NFL picks against the spread, Week 10: 49ers sitting at 4-point underdogs

Welcome back for another week of Fooch's picks! I stumbled a bit this past week, slipping to a 2-3 performance. I had put up back-to-back 3-2 weeks, so I was probably due to struggle. I've slipped a bit in the standings, but I'm still hanging in the top half. Picking the 49ers to cover a 10-point spread against the Rams was only a small part of my undoing.

For those that missed the previous explanation, I'm taking part in the LVH SuperContest, with OddsShark covering my entry fee. There are over 1,400 entries, and my goal from day one has been to finish closer to first place than last place. You can check out full standings here. The 2-3 week has me at 24-21 overall, and hanging on the right side of the middle of the pack! Heading into the season, my goal was to finish closer to first than last. I'm in decent position right now, and hopefully I can finish above .500 on the season.

This week, the 49ers are currently underdogs by as much as 5- and 5.5 points. The line opened Saints -2.5, but that line has quickly climbed at the various sites monitored by OddsShark.com. Given the 49ers recent struggles, this is not at all surprising. The 49ers don't have a great history in New Orleans, although a 2-3-1 ATS record is certainly nothing to sneeze at in the Superdome. I'm not picking the 49ers in my SuperContest picks. I had considered going for the jinxing pick with the Saints, but I just decided to stay away from it.

Funny thing happened in my SuperContest picks. I was prepared to take the Browns on Thursday Night Football, so I got my picks submitted Thursday afternoon. This would have been the seventh time in 10 weeks I picked the Browns to cover. I'm not sure why I've been hooked on them, but I just like them for some reason. 15 minutes after submitting my picks, I had second thoughts with A.J. Green back for a second straight week and looking like he should be in good shape. And so, I switched to Cincinnati. Shortly before kickoff, our guy in Las Vegas who submits the picks emailed me to say the Westgate's system had crashed and he was unable to submit my picks. Considering the result, I'm obviously pleased with that, but I also think this might just be a sign that I can never pick against Cleveland the rest of the season. I won't pick them every week, but I don't think I'll be picking against them. I doubt we see a 49ers-Browns Super Bowl, but I'm pulling for Cleveland in the AFC North.

My SuperContest picks this week are Cowboys (-6.5) over Jaguars, Bills (+2) over Chiefs, Ravens (-9.5) over Titans, Steelers (-5) over Jets) and Packers (-7) over Bears. Here are all my picks for the week.

BENGALS vs. Browns (+6) - Bengals
Cowboys vs. Jaguars (London) (+6.5) - Cowboys
LIONS vs. Dolphins (+2.5) - Lions
BILLS vs. Chiefs (-2) - Bills
SAINTS vs. 49ers (+5) - 49ers
RAVENS vs. Titans (+9.5) - Ravens
JETS vs. Steelers (-5) - Steelers
BUCCANEERS vs. Falcons (-1.5) - Bucs
RAIDERS vs. Broncos (-11.5) - Broncos
CARDINALS vs. Rams (+7) - Rams
SEAHAWKS vs. Giants (+9.5) - Seahawks
PACKERS vs. Bears (+7) - Packers
EAGLES vs. Panthers (+6) - Eagles