Mark Craig's Week 10 NFL picks against the spread

The unpredictable carnage of Week 9 sure made the NFL a whole lot less enjoyable for those Survivor Pool victims who would really like to trust that the stinking oddsmakers can point them in the right stinking direction when it comes to picking the STINKING Cowboys to beat the STINKING Broncos straight up, or the STINKING Bills to beat the STINKING Jaguars straight up, or …

Sorry.

Where were we?

Ah, yes. Upsets. Week 9 saw six of them in 14 games. The Bills (14 ½), Cowboys (10) and Rams (7 ½) even lost as more than a touchdown favorites.

Dallas lost at home with Dak a week after winning with Cooper at Minnesota. The Cardinals won without Kyler and DeAndre. The Titans flattened the Rams without their steamroller Derrick.

Welcome to Week 10.

The Bills again are favored by double digits. The Jaguars again are double-digit underdogs.

Six teams went into Week 10 favored by more than a touchdown. Five are favored by a field goal or less. Commence flipping those coins.

Do the Bills bounce back? (Yes.) Do the Jaguars go back to being the Jaguars? (Yes.) Do the Lions keep the possibility of 0-17 alive and well? (Double yes.) Will the Vikings play good, bad, ugly and have a one-score outcome decided in the final minute of regulation or overtime? (You betcha! But it'll be more fun for the Purple this time.)

UPDATED ODDS: Point spreads, money lines, over/under

Here's a look at this week's games:

Ravens (-7 ½) at Dolphins
Beware giving 7 ½ points with a Ravens team that's 1-5 against the spread when favored. It's also a short week, and Baltimore is on the road for the first time in over a month. The Ravens have way too much Lamar Jackson for Miami to handle, but this could be a scrappier fight than many think. Ravens 26, Dolphins 20

Vikings (+3) at Chargers
The Vikings have lost five games, all one-score defeats, by a grand total of 18 points. The Chargers are 2-2 in one-score games. Los Angeles is not a tough venue in which to play. The Chargers' defense ranks 29th in third-down conversions allowed, which will help a constipated Vikings offense finally stay on the field. Another overachieving pass rush will help keep Justin Herbert relatively in check as the football gods give back to the Purple a one-score victory. Vikings 27, Chargers 26

Falcons (+9) at Cowboys
Whatever the heck happened at home against the Broncos last week won't happen this week now that Dak Prescott has knocked some rust off. Atlanta has won three of its past four and will make this another wild one like last year's 40-39 Dallas win. Cowboys 33, Falcons 30

Jaguars (+10½) at Colts
Bills over the 14 ½-point underdog Jaguars was last week's Lock of the Week. Oops. Sorry about that. But let's double down. Jacksonville hasn't won back-to-back contests in 32 games. Make it 33. Lock of the Week! Colts 31, Jaguars 19

Browns (+2 ½) at Patriots
New England has won three in a row, four of five and should have beaten the Cowboys last month. Cleveland has the running attack to control this game, but Bill Belichick will find a way to slow it down enough to exploit Baker Mayfield's inconsistencies. Patriots 24, Browns 21

Bills (-12 ½) at Jets
It's hard to give 12½ points when Buffalo just lost outright while giving 14 ½. Buffalo still has issues on the offensive line and the Jets are an injured mess at quarterback. Buffalo wins but fails to cover once again. Bills 28, Jets 20

Lions (+8½) at Steelers
Note to self: Resist all urges to have any faith in Detroit. Period. Steelers 45, Lions 0

Buccaneers (-9 ½) at Washington
Tom Brady is coming off a bye week. So is Washington, but the Football Team comes in with a defense that's allowing opposing QBs not named Brady to post a 107.6 passer rating. Only the Detroit defense (112.6) is worse. Buccaneers 38, Washington 26

Panthers (+10½) at Cardinals
Any chance P.J. Walker beats the best team in football in his second NFL start? Nope. Cardinals 34, Panthers 10

Eagles (+2½) at Broncos
In a totally logical NFLish turn of events, Denver follows up a win at Dallas with a letdown loss to Philly at home. Eagles 25, Broncos 23

Seahawks (+3½) at Packers
The Packers and whichever quarterback they use will be good enough to beat the Seahawks and whichever quarterback they use. Packers 24, Seahawks 20

Chiefs (-2½) at Raiders
The Raiders are coming off an ugly loss to the Giants. The Chiefs are coming off an ugly win over Jordan Love and the Packers. Kansas City has turned the ball over a league-high 19 times. Vegas will use some of that sloppiness to pull a Sunday night home upset. Raiders 34, Chiefs 31

Rams (-3½) at 49ers
Speaking of turnovers, the 49ers have a minus-9 differential. And here comes Von Miller's debut Monday night on a Rams defense that will be extra motivated not to repeat last week's home loss to Tennessee. Rams 35, 49ers 28

UPSET SPECIAL

Saints (+3) at Titans
NFL Rule No. 1: Whatever goes up must come down. Tennessee has won five in a row and sits atop the AFC. New Orleans is 3-0 as an underdog this year. It's time for the Titans to come down. Saints 26, Titans 23

Last week's Upset Special: Falcons (+6) 26, Saints 23. Actual score: Falcons 27, Saints 25. Record: 6-3.

SEASON RESULTS

Last week's record straight up/against the spread: 10-4/5-9.

Season record straight up/against the spread: 87-49/62-74.

Vikings picks straight up/against the spread: 6-2/3-5.