The NFL Reaches Week Ten In 2024, Penny Stretches Her Lead
Several Week Ten Contests Can Be Viewed As Elimination Games, With The Season Midpoint Behind Us.
Penny Delivered Another Strong Week. Overall, Cassie Continues To Win More Often Than She Loses.
The jostling for NFL playoff spots is about to get more exciting, with little room for errors. There isn’t enough time for many teams to fix one or two bad weeks.
This week, the Bengals play the Ravens in a rough divisional matchup. At 4-5, it’s obvious Cincinnati needs the win just for the sake of their record. Next week, however, they face the currently 5-3 Chargers. The week after, they have another divisional contest against the 6-2 Steelers. If Cincinnati loses this week, regardless of a schedule that includes Dallas, Tennessee, and Cleveland, they are effectively out of time.
Several teams will see their season evaporate with a loss. Positioning for playoff seeding is taking shape. The NFL will pick up the pace in week ten.
Week Nine:
Bob: 7-7-1
Penny: 10-4-1
Cassie: 5-9-1
The Year To Date:
Bob: 73-59-6 (55%)
Penny: 85-47-6 (63.7%)
Cassie 68-64-6 (51.4%)
In our contest, Penny is separating herself at the top. Not only does she continue to win, she is doing so at a phenomenal rate. Cassie stumbled in week nine but continues to stay above even.
Cincinnati Bengals At Baltimore Ravens (-6)
There are two problems for the Bengals in this game. First, a lack of consistency. There is no area in which they can reliably expect to deliver quality results. Last week, they stomped a disorganized and struggling Las Vegas team. The week before that, they looked awful against the Eagles. Which team arrives in Baltimore? Second, the Ravens have chewed up some of their wiggle room for losses. The Chiefs, Bills, and Steelers are all ahead of them in the race for the top AFC seed. Pittsburgh is also ahead of them for the division title. In many ways, they need this game.
This will be a close battle on the scoreboard, similar to the 41-38 Baltimore win in overtime a few weeks ago. The Ravens will come out on top again.
Bob: Baltimore
Penny: Baltimore
Cassie: Cincinnati
New York Giants (-6) At Carolina Panthers
Last week against the Commanders, Daniel Jones completed 77% of his passes and threw two touchdowns without an interception. I am not saying Jones is a good quarterback. I’m also not saying he is better than the bottom third of starters in the league. I am saying he’s not the biggest problem for the Giants.
This week, Jones brings New York to Carolina. The Giants are one of the lowest-scoring teams in the league. The Panthers give up more points than any other team, and it’s not even close. Something needs to break from the usual.
Bob: New York
Penny: Carolina
Cassie: Carolina
New England Patriots At Chicago Bears (-6)
I’d love to develop an argument for the Patriots here, but I can’t do it. Chicago's losses are all road games against Houston, Indianapolis, Washington, and Arizona. Chicago has struggled against teams with winning records. The Bears are playing at home against a team with a losing record and need a win to stay relevant in a brutally tough division.
Bob: Chicago
Penny: New England
Cassie: Chicago
Buffalo Bills (-4) At Indianapolis Colts
The Bills have not been pretty this season. The march to 7-2 for Buffalo has often involved getting the win and moving on. They are simply taking care of business.
The question for this game is based on that observation. The next game for Buffalo, in week eleven, is Kansas City. The bye week comes after that, with San Francisco, Los Angeles (Rams), and Detroit on the other side. This game is one where the Bills need to remain focused. The distractions of what’s next could work in the Colts’ favor.
Bob: Buffalo
Penny: Buffalo
Cassie: Buffalo
Minnesota Vikings (-4) At Jacksonville Jaguars
Last week, the Vikings shook off two losses against good teams and steadied their season. This week, they will soundly defeat a Jaguars team that gives up points and only does an average job scoring them.
Bob: Minnesota
Penny: Minnesota
Cassie: Minnesota
Denver Broncos At Kansas City Chiefs (-8)
I admit it; I have no reason to pick Denver here. None. I’m doing it for three reasons. One: Kansas City has not been a powerful team without issues in their march to a 7-0 start. Their offense has looked average at its best. Two: The Denver defense has, for the most part, looked good this season. Three: I think everything about this contest means more to the Broncos than it does to the Chiefs.
Bob: Denver
Penny: Kansas City
Cassie: Kansas City
Atlanta Falcons (-3.5) At New Orleans Saints
New Orleans lost to Carolina last week. The Saints lost, even though they led at the end of the first quarter and halftime.
Bob: Atlanta
Penny: New Orleans
Cassie: New Orleans
San Francisco 49ers (-5) At Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Considering the teams involved, this may be the most important game on the schedule. Both clubs have been battling injuries and swirling roster changes all year. Seven NFC teams have solidly better records than the 49ers and Buccaneers, and those teams each have some significant separation based on overall records or head-to-head results. Two other teams join them with roughly even records.
The 49ers have looked like they are feeling the effects of all the extra games they’ve played in recent seasons. The Buccaneers have been more competitive than I expected on the year, though their record places them where I anticipated them to land. The question in this game becomes Christian McCaffrey. Can San Francisco, with the returning McCaffrey, raise their level of play and become a playoff threat? I believe they will, but they are out of room for setbacks and injuries.
Bob: San Francisco
Penny: Tampa Bay
Cassie: Tampa Bay
Pittsburgh Steelers At Washington Commanders (-3)
Washington is favored. Never mind explaining it as a home-field advantage or any other mysterious factor. Washington is favored. I don’t believe many folks expected that back in September.
This is the most difficult game to sort out. Pittsburgh is having a great season, navigating unreliable quarterback play to a division-leading 6-2 record. Washington is having a magic carpet ride season, with a tremendous rookie quarterback, and holds its division lead at 7-2.
The Steelers defense has been fantastic. Can it stop Jayden Daniels? Other than Atlanta, which Pittsburgh faced before Kirk Cousins was playing well, the Steelers have not faced a quarterback that has provided a threat all season. Their biggest offensive outputs have been against the Raiders, Jets, and Giants.
Bob: Washington
Penny: Pittsburgh
Cassie: Pittsburgh
Tennessee Titans At Los Angeles Chargers (-7.5)
The Chargers are holding opponents to about 12 points per game. Their failure to score points will matter before the season ends. It won’t be a problem in this one game.
Bob: Los Angeles
Penny: Tennessee
Cassie: Tennessee
New York Jets At Arizona Cardinals (-1)
I know the Jets just defeated the Texans. Did you know that after defeating Houston at home last year, New York was shut out by Miami the next week in a 30-0 loss on the road?
Bob: Arizona
Penny: New York
Cassie: New York
Philadelphia Eagles (-7) At Dallas Cowboys
Dallas arrives with three straight losses, another wave of injuries, and more questions about organization leadership from the front office. Philadelphia arrives with four straight victories, and most questions about their team quieting because winning solves most problems.
Bob: Philadelphia
Penny: Philadelphia
Cassie: Dallas
Detroit Lions (-3.5) At Houston Texans
If Houston entered this game healthy, it would be a tremendous matchup. Houston is not healthy, and Detroit is playing at a different level than any other team in the NFL right now.
Bob: Detroit
Penny: Detroit
Cassie: Detroit
Miami Dolphins At Los Angeles Rams (-2.5)
Hear me out on this one because I admit it’s farfetched. After this week, the Dolphins have two games against the Jets and games against the Raiders, Patriots, and Browns. A win here, and they could easily win three in a row before traveling to face Green Bay. There could be talk about Miami and the postseason. I don’t think they will get into the hunt for a playoff spot. The way the offense has responded to the return of Tua Tagovailoa in the last two games, however, they will be a much better team in the second half of the year.
Bob: Miami
Penny: Miami
Cassie: Los Angeles
Odds sourced from USA Today
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