Week 6 Picks
I'm over the debacle that was the Cincinnati Bengals last Sunday night and it's time to move on. I still have faith in the Bengals and so should the rest of Who-Dey Nation. I'll have more on the Bengals later in my post.
Another great week of NFL games is in store and my picks for this week's slate are below.
Week 6 Picks (Home team in CAPS)
Indianapolis over HOUSTON: Home teams are 4-1 on Thursday night games so far this season and the games have not been close. Indianapolis and Houston will break this trend, however, as I look for a very close game that will be decided in the fourth quarter. Houston is the home team, so they are at an advantage, but Andrew Luck is having the best season of any quarterback thus far and I like him to lead the Colts to a fourth quarter comeback and get the win.
ATLANTA over Chicago: As I stated last week, the Falcons are a much better team at home than they are on the road. Atlanta averages 46.5 points per game at home and Chicago has given up an average of 34.5 points per game the last two weeks, both of which resulted in losses. I like Matt Ryan and Julio Jones to have big days in a high scoring game.
TENNESSEE over Jacksonville: Blowing a 25-point lead at home is almost impossible, but the Titans managed to become the first team in NFL history to accomplish such a feat last week when they lost to the Browns. It's hard to pick the Titans after what happened last week, but the Jaguars may be worse team in football and the game is in Nashville. I like Tennessee is a boring game.
Baltimore over TAMPA BAY: The Buccaneers have played much better the last two weeks, but they are still 1-4. The Ravens have a more talented team and I like them to win a close game on the road.
Denver over NY JETS: Last week quarterbacks Geno Smith and Michael Vick combined to go 12 of 31 for 60-yards, zero touchdowns and one interception with the longest pass of the day going for a whopping 11-yards. Peyton Manning on the other hand went 31 of 47 for 479-yards, four touchdowns, two interceptions and his longest pass went 86-yards for a touchdown. Not surprisingly, the Jets lost their game and the Broncos won theirs. With that being said, I like the Broncos to crush the Jets on Sunday.
Detroit over MINNESOTA: Detroit may be without wide receiver Calvin Johnson for a while, but what will keep the Lions atop the division will be their defense. The Lions ranked fourth against the run and fifth against the pass. Minnesota should have rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater back, after having missed last week's game with an ankle injury, which will help, but I still like the Lions behind that defense to get the win.
New England over BUFFALO: I guess Tom Brady can keep his job a little longer. The Patriots squashed any talk that they are done with a dominating performance on national television against the Bengals last Sunday night. They will carry that momentum to Buffalo on Sunday and get the win.
CLEVELAND over Pittsburgh: I'm telling you right now, watch out for the Browns. After overcoming a 25-point deficit last week in Tennessee, the Browns improved to 2-2 on the season. They now have a very favorable schedule over the next month. If they can get a win at home against Pittsburgh, Cleveland then goes to Jacksonville, has home games against Oakland and Tampa Bay before going to Cincinnati for a Thursday night game on November 6th. That means that the Browns could potentially be 6-2 going into Week 10. One game at a time, but I like the Browns to upset the rival Steelers on Sunday.
Green Bay over MIAMI: The Packers have been clicking offensively the last two weeks having scored 80 points and quarterback Aaron Rodgers having thrown for seven touchdowns in that stretch. I look for their success on offense to continue down in South Beach on Sunday.
San Diego over OAKLAND: After coming off of a 31-0 humiliation of the New York Jets, where they allowed just 151-yards of offense, the San Diego Chargers look like one of the best teams in the NFL. Can't wait till they go to Denver on Thursday, October 23rd to face the Broncos. That should be a fun one to watch. In the meantime, San Diego takes care of business in Oakland against the abysmal Raiders.
SEATTLE over Dallas: If this game was in Dallas, I would seriously consider taking the Cowboys here. They are so much better than I had anticipated and after winning four straight, they look like the second best team in the NFC behind the Seahawks. Dallas has been playing great, but Seattle is so tough to beat at home. Seahawks by a field goal in what should be a competitive, entertaining game.
ARIZONA over Washington: Whether Carson Palmer returns at quarterback for Arizona or not, I still like the Cardinals in this one. The Washington defense is giving up 27.2 points per game (seventh highest in the league) and has not looked the past three weeks giving up 109 points. Yikes. I like the Cardinals to get the win at The Big Toaster.
PHILADELPHIA over NY Giants: Very intriguing game on Sunday night. The Giants looked awful after starting the season 0-2, but they have turned things around and have won three straight. The Eagles have scored the most points of any team thus far, but they are in the bottom 10 in points allowed. I look for Eli Manning and the Giants to score some points, but not enough to beat the Eagles. Close game, but Philadelphia holds on.
San Francisco over ST. LOUIS: It has been a struggle for the Rams this season, but quarterback Austin Davis has kept the Rams competitive the last two weeks. Davis has thrown for at least 327-yards and has thrown three touchdowns in the last two games. Not bad for a second year guy out of Southern Miss. The 49ers have more talent and will win, but Davis and the Rams will keep it close.
BENGALS over Panthers: I have one statement for all the Bengals fans out there, let last week go and move on. The 43-17 debacle on Sunday night in Foxborough was just a bump in the road and I think it did the Bengals some good.
A lot of things went wrong against the Patriots and hopefully it was a reminder that the Bengals can always get better. The defense needs to work on a pass rush and linebacker Vontaze Burfict needs to get healthy, because he was severely missed last Sunday.
The offense needs to do better on third down -- they were 0-7 on third down against the Patriots -- and the receivers need to step up. A.J. Green is going to be covered some games, like he was against Darrelle Revis and guys like Mohammed Sanu and Jermaine Gresham need to step up. Getting a healthy Marvin Jones and Tyler Eifert back will help out Andy Dalton a lot too.
Another great week of NFL games is in store and my picks for this week's slate are below.
Week 6 Picks (Home team in CAPS)
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| Two MVP candidates meet up on Thursday night, Andrew Luck and J.J. Watt. (Photo Courtesy of Colts.com) |
ATLANTA over Chicago: As I stated last week, the Falcons are a much better team at home than they are on the road. Atlanta averages 46.5 points per game at home and Chicago has given up an average of 34.5 points per game the last two weeks, both of which resulted in losses. I like Matt Ryan and Julio Jones to have big days in a high scoring game.
TENNESSEE over Jacksonville: Blowing a 25-point lead at home is almost impossible, but the Titans managed to become the first team in NFL history to accomplish such a feat last week when they lost to the Browns. It's hard to pick the Titans after what happened last week, but the Jaguars may be worse team in football and the game is in Nashville. I like Tennessee is a boring game.
Baltimore over TAMPA BAY: The Buccaneers have played much better the last two weeks, but they are still 1-4. The Ravens have a more talented team and I like them to win a close game on the road.
Denver over NY JETS: Last week quarterbacks Geno Smith and Michael Vick combined to go 12 of 31 for 60-yards, zero touchdowns and one interception with the longest pass of the day going for a whopping 11-yards. Peyton Manning on the other hand went 31 of 47 for 479-yards, four touchdowns, two interceptions and his longest pass went 86-yards for a touchdown. Not surprisingly, the Jets lost their game and the Broncos won theirs. With that being said, I like the Broncos to crush the Jets on Sunday.
Detroit over MINNESOTA: Detroit may be without wide receiver Calvin Johnson for a while, but what will keep the Lions atop the division will be their defense. The Lions ranked fourth against the run and fifth against the pass. Minnesota should have rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater back, after having missed last week's game with an ankle injury, which will help, but I still like the Lions behind that defense to get the win.
New England over BUFFALO: I guess Tom Brady can keep his job a little longer. The Patriots squashed any talk that they are done with a dominating performance on national television against the Bengals last Sunday night. They will carry that momentum to Buffalo on Sunday and get the win.
CLEVELAND over Pittsburgh: I'm telling you right now, watch out for the Browns. After overcoming a 25-point deficit last week in Tennessee, the Browns improved to 2-2 on the season. They now have a very favorable schedule over the next month. If they can get a win at home against Pittsburgh, Cleveland then goes to Jacksonville, has home games against Oakland and Tampa Bay before going to Cincinnati for a Thursday night game on November 6th. That means that the Browns could potentially be 6-2 going into Week 10. One game at a time, but I like the Browns to upset the rival Steelers on Sunday.
Green Bay over MIAMI: The Packers have been clicking offensively the last two weeks having scored 80 points and quarterback Aaron Rodgers having thrown for seven touchdowns in that stretch. I look for their success on offense to continue down in South Beach on Sunday.
San Diego over OAKLAND: After coming off of a 31-0 humiliation of the New York Jets, where they allowed just 151-yards of offense, the San Diego Chargers look like one of the best teams in the NFL. Can't wait till they go to Denver on Thursday, October 23rd to face the Broncos. That should be a fun one to watch. In the meantime, San Diego takes care of business in Oakland against the abysmal Raiders.
SEATTLE over Dallas: If this game was in Dallas, I would seriously consider taking the Cowboys here. They are so much better than I had anticipated and after winning four straight, they look like the second best team in the NFC behind the Seahawks. Dallas has been playing great, but Seattle is so tough to beat at home. Seahawks by a field goal in what should be a competitive, entertaining game.
ARIZONA over Washington: Whether Carson Palmer returns at quarterback for Arizona or not, I still like the Cardinals in this one. The Washington defense is giving up 27.2 points per game (seventh highest in the league) and has not looked the past three weeks giving up 109 points. Yikes. I like the Cardinals to get the win at The Big Toaster.
PHILADELPHIA over NY Giants: Very intriguing game on Sunday night. The Giants looked awful after starting the season 0-2, but they have turned things around and have won three straight. The Eagles have scored the most points of any team thus far, but they are in the bottom 10 in points allowed. I look for Eli Manning and the Giants to score some points, but not enough to beat the Eagles. Close game, but Philadelphia holds on.
San Francisco over ST. LOUIS: It has been a struggle for the Rams this season, but quarterback Austin Davis has kept the Rams competitive the last two weeks. Davis has thrown for at least 327-yards and has thrown three touchdowns in the last two games. Not bad for a second year guy out of Southern Miss. The 49ers have more talent and will win, but Davis and the Rams will keep it close.
BENGALS over Panthers: I have one statement for all the Bengals fans out there, let last week go and move on. The 43-17 debacle on Sunday night in Foxborough was just a bump in the road and I think it did the Bengals some good.
A lot of things went wrong against the Patriots and hopefully it was a reminder that the Bengals can always get better. The defense needs to work on a pass rush and linebacker Vontaze Burfict needs to get healthy, because he was severely missed last Sunday.
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| A.J. Green and the Bengals were once again embarrassed on national television last Sunday night against the Patriots. (Jared Wickerham/Getty Images) |
Carolina has struggled defensively this season and has given up 1,265-yards the past three weeks, an average of 421.7-yards per game. Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson will have a good game plan in place to take advantage of the Panthers and I look for the Bengals to put up a lot of yards and points in a bounce back win. Bengals 31, Panthers 17.
Bye: Kansas City, New Orleans
Last Week: 12-3
Overall: 51-25
Bye: Kansas City, New Orleans
Last Week: 12-3
Overall: 51-25
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