Week 10 NFL Predictions: Kansas City At Carolina

It is the goal of every NFL team to hoist the Lombardi Trophy at the end of a grueling season, but every team is aware of just how difficult it is to make that happen. The Carolina Panthers made it to the Super Bowl last season, only to lose out to the Denver Broncos. The consensus was that they would once again be the team to beat in the NFC Division, but a 3-5 start to the season proves that getting there once is no guarantee that you will be able to do it again. Anyone remember the Miami Dolphins in the Dan Marino era? The good news for the Panthers is that they are starting to show signs of life with back to back wins, and they still have time to turn this season around. They have a tough test this weekend, though, as they are facing a Kansas City Chiefs team that has reeled off 4-straight wins, and which should be getting QB Alex Smith back from injury. This looks like a great match-up, and the bookies have the Panthers as 3-point favorites.

Analyzing The Week 10 NFL Predictions: Kansas City Chiefs At Carolina Panthers

When: Sunday, November 13 Where: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte TV: CBS Radio: KCFX and WBT NFL Odds: TBA    

Why bet on the Kansas City Chiefs

There is no real secret to the turnaround that the Kansas City Chiefs have had in the past 4 weeks, as it all has to do with winning the turnover battle. They have not given the ball away once in the last 4 games, and the defense has 10 takeaways in that same stretch. When you ae 10-0 in turnover differential, it stands to reason that you are going to win some football games. You know that this defense is going to be going after Cam Newton in a big way this coming Sunday. Newton has been hit hard all season long, and has recently taken to calling out the refs and the league for not protecting him properly. It’s safe to say that a few early sacks will be enough to get him off his game.

Why bet on the Carolina Panthers

You must give some credit to this Panthers team, as it would have been easy to throw in the towel after a 1-5 start. Instead, they buckled down, and have now won back to back games to get their record up to 3-5. Carolina have still not looked particularly convincing in those wins, though, especially in their last outing, a 13-10 win over the Rams where they only managed 244 yards of total offense. They are going to have to do better this week, and have the added pressure of knowing that a loss here might well take them to the point of no return.  

Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction

I expect this to be a close game that is scarce on points, and I think it is one that the Chiefs can win if Alex Smith does get the stat. KC are starting to get on the same type of roll as they did last season, and that makes them very dangerous indeed.

Kansas City Chiefs 20 Carolina Panthers 17