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Five outrageous predictions for Week 10 of the NFL season
Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

Five outrageous predictions for Week 10 of the NFL season

There are some games this week that should be ripe for an upset, none more so than the undefeated Carolina Panthers heading to Nashville to take on a rejuvenated Tennessee Titans team. Will Marcus Mariota hand Cam Newton's squad its first loss of the season?

In Tampa Bay, Darren McFadden is going to need to put up another stellar performance to lead his Dallas Cowboys to its first win since Week 2.

Meanwhile, the Jacksonville Jaguars can actually pull to within one game in the AFC South if they can grab their first road win since December of 2013.

These three games are included in our most outrageous predictions for Week 10 of the 2015 NFL season.

1. Tennessee Titans will hand the Carolina Panthers their first loss

Don't look now, but this is a rather solid matchup for the rejuvenated Titans. Boasting the league's third-best pass defense, Tennessee has a major advantage against a Panthers 27th-ranked passing attack. This should help Tennessee stack the box against a Carolina offense that ranks atop the pack in rushing.

That's going to be the biggest key here. If Tennessee can make Carolina one-dimensional by stopping the run, its vastly improved defense can tee off against a lackluster group of Panthers receivers.

It's also important to note that Marcus Mariota is coming off a four-touchdown performance on the road in New Orleans. Returning home for his first start in Nashville since mid October, the reigning Heisman winner won't have to deal with a hostile crowd in an enclosed environment. If you don't think that plays a role here, I am not sure what to tell you.

None of this is an indictment on a Panthers team that's playing the best football of anyone in the NFC right now. Losing on the road in Tennessee wouldn't be the end of the world for Cam Newton and Co. Rather, it could even humble what has been one of the most-surprising teams in the league this year.

2. Darren McFadden goes for 150-plus yards in Dallas Cowboys win

Since taking over for Joseph Randle as the Cowboys primary ball carrier, McFadden has put up nearly 400 total yards in three games.

With Tony Romo still a week away from returning, Dallas is going to have to ride McFadden hard on the road against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. While Matt Cassel did play a decent game last week against Philadelphia, he can't be relied on to put the ball up 30-plus times.

Instead, Dallas is going to have to make McFadden the focal point of the team's offense if it wants to avoid a seventh consecutive loss and an end to its playoff aspirations. Based on what we have seen from the veteran, that will likely lead to another big performance.

3. Jacksonville Jaguars stay in playoff race with first road win since December of 2013

Since defeating the Cleveland Browns back in Week 13 of the 2013 season, the Jaguars have lost 13 consecutive road games. That's going to come to an end Sunday against the lowly Ravens in Baltimore.

Just one game behind the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans in the loss column, a win here would put Jacksonville right in the midst of the AFC South division race.

Taking on a Ravens defense that's allowing nearly 27 points per game and ranks 24th in total yards against, a talented Jaguars offense should have a ton of success here.

While Allen Hurns is questionable to go in this one, Blake Bortles still has a healthy Allen Robinson to throw to. The two have combined for 76 receptions, 1,342 yards and 12 touchdowns through eight games. To make matter more interesting here, Baltimore's secondary is yielding a 64 percent completion rate to receivers on the season.

Jacksonville's defense may still be a hot mess (30th in scoring), but it's taking on a Ravens offense that's without top receiver Steve Smith and has very little at the wide receiver position. If Gus Bradley's squad can hold the Ravens to the mid 20's in points, Jacksonville will pull off that rare road win.

4. Four-plus sacks for Justin Houston in Denver

Despite all the offensive line issues with the Denver Broncos this season, Peyton Manning has been sacked just 13 times in eight games. Most of that has to do with his ability to get rid of the ball, but it's still a rather amazing stat.

After losing left tackle Ryan Clady for the year in an injury during the offseason and having to place rookie tackle Ty Sambrailo on injured reserve earlier in the year, Denver is going to be throwing out a tackle tandem of Ryan Harris and Michael Schofield.

That's a less-than-ideal scenario for the first-place Broncos. This is also magnified by the fact that Denver will be taking on a ferocious Chiefs pass rush led by Justin Houston. A Defensive Player of the Year candidate last season, Houston has racked up just six sacks through eight games this year.

However, Pro Football Focus does grade him out as the second-best 3-4 outside linebacker in the NFL. He's also racked up a ridiculous 31 quarterback hurries. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Houston feast off a substandard offensive line en route to a breakout performance on Sunday.

5. Another 300-yard, three-touchdown performance from Derek Carr

At this point, it could be said that Carr is playing the best football of any quarterback in the NFL not named Tom Brady. Through eight games, the second-year signal caller is completing 64 percent of his passes for 2,094 yards with 19 touchdowns and just four interceptions. Over the past three games, Carr has put up 11 touchdowns compared to one pick.

Some figure Carr will take a step back this week against a sixth-ranked Minnesota Vikings pass defense. While that might be true, the individual matchups work in Oakland's favor here.

Amari Cooper will find himself lined up against a corner in Xavier Rhodes who has allowed a whopping 116.0 quarterback rating when targeted on the year. Meanwhile, Michael Crabtree (220 yards, three touchdowns past two games), will be taking on an aged corner in Terence Newman who tends to struggle against receivers with top-end short-area quickness.

It wouldn't be terribly surprising to see Carr put up yet another great performance in front of his home crowd here, leading Oakland to a winning record heading into Week 11.

Check out Vincent's other work on eDraft.com and follow him on Twitter @VincentFrankNFL

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