After last Sunday’s action the divisional races are starting to take shape. Two divisions, the NFC North and South have all but been decided as Minnesota and New Orleans have opened up comfortable leads and we are only at the halfway point of the season. The Vikings picked up ground without even playing last week as both Green Bay and Chicago lost. At 7-1 they now have a three game lead over the Packers and Bears who are both 4-4. They already have beaten Green Bay twice, but still have both games remaining against the Chicago. New Orleans survived a sloppy first half to come from behind to beat Carolina 30-20 to move their record to 8-0. Atlanta is currently second at 5-3 but has already lost to the Saints once this year. The Panthers slip to 3-5 on the year and now have their sights set on a wildcard spot. The NFC East showdown between Philadelphia and Dallas went to the Cowboys who held onto win 20-16 on Sunday night. They move to 6-2 on the year and are currently in sole possession of first place with the Eagles at 5-3, and the Giants (who lost their fourth straight game) at 5-4. The Cardinals, after a big win in Chicago are on top of the NFC West at 5-3. They now have a two game lead in the division over San Francisco and Seattle who are both 3-5. Arizona already has a win over the Seahawks, but lost their first game against the 49ers.
CLICK HERE FOR NFL HANDICAPPING PICKS!
Moving onto week ten, the key match ups we will be reviewing are; Chicago @ San Francisco, Atlanta @ Carolina, and Seattle @ Arizona.
Chicago Bears @ San Francisco 49ers (-3) Current Over/Under 43.5
The NFL Network begins it series of Thursday night games this week as the Bears visit Mike Singletary’s 49ers. Both these teams are coming off disappointing losses and are basically in a must win scenario to keep their playoff hopes alive. Chicago was embarrassed at home by Arizona losing 41-21. Kurt Warner had a field day throwing for 261 yards and 5 TD’s, but do not expect that kind of performance in this game from 49er QB Alex Smith who threw 3 interceptions in their loss to Tennessee. It is hard to know what to expect from these two teams as they have both been very inconsistent from week to week. As bad as the Bears looked at home last week, they have played even worse on the road this year. I look for Singletary to have his team ready on a short week as their goal will be to not let Bear’s QB Jay Cutler open up an early lead so the 49ers can get back to doing what they do best; running the ball and playing defense. Take San Francisco and the under.
Atlanta Falcons (-1.5) @ Carolina Panthers Current Over/Under 44.5
This is another must win game when it comes to the playoffs especially for Carolina. After battling back from a horrendous 0-3 start they were in position to even their record and knock off the Saints. Unfortunately there are sixty minutes in a game not thirty so now the Panthers, at 3-5 are in danger of letting this season slip away. Atlanta has been good, but not great this year and at 5-3 has a reasonably good chance of making the playoffs, but they have to win games like these. If they can get another big day from RB Michael Turner who ran for 166 against the Redskins, they should be able to control the tempo of this game and come away with a win. Carolina will rely on RB DeAngelo Williams to do the heavy lifting for them, but it may not be enough. Take the Falcons and the under in this game.
Seattle Seahawks @ Arizona Cardinals (-8.5) Current Over/Under 47
Will the real Arizona Cardinals please stand up. Eight games into the season and we still do not what to expect from this team. It seems lately how Kurt Warner goes, so goes the Cardinals. Against the Panthers two weeks ago he turned the ball over six times with five interceptions and one fumble in the 34-21 loss. Last week he threw five TDs and no interceptions in the win in Chicago. One thing is for certain no matter what, Arizona will still put points on the board. Seattle has been devastated by injuries this season and has been hanging on for dear life in most of their games. Against the lowly Lions they fell behind 17-0 before QB Matt Hasselbeck rallied them back for the 32-20 win. Overall the Seahawks are still pretty bad on offense, but their defense should be able to keep them in this game. Take Seattle to cover the points along with the over in this one.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.