NFL Picks Week 6: Will Aaron Rodgers Play and Lead Green Bay Over Miami?
Picking NFL games has been a bit tricky all year long in a season that has been full of upsets.
No one really expected the Cardinals to beat the Saints, the Jaguars to beat the Colts or the 49ers to be one of the worst teams in the league.
So it's very possible that Week 6 will feature another upset or two.
The Bengals, Bills, Cardinals and Panthers all have byes, but 28 teams all have pivotal matchups that could set the tone for the rest of the season.
I'm going to do my best to predict what will happen in all 14 games in Week 6.
Let's get the show on the road.
Atlanta Falcons @ Philadelphia Eagles
1 of 14
The 4-1 Falcons travel to Philadelphia, and Michael Vick is looking to get a victory against his old team.
But it doesn't look like Vick will get a chance to be on the field, because his rib injuries haven't fully healed.
Why the Falcons Will Win: The Falcons defense has been surprisingly good all season, limiting its opponents to just 14 points per game.
And Atlanta's run game, led by Michael Turner, ranks second in the league with 148 rushing yards per game, and Philadelphia's run defense gives up 124 yards on the ground.
Why the Eagles Will Win: The Eagles have had a pretty balanced offensive attack with LeSean McCoy emerging as a very good running back in this league.
If Kevin Kolb can limit his mistakes and hand the ball to McCoy 20-plus times, Philadelphia can keep Matt Ryan off the field and win this game.
Prediction: Eagles 28, Falcons 24
Kansas City Chiefs @ Houston Texans
2 of 14
Neither team looked good in Week 5. The Chiefs lost to the Colts, and the Texans were absolutely obliterated by the Giants.
This games is huge for both teams, who are looking to show that their early success was not a fluke.
Why the Chiefs Will Win: Matt Cassell isn't going to win many games for you, so the Chiefs will rely heavily on the run with Jamaal Charles and Thomas Jones.
Smart decision. Kansas City is third in the league in rushing. If they keep that up, the Texans offense will stay off the field.
Why the Texans Will Win: Matt Schaub should have a big day against a struggling Chiefs secondary that gives up 239 yards per game.
The Chiefs won't be able to key in on Schaub thanks to Arian Foster, which could pose another big problem for Kansas City.
Prediction: Texans 30, Chiefs 20
Cleveland Browns @ Pittsburgh Steelers
3 of 14
These two teams are going in opposite directions.
Pittsburgh will have Ben Roethlisberger for the first time all season while Colt McCoy might be starting for the Browns before he's ready.
Why the Browns Will Win: The only realistic shot I think the Browns have at winning is if Big Ben really struggles in his first game back.
If the Browns can force some ill-advised turnovers, this game could be closer than people expect.
Why the Steelers Will Win: Pittsburgh has the best rushing and scoring defense in the league, and the Steelers pass game will get a huge lift with Roethlisberger back in the fold.
Big Ben should greatly improve the league's worst passing offense.
Prediction: Steelers 31, Browns 10
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Seattle Seahawks @ Chicago Bears
4 of 14
The Seahawks are looking for their first road win of the season while the Bears get Jay Cutler back for his first game since suffering a concussion against the Giants.
Marshawn Lynch will also play his first game as a Seahawk.
Why the Seahawks Will Win: The Bears offensive line has done a horrific job of protecting the quarterback this season.
If Seattle can get to Cutler early and often, the Seahawks could pull the upset in Chicago.
Why the Bears Will Win: Seattle cannot win on the road.
In two road games, the Seahawks have scored just 17 total points, and they lost both games by 17 points.
Prediction: Bears 27, Seahawks 17
Detroit Lions @ New York Giants
5 of 14
The Lions got their first win of the season last week with a 44-6 beatdown of the Rams, but Detroit faces a stingy Giants defense that destroyed the Bears and the Texans the last two weeks.
Matthew Stafford is not expected to return, so it will be Shaun Hill who has to deal with the Giants.
Why the Lions Will Win: Shaun Hill has played very well at quarterback, and the Lions are ranked sixth in the league in both passing yards and points scored.
Hill and Calvin Johnson have connected for three touchdowns the last two games, and Johnson could be a serious matchup problem for the Giants defense.
Why the Giants Will Win: The Giants defense has been stellar all season, ranking first in total yards and passing yards allowed and ninth in rushing yards allowed.
Detroit will struggle to move the ball all game, especially with a poor run game.
Prediction: Giants 31, Lions 13
Baltimore Ravens @ New England Patriots
6 of 14
The Ravens-Patriots matchup is the game of the week and should be one hell of a contest.
Tom Brady and New England will play their first game without Randy Moss against a Baltimore team that looks like one of the best in the AFC.
Why the Ravens Will Win: The Patriots defense scored a lot of fantasy football points against the Dolphins, but let's look at the numbers.
New England's defense gives up 24 points, 272 passing yards and 384 total yards per game. Joe Flacco could have a field day.
Why the Patriots Will Win: Playing at home helps, but so does scoring points.
The Patriots offense leads the league with 32.8 points per game.
Prediction: Ravens 28, Patriots 24
San Diego Chargers @ St. Louis Rams
7 of 14
At 2-3, the Chargers have gotten off to another slow start, but San Diego's passing attack looks nearly unstoppable.
The Rams defense looked solid through its first four games, but got torched by the Lions last week in a 38-point loss.
Why the Chargers Will Win: Philip Rivers looks like he's playing pitch and catch on Sundays.
Rivers has topped 430 yards passing twice, and has tossed 11 touchdowns on the season. The Rams better be ready.
Why the Rams Will Win: On paper, I think the Chargers are a much better team than the Rams.
But St. Louis played very well at home in the team's two wins over Washington and Seattle. The Rams defense tends to step it up when playing indoors.
Prediction: Chargers 30, Rams 20
Miam Dolphins @ Green Bay Packers
8 of 14
Despite suffering a concussion in Week 5 against the Redskins, all indications are that Aaron Rodgers will play against the Dolphins. But Green Bay will be without tight end Jermichael Finley, who is out after knee surgery.
Miami is hoping to get back on track against Rodgers and the Packers after losing two straight games following a 2-0 start.
Why the Dolphins Will Win: The Dolphins pass defense has been solid all season, limiting opposing quarterbacks to just 181 yards per game through the air.
With Finley on the sidelines and Rodgers possibly not at 100 percent, Miami could stifle Green Bay's passing attack.
Why the Packers Will Win: Miami's running back duo of Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams hasn't played all that well this season, so it will be Chad Henne's job to beat Green Bay.
Though the Packers are dealing with some injuries—Clay Matthews is likely out—I think Green Bay's defense can rattle Henne just enough to force a few big turnovers.
Prediction: Packers 27, Dolphins 20
New Orleans Saints @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
9 of 14
New Orleans has struggled all season, and sit at 3-2 after a disappointing loss to the Cardinals in Week 5.
The Saints will travel to Tampa Bay to take on a surprising 3-1 Buccaneers team that is looking for its first signature win of the season.
Why the Saints Will Win: Drew Brees has racked up plenty of yards through the air, but the Saints haven't been able to punch the ball into the end zone very often.
If the Saints offense can convert on third downs, that should change.
Why the Bucs Will Win: The only thing the Bucs do particularly well is defend the pass, which should be huge against the pass-heavy Saints offense.
But Tampa Bay continues to win games, and Josh Freeman to Mike Williams is becoming a nice little QB-WR combo.
Prediction: Buccaneers 21, Saints 20.
New York Jets @ Denver Broncos
10 of 14
After an opening week loss, the Jets have looked like arguably the best team in football after rattling off four straight wins.
But the Jets get a tough test against Kyle Orton and the league's second best passing attack.
Why the Jets Will Win: Someone has to give LaDainian Tomlinson a calendar. Does the dude know what year it is?
The reemergence of LT has given the Jets the balanced attack that allows Mark Sanchez to spread the ball around to guys like Dustin Keller, Braylon Edwards and Santonio Holmes.
Why the Broncos Will Win: Orton to Brandon Lloyd has been unstoppable all season, which continues to baffle me, but I guess Josh McDaniels' system is working.
With a hobbled Darrelle Revis for the Jets, I think Orton could have another big day, which bodes well for Denver's chances.
Prediction: Jets 34, Broncos 28
Oakland Raiders @ San Francisco 49ers
11 of 14
The Raiders upset the San Diego Chargers in Week 5, but have a bit of uncertainty at the quarterback position after the injury to Bruce Gradkowski.
Oakland will travel across the bay to play a downtrodden 49ers team that has yet to win in 2010.
Why the Raiders Will Win: No matter who is at quarterback, Oakland has had a very good running game all season.
The Raiders average more than 130 yards per game on the ground and will face a San Francisco defense that gives up 26 points per game.
Why the 49ers Will Win: Team president Jed York came out and said that San Francisco will make the playoffs this year.
Maybe that will motivate the team to stop fighting and win at home against Oakland. Who knows?
Prediction: 49ers 23, Raiders 20.
Dallas Cowboys @ Minnesota Vikings
12 of 14
Let me get this straight. Wade Phillips's job is safe, despite the fact that the Cowboys are 1-3?
That doesn't make much sense to me. But anyway, the Cowboys and Vikings are both fighting for their playoff lives after surprising 1-3 starts.
Why the Cowboys Will Win: After having difficulties running the ball the first three games, the Cowboys seemed to have found a solution: Felix Jones.
With Jones seemingly taking over as the Cowboys' feature back, he could be the X-factor against Minnesota.
Why the Vikings Will Win: Randy Moss and Brett Favre had a game to build their chemistry, and now Moss plays at home for the first time during his second stint as a Viking.
Moss could very well put on a show. If not, Adrian Peterson will take care of business.
Prediction: Vikings 35, Cowboys 24.
Sunday Night Football: Indianapolis Colts @ Washington Redskins
13 of 14
Not many people predicted the Colts to start the season 3-2, but that's where they are heading into the Week 6 showdown with the Redskins.
Washington has scraped by so far this season, winning three games by a combined 14 points.
Why the Colts Will Win: Aside from last week's game against the Chiefs, Peyton Manning has played like an MVP all season.
That should continue this week when the Colts face a Redskins secondary that is in the bottom three of the league.
Why the Redskins Will Win: The Redskins aren't great in any facet of the game, but Washington continues to find ways to win.
Since this game is in Washington, Donovan McNabb and the seventh-ranked Redskins passing attack will benefit from playing in front of the home crowd.
Prediction: Colts 34, Redskins 17
Monday Night Football: Tennessee Titans @ Jacksonville Jaguars
14 of 14
The Titans and Jaguars are surprisingly tied for first in the AFC South along with every other team in the division.
Each divisional game will be extremely important from here on out, so this should be a highly competitive contest.
Why the Titans Will Win: That's easy: Chris Johnson. When Johnson plays well, the Titans win.
In each of Tennessee's three victories, Johnson topped 130 rushing yards and scored two touchdowns.
Why the Jaguars Will Win: I'm not kidding when I say that Jacksonville will win this game because of kicker Josh Scobee.
In a game that should be very close, it could come down to Scobee, who is perfect on the season, including two fields goals of over 50 yards.
Prediction: Titans 20, Jaguars 17
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