NFL Week 10 game picks: Packers rebound; Seahawks top Cards

Cardinals at Seahawks ... it just don't get no better than this.

The top-flight game on the Week 10 slate is certainly not the only tantalizing matchup, as many people have circled Patriots-Giants and, of course, Rex Ryan facing his former team on "Thursday Night Football." Not to mention, Peyton Manning has business to settle with both the suddenly hot Chiefsand the NFL history books. No question he's struggled, as have Matt Cassel and the Dallas Cowboys, who will try to snap a terrible losing skid. Someone else is apparently struggling ... to get anything done.

Hey Ricardo, don't succumb to Lumbergh, man. Stick a breakfast burrito in the cruddy office microwave and go bid on Strat-O-Matic Pro Football on eBay. Game picks should be up by then.

In fact, you can find them all below. You might notice all the unbeatens have something in common -- but there's nothing common about your take, so send it along. @HarrisonNFL is the place.

Now, let's get to it!

Elliot Harrison went 7-6 on his predictions for Week 9, giving him a record of 80-52 so far this season. How will he fare in Week 10? His picks are below.

Let's gift the Lions an extra touchdown. You know the Packers are steaming from two straight losses, as well as all the re-runs of the apparent sideline tiff between Julius Peppers and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. Detroit is in disarray. Most alarming is how poorly the defense has fared -- the Lions are allowing 30.6 points per game, the most in the league. If they're not careful, Eddie Lacy might eat them up ... extra yards, I mean. They're also 30th versus the run. At least they make up for it by allowing opposing quarterbacks to post a passer rating of 111.1. Aaron Rodgers will only throw for 300 -- because he won't need to throw in the fourth quarter.

 **Relevant stat:** Running back 
 James Starks -- who has 
 leapfrogged the struggling Lacy on the depth chart -- leads the 
 Packers in rushing yards (334) and yards from scrimmage (501). 
 #DETvsGB 
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Dallas finally gets to add one to the "W" column this week. You sense Matt Cassel getting more comfortable in the Cowboys' offense -- yes, he threw a huge pick-six in last week's loss to the Eagles, but the offense was able to move on the Philly defense. This game is the season for this organization; even in the cruddy NFC East, falling to 2-7 would be too tall a Stetson hat to climb. As for the Bucs, the pieces are there to be competitive in the NFC, but not if they keep making the kinds of stupid mistakes they made against the Giants last Sunday -- Tampa Bay practically pulled a Plaxico Burress. Still, Eli Manning had difficulty finding receivers all day. That's why Dallas back Darren McFadden and the running game will be crucial to the outcome.

 **Relevant stat:** The 
 Cowboys have lost six in a row without 
 Tony Romo -- who has never lost more than three consecutive starts in a season. 
 #DALvsTB 
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Is this it? Is this where 8-0 Carolina finally stumbles? I picked against the Panthers last week for only the second time since late last season, and fans got all over me for guessing wrong. (By the way, I wonder how confident they were when Packers cornerback Damarious Randall picked off that ball in the fourth quarter.) Love this team, which I predicted last spring would threepeat in the NFC South -- a prediction I stuck with even after Kelvin Benjamin went down. But there is no question that Ron Rivera's group has been playing with fire of late. And Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota should be moving around even better in his second week back after missing time with an MCL sprain.

 **Relevant stat:** The 
 Panthers' 
 Greg Olsen won't get many MVP votes, but he does have the highest percentage of his team's targets (69, for 28.3 percent), receptions (37, for 28 percent) and receiving yards (584, for 32.1 percent) among NFL tight ends. #TGE ( 
 Ted Ginn Effect) 
 #CARvsTEN 
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The Bears will likely once again be without running back Matt Forte, which means this is Jeremy Langford's baby for the second straight week. The kid looked fantasmic (142 yards from scrimmage) on Monday night -- but that was against the Chargers. Rams defenders Aaron Donald and Michael Brockers alone -- like, just the two guys by themselves -- are as good as the Bolts' entire line. But hey! St. Louis allowed a 100-yard rusher for the first time since Week 2 last week! Of course, it was Adrian Peterson, one of the NFL's best running backs, and he needed 29 carries to do it. Nick Foles should find plenty of the holes in Chicago's back end, holes that Philip Rivers could've exploited Monday night (if he'd been working with anyone besides Stevie Johnson who could get open). #CHIvsSTL

How do you pick a game like this? The Saints looked as though they were rebounding, having won three straight -- before they blew a game at home to the 1-6 Titans. Sean Payton is being forced to ride it out with a young defense that has trouble getting off the field and a veteran corner who is struggling with the fact he's struggling. Luckily for Brandon Browner, he shouldn't have to interfere much with these Redskins receivers, who drop balls aplenty. DeSean Jackson, who missed six games after suffering a hamstring injury, caught all of three balls for 15 yards in his triumphant return. Get excited. Thus, we're going with the superior quarterback in one of Week 10's flip-a-coin games.

 **Fun fact:** Since Week 5, Ben Watson has more receiving yards (429) than any tight end in the league. Cool. 
 #NOvsWAS 
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It's difficult to pick Philadelphia these days, as you're never quite sure which version of the team is going to show up. That said, if the Eagles' offense keeps up the momentum it showed late versus the Cowboys in Week 9, they should be fine against the Dolphins. Philly running backs coach Duce Staley did a masterful job of rotating the backs (which is apparently his call, not Chip Kelly's) on Sunday night. The ground game should present problems for a Miami defense that allowed not one but two Bills running backs to rush for over 100 yards last week.

 **Not-so-fun fact:** Miami quarterback 
 Ryan Tannehill has been sacked 162 times since 2012, more than anyone else in the NFL over that span. Ugh. 
 #MIAvsPHI 
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(Maybe) Johnny Manziel!!! Landry Jones!!! Two high-flying offenses take off next, on the NFL on CBS!!!

Love our "Thursday Night Football" partners, but I have a feeling Jim Nantz and Phil Simms won't be on this game call. Pittsburgh prevails due to home-field advantage, as well as Jones' comfort in the offense. Give the kid credit. He's made throws -- to Martavis Bryant vs. the Cardinals, or Antonio Brown on that 57-yard catch-and-run last Sunday -- late in games when the Steelers have needed him to, taking what the defense gives him. The Browns must take away the short stuff, creep their safeties up and dare Jones to beat them over the top. Getting Isaiah Crowell in gear -- any gear; he only had 38 rushing yards last week -- would be dandy. #CLEvsPIT

Was going to pick the Jaguars to win close on the road -- something they've struggled to do this season -- until I remembered I'd promised myself to never pick Jacksonville again after being let down by that team several times this season. Like Saints-Redskins, this is another near-impossible game to predict. The Ravens' 29th-ranked pass defense should be easy pickings for Blake Bortles and the Jags' air attack, but John Harbaugh's club is coming off a bye. Expect a heavy dose of Justin Forsett, who hasn't received a 20-carry workload since Week 5. Jacksonville's defense, meanwhile, could afford less work, given that it ranks 30th in both points allowed and takeaways -- some two-tone ugliness to go with those helmets. #JAXvsBAL

Picked against Derek Carr last week, but I'm not doing the same this week. Carr was solid for the Raiders against the Steelers at Heinz Field, save for a key interception and, obviously, taking the loss. Carr has outplayed many of the so-called elite passers in the league, posting a higher passer rating (104.3) than Drew Brees, Philip Rivers, Eli Manning, Russell Wilson, Matt Ryan, Matthew Stafford, Joe Flacco, Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck. Interestingly enough, Carr has also outperformed a guy who was drafted a round earlier than him in 2014: Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, who is supposed to play this weekend after suffering a head injury last Sunday. Minnesota's defense has been the backbone of that team. But it's not like the Vikings are trotting Alan Page, Matt Blair and John Randle out there. We'll be looking at the 5-4 Raaaaaaaiders staying in the thick of the AFC wild-card race. #MINvsOAK

You'll hear a lot of banter this week about how the Giants have been the Patriots' kryptonite over the years. OK, cool. New England wins. This Tom Coughlin team is nothing like those 2007 and 2011 clubs, each of which could pressure the passer. Eli Manning was lights out in 2011, especially in Super Bowl XLVI, when he launched one of the best and most important vertical throws ever. The issue now is Manning's lack of big plays. Overall, he hasn't fared terribly by any means, but he's completed just 14 passes of 25 yards or more thus far, tied for 21st in the league, despite having played more games than almost every other QB. On the other side, Tom Brady will have all day to pat the ball 500 times before finding some ex-XFL running back -- or whoever replaces Dion Lewis -- in space for 36 yards. The Giants have nine sacks in nine games. The Patriots' Chandler Jones has a league-high 9.5 by himself. #NEvsNYG

The Chiefs' mini-hot streak cools off in the Mile High air. Denver stays in the race for a postseason bye (which will, incredibly, require at least a 14-2 record) by shutting the door on Alex Smith. The issue for the Kansas City quarterback will be not only pass protection, but how much traction Charcandrick West can find against the Broncos' front. Denver's linebackers continue to play outstanding football, although coordinator Wade Phillips will be without the services of injured pass rusher DeMarcus Ware this weekend. Smith has been sacked a whopping 28 times this season, most in the AFC. That should be exciting for the Newt Gingrich doppelganger, who might display that awkward fist-pump shimmy he used to flash in Dallas when he got all excitable. #Wade #KCvsDEN

Oh man, what a contest Sunday night. Sure hope it beats last year's Sunday-nighter between these two teams, when Marshawn Lynch plowed right through the Arizona secondary while Russell Wilson pulled a Roger Staubach from his Navy days okie-doke on the sweetest short touchdown run you'll ever see. If Seattle is to have hopes of winning a third straight NFC West crown, this one qualifies as a must-win, as a Cardinals victory would put Arizona up three games with a head-to-head advantage and only seven games to play. Hashtag relevant.

 **Cool note of the week:** 
 John Brown traveled 22.60 mph on a run versus the 
 Rams 
 in Week 4, tied with 
 Robert Alford of the 
 Falcons for the fastest in the NFL this season. So what? I did that on a mongoose once, yo. 
 #AZvsSEA 
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I'm fully cognizant of the troubles that the Bengals -- and Andy Dalton specifically -- have had with the Texans in the past (thinking postseason, here). But this isn't the same Dalton. He's a bona fide ginger -- and he's a bona fide MVP candidate. Upon hearing that from me on the set of "NFL HQ", LaVar Arrington said, "Yeah, and these aren't the same Texans." No, they're not. Although, Brian Hoyer might be more game than you think ... he's come on strong in the second halves of games, tossing nine touchdowns against a mere single pick and posting a 114.1 passer rating following halftime this season. So that means Houston won't lose as badly. (By the way, to those of you who feel this could qualify as a "trap" game for Cincinnati, most "trap" games come on the road, not at home.) #WhoDey #hatethatItypedthat #HOUvsCIN

ALREADY COMPLETED

The return of the sweater vest! Convenient that the most heavily anticipated contest of Week 10 is also the first contest of Week 10. The key to a glorious MetLife homecoming for Rex Ryan will be the play of Tyrod Taylor, who will have to fit the ball into tighter windows against the Jets. Taylor went 11 for 12 against Miami's back seven last week, but New York is better defensively, even if the Jets' secondary is banged up. Yes, Antonio Cromartie -- who has become the "Where's Waldo?" player opposing coaching staffs seek out to attack -- is doubtful, while Buster Skrine is questionable and safeties Calvin Pryor and Dion Bailey are out. But there's still Darrelle Revis to contend with.

 **Side note:** When I mentioned on the set of "NFL Gameday Blitz" that Waldo was the name of the kid in the 
 "Hot for Teacher" video, I got blank stares from 
 MJD and Ike Taylor. I'm assuming that's because they're strictly Sammy Hagar guys, with blind spots for the David Lee Roth years. 
 #BUFvsNYJ 
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Follow Elliot Harrison on Twitter @HarrisonNFL.