Del hasn’t exactly been getting killed in recent weeks, but we’re not where we want to be. It’s been a battle to get above the 50% mark on picks against the spread, but at least the success with locks has been consistent. Del is now 14-8 in locks, which would put a smile on any Las Vegas oddsmaker’s face.
Needless to say, we’ll be looking to bounce back this week. And we’re looking to do it with a lot of favorites. Here are Del’s Week 10 NFL Picks, with analysis of the locks after the sheet.
(ATS = Against the Spread, SU = Straight Up)
Del’s kicking things off with the Thursday night game this week. Simply put, I’m not a believer in the Browns. They’ve won back-to-back games in unconvincing fashion against the Raiders and Buccaneers. Prior to that, Cleveland was blown out by the Jaguars — another terrible team. They now travel to Cincinnati for a tough divisional game. With the way rookie Jeremy Hill ran last week, he should go through the Browns terrible run defense like a hot knife through butter. Even if Joe Haden shuts down AJ Green, the Bengals should be able to do plenty to cover a six-point spread.
Everyone seems to love the Dolphins this week, but Del is putting his faith in the Lions ferocious defense coming off a bye. Miami was impressive last week in a blowout win over the Chargers, but San Diego’s defense is dealing with a ton of injuries and their running game has missed Ryan Mathews. Ryan Tannehill should come back to earth against a Lions defense that is ranked No. 5 in the NFL against the pass. Detroit seems to always play well at home and I expect that trend to continue coming off an extra week to prepare.
Finally, Del’s taking the Falcons on the road against the Bucs. Tampa Bay is turning to Josh McCown this week after losing its last four games with Mike Glennon under center. I don’t know if you remember, but McCown was horrendous earlier this year before going down with an injury. The Falcons have had an extra week to prepare and still have great playmakers in Matt Ryan, Julio Jones and Roddy White. Sure, their defense has been terrible. But how much do you need to do to beat the Bucs?
