NFL Picks, Week 6

There have been so many upsets early in the season that I've already been eliminated from my survival pick 'em.  My third strike came on Thursday night, when the Giants beat the Eagles.  Needless to say, I didn't see that one coming.  Especially with how the Giants started the season.  I doubt the upsets and surprising results will stop there, either.  After all, it's only mid-October.

That was actually Philadelphia's second loss in five days.  The Eagles' loss to Denver left the Bills as the only remaining undefeated team...for a few hours until they lost to New England.  And the remaining '72 Dolphins once again broke open the champagne.  Meanwhile, the Jets are the only team that's still winless.  Can they get their first win in London?

Thursday Night: Philadelphia (Loss)

Broncos (3-2) vs Jets (0-5): Denver-It looks like the NFL is starting to make the London travel a little easier for the teams that are based further west.  The Broncos played the Eagles in Philadelphia, making for a shorter trip across the pond.  Next week, the Rams head over there after playing in Baltimore this week.  So, they're being smart about it, even if that means a longer road trip in the other sense.  Anyway, Denver's a scary good team.  Everyone knows this.  They'll pick up their third straight win and the Jets will have to keep looking for their first.

Cardinals (2-3) at Colts (4-1): Indianapolis-Just when I start saying nice things about the Cardinals, they go and lose at home to the Titans.  If you want to be taken seriously as a contender, especially in a division like the NFC West, things like that can't happen.  That's a lesson the Colts know all too well, considering some of their costly bad losses in recent years.  Being in an actual division race with Jacksonville I think is going to help them stay focused and keep their eyes on the prize.

Chargers (3-2) at Dolphins (1-4): Chargers-The Chargers started 3-0 with three division wins.  Then they stopped playing AFC West opponents and forgot they need to beat the other teams on their schedule, too.  Maybe this week they'll remember that and regain their standing atop the AFC West.  After all, they're playing a Dolphins team that seems rudderless without its best offensive player, Tyreek Hill.

Patriots (3-2) at Saints (1-4): New England-New Orleans finally picking up its first win of the season last week wasn't entirely surprising.  They knew that the Giants were one of the few opponents they can beat.  The Patriots, meanwhile, delivered a clear message with their victory in Buffalo.  Mike Vrabel's team will be a problem in the AFC.  They're not the dominant Bradicheck Patriots.  But they're kind of like Denver was last season, lurking in the shadows and hanging around enough to make a playoff push.

Browns (1-4) at Steelers (3-1): Pittsburgh-With everybody else losing around them and dealing with some serious issues, the Steelers suddenly find themselves in control of the AFC North.  First-place Pittsburgh has a game-and-a-half lead in the division, and it seems like that lead will only grow as the season progresses.  Because, frankly, I don't see any of the other three passing them.  You can start planning on a playoff game in the Steel City.

Cowboys (2-2-1) at Panthers (2-3): Dallas-FOX's slate of games this week is so bad that this is actually one of their featured matchups in the early window.  Anyway, Dallas finally got a road win last week, running all over the Jets.  Carolina also picked up a win, knocking off Miami.  So, neither team really beat the cream of the crop.  But you can only play who's on your schedule.  And the Cowboys know that after being gifted an Eagles loss, a win here suddenly has them right back in the thick of the NFC East race.

Seahawks (3-2) at Jaguars (4-1): Seattle-Both of these teams looked absolutely glorious in their throwback uniforms last week--and the Jaguars beat the Chiefs while wearing theirs!  The NFL is doing that whole ridiculous thing where teams where special uniforms for division games.  What they should really do is have everybody wear a throwback.  It would be glorious!  Meanwhile, it's back to the regular uniforms this week for two surprise contenders.  Jacksonville has beaten San Francisco and Kansas City in the last two weeks.  I'm not sure they can keep it up, so I'm taking Seattle.

Rams (3-2) at Ravens (1-4): Rams-When the schedule came out, this looked like it would be a good, early-season matchup between two playoff contenders.  What's actually happened is that the wheels have fallen off in Baltimore.  You have to wonder how things might've been different if they hadn't blown that lead in Buffalo in Week 1.  Because it's been all downhill since then for that defense who can't stop anybody.  Look for the Rams to put up a ton of points before they stick around Baltimore all week until heading to London.

Titans (1-4) at Raiders (1-4): Tennessee-Games between two bad teams are a fact of life in the NFL, but they're also an opportunity.  A chance for both of those teams to get a win and feel good about themselves, even if it's only for a week.  And the Titans are actually feeling OK after being gifted their first win of the Cam Ward Era last week in Arizona.  The Raiders, meanwhile, are coming off getting their butts kicked in Indianapolis.  So, it's clearly Tennessee who enters this one with positive momentum.

Bengals (2-3) at Packers (2-1-1): Green Bay-Cincinnati finally gave in and got an actual quarterback.  No offense to Jake Browning, but with the frequency at which Joe Burrow gets hurt, you'd think they'd have some sort of backup plan in place for when he does.  Getting desperate and realizing after three weeks that they need somebody better than Browning isn't it.  And, hey, now Joe Flacco is 3/4 of the way through the AFC North!  (He has to play just one game for the Steelers now, right?)  Even with Flacco instead of Browning, things likely won't get much better for them in Green Bay.

49ers (4-1) at Buccaneers (4-1): San Francisco-This one got flexed into the national window, and it's easy to see why.  It's two division leaders, and the winner will own the head-to-head tiebreaker.  Depending on what happens in Kansas City on Sunday night, whoever wins this game could be sitting on the NFC's No. 1 seed at the end of the week.  Tampa Bay went cross country and beat the Seahawks last week.  On the short week against a 49ers team that hasn't played since last Thursday, I don't see them winning again here.

Lions (4-1) at Chiefs (2-3): Kansas City-Remember two years ago, when these two played in the opener and the Lions won to basically announce their arrival?  The Chiefs sure do.  Kansas City is dealing with some adversity it hasn't felt in a while.  They already have three losses and are under .500.  They've played good teams, so it's not cause for alarm, but it's still odd not to see them be their dominant selves.  Detroit, meanwhile, has clearly recovered from that loss to Green Bay in Week 1, reeling off four straight and scoring a lot of points in all of them.  Look for that streak to end here, though.  When their backs are against the wall, the Chiefs play some of their best football.

Bills (4-1) at Falcons (2-2): Buffalo-Atlanta made some changes on its coaching staff after that shutout loss in Carolina.  They clearly paid off with a win over the Commanders before their bye week.  Did the bye do anything to mess with that momentum or did it help since it gave them more time to implement new things offensively?  I guess we'll find out against the Bills, who look to recover after taking one on the teeth against New England.  Will it ultimately matter in the long run?  Probably not.  But you know they don't want to make it two straight losses heading into their bye, either.

Bears (2-2) at Commanders (3-2): Washington-Once again, the Chicago Bears are in primetime.  I seriously don't understand the NFL's obsession with putting a mediocre team in so many marquee games!  Anyway, they're returning to the scene of the crime.  It was against the Bears a year ago that Washington had that incredible Hail Mary to absolutely steal a win and start that run that took them to the NFC Championship Game.  This year's matchup shouldn't come down to that.  The Commanders will have it in hand well before the last play.

This Week: 0-1
Last Week: 5-9
Overall: 50-28-1