Rachel Wold
With four teams on a bye, NFL Week 10 offers 14 fantastic matchups for football enthusiasts to enjoy. The week kicks off with a divisional showdown between two NFC West teams attempting to claw their way closer to the first place Los Angeles Rams.
There is also an enticing personal matchup in store for a rookie wide receiver that tallied 193 yards in his last game. Might he have the same success against one of the league’s most porous pass defenses?
Always a fan favorite, the New England Patriots are visiting the Denver Broncos. Quarterback Brock Osweiler led his team to a win when it hosted the Patriots in 2015. Could he find the same fortune again facing New England’s defense?
We will see soon enough. Here are our stud and dud predictions for NFL Week 10.
Stud: Matt Forte, running back, New York Jets
Forte and his Jets face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who are letting opposing running backs roam wild. They just allowed the New Orleans Saints’ top two backs to rush for a combined 145 yards and one touchdown at an astonishing pace of 5.58 yards per carry. Forte had a dominating 77-rushing yard, two-touchdown performance last week, which should have him primed to take advantage. The Bucs are in somewhat of a state of disarray, which should allow the Jets the luxury of running the ball in this game.
Dud: Jacoby Brissett, quarterback, Indianapolis Colts
Brissett had what only could be described as a stud performance his last game. He passed for 308 yards and two touchdowns without an interception in sight. But, we will need to tame expectations for Brissett this weekend at home against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers’ pass defense is brutal and is allowing quarterbacks to complete just 59.9 percent of their passes on average. Even worse, is it has given up only six passing touchdowns all year and an average of just 180 passing yards per contest. Brissett should simmer down this game.
Stud: Kevin Byard, safety, Tennessee Titans
The Titans play host to the Cincinnati Bengals this weekend. They feature a quarterback in Andy Dalton who has passed for only 11 touchdowns compared to eight interceptions. Byard stands to shine considering he leads the league with six interceptions and 16 defended passes. Dalton is not exactly hitting bulls-eyes lately, having completed less than 60 percent of his passes his last three games. He also just failed to score passing against the Jacksonville Jaguars’ stout defense. This matchup favors Byard.
Dud: Keenan Allen, wide receiver, Los Angeles Chargers
Speaking of those scary Jaguars, Allen and his Chargers travel to Jacksonville this week. This is a week when fantasy owners should sit Allen. He stands to stumble against a defense that has given up only one wide receiving touchdown all year. That’s absolutely terrible for Allen’s projection. Plus, Jacksonville’s defense is allowing only 9.1 catches on average to opposing wideouts per game. Overall, “Sacksonville” will not likely let Allen get away with much in this tilt.
Stud: Rob Gronkowski, tight end, New England Patriots
It is difficult to envision Gronk not delivering a powerful performance most games. But in Week 10, Gronkowski has a particularly favorable matchup in Denver. The Broncos have not been efficient at containing opposing tight ends, giving up 77.9 yards per game. This is the second-most in the league. Furthermore, the Broncos have allowed five tight end scores. Gronk can be a beast, and quarterback Tom Brady will have more success connecting with him than his receivers, who’ll be covered by Broncos corners.
Dud: Thomas Rawls, running back, Seattle Seahawks
The starting role was relegated to Rawls after fellow back Eddie Lacy became injured his last game. Believe it or not, Rawls hit season highs with his 39 rushing yards at 4.3 yards per carry. But, it is time to jump off the Rawls’ bandwagon this week. The Seahawks travel to Arizona and will face a Cardinals defense that is stout against the run. To date, the Cardinals have allowed just 3.7 yards per carry and 100.5 yards on average each game. If anyone makes headway against the Cardinals on foot, it will likely be quarterback Russell Wilson stealing the runs. Rawls should fall back into the irrelevant category this game.
Stud: JuJu Smith-Schuster, wide receiver, Pittsburgh Steelers
Schuster busted onto the scene in Week 8 and put up a 193-yard, one-touchdown performance prior to his bye. The rookie returns this week for a road game against the Colts. Another performance of upwards of 200 yards might be a stretch. But Smith-Schuster should find success against a Colts defense giving up the second-highest receiving yards per game. We are talking 293.1 receiving yards and 21.1 receptions on average per contest. Even with Martavis Bryant back in the lineup, we predict that Smith-Schuster keeps dropping jaws.
Dud: Kelvin Benjamin, wide receiver, Buffalo Bills
Benjamin should make his debut in a different shade of blue when the Bills host the New Orleans Saints. But the 6-foot-5 receiver will have a difficult time shining, likely being paired up against New Orleans cornerback, Marshon Lattimore. The highly-graded, first-round rookie corner is playing lights out and will likely force quarterback Tyrod Taylor to look elsewhere for open receivers this week. Plus Benjamin, who has scored only twice this season, will need some time to build his chemistry with Taylor.
Stud: Aaron Donald, defensive lineman, Los Angeles Rams
No matter how the Rams position Donald this week, he is is primed for an outstanding performance against quarterback Tom Savage and the Texans. Donald and the Rams host a Houston offense that has started its downward spiral now that rookie Deshaun Watson is out for the season. Donald has produced four sacks so far on the season and Savage just took two sacks his last game. The three-time Pro Bowl tackle should create nightmares all day long for a Houston offense scrambling to sustain drives and stay on the field.
Dud: Brock Osweiler, quarterback Denver Broncos
We simply cannot overlook the elephant in the room and assume Osweiler gets his act together this quickly. Even in an ultra-friendly home matchup against the Patriots, Osweiler will falter. It was in 2015 that Osweiler faced the Patriots and won. But, Osweiler was horrible with the Houston Texans in 2016 and completed just 50 percent of his passes since taking over as a starter with the Broncos last week. He also threw two interceptions compared to just one touchdown. Osweiler is too difficult to trust, even against a giving Patriots defense.
Stud: Julio Jones, wide receiver, Atlanta Falcons
It is hard to believe Jones has scored only once all season. But we expect him to put a second score on the board and continue with last week’s success in yardage at home against the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys’ pass defense is anything but sound, allowing quarterbacks to complete 65.6 percent of their passes. It has also given up 14 touchdowns through the air. In order to keep up with a dominating Cowboys offense, quarterback Matt Ryan is going to have to pass a lot. Jones is coming off of a six-catch, 118-yard performance. He is primed for big numbers again, this time on his home field.
Dud: Aaron Jones, running back, Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are struggling something awful with Brett Hundley under center. A road matchup against the Chicago Bears does not bode well for Jones’ outlook this game. Green Bay does not have the luxury of employing much of a run game when it plays behind, which could easily be the case this week. When Jones does receive carries, he will face a Bears rushing defense giving up only 3.9 yards on average per attempt. Furthermore, fellow running back Ty Montgomery proved to be the more efficient of the two backs for the Packers last contest.
Stud: Evan Engram, tight end, New York Giants
Engram has become quarterback Eli Manning’s bff when it comes to drawing targets as of late. Over his last three games, Engram has been targeted 29 times and has also scored once each contest. The rookie tight end has an amazing matchup on tap against the San Francisco 49ers. Even on the road, Engram should find success against a 49ers defense that is dealing with banged-up safeties. Outside of Sterling Shepard, Manning does not have many options in the passing game. Evans should produce while the Giants attempt to win their second game of the year.
Dud: Ryan Fitzpatrick, quarterback, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers are currently one of the league’s biggest dumpster fire teams. The Jets should swoop in and cause tremendous havoc against the Bucs backup quarterback, Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fitz is filling in for an injured Jameis Winston, and he will also be without his top wide receiver, the suspended Mike Evans. The Jets should be very familiar with their former quarterback, who will face the likes of linebacker Demario Davis. He currently leads the team with 3.5 sacks and ranks third in the league with 75 combined tackles.
Stud: Dwight Freeney, defensive end, Seattle Seahawks
Freeney may be 37-years-old, but he is still rushing the passer with the best of them, playing with his fifth NFL team since 2002. The seven-time Pro Bowler already has tallied three sacks in his two games so far as a Seahawk. Now, Freeney will face quarterback Drew Stanton in Arizona. Since starting twice for the Cardinals, Stanton has been sacked two times and hit at total of 13. Freeney could stand to rattle Stanton, who sports a lowly 61.5 quarterback rating.
Dud: Kenyon Drake, running back, Miami Dolphins
Drake was the more productive of the Dolphins’ running backs after the departure of Jay Ajayi. He out-gained Damien Williams in overall yards with 104 compared to 61. But, Drake might struggle when the Dolphins head to Carolina to take on the Panthers. The Panthers are giving up only 3.7 yards per carry and 79.4 rushing yards per game. They have also surrendered just three rushing touchdowns. Linebacker Luke Kuechly will likely have some say in Drake’s performance at the end of the day.
Stud: Robert Woods, wide receiver, Los Angeles Rams
Woods has a knack for delivering surprise performances when nobody is expecting it. He was fortunate to make four catches for 70 yards and score two touchdowns in Week 9. The touchdowns were his first on the season, but we envision Woods having another spectacular outing at home against those down-and-out Texans. The Texans look as if they have given up at defending opposing wideouts over their past two games. As such, the team has allowed a ridiculous 532 wide receiving yards and four touchdowns in this stretch. This bodes well for Woods, considering quarterback Jared Goff should thrive in this matchup as well.
Dud: Duke Johnson, running back, Cleveland Browns
Johnson got the short end of the stick the last time we saw him. Instead, fellow back Isaiah Crowell received 11 carries for 64 yards and a touchdown in Week 8 versus Johnson’s six carries for 33 yards. In Week 10, the Browns travel to Detroit to face the Lions. It is easy to think that the Browns could play from behind when not many rushing attempts take place. Currently, the Lions are giving up just 3.7 yards per attempt and 89.9 rushing yards per game. Duke might just bore us with another snoozer on Sunday.
Stud: Cameron Jordan, defensive end, New Orleans Saints
When nobody was expecting it, Jordan and the Saints surprised the football world and became good at defense this season. Jordan is on course for a career-high 14 sacks for starters. Even on the road against the Bills, Jordan should produce at a high level. He will face quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who has been sacked 26 times this season. This stat ties for second-most quarterback sacks this year. In general, the Saints should cause fits for the Bills passing offense. Jordan will play a large role as the Saints attempt to notch Win No. 7.
Dud: Rob Kelley, running back, Washington Redskins
We are never sure what Kelley is going to bring to the table come game day. Last week, Kelley was able to bruise in two rushing touchdowns against the Seahawks. That was a tough task, though we should not expect a repeat of Kelley’s efforts when Washington hosts the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings, through eight games, have permitted only two rushing scores to opposing running backs. Plus, the two rushing scores Kelley put on the books last week account for his three total to date. Washington will need to find other ways to tally points.
