NFL 2013: Week 6 Predictions
Can the Bengals win their first road game of the season Sunday in Buffalo?
Fans would hope they can beat a team that will be starting a quarterback recently signed off of the practice squad, but I say they win the game for an entirely different reason.
That reason and the rest of my Week 6 predictions are below:
Week 6 Picks (Home team in CAPS)
CHICAGO over NY Giants: Tom Coughlin is officially on the hot seat. He might have two Lombardi Trophies, but the NFL is a league that is centered on, "What have you done for me lately?" The Giants will win one here soon, but not Thursday night in Chicago.
Detroit over CLEVELAND: Whether WR Calvin Johnson plays or not, I think the Lions will win on the road in Cleveland.
KANSAS CITY over Oakland: Chiefs stay undefeated and keep pace with the undefeated Broncos in the division.
MINNESOTA over Carolina: QB Christian Ponder has been cleared to play, but Matt Cassel will most likely start Sunday against the Panthers. Carolina has not played well this season and I look for RB Adrian Peterson to have a good day running the football.
NY JETS over Pittsburgh: Believe it or not, but the NY Jets are 3-2. They are coming off a very good win Monday night in Atlanta where rookie QB Geno Smith led a game-winning drive in the final two minutes. Smith also did not commit a turnover in the game, the first time he's accomplished that feat this season. The Steelers are a bad football team and although I'm still not sold on the Jets, I'll take them to win on Sunday.
Philadelphia over TAMPA BAY: With the release of QB Josh Freeman, this is Mike Glennon's team in Tampa Bay, unfortunately for him; it's not a very good one. The Eagles are going to be without QB Michael Vick, but Nick Foles will get the job done in his absence.
Green Bay over BALTIMORE: This one tricky. The Ravens have played well this year when they give RB Ray Rice the football. Most teams would give their best player 20-25 touches every game, but the Ravens are prone to forget that Rice is even on the team and instead have QB Joe Flacco throw the ball 54 times. Puzzling. Green Bay is coming off a nice win at home over Detroit and with the fire power Aaron Rodgers has at his disposal on offense, he will lead the Packers to a close victory.
HOUSTON over St. Louis: QB Matt Schaub has been struggling recently having thrown a pick-six in an NFL-record four straight games and he has been hearing it from the fans as well. Videos of fans burning his jersey have surfaced and some fans may have even gone to Schaub's house to express their frustration. I know it's frustrating seeing your team lose -- try being a Bengals fan for the past 20 years -- but the fans in Houston need to get a grip. Burning jersey's and showing up at the guy's house is childish, "C'mon Man!" I think Schaub will play well at home against the Rams on Sunday and shut up some of those obnoxious fans.
DENVER over Jacksonville: According to Las Vegas, the Denver Broncos are a 28-point favorite in Sunday's game against the 0-5 Jacksonville Jaguars. The 28-point spread is the largest in history and although I usually don't pick against the spread, I say the Broncos will cover and win by 30.
SEATTLE over Tennessee: Seattle is at home, where they have the greatest advantage in the entire NFL.
SAN FRANCISCO over Arizona: The 49ers are coming off a very impressive win over the Texans and I think that will carry over to Sunday's battle with divisional foe Arizona.
New Orleans over NEW ENGLAND: I thought long and hard about this one and I feel like I should take the Patriots, but I just can't seem to pull the trigger. New England was suppose be getting TE Rob Gronkowski back this week, which would've made QB Tom Brady the happiest man in Foxborough. Besides having WR Danny Amendola for two games, here are the names Brady has been throwing the ball too in Gronk's absence: Julian Edelman, Kenbrell Thompkins, Aaron Dobson, Michael Hoomanawanui (no clue on the pronunciation), Josh Boyce, James Develin, Brandon Bolden, and Matthew Mulligan. Probably won't be seeing any of them in the Pro Bowl anytime soon. As for the Saints, they look as good now as they did back in 2009 when they won the Super Bowl, so, in what should be a great game, I like New Orleans.
DALLAS over Washington: The good news is that the Cowboys are still in first place after giving up 51 points to Peyton Manning in a loss to the Broncos last week, but the bad news is they're 2-3. A win against a bad Redskins team will get them back to .500.
Indianapolis over SAN DIEGO: Great win for the Colts last week against a solid Seahawks team and I don't see any reason why that success can't continue this week in San Diego.
Bengals over BILLS: The Bengals will not only win this game because the Bills are bringing Thad Lewis off the practice squad to play quarterback, but because Buffalo doesn't have a great tight end. The Achilles heel of the Bengals defense in the Marvin Lewis era has been facing teams with good tight ends. The Houston Texans used their tight ends effectively in the playoffs the last two years against the Bengals and it won them two playoff games. Look at who Cincinnati has played thus far and tell me there isn't some sort of pattern here.
The two games the Bengals have lost were to the Bears and Browns, who both happen to have a good tight end. Chicago has Martellus Bennett and he had 7 receptions for 49-yards and a touchdown in the Bears 24-21 win. Cleveland has Jordan Cameron, who dominated the game with 10 receptions for 91-yards and a touchdown and the Browns won 17-6. Granted Andy Dalton played terrible against Cleveland and the secondary was hurt by the injury bug, but coincident, I think not.
If you still don't believe me, here are the three teams the Bengals have beaten so far this season: Pittsburgh, Green Bay and New England. All three teams have excellent tight ends; however, none of them had an impact on the game when they faced Cincinnati. The Steelers' Heath Miller -- who has great success against the Bengals in the past -- was hurt and did not play. Green Bay's Jermichael Finley suffered a concussion in the first quarter of their game and did not return. Then New England, who has made a living throwing to their tight ends, was without arguably the best tight end in football in Rob Gronkowski last week.
So, if this pattern continues, the Bengals will win in Buffalo, because TE Scott Chandler doesn't really instill fear into the opposing defense. Bengals 24, Bills 13.
Bye: Atlanta, Miami
This Week: 1-0
Last Week: 10-4
Overall: 53-25
Fans would hope they can beat a team that will be starting a quarterback recently signed off of the practice squad, but I say they win the game for an entirely different reason.
That reason and the rest of my Week 6 predictions are below:
Week 6 Picks (Home team in CAPS)
CHICAGO over NY Giants: Tom Coughlin is officially on the hot seat. He might have two Lombardi Trophies, but the NFL is a league that is centered on, "What have you done for me lately?" The Giants will win one here soon, but not Thursday night in Chicago.
Detroit over CLEVELAND: Whether WR Calvin Johnson plays or not, I think the Lions will win on the road in Cleveland.
KANSAS CITY over Oakland: Chiefs stay undefeated and keep pace with the undefeated Broncos in the division.
MINNESOTA over Carolina: QB Christian Ponder has been cleared to play, but Matt Cassel will most likely start Sunday against the Panthers. Carolina has not played well this season and I look for RB Adrian Peterson to have a good day running the football.
NY JETS over Pittsburgh: Believe it or not, but the NY Jets are 3-2. They are coming off a very good win Monday night in Atlanta where rookie QB Geno Smith led a game-winning drive in the final two minutes. Smith also did not commit a turnover in the game, the first time he's accomplished that feat this season. The Steelers are a bad football team and although I'm still not sold on the Jets, I'll take them to win on Sunday.
Philadelphia over TAMPA BAY: With the release of QB Josh Freeman, this is Mike Glennon's team in Tampa Bay, unfortunately for him; it's not a very good one. The Eagles are going to be without QB Michael Vick, but Nick Foles will get the job done in his absence.
Green Bay over BALTIMORE: This one tricky. The Ravens have played well this year when they give RB Ray Rice the football. Most teams would give their best player 20-25 touches every game, but the Ravens are prone to forget that Rice is even on the team and instead have QB Joe Flacco throw the ball 54 times. Puzzling. Green Bay is coming off a nice win at home over Detroit and with the fire power Aaron Rodgers has at his disposal on offense, he will lead the Packers to a close victory.
HOUSTON over St. Louis: QB Matt Schaub has been struggling recently having thrown a pick-six in an NFL-record four straight games and he has been hearing it from the fans as well. Videos of fans burning his jersey have surfaced and some fans may have even gone to Schaub's house to express their frustration. I know it's frustrating seeing your team lose -- try being a Bengals fan for the past 20 years -- but the fans in Houston need to get a grip. Burning jersey's and showing up at the guy's house is childish, "C'mon Man!" I think Schaub will play well at home against the Rams on Sunday and shut up some of those obnoxious fans.
DENVER over Jacksonville: According to Las Vegas, the Denver Broncos are a 28-point favorite in Sunday's game against the 0-5 Jacksonville Jaguars. The 28-point spread is the largest in history and although I usually don't pick against the spread, I say the Broncos will cover and win by 30.
SEATTLE over Tennessee: Seattle is at home, where they have the greatest advantage in the entire NFL.
SAN FRANCISCO over Arizona: The 49ers are coming off a very impressive win over the Texans and I think that will carry over to Sunday's battle with divisional foe Arizona.
New Orleans over NEW ENGLAND: I thought long and hard about this one and I feel like I should take the Patriots, but I just can't seem to pull the trigger. New England was suppose be getting TE Rob Gronkowski back this week, which would've made QB Tom Brady the happiest man in Foxborough. Besides having WR Danny Amendola for two games, here are the names Brady has been throwing the ball too in Gronk's absence: Julian Edelman, Kenbrell Thompkins, Aaron Dobson, Michael Hoomanawanui (no clue on the pronunciation), Josh Boyce, James Develin, Brandon Bolden, and Matthew Mulligan. Probably won't be seeing any of them in the Pro Bowl anytime soon. As for the Saints, they look as good now as they did back in 2009 when they won the Super Bowl, so, in what should be a great game, I like New Orleans.
DALLAS over Washington: The good news is that the Cowboys are still in first place after giving up 51 points to Peyton Manning in a loss to the Broncos last week, but the bad news is they're 2-3. A win against a bad Redskins team will get them back to .500.
Indianapolis over SAN DIEGO: Great win for the Colts last week against a solid Seahawks team and I don't see any reason why that success can't continue this week in San Diego.
Bengals over BILLS: The Bengals will not only win this game because the Bills are bringing Thad Lewis off the practice squad to play quarterback, but because Buffalo doesn't have a great tight end. The Achilles heel of the Bengals defense in the Marvin Lewis era has been facing teams with good tight ends. The Houston Texans used their tight ends effectively in the playoffs the last two years against the Bengals and it won them two playoff games. Look at who Cincinnati has played thus far and tell me there isn't some sort of pattern here.
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| The Bengals defense, with a little help from the rain, ended Tom Brady's streak of 52 consecutive games with a touchdown pass. (Marc Lebryk/USA Today) |
The two games the Bengals have lost were to the Bears and Browns, who both happen to have a good tight end. Chicago has Martellus Bennett and he had 7 receptions for 49-yards and a touchdown in the Bears 24-21 win. Cleveland has Jordan Cameron, who dominated the game with 10 receptions for 91-yards and a touchdown and the Browns won 17-6. Granted Andy Dalton played terrible against Cleveland and the secondary was hurt by the injury bug, but coincident, I think not.
If you still don't believe me, here are the three teams the Bengals have beaten so far this season: Pittsburgh, Green Bay and New England. All three teams have excellent tight ends; however, none of them had an impact on the game when they faced Cincinnati. The Steelers' Heath Miller -- who has great success against the Bengals in the past -- was hurt and did not play. Green Bay's Jermichael Finley suffered a concussion in the first quarter of their game and did not return. Then New England, who has made a living throwing to their tight ends, was without arguably the best tight end in football in Rob Gronkowski last week.
So, if this pattern continues, the Bengals will win in Buffalo, because TE Scott Chandler doesn't really instill fear into the opposing defense. Bengals 24, Bills 13.
Bye: Atlanta, Miami
This Week: 1-0
Last Week: 10-4
Overall: 53-25
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