The Once-Over: Week 10

With attention spans dwindling, we forgo full game-by-game previews to give you the essentials you need to know about every contest this glorious NFL weekend. We call it The Once-Over.

The Early Games

Denver (6-2) at Washington (2-6): Denver has lost its last two games and has shown an inability to score against good defenses. Washington's defense is ranked fifthh in the NFL, and that spells a much closer matchup than two teams with such opposite records should be involved in. It's extremely tough to throw against Washington, so Knowshon Moreno becomes a very important factor on Sunday. If he does well, Denver wins -- If Moreno falters, Denver loses.


This Redskins defense, for the most part, shut down Matt Ryan last week and should have no trouble taking care of Kyle Orton. Where this defense is weak is tackling in the secondary. If they let Moreno do to them what Michael Turner pulled off in Week 9, the Redskins will be toast.

Pick: Denver


Buffalo (3-5) at Tennessee (2-6): Buffalo ranks second in the NFL with 15 interceptions and gets to face an unproven Vince Young in Week 10. Buffalo's play-caller, Trent Edwards, is returning after missing two games with a concussion. He'll need to step back in and instantly tune in with Terrell Owens and Lee Evans for the Bills to have a chance.

Young has this Titans team on a two-game winning streak, and he'll need to be careful against a Bills' secondary that is famous for making quarterbacks pay for mistakes. It helps that Young is extremely mobile and has one of the best running backs in the league in Chris Johnson in the backfield.

Pick: Tennessee

New Orleans (8-0) at St. Louis (1-7): There really hasn't been enough said about how explosive this Drew Brees offense is. Jeremy Shockey is not only the benefactor of Brees' passing, but he's showing that he's very comfortable in the system, whether he lines up at tight end or as a receiver outside.

If the Rams are to have a shot on Sunday, Steven Jackson is going to have to have a superb game against the 17th-ranked run defense of New Orleans. Marc Bulger hasn't thrown a touchdown pass since Week 6 -- that needs to change as well.

Pick: New Orleans

Cincinnati (6-2) at Pittsburgh (6-2): I realize that Cedric Benson has been a beast of late. In three of his last four games, Benson has rushed for 100-plus yards. With all due respect to Benson, though, if the Bengals win this game, they'll do it with defense. The Bengals move around a lot before the snap creating blocking nightmares for offensive lines. If they can get to Ben Roethlisberger, they can win this game.

Roethlisberger was always a leader on the field and in the locker room, but now he has turned into a statistical leader as well. Only three quarterbacks in the NFL have a better quarterback rating, and nobody is running the no-huddle better than "Big Ben" right now. While in the no-huddle, the Steelers control the clock and substitution patterns, which could wreak havoc on Sunday. As good as the Bengals' pass rush is, they are ranked 23rd against the pass while the Steelers have the fifth-ranked passing offense in the league.

Pick: Pittsburgh

Jacksonville (4-4) at New York Jets (4-4): In four road games this season, David Garrard has been held without a touchdown pass. If you think that Rex Ryan isn't planning on a few tricks to keep that streak in tact, especially coming off of a bye week, you're kidding yourself. That said, Maurice Jones-Drew is going to have to take over and run well against this 13th-ranked run defense.

Mark Sanchez will surely have a lot of time to make good decisions on Sunday. Jacksonville has only eight sacks this season (worst in the NFL) and ranks 28th with just five interceptions. This looks like a great day for the rookie quarterback to get back on track.

Pick: New York Jets

Detroit (1-7) at Minnesota (7-1): The Lions are having trouble defining the style of defense they'd like to play. No matter if they choose zone or man-to-man, they are going to have trouble all afternoon with this high-powered Vikings team. Kevin Smith has been asked to break off a few more big-plays -- that's going to be tough against such a stout interior defensive line.

Kevin and Pat Williams are a defensive duo unmatched anywhere in the NFL. Not only do they clog the middle, but get they get their hands on the quarterback in pass-rush situations quite a bit. With them on the inside, and Jared Allen on the outside of the defensive line, the Lions will have trouble all day getting into a rhythm.

Pick: Minnesota

Tampa Bay (1-7) at Miami (3-5): Rookie Josh Freeman had a spectacular opening game as he led his Buccaneers to a win over Green Bay in his first career start last week. He's going up against a young secondary this week, but faces one of the fiercest front-sevens in the business.

Chad Henne hasn't been the same quarterback over the past three weeks that he was in his first two starts for Miami. His completion percentage needs to rise while Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown continue to rush the ball well.

Pick: Miami

Atlanta (5-3) at Carolina (3-5): The Falcons' players and coaches rode a bus on their three hour journey up I-85 to Charlotte this week -- Atlanta felt that the bus would get the team to their destination quicker than hopping on a plane. Now that Michael Turner has broken out of his funk and posted two consecutive back-to-back 100-plus yard rushing games, the Falcons will need him to continue to drive the bus into the end zone. Especially since Matt Ryan has had his share of troubles of late.

The Panthers are going to find a much better pass defense in Week 10 then they saw in Week 2 where Jake Delhomme threw for 308 yards (one of only two times this season he's thrown for over 300). That's bad news for Delhomme who has three interceptions and only one touchdown pass in his last three games.

Pick: Atlanta

The Late Games

Kansas City (1-7) at Oakland (2-6): It's time to see if the K.C. running back tandem of Kolby Smith and Jamaal Charles can make fans forget about the ugly mess Larry Johnson caused over the past few weeks. Oakland ranks 29th against the run, so this is a very nice stepping stone for these guys.

JaMarcus Russell has two things going for him this week: He's coming off the healing effects of a bye week, and he gets to face the 30th-ranked Kansas City defense. He's also going to benefit from the return of Darren McFadden, who hasn't played since Week 4.

Pick: Kansas City

Philadelphia (5-3) at San Diego (5-3): The Eagles are a dynamic passing team, but last week, rookie Jeremy Maclin was exposed as he had trouble getting into his routes in man-to-man coverage. He's got to break free in the first five yards of his route and give Donovan McNabb two solid, down-field options. The Eagles pressure defense loves to blitz and their front seven is extremely fast -- they must get to Phillip Rivers.

On offense, Rivers is going to have to find ways to elude the Eagles' pass-rush. One of the most effective methods is with the screen pass -- which could spell a big day for Darren Sproles. As long as Rivers stays upright and the Chargers pass-rush can get pressure on McNabb and force him into errant throws, the Chargers will have a good day.

Pick: San Diego

Dallas (6-2) at Green Bay (4-4): Dallas is really starting to shine in the defensive backfield where it is challenging wide receivers to make plays. The Cowboys have been able to shut down opposing offenses and have outscored opponents by almost 12 points per game in their last four games -- all wins. But on Sunday, all eyes will be on DeMarcus Ware and the Dallas pass-rush.

The offensive line in Green Bay is struggling. That means that Ware and Jay Ratliff should find many opportunities to get their hands on Aaron Rodgers, who has been accused of holding the ball too long. If Rodgers can't, or isn't allowed, to get the ball into the air, the Packers will struggle mightily.

Pick: Dallas

Seattle (3-5) at Arizona (5-3): The offensive line in Seattle might as well play with flag football rules where they aren't allowed to make contact with the pass rush -- it's like they aren't there anyway. Matt Hasselbeck has almost zero time to throw the ball, forcing him to focus entirely on short routes and screens. The run game is absent as there is no room to run in the middle.

Larry Fitzgerald and Kurt Warner are finally starting to gel, and that's not good for defenses in the second half of the season.Warner torched the Bears in Week 9 for five touchdowns and should be able to get similar output this week at home against the Seahawks.

Pick: Arizona

SNF

New England (6-2) at Indianapolis (8-0): Forget about Tom Brady and his 5-2 record head-to-head versus Peyton Manning. This game is going to be won by the individuals catching the ball. Randy Moss ranks seventh and Wes Welker fifth in receptions (remember Welker missed two games early in the season) and when Benjamin Watson is your quarterback's security blanket, things are good in the passing game.

As fantastic as Manning is, I'm not sure that he can score enough points to offset deficiencies the Colts have on defense, especially in the secondary. Kelvin Hayden is listed as day-to-day and Bob Sanders and Marlin Jackson are already on the injured reserve list. If Brady is going to be throwing to his plethora of targets and they are guarded by fourth- or fifth-string cornerbacks, the Colts may be in for a nightmarish evening. Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis are going to have to put tremendous amounts of pressure on Brady for the Colts to have a chance.

Pick: New England

MNF

Baltimore (4-4) at Cleveland (1-7): Baltimore has a storied past of superb run-defenses. The Ravens have fallen off a bit this season, but still rank in the top-ten. Not only will they face a running back in Jamal Lewis who is banged up and won't be at 100 percent on Sunday, they also face a Browns offense that only has two rushing touchdowns all season.

The Browns seem to be more worried about the intensity of practice and which quarterback will start from week-to-week, then they are focused on winning football games. Their offense is anemic as they only average 9.8 points per game and their defense gives up more yards than any other team in the league.

Pick: Baltimore