Week 10 of the NFL campaign kicked off with a bang on Thursday Night Football. With two days to catch their breath, fans are hoping Sunday’s action can be just as intense.
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Sunday Night Football brings us a matchup between rising contenders, as the Detroit Lions (7-1) travel south to face the Houston Texans (6-3). The Lions have won six straight games, while the Texans are coming off a Week 9 TNF loss to the New York Jets.
Houston may get wide receiver Nico Collins (hamstring) back this week, which is a major boost to the Texans. However, none of the analysts on NFL Gameday View project them to emerge victorious over the favored Lions (-3.5). Their belief, as summed up by Cynthia Frelund, stems from Houston’s pass-blocking struggles.
“That [offensive line] has not been helping their quarterback at all.”
For instance, C.J. Stroud got sacked eight times against the Jets and has been dragged down 16 times in his last four contests. But Detroit’s defense has only one sack over its past two games. In that respect, something has got to give. If the Texans can hold up in pass protection, they should be competitive and may win. But if the Lions feast on Stroud, the game could turn ugly quickly.
Who did the analysts pick in other high-profile battles?
The biggest afternoon draw is another inter-conference affair featuring division leaders. At 1:00 p.m. E.T., the Pittsburgh Steelers (6-2) make a quick trip to the nation’s capital for a meeting with the Washington Commanders (7-2). Both teams rank top-15 in scoring offense and scoring defense, but the highlight will be Jayden Daniels and Co. trying to move the ball on T.J. Watt’s unit.
Washington is a 2.5-point favorite. However, two of the analysts – Patrick Clayton and Gregg Rosenthal – believe the Steelers will walk out of town with another victory. Rosenthal attributed his Pittsburgh lean to head coach Mike Tomlin having two weeks to game-plan for Daniels.
“I love both these teams, but the Steelers are coming off a bye week that gives Mike Tomlin a chance to cook up a scheme and Russell Wilson time to study this Commanders defense… he’s moving well. He’s making good decisions… [Pittsburgh gets] the win, but by the slimmest of margins. [24-23].”
Clayton also predicted the Steelers would prevail by a single point (22-21). Frelund, though, chose Washington in a 26-22 final.
Meanwhile, the Week 10 Sunday slate gets an early start, with the New York Giants (2-7) taking on the Carolina Panthers (2-7) in Germany. Compared to the Commanders-Steelers matchup, the spotlight is on the Giants and Panthers for all the wrong reasons. When the season concludes, both Daniel Jones and Bryce Young could find themselves searching for new franchises.
As they did for Lions-Texans, all three analysts took the favorite in this one. Clayton prophesied New York as the winner because he expected them to gash Carolina on the ground.
“I see a lot of rushing success for [the New York Giants]… I went back and looked at the last five years through week nine… [no] team has allowed more rushing touchdowns than the Carolina Panthers in that span… [Panthers opponents] pound the rock. We’re all aboard the New York Giants.”
Alvin Kamara blasted the Panthers defense for 155 yards on 29 attempts (5.3 yards per carry) in Week 9. Fifth-round rookie Tyrone Tracy, who averaged 7.3 yards per rush against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 8, is hoping to enjoy similar success. If he does, the Giants will be in great shape to pick up their third win.
New York and Carolina are set to begin at 9:30 a.m. E.T. on Sunday.
