NFL Week 6 Picks: Early Predictions for Every Game

With only a Monday Night Football contest between the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins remaining, Week 5 of the 2014 NFL season is just about in the books—and it's been a wild ride to this point.

Rather than reflect on the Cleveland Browns emerging victorious after overcoming a 25-point deficit to the Tennessee Titans, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers forcing overtime against the New Orleans Saints or Kyle Orton's Buffalo Bills defeating the Detroit Lions, let's just go ahead and look ahead to Week 6.

Beginning with a Thursday Night Football contest between the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans that will determine supremacy in the AFC South, there is a very intriguing slate of games looming large. Let's make some very early predictions for each contest, followed by analyzing a few marquee matchups.

Home	Away	Pick
Houston Texans	Indianapolis Colts	Colts
Buffalo Bills	New England Patriots	Patriots
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Baltimore Ravens	Ravens
Cleveland Browns	Pittsburgh Steelers	Browns
Cincinnati Bengals	Carolina Panthers	Bengals
New York Jets	Denver Broncos	Broncos
Minnesota Vikings	Detroit Lions	Lions
Miami Dolphins	Green Bay Packers	Packers
Tennessee Titans	Jacksonville Jaguars	Jaguars
Oakland Raiders	San Diego Chargers	Chargers
Atlanta Falcons	Chicago Bears	Bears
Seattle Seahawks	Dallas Cowboys	Seahawks
Arizona Cardinals	Washington Redskins	Cardinals
Philadelphia Eagles	New York Giants	Giants
St. Louis Rams	San Francisco 49ers	49ers

Marquee Matchups

Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans

Jeff Roberson/Associated Press

After a sluggish start to the season, the Colts have now won three consecutive games, surpassing the .500 mark for the first time this year. Following an overtime loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, the Texans also find themselves with a 3-2 record.

A pivotal Thursday Night Football matchup is all that stands between either team and sole possession of first place in the AFC South.

Indianapolis faced a surging Baltimore Ravens team in Week 5, and a complete team effort earned it the seven-point victory. The Colts offense accumulated 422 yards and 26 first downs while their defense held the Ravens to 287 yards and 15 first downs.

While the combination of Andrew Luck's passing offense and Ahmad Bradshaw's versatility out of the backfield has ignited the Colts, a fantastic defensive effort sealed the game against Baltimore. NBC Sports tweeted the effects of a strong performance:

Houston remained in contention against the Cowboys on Sunday thanks to the efforts of Arian Foster. The veteran ball-carrier rushed 23 times for 157 yards and two touchdowns. However, poor quarterback play from Ryan Fitzpatrick was a big part of the team's loss.

Foster certainly has the ability to run rampant over Indianapolis, but considering the Colts' momentum heading into Week 6, they'll be too difficult for the Texans to overcome.

Prediction: Colts 27, Texans 17

Chicago Bears at Atlanta Falcons

Mike McCarn/Associated Press

Here we have a matchup between two NFC teams desperately needing to right the ship after Week 5 losses dropped them to 2-3 on the season. Both teams lost in high-scoring contests on Sunday, making this a rather intriguing—and important—game.

The Bears have allowed 30-plus points in each of their last two games—both losses—due to second-half collapses. While Jay Cutler has produced plenty of offense for Chicago, he continues to be plagued by ball-security issues, throwing four interceptions over his last two games.

Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery are two enormous targets for Cutler, and they should pose plenty of problems for Atlanta's porous secondary, but if he can't get his accuracy under control, that could be a moot point.

Adam Hoge of TheGameChicago.com tweeted a very telling quote from running back Matt Forte:

The Falcons suffered their second straight loss in Week 5, dropping their contest to the New York Giants by a score of 30-20. In similar fashion to the Bears, Atlanta's second-half meltdown led to its defeat.

Matt Ryan continues to be one of the league's most talented quarterbacks, and he possesses a fantastic wide receiver duo in Julio Jones and Roddy White, but the issue for this offense is the big men in the trenches. Ryan was only sacked once against the Giants, but the New York defense was credited for eight hits on the quarterback.

This one will come down to which offense can be more consistently effective throughout a full 60 minutes. The edge here goes to the Bears due to a balanced attack featuring the resurgent Forte that will limit Cutler's opportunities for mistakes.

Prediction: Bears 34, Falcons 31

New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

Both New York and Philadelphia notched victories on Sunday. Heading into Week 6, the 3-2 Giants sit just one game behind the 4-1 Eagles and 4-1 Cowboys. This contest gives the Giants a chance to even things up with one of the division leaders.

New York began the season in lackluster fashion, losing its first two games. However, quarterback Eli Manning has since grasped the new West Coast offense instilled by coordinator Ben McAdoo, and the results have been spectacular.

With rookie Odell Beckham Jr. in the fold in Week 5, the Giants' passing offense was suddenly at full strength. Despite a quiet day from Victor Cruz, Manning was still very efficient, completing 19 of his 30 passing attempts for 200 yards, two touchdowns, zero interceptions and a passer rating of 104.9.

Even head coach Tom Coughlin had some big praise for Beckham following the game, via Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News:

This consistent passing game featuring several talented receivers could be a problem for an Eagles secondary giving up an average of 257.5 yards per game.

Philadelphia has won four of its five contests; albeit, in sloppy fashion at times. After suffering a loss to the San Francisco 49ers due to a poor offensive performance, the Eagles earned a win in Week 5 despite gaining 114 yards fewer than the St. Louis Rams.

Running back LeSean McCoy hasn't been able to come close to duplicating his 2013 form, and quarterback Nick Foles isn't nearly as efficient as he was a year ago. This could be attributed to a decimated offensive line, and that doesn't bode well against a Giants defense that has accumulated nine sacks this season.

Expect to see New York's offense continue to roll against a shaky Philadelphia defense, as the Eagles will find it difficult to rely on special teams to win another game.

Prediction: Giants 30, Eagles 23