NFL Week 6 Picks

Obviously, the huge game of the week is Giants vs. Saints. The battle of two undefeateds, who hold two of the top three spots in my Power Rankings. There's a handful of other games that are intriguing this week, such as Baltimore/Minnesota, Arizona/Seattle, Bears/Falcons and Sunday Night, and Broncos/Chargers on Monday Night. On to my picks:

St. Louis Rams (0-5) vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-3)
The Jaguars are coming off the worst loss of the week, but they thankfully get to play the worst team in the league at home. A loss for the Jaguars would be quite embarrassing, though not a complete surprise. They did lose 41-0 last week, and Marc Bulger looked impressive coming off the bench last week for the Rams. However, the Rams have to show me a lot more before I even think about picking them to win a game.

Baltimore Ravens (3-2) vs. Minnesota Vikings (5-0)
If the game was in Baltimore, I might side with the Ravens here. They need to get back on track, but that will be pretty hard heading into Minnesota. The undefeated Vikings will ride the momentum in this game.

Detroit Lions (1-4) vs. Green Bay Packers (2-2)
Playing the Lions at home after the bye must seem like a waste of the extra week for Green Bay. They'll win easily here, especially if the Lions' biggest weapon is down.

Houston Texans (2-3) vs. Cincinnati Bengals (4-1)
The Texans have shown me very little this year, while the Bengals have been one of the biggest surprises. If Cedric Benson topped 100 yards rushing against the Ravens last week, there's no telling what he might do this week against Houston's defense.

Cleveland Browns (1-4) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2)
The Steelers will not allow Derek Anderson to throw for 23 yards and win the game. They actually have a competent offense, unlike the Bills. Pittsburgh could score more in the first quarter than Cleveland will score all game.

Kansas City Chiefs (0-5) vs. Washington Redskins (2-3)
I'm tempted to pick the Chiefs here, but I think if they will win, it will have to come at home. This will be an ugly game, but Clinton Portis and the rest of the Redskins offense will do just enough to win.

Carolina Panthers (1-3) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-5)
I am done giving the Panthers the benefit of the doubt after narrowly escaping the Redskins last week in Charlotte. I picked the Bucs to upset the Redskins earlier and that didn't work out, but with a bit more experience for Josh Johnson, I figure I'll try again.

New York Giants (5-0) vs. New Orleans Saints (4-0)
Admittedly, this is a bias pick more than anything. The Saints have two big advantages with the game being in New Orleans and they are coming off a bye week. However, going on the road has been no problem for the Giants over the past few seasons. This could likely be the week that the Giants' big weakness in the secondary gets exposed, but they will try to counter by putting as much pressure on Brees as possible with their defensive line. The Saints' defense has been pretty impressive against lesser quarterbacks, but Eli Manning should be smarter with the football and not beat himself. This should be a close game, and the Giants have a decent chance of winning, although the Saints should be favored slightly. But I will not pick against my Giants.

Arizona Cardinals (2-2) vs. Seattle Seahawks (2-3)
If the Cardinals in the first half of last week's game show up, the Cardinals win. But if we see the team from the second half, the Seahawks will be all over them. Seattle will be riding high after the 41-0 victory last week, and they are again playing in Qwest Field where they always have a big home field advantage. I don't like the inconsistencies of the Cardinals, and I expect the Seahawks to come out and punch them in the face.

Philadelphia Eagles (3-1) vs. Oakland Raiders (1-4)
It doesn't get much than the Raiders last week game against the Giants, but they will be happy to return to the West Coast. However, a great Eagles team will be coming into town, and the home field advantage for the Raiders will not be nearly enough.

Buffalo Bills (1-4) vs. New York Jets (3-2)
There's no way you can take the Bills seriously after the 6-3 loss to the Browns last week. The Jets have lost their last two games, but I'm sure Rex Ryan is working them hard this week to bounce back after being "embarrassed" last week in Miami. There's no way the Bills will be able to match them.

Tennessee Titans (0-5) vs. New England Patriots (3-2)
The Patriots do not lose back-to-back games, and apparently this year, the Titans just plain don't win games.

Chicago Bears (3-1) vs. Atlanta Falcons (3-1)
The Falcons showed no ill-effects of traveling to the West Coast last week with the 45-10 win in San Francisco, and now they will return home to face the Bears. Chicago has been pretty solid this year, jumping out to a 3-1 record, but there is just too much firepower in this Falcons offense.

Denver Broncos (5-0) vs. San Diego Chargers (2-2)
This is a must-win for the Chargers if they have any intentions of keeping up with the Broncos in the AFC West. They cannot lose this game and expect to win the division, and beating out the East and North division teams for a Wildcard spot will not be easy. But needing to win and actually going out and winning are two different things. The Broncos have been playing solidly all season, and I don't see them being intimidated by the Chargers.

Last Week: 9-5
Season: 52-24