Week 6 NFL Picks: Latest Betting Odds, Vegas Spreads and Projections

Like the Detroit defense, there seem to be serious lapses bettors can exploit when it comes to the early Week 6 lines.

While it might make sense for some to fall back and wait until closer to Sunday, favorable lines won't last long. The so-called sharks of the betting landscape (ocean?) don't take any days off, and neither should bettors looking to make the next week's slate more interesting and profitable.

Below, let's take a look at the full available lines from Las Vegas and break down where bettors should aim to accomplish the goal.

NFL Week 6 Odds 

Game	Spread	Predicted Winner
Atlanta at New Orleans	ATL -3	ATL 20-17
Cincinnati at Buffalo	CIN -1	CIN 28-21
Denver at Cleveland	DEN -4.5	DEN 23-14
Chicago at Detroit	DET -2.5	CHI 17-14
Houston at Jacksonville	HOU -1	JAC 21-20
Kansas City at Minnesota	MIN -3.5	MIN 23-20
Washington at N.Y. Jets	NYJ -6	NYJ 20-16
Arizona at Pittsburgh	N/A	ARI 27-14
Miami at Tennessee	TEN -2.5	TEN 21-17
Carolina at Seattle	SEA -7.5	CAR 24-21
San Diego at Green Bay	N/A	GB 35-28
Baltimore at San Francisco	BAL -1	SF 24-23
New England at Indianapolis	NE -8	NE 48-24
N.Y. Giants at Philadelphia	N/A	NYG 28-23

Odds courtesy of Odds Shark.   

Analyzing Top Early-Week Lines

Denver (-5) at Cleveland

So an undefeated team takes on the Cleveland Browns and isn't favored by at least a touchdown? Right. 

In all seriousness, things haven't been great for the Denver Broncos this year. Peyton Manning's arm looks weak and the ground game hasn't done much of anything. In fact, the Broncos haven't won a game by more than six points in three weeks.

Even with Manning struggling, though—he threw two picks and no scores in Oakland last week—the Broncos should be just fine against the Browns. Joe Haden or not, the Cleveland defense is an absolute mess that has already allowed at least 30 points in three games.

Denver's defense might just be the best in the league, too, so Von Miller and Co. shouldn't have any problems rushing the quarterback against a line that has already allowed 18 sacks.

Look for Denver to better commit to the run and ride the defense to an easy win in Cleveland.

Prediction: Broncos 23, Browns 14

Carolina at Seattle (-7)

Phelan M. Ebenhack/Associated Press

Sometimes it almost seems like Las Vegas goes on past reputations. 

Which helps bettors, of course.

The Seattle Seahawks might be the home team in this particular encounter, but enters after a crushing overtime loss to the Cincinnati Bengals while allowing 17 unanswered points in the fourth quarter. In fact, the defense looks like a shell of its former self, having let up big lead after big lead this season.

Russell Wilson is doing all he can, but it's not enough behind a line that has let up a ridiculous 22 sacks.

To throw things even further in Carolina's favor, the Panthers enter this contest off a bye week. For those keeping track, Cam Newton's team stands undefeated behind an MVP-esque effort from the signal-caller, including his nine total touchdowns and just two interceptions.

Were this last year, this line might make sense. But Seattle at home isn't the scariest thing in the league anymore, especially after the Seahawks hardly squeaked out a win against the winless Detroit Lions in 13-10 fashion in Week 4.

Look for Newton to abuse a struggling defense and pull off the upset, helping the globe to finally take the team seriously.

Prediction: Panthers 24, Seahawks 21

New England (-7.5) at Indianapolis

This is going to get ugly.

Normally it's just silly to buy into narratives surrounding games. This is the NFL, these are professionals and anything can happen.

Maybe buy into this one though, all right?

The New England Patriots travel to Indianapolis to take on the Colts, the team involved in the whole Deflategate situation. Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri put it best, per the team's official Twitter account:

Even without the narrative this looks ugly at best. New England looks unstoppable with 28-21, 40-32, 51-17 and 30-6 victories this year. Tom Brady has 11 touchdowns with no picks.

The Colts, on the other hand, are just 3-2 and needed overtime to beat Jacksonville. Andrew Luck is practicing, per Fox 59's Mike Chappell, but bettors may never know if he's fully 100 percent.

And does it matter? Think to last year, when New England beat the Colts twice, 42-20 and then 45-7 in the postseason. Or two postseasons ago, 43-22. Or in the 2012 regular season, 59-24.

So, no, Las Vegas doesn't have a great line here. Jump all over it before it balloons.

Prediction: Patriots 48, Colts 24

Stats courtesy of NFL.com and accurate as of Oct. 13. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus.