Nat Coombs' NFL Week 10 Tips Including Lions @ Texans

Nat Coombs is an NFL writer & broadcaster who has been anchoring TV and radio coverage in the UK for over 15 years, working with a range of networks including BBC, TalkSPORT, FIVE, ESPN and Channel 4. 

He also hosts his own NFL podcast The Nat Coombs Show and writes a column for The Times. 

Nat has joined The Panel to share his three best selections for the weekend’s NFL action using the best prices from the leading NFL betting sites.

Nat Coombs' NFL Week 10 Predictions:

• Nat Coombs' Panel Pick 1: Giants & Panthers Over 40 Points - 10/11 With SpreadEx
• Nat Coombs' Panel Pick 2: Drake Maye Under 200 Passing Yards - 4/5 With SpreadEx
• Nat Coombs' Panel Pick 3: Lions -3.5 To Beat The Texans - 10/11 With Bet365

Giants @ Panthers, Prediction: Over Expected In Munich

International NFL games should always carry a buyer beware stamp due to the unorthodoxy, and unusual flow of the week. 

Thousands of miles from home, unfamiliar territory, jetlag central, countless media requests and in the case of Sunday's game between the Giants and Panthers, the very real possibility that, on paper, the NFL may be handing Germany one of the least compelling match-ups of the season.

But even if both teams are staring write-off seasons in the face, they each arrive with flashes of promise. The Giants are the favourites on betting apps.

The Panthers'' new narrative, in a season of comeback stories, is the rehabilitation of Bryce Young, fresh off the back of steering Carolina to a come-from-behind win over the hapless Saints last weekend.

This time out, he faces a ferocious Giants pass rush, who’ve kept intact through the trade deadline, despite a lot of speculation that Azeez Ojulari would be shipped out.

Dexter Lawrence, who leads the team with nine sacks (second in the NFL), was kept in check last week against the Commanders, so he’ll be chomping at the bit. 

But the Panthers O-Line is ranked in the top 10 in the league right now (via PFF) and Young, growing in confidence, can also lean once again on Chuba Hubbard.

Hubbard arrives in Munich with a big new contract and will likely feast on a Giants side that may pack some punch with its pass rush, but struggles against the run (ranked 29th).

Daniel Jones continues to be the most enigmatic QB going – at times, flashing top-tier potential, before defaulting to lacklustre type, but the Panthers are ranked dead last in pressure, so it may be an “on” day for Danny Dimes.

Nat Coombs' Panel Tip 1: Giants & Panthers Over 40 Points - 10/11 With SpreadEx

Patriots @ Bears Odds: Maye To Struggle Against Chicago Defense

Drake Maye is giving Patriots fans something to cling onto amidst a bleak season, and he certainly passes the QB moxie-test so far, flashing some big-play ability and swagger.

Given he’s playing behind one of the weakest offensive lines in recent years, his start has been all the more impressive. Maye is an explosive, dual threat. 

As per NFL Stats & Research, he's the first rookie in the modern NFL with five or more passing touchdowns and 200 or more rushing yards in his first five games.

But it’s a tough ask for him against a Bears D that ranks in the top three for EPA per pass, EPA per play and opposition passer rating, although it’s a unit that’s been significantly weakened by the injury to Andrew Billings.

Maye, who came up just short in the Patriots' loss to the Titans last week, squares off against fellow first rounder Caleb Williams, playing behind a porous line himself.

That has contributed significantly to the fractious start for the number one overall pick – in stark contrast to Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels, who is the favourite on the leading UK betting sites to be named offensive rookie of the year.

The risk with this pick is the potential for some garbage-time grabs if the Bears canter into a commanding lead and New England are left wildly swinging in the final quarter. But I’m backing the Bears front to make it a challenging day for Maye.

Nat Coombs' Panel Tip 2: Drake Maye Under 200 Passing Yards - 4/5 With SpreadEx

Lions @ Texans Betting: Goff To Lead Detroit To Comfortable Win

The Chiefs may have the best record in football right now, but the Lions are the number one team in the NFL.

They come into Houston as road favourites, complete with a big new signing, Za’Darius Smith from the Browns, a veteran pass rusher. 

Smith won’t completely fill the void left by the Aiden Hutchinson injury, but he will be an impact player on the banged-up Lions D Line from the get-go, and still has more than enough in the tank, even at 32. 

Former superstars moving to a contending team to take on a clutch, situational role has a precedent – think OBJ in the Rams' Super Bowl winning season, or DeAndre Hopkins at the Chiefs this year, who inevitably will snag a TD at some stage of Super Bowl 59 in New Orleans. 

These guys don’t need to be the number one that they used to be to still contribute significantly, and Smith feels like a defensive equivalent for the Lions.

The Texans have lost their way somewhat in what promised to be a Super Bowl contending season, with a struggling O-Line – which allowed eight sacks against the Jets last time out.

Injuries to key players (Stefon Diggs and Nico Collins notably, although the latter may return from a hamstring injury) haven't helped. 

The good news for Houston is that they’ve still got playmakers on both sides of the ball and they’re in the atrocious AFC South, which is demonstrably the weakest in football right now.

The Lions are leading the league in DVOA, and Jared Goff, the poster boy for great NFL comebacks, was my inside rail pick for MVP just a few weeks into the season. 

His odds have shortened considerably, and they’ll do so even more after a comfortable win in Texas.

Nat Coombs' Panel Tip 3: Lions -3.5 To Beat The Texans - 10/11 With Bet365

Nat Coombs' NFL Week 10 treble pays just over 9/2 (5.67/1) with SpreadEx