what Kyle Shanahan plans to do with him next is absolutely fascinating.
The Los Angeles Chargers are coming off of a close victory against the Atlanta Falcons in which Justin Herbert didn’t have either Keenan Allen or Mike Williams. If he could even get one of them back for this matchup against the 49ers, I think the Chargers have a shot here.
Unfortunately for the Chargers, this 49ers team is just way too good-looking on paper right now to pick against at home, even when you consider this is Jimmy Garoppolo vs. Justin Herbert. The 49ers’ offense has so many weapons and Garoppolo has always been at least competent about distributing the football and allowing them to make plays.
I think I side with the folks in Vegas here for this week’s NFL picks. 49ers by a touchdown.
Prediction: 49ers win 31-24
Washington Commanders (4-5) at Philadelphia Eagles (8-0)
Monday, November 14, 8:15 PM ET
Everybody in the NFL has to play the schedule in front of them, but you can’t help but be impressed at how “easy” the Eagles’ schedule has been this season.
- Week 1: Detroit
- Week 2: Minnesota
- Week 3: Washington
- Week 4: Jacksonville
- Week 5: Arizona
- Week 6: Dallas (without Dak)
- Week 8: Pittsburgh
- Week 9: Houston
Now in Week 10, they are taking on the Commanders once again. This is not meant to diminish the Eagles’ outstanding 8-0 start by any means, but simply to provide perspective that they have had one really high-quality opponent (Minnesota) whom they faced back in Week 2.
Still, the Eagles look like they could hang with any of the best teams in the league at this point. They are playing so well on both sides of the ball right now and I don’t think the Commanders really stand a chance in this one.
There are plenty of really nice Kelly green Jordans but I don’t think Taylor Heinicke is going to be buying himself a pair after this game.
The Eagles are just so balanced, ranking 2nd in the NFL in points per game offensively and 4th in the NFL in points allowed per game defensively. Most importantly and perhaps most impressively, the Eagles only have three turnovers as an offense this season. A lot of teams already have that in just one game.
They’re protecting the ball, they’re running all over teams, offensive production is coming from all angles, and they also lead the NFL with 18 turnovers forced this season. The Eagles might be tested here but I think they’ll probably just make this one of my easier NFL picks of the week and roll right to 9-0.
Prediction: Eagles win 33-20