Happy Thursday everyone! First things first, apologies for going MIA for the last two days, I’ve been dealing with an illness. I’m pushing through it today because there is a football game tonight. There is a lot to get to today, so I’m not going to waste any time here. I’m going to go over my power rankings for Week 10, get into a few of the best matchups, preview Baltimore-Cleveland, and reveal all of my game picks.

My power rankings look pretty similar to last week, but there could be a big shift depending on the outcome of a few games between some of the best teams in the league. Oakland is the big mover this week after the impressive win against Denver. The Watch List will look slightly different as a few teams suffered losses last week. Without further ado, here are the power rankings for this week.

(1) New England Patriots (7-1) – Last Week: 1

Wash, rinse, repeat here for the Patriots. They were on a bye last week, but outside of Dallas, no one is staking a legitimate claim to the top spot in the NFL. Tom Brady is by far the top candidate right now for MVP despite missing the first four games. This offense was on fire prior to the bye due in large part to Brady’s presence. This week brings a great test for New England with Seattle coming to town for a massive Sunday night game.

(2) Dallas Cowboys (7-1) – Last Week 2

 How ‘bout them Cowboys? Not much of a test for Dallas last week against Cleveland so they easily retain the second spot in the power rankings. The Tony Romo debate once again continues though as he gets closer to being cleared. Dak Prescott should keep this job due in large part to the improvement he has made to this point in the year. I don’t think it’s a stretch that the Offensive Rookie of the Year is guaranteed to come from the Cowboys. Big game this week against a potentially angry Pittsburgh, who are coming off of a loss to rival Baltimore.

(3) Oakland Raiders (7-2) – Last Week: 5

 Oakland made a huge statement win last week against Denver, and even did it in a surprising way. Denver wasn’t gashed through the air like some thought they would given the injuries in the secondary. The Raiders instead went to a power running game and dominated the line of scrimmage and busted big runs. These Raiders are my surprise team of the year so far, and I’m interested to see how they play down the stretch. For now though, Oakland gets a week to rest as they enter their bye week.

(4) Atlanta (6-3) – Last Week: 4

Despite the victory last Thursday, no movement here for the Falcons. They certainly took care of business after letting Tampa Bay get off to a quick start. Atlanta’s offense is still one of the best in the league and will be bolstered by the return of Tevin Coleman after a two-game absence due to injury. I still have questions about this defense coming down the stretch. The prolific offense masks the fact that this defense allows an average of 28 points per game. That is way too high for a team that could potentially make a run in the playoffs should they get there. This week brings an intriguing matchup with the Eagles in Philadelphia, which has been a difficult place to play this season.

(5) Kansas City (6-2) – Last Week: Watch List

Welcome to the power rankings Kansas City. The Chiefs have quietly won 17 out of their last 20 games dating back to last season. They don’t play the most exciting brand of football but Andy Reid has certainly found a winning formula. Despite injuries to Alex Smith and Spencer Ware, the Chiefs grinded out a win against Jacksonville last week. Both should ready to go for this week, and got even better news in Justin Houston getting activated yesterday. Kansas City travels to Carolina this week in one of the more interesting games of the week.

Watch List: Denver (6-3), Seattle (5-2-1), NY Giants (5-3), Detroit (5-4), Baltimore (4-4)

There are two games I really want to get into this week. Both involve my top two teams in the NFL. The first is the matchup between the Cowboys and Steelers. This really boils down to which offense can dominate the opposing defense. Now don’t be fooled by the ugly loss that Pittsburgh suffered against Baltimore last week. The Ravens always play the Steelers tough and Pittsburgh is also 2-7 in games where Big Ben is coming back from an injury.

Dallas has looked great but the signature wins aren’t looking all that great (at Green Bay, OT win against Philadelphia). This is a great Pittsburgh team that just has a bad record at the moment. There is also the added motivation for Dak Prescott to finally put the Tony Romo rumblings to sleep with a win on Sunday.

I don’t expect Pittsburgh to shut down the Dallas offense so that means Pittsburgh will have to be sharper than they have been on the offensive side of the ball. The Steelers have struggled without Big Ben, but I sense that the opportunity is there for this offense to explode on a injury weakened Dallas defense.

Moving onto the Sunday night game, and the game of the week between Seattle and New England. Prior to Monday night, I would have said that the Patriots would easily win this game. Seattle finally looked like the team we saw dominate opposing defenses in the second half of 2015.

Obviously everyone will be watching the Brady vs. Legion of Boom matchup, which will be compelling. However, keep an eye on how New England’s defense plays against Russell Wilson and the rest of the Seattle offense. Bill Belichick defenses are known for taking away the opponent’s fastball, so there are two things to keep an eye on.

I would expect for the Patriots to do everything possible to keep Russell Wilson inside of they pocket. Bad things happen when Wilson is able to improvise and attack downfield. The second thing to keep an eye on is the coverage on Jimmy Graham. Look for New England to have him blanketed all night, even if that doesn’t mean outright double-teaming him. This has the makings of a game of the year candidate, so definitely enjoy this one in primetime.

A game that likely won’t be a game of the year candidate is tonight’s game between the Ravens and Browns. Baltimore is coming off of what felt like an upset win over the Steelers. Cleveland is the only winless team left in the league, and the “0-16” talk is getting louder and louder by the week.

Truthfully, this could be the last chance that Cleveland has to get a win this season. That is how bad things are in “The Land” this season. Baltimore should win this game easily tonight, so there I’m not going to waste everyone’s time getting into the X’s and O’s here. Despite the fact that I have concerns about this line, I’m still going to go with Baltimore (-7.5) tonight.

Time for my favorite part of the week, and that is my game picks. Every week has been interesting seeing how I stack up. Not doing to bad compared to the experts that do this for a living so I’m feeling pretty good. Another week above .500 last week puts me on a nice little hot streak. Here are this week’s picks (Winners in Bold)

Last Week: 8-5       2016 Season: 71-62

1:00 PM

Green Bay (-2.5) vs. Tennessee

Minnesota vs. Washington (-2.5)

Chicago vs. Tampa Bay (+1)

Kansas City (+3) vs. Carolina

Atlanta (-2) vs. Philadelphia

Los Angeles vs. NY Jets (-1.5)

Denver (+3) vs. New Orleans

Houston (+2) vs. Jacksonville

 

4:05/4:25 PM

Miami vs. San Diego (-4)

Dallas vs. Pittsburgh (-2.5)

San Francisco vs. Arizona (-13.5)

 

Sunday Night Football

Seattle (+7.5) vs. New England

That’s it for me today, I’ll be back tomorrow with “Reality of Fantasy” and “Heat Check” to finish out the week. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.