Week Ten Says Fifty Four Forty Or Fight

As we approach NFL Week Ten we saw some NHL action break out in Week Nine

A hit on CJ Beatherd led to a brawl with three ejections in the Cardinals rout of the Niners

Jameis Winston and Mike Evans got into it with Sean Payton and Marshon Lattimore

AJ Green and Jaylen Ramsey as the Bengals and Jaguars brought back some of the old hatreds of the AFC Central


So with players and teams demanding "Fifty-four forty or fight," the league takes the fight to Week Ten.

Cardinals over Seahawks  -  Are the Cardinals back in this?  Adrian Peterson's rebirth (in three games he's hit over 300 yards and 4.2 YPC and even caught three passes for twenty yards) suggests they are, and they get a Seahawks squad still with a less-than-intimidating road reputation and whose homefield edge took a big hit with the loss to the Redskins.   Seattle's kicking situation with Blair Walsh may now be a problem after three gags against the Skins.


Bills over Saints  -  The New Orleans Saints are for real again, 6-2 and in the thick of the NFC's race for the playoff byes.   They are, though, 1-1 against AFC East foes this year and they go to Buffalo, a reborn outfit 2-1 against NFC South teams (head coach Sean McDermott also spent the previous six seasons as the Panthers defensive coordinator and went 7-5 against the Saints in that span) and smarting from an ugly performance against a Jets team they'd beaten earlier this season.


NY Jets over Buccaneers -  A frontrunner for disappointment of the season, the Bucs have slid out of contention and Jameis Winston is getting hurt more often; he's been benched for the next three games by the team, ostensibly to recuperate from injury but his role in the sideline brawl may be a factor, while Mike Evans got suspended for one game.  


Steelers over Colts -  The Colts got a morale booster in winning at Houston, but they get a far better quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger (4-2 lifetime vs the Colts) this time around and it does not appear Jacoby Brissett can handle an opponent like this.


Titans over Bengals -  The Bengals have slunk back into their previous status as The Bungles.  AJ Green's fight in the Jaguars game was a graphic metaphor for the collapse of the team, and they get a Titans team now solidly on its way forward.


Vikings over Redskins -  The Vikings lost to the Skins last season and enter at 6-2 to the Redskins' 4-4, and beating the Seahawks at Seattle is a big confidence-booster, but Minnesota looks to have more overall firepower.


Jaguars over Chargers -  The Jaguars have turned back the clock to 1996-99 and look like they'll keep that memory lane trip going.  The Chargers, though, have been scrappier than expected this season.


Bears over Packers - The Bears come out of their bye to host the Packers and the Packers are as bad as advertised after a 30-17 embarrassment at home to the Lions.    Brent Hundley won't win the Packers many games - if he even wins any - and the Bears have opportunity to gain Mitchell Trubisky experience and needed confidence.

 

 

Lions over Browns -  The Why Me, Why Is It Always Me? tour for the Browns continues as they go to Detroit.    This rivalry is remembered for one game above all others............

Matthew Stafford's first signature win was in 2009 when he erased a 24-3 gap to stun the Browns - and Eric Mangini - despite breaking his left shoulder



                                         



Rams over Texans - Speaking of memory lanes, when did the Rams re-sign Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Ike Bruce, and Torry Holt?  The Texans, meanwhile, saw their future with Tom Savage in another bitter loss, this one wasting a strong comeback effort.


Cowboys over Falcons - The Falcons are clearly declining and we're not sure their struggles on offense are fixable as they take on a Cowboys team still in the fight despite the Zeke Elliott saga.


49ers over NY Giants -  The 2017 Toilet Bowl between two teams with ONE win between them.   We think Jimmy Garoppolo makes his 49ers debut in this one (this amid some bizarre speculation he could be dealt after this season) and this should be enough edge over a Giants team that can't seem to do anything.


Patriots over Broncos - The collapse of the Broncos is now obvious and their defense can't be considered all that great anymore, especially with an awful turnover differential of minus-11 vs. New England's plus-four.   The Patriots may get Malcolm Mitchell back at receiver, and they can use him with their offense struggling the last several games.

Panthers over Dolphins - Cam Newton can wear all the cheesy suits he wants facing a moribund Dolphins team off a home loss that was more lopsided than their garbage-time touchdown would indicate.