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Six teams on upset alert in NFL Week 10

Tom Brady and Von Miller

We’ve got our eyes set on a handful of teams that could pull off upsets heading into the NFL Week 10 schedule, and one will likely surprise you.

Can the Buffalo Bills slow down the freight train that is the surging New Orleans Saints? Do the Green Bay Packers have any hope of scrounging their way to a win over a NFC North rival? Will A.J. Green and the Cincinnati Bengals find a way to claw their way to a win on the road in Tennessee?

We’ll take a look at these games and more as we put six teams on upset alert in NFL Week 6.

Note: Odds courtesy of Bovada

Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears (-6)

The Packers have gone downhill fast ever since Aaron Rodgers broke his collarbone back in Week 6. That said, this upcoming Sunday represents the perfect opportunity for Green Bay to get back into the win column. Chicago is almost completely devoid of wide receiving talent, and the Bears have been seemingly scared to let Mitchell Trubisky loose in the passing game as a result.

The Packers are a train wreck on the back end of the defense, but they actually defend the run fairly well, allowing just 3.9 yards per attempt. Given Chicago’s offensive philosophy, this game suits the Packers to a T. Throw in some gradual improvement over the past couple of weeks for Packers backup quarterback Brett Hundley and we’re looking at a very winnable game for the road team.

Cincinnati Bengals at Tennessee Titans (-5)

Courtesy of USA Today Sports

Tennessee is 5-3, but it’s the least impressive team with a winning record in the NFL. The Titans have actually been outscored by 12 points this year. Their offense is unexceptional, and despite adding some weapons to help Marcus Mariota’s evolution, he seems to have taken a step back.

The strength of Tennessee’s offense is its running game, but Cincinnati has the players to combat that to perfection. With Geno Atkins playing as well as he ever has, the Bengals have allowed just 3.8 yards per carry and only three touchdowns on the ground all year.

We’re expecting A.J. Green to have a monster game after he got tossed for losing his cool in a huge way last weekend. He’ll spark an offensive performance that should be just good enough to propel the Bengals to their fourth win of the season.

New Orleans Saints (-3) at Buffalo Bills

Yes, the Saints are red hot. And yes, the Bills just lost last weekend to the New York Jets, and it wasn’t all that close.

But here’s the thing: Buffalo has the combination of tools necessary to knock New Orleans off its game. The Bills have the No. 6 scoring defense in the NFL (18.6 points per game) and allow just 94 yards on the ground per game, good for eighth in the league. Also, Tre’Davious White and the Bills’ secondary defenders have been absolutely stellar this year and should be able to lock down New Orleans’ passing game if the front seven gets pressure on Drew Brees.

On the other side, the surprisingly strong Saints pass defense could have another strong game, but we don’t expect them to be able to slow down Tyrod Taylor and LeSean McCoy on the ground. Especially not in Buffalo on a cloudy, cold day. It’s Buffalo Bills weather, and the Bills Mafia will be out in force.

New York Giants (-3) at San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers have left the door open for recently acquired quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to start this weekend. That, in and of itself, could propel the home team over the hapless Giants, who have been nearly as bad as San Francisco this year.

It’s clear Ben McAdoo has lost his locker room, and players have been actively speaking out against their head coach. As frustrating as it’s been for the 49ers this year, they were never supposed to be any good and still have some positive vibes going in the locker room.

Eli Manning is set to tie his big brother, Peyton Manning, for second place all time on an exclusive list. But that’s about the only positive thing we can say about Big Blue right now. We’re expecting San Francisco to finally win its first game of the season Sunday at home.

Dallas Cowboys at Atlanta Falcons (-3)

Dak Prescott Dallas Cowboys

Okay, so Dallas will finally be without Ezekiel Elliott. And that will certainly change the dynamic of their offense a bit. He had been on a tear in recent weeks before finally being suspended ahead of Sunday’s game. But the team’s offensive line is still the same behemoth that dominates defensive lines, week in and week out. And Dak Prescott has only gotten better in his second season. So the offense will be fine.

Defensively, Dallas’ front four should feast. The Cowboys have gotten insane pass-rushing production from DeMarcus Lawrence, David Irving, Tyrone Crawford and Maliek Collins. This has helped the Cowboys feature one of the more surprisingly effective pass defenses in the league this year.

Atlanta comes into the game on a bad streak, having lost four out of its last five games — the only win being a close one against the New York Jets. We don’t expect Steve Sarkisian to suddenly figure out how to get the Falcons’ offense back on track in this one, and the Falcons will struggle to contain the aerial assault of Prescott and Co.

New England Patriots (-8) at Denver Broncos

Denver still does have a defense capable of shutting down Tom Brady and the Patriots, especially with Chris Hogan out of commission. Von Miller and Brady already have their eyes set on this upcoming matchup, and Miller’s been as good as anyone rushing the passer this year.

Of course, any Broncos win likely need to be accompanied by a halfway decent performance by Brock Osweiler, who has a 1-0 record against New England as a Broncos starter. But if recent history is any indication, he’ll struggle. With that said, Denver will need a big game from its running backs and its defense to have a shot at pulling off the upset.

It’s a long shot, but given New England’s struggles defensively, it’s not as big a stretch as it seems.

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