Elliot Harrison went 11-2 on his predictions for Week 9, giving him a record of 86-45-2 thus far this season. How will he fare in Week 10? His picks are below:
Sunday 1 PM ET CBS
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You know, people have talked and talked and talked and talked about the NFL TV ratings being down this year. But now that the election is over, I think fans across this great blue/red nation of ours are geeked out of their minds for some Texans-Jags!!
Actually, this really is a very important game, with major AFC South implications. Houston can put a stranglehold on the South with a win, moving to 3-0 in the division. One small issue: The
Texans are 0-3 on the road this season, with
Brock Lobster posting some distasteful figures away from NRG Stadium (4.12 yards per attempt, 58.9 passer rating). Jacksonville, on the other hand, might be playing for the current regime's job security. The Jags inexplicably have been outscored by 85 points through the first three quarters of games this year, while they're plus-23 in the fourth quarter. Actually, I'll explain it in fancy terms: GAR-bazzzhhhh time.
#HOUvsJAX
Sunday 1 PM ET CBS
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Denver's offense will come to play this weekend. I trust Gary Kubiak to make the proper adjustments against a defense that struggles early and often. This
Saints group
just allowed Colin Kaepernick to throw for 398 yards and post a 102.3 passer rating.
Trevor Siemian has shown flashes (though not
last week) of being more than a mere bus driver for the defense-centric
Broncos. Rookie RB
Devontae Booker has yet to come close to being an RB1, averaging 2.6 yards per carry in his two starts for Denver. (Even
Ronnie Hillman is offended by that figure.) I'd love to see
Aqib Talib on
Saints rookie receiver
Michael Thomas, but a back injury might sideline the veteran corner for a third straight week.
Drew Brees gets the ball out faster than
Derek Carr, so this should be a helluva match between a great offense and a stout defense. Strength on strength.
#DENvsNO
Sunday 1 PM ET FOX
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Always will remember Rams-
Jets as the matchup that saw Hall of Famer Eric Dickerson truly introduce himself to the NFL. He and his glorious Jheri curl took a handoff off the left side and ripped off an 85-yard score. It was
awesome. The dude ran even more upright than
Todd Gurley, who has found as many holes this season as
Ryan Fitzpatrick has supporters at
Jets sports bars. Do dudes with Al Toon jerseys howl for
Bryce Petty? Because one gets the feeling the
Jets really don't want to play the second-year man outta Baylor. On the other side of this deal lies
Case Keenum, with a New York secondary ripe for the picking. (It's a positive idiom, folks -- not talkin' Keenum interceptions here.)
Kenny Britt vs.
Buster Skrine whets the football appetite, doesn't it? Maybe not.
#LAvsNYJ
Sunday 1 PM ET FOX
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The Birds of Prey Battle goes down in Philadelphia this weekend. Oh wait, the
Bird of Prey is from "Star Trek." You see, originally it was a
Romulan ship that ... Wait! Don't go to the next blurb! I lost you. Come back! You see, the
Eagles are like the Romulans in that they are not the main concern of the Federation (the first-place Cowboys). That was always the ugly Klingons, who, of course, are the
Giants in this scenario. True in the NFC East, too. Unless ... Can
Carson Wentz can match
Matt Ryan in vertical plays sans the negative plays? Wentz finally hit a few deep balls
in New York after throwing 30-something 5-yard ins and none-yard outs
against the Cowboys the previous Sunday night. Key matchup:
Devonta Freeman and
Tevin Coleman (if he's a go) vs.
Jordan Hicks and the rest of the
Eagles LB crew.
#ATLvsPHI
Sunday 1 PM ET CBS
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The
Chiefs should get both
Alex Smith and
Spencer Ware back this week, which is wonderful for #ChiefsKingdom. (Yes, that's a thing.) After all,
Kansas City beat the Jags last week with the nucleus of an 0-13 fantasy team. Meanwhile,
Cam Newton went to the Commissioner with his complaints about a low hit from the
Cardinals. His reward? Two headshots from the
Rams. How will the refs call the game if the
Chiefs' pass rush can get pressure on him? Hurries are important -- and underrated, in terms of analytics. My sense is that this is a
Jonathan Stewart game. If he goes off,
Panthers win. If not ...
#KCvsCAR
Sunday 1 PM ET FOX
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Last we saw
Jay Cutler, he was making quality throws, moving around the pocket briskly and leading the
Bears to
their biggest win of the season. Can he be as effective against the Bucs? Tampa has allowed quarterbacks 513 (Derek Carr) and 344 (Matt Ryan) passing yards over
the last two weeks. Yuck. The passer ratings in those games? 117.4, followed by 144.7. (
144.7!!!) Can
Jameis Winston keep pace if Cutler and -- especially --
Alshon Jeffery get rollin'? Winston's cut down on his picks, but Chicago has allowed just 53 points over the last three games.
#CHIvsTB
Sunday 1 PM ET FOX
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Another of Week 10's challenging matchups to decode. The
Vikings' offense showed signs of life in the second half
versus the Lions after sputtering its way through the first couple of quarters under Pat Shurmur. How will
Sam Bradford fare without the benefit of the home crowd? The Stefon Diggs-
Josh Norman matchup is intriguing, given that Diggs has caught 5 billion none-yard outs and 5-yard ins, and Norman certainly has the loving attention of the officials. Thinking Norman wins that battle, which means the likes of
Adam Thielen and
Kyle Rudolph are going to have to win this deal for Minnesota. (Or
Matt Asiata?) The other key is how much time the
Redskins' offensive line -- sans
Trent Williams -- provides
Kirk Cousins.
Everson Griffen often plays like a man possessed (see:
the Week 8 game footage).
#MINvsWAS
Sunday 1 PM ET FOX
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The
Packers' run defense has been stout all season -- well, minus
getting road-graded by the Cowboys a few weeks back. How will the unit fare against
DeMarco Murray -- and potentially a
hope-he-stays-out-of-harms-way-in-pregame-warmups Derrick Henry? Tennessee struggled to unwind Murray on those north-south runs he thrives on out of the dot
last week. It's strength on strength, as Green Bay still boasts
the top run defense in the league, while the
Titans' rushing offense has been top-shelf, as well (144.2 rush yards per game,
third in the NFL). Think
Aaron Rodgers will take advantage of this Tennessee secondary, provided he has time to throw. He leads the league in touchdown throws on third down. The
Titans' offense on third down? A 47.9 conversion rate, third-best in the NFL. But that's with the strong ground game. Don't count on
Marcus Mariota routinely winning third-and-8s.
#GBvsTEN
Sunday 4:05 PM ET CBS
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It's damn near impossible to think about this matchup without harkening back to a top-five game in NFL history: the 1981 AFC divisional playoff bout. If you are not familiar,
Chargers at
Dolphins was an all-timer. It featured overtime,
a Hall of Fame tight end catching 13 balls and also blocking a game-winning field-goal attempt, a hook-and-lateral to Tony Nathan to help Miami come back from a 24-0 first-quarter deficit and way more than I can cover in this brief blurb. How well the modern-day
Chargers cover Sunday could be the deciding factor, as the run defense has been stout in recent weeks against the likes of
DeMarco Murray,
Devontae Booker,
Devonta Freeman and
C.J. Anderson.
Ryan Tannehill can't provide San Diego with three turnovers
à la Marcus Mariota.
#MIAvsSD
Sunday 4:25 PM ET FOX
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On Wednesday's episode of "NFL
Fantasy Live," I was asked to provide a fantasy projection for
Colin Kaepernick. Eight-point-two. That's the best that I can do.
The best that you can do, the best that you can do, is fall in love ... with the
Cardinals' defense. Even sans
Tyrann Mathieu, I think we will see a product closer to
that Sunday night knuckleball against the Seahawks than
the subpar performance in Carolina. Anticipate
David Johnson getting a serious workload early and often Sunday in Arizona. The
49ers should be well-prepared, as the defense watched the
Saints run for 248 yards
last week. Avert your eyes,
NaVorro Bowman. We want you to get well.
#SFvsAZ
Sunday 4:25 PM ET FOX
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These two franchises have faced each other in three Super Bowls (
X,
XIII, and
XXX), while their recent history has been stellar, too. In 2004,
Ben Roethlisberger delivered in the fourth quarter, besting the Parcells-led
Cowboys as a rookie. The
Steelers prevailed again in 2008 when Deshea Townsend pick-sixed
Tony Romo late. That close call came en route to the
Steelers' sixth
Super Bowl title. In 2012, Romo played lights-out in an OT win at JerryWorld. I am having a hard time going against
Dak Prescott and a balanced attack versus
Pittsburgh's 24th-ranked defense (
13th in scoring, though). That said,
Le'Veon Bell must be tired of hearing about how lovely
Ezekiel Elliott is. The key matchup?
Big Ben vs. a depleted Dallas secondary.
#DALvsPIT
Sunday 8:30 PM ET NBC
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Supposedly
the Patriots didn't have full-time plans for Jamie Collins. OK, cool. So who performs his various duties now that he's in Cleveland? Who is going to check
Jimmy Graham, or occasionally rush the passer in his stead? The reason I ask is because Graham is heating up, while
Russell Wilson still seems not as mobile as we're used to. I trust New England here, though. The Pats, after all, are 96-24 in Weeks 9-16 since 2001. Good grief. Before we get too far from the Collins trade ... Do you think Bill Belichick offered
Malcolm Butler in a trade with the
Seahawks?
That's just mean. #SEAvsNE
Monday 8:30 PM ET ESPN
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To put it bluntly, this is the
Bengals' season. So
Adam Jones and the rest of the secondary must be on point.
Dre Kirkpatrick will have to win his one-on-one battles, especially if the
Giants move
Odell Beckham Jr. around to get him loose. The attention the
Eagles paid to OBJ
last week allowed
Sterling Shepard and crew to get going. Somewhat under the radar, New York's defense has acquitted itself well this year.
Andy Dalton can't hold the ball for 18 seconds looking for
18 downfield. Despite the
Bengals' (regular-season) success during Dalton's career, in prime-time games, the Red Rifle has fired as accurately as Dick Cheney.
#CINvsNYG
[h=3]THURSDAY NIGHT'S GAME[/h]
Thursday 8:25 PM ET NFL NETWORK
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The
Browns might win this game. Don't laugh that away. No cackling, either, numbnuts. I realize Cleveland got run over by Zeke and the fellas
last Sunday, but Baltimore couldn't buy a 2-yard run
versus the Steelers. So don't look for
Kenneth Dixon to put up two hundy on "Thursday Night Football." In theory,
Jamie Collins has enjoyed additional time to pick up the
Browns' defense, albeit in a short week. That said, the
second-ranked Ravens defense will prevail easily if Cleveland can't get
Isaiah Crowell rolling (17 carries for 33 yards combined the last two weeks). Somebody besides
Terrelle Pryor has to help out
Cody Kessler.
Barnyard Dog, where art thou? (Unscoring for my fantasy team.)
Side note: You have my pick for Thursday night, but be sure to make yours, as well. Go to
NFL.com/budlight to vote for "Which Can will Win" or use #BrownsCan or #RavensCan on Twitter.
#CLEvsBAL
