Week 10 ATS Recap: And the Meek Shall Inherit the Earth

Week 9 was the week of the Almost Upset. So many poor quality teams went up big against heavily favored teams but, in the end, found a way to falter. Not so this week. The winless Bucs and Jags both got their first win, Carolina put the league on notice, and the Rams and Ravens showed they might not be just dead yet. What a week.

Picks We Both Won (4)

• Vikings (+1) 34, Redskins 27 - It's always nice to start off the week with a win. This one didn't look so certain, with Minnesotas offense sputtering along in the first half and RG3 putting up huge numbers against the Vikings secondary. Whatever the Skins had done in the first half to be so successful, they went completely away from it in the second, allowing the Vikes to rally behind Adrian Peterson and a suddenly game Minnesota defense.
• Lions (+1) 21, Bears 19 - Memo to Jay Cutler: you are not a pussy, OK? Next time, heal completely instead of rushing back from an injury. Cutler was clearly injured still, and while he can be commended for gutting this one out until he left with an ankle sprain, he didn't have the A-game the Bears needed to hold off the Lions. Calvin Johnson was too much for Peanut Tillman, and Detroit now has a stranglehold on the NFC North with two wins over the Bears and the Packers in free fall minus Aaron Rodgers.
• Eagles (-1) 27, Packers 13 - Packers GM Ted Thompson was ready to shoulder the blame for the uninspired backup QB choices on the Green Bay roster, and it's easy to blame him. Since the departure of Matt Flynn, the Packers have been lucky that Aaron Rodgers has remained relatively healthy. Rodgers does have a history of missing some time, and it looks to be biting the Packers in the ass right now. They've lost two winnable games in a row, and have now turned back to Flynn, signing him to compete with Scott Tolzien for the starting QB job. Quietly, the Eagles have ascended to a tie atop the NFC Least, and now every team in that division is within 2 games of the division lead. Eeeek!!
• Bucs (+1) 22, Dolphins 19 - The Bucs jumped on the controversy riddled Fins to the tune of a 15-0 start, complete with a safety. All looked lost for Miami, but since they were playing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they mounted a comeback and even took a 19-15 lead into the final quarter. Tampa was able to compose themselves enough to score a late TD and hold on the rest of the way, making things even messier in Miami.

Picks We Both Lost (5)

• Ravens (+1) 20, Bengals 17 (OT) - After the "are you kidding me?" moment of the season, you know the one, a Hail Mary bomb that was batted into the air and floated gently into the hands of A.J. Green, you just KNEW the Bengals had this one. Alas, it was not to be. Cincy quickly went 3-and-out on the opening possession of OT and the Ravens marched down for a game winning FG. Really, the Bengals had no business being in the game at all, as the Ravens D finally stood up and made some plays, making Andy Dalton uncomfortable all game long and collecting three picks. That's two bad losses in a row now for a Bengal team that was supposed to be asserting its dominance. Still waiting, guys.
• Rams (+9½) 38, Colts 8 - In the WTF game of the week, the Colts decided to let Tavon Austin make them his personal bitch.
• Jaguars (+13) 29, Titans 27 - Dre and I spent some time looking through the Jaguars schedule looking for their one win. We overlooked this one, obviously.
• Steelers (-3) 23, Bills 10 - Looks like we rode that Buffalo bandwagon off the cliff together this time. Thelma and Louise style.
• Panthers (+5½) 10, Niners 9 - Clearly we underestimated the Panthers. They've ascended into Chiefs territory now. Let me explain: great defense, fairly pathetic offense, probably good enough for a one-and-done come playoff time. But that's not an insult, there's plenty of teams that would like to be in that position right now.

Smellin' Pushy (1)

• Cardinals 27, Texans 24 - Give the Toxins credit, they keep trying. There's just something not right with that team, and I have a sense this will all end in a coaching change in Houston. That team is too talented for the results on the field.

Picks Dre Won Head to Head (1)

• Broncos (-7) 28, Chargers 20 - San Diego played tough and got after Peyton Manning, but having to settle for 2 early field goals after dominating the first quarter in time of possession proved to be the difference in this game.

Picks I Won Head to Head (3)

• Seahawks (-4) 33, Falcons 10 - This was the perfect team for Seattle to get well against after the near disaster against Tampa. Atlanta has zero pass rush, zero rushing game, and as it seems as the season progresses, zero heart.
• Giants 24, Raiders (+7) 20 - The Giants have won three in row to pull to 3-6 and are only two games out in the NFC East. Good for them. This was simply a case of not trusting the G-Men to cover a big number against ANYONE, and it paid off.
• Saints (-6½) 49, the Sean Lee-less Cowboys 17 - I joked on the podcast about the NBC Sunday Night crew being in the bag for the NFC East teams, and was it ever on display here in this one. No, there was no oral service on Tony Romo, but Chris Collinsworth sure had a mouthful of Sean Lee all night. To hear Collinsworth tell it, the Saints were only able to put up their 600 yard, 40 first down performance due to the pulled hamstring of Lee. Forget for a moment that Drew Brees was shredding the Boys WITH Lee in the game. Yes, Lee being out made a difference. No, Dallas would not have won or covered the number with him. No joke, nearly every time the Saints had a big play, in rushed Collinsworth, and later Micheals, to state that Lee's absence was allowing this all to happen. This had to infuriate Colts fans, who suddenly realized that they may have won that second Super Bowl had they just had Sean Lee on their team.

Jay 7-6-1
Dre 5-8-1