NFL Predictions Week 6: Upset Picks and Projections

Week 6 of the NFL season is around the corner, and many teams are looking to turn their seasons around, while others look to pad their lead atop their division.

With no clear favorite established in any of the league's eight divisions, this week will be big for every team hitting the gridiron.

What teams that are odds-on favorites to win this week will tumble?

Here are a few upset picks to keep an eye on.

Date	Away Team	Home Team	Time (ET)	TV	Favorite
October 9	Indianapolis Colts	Houston Texans	8:25 p.m.	CBS/NFL Network	IND -2
October 12	Pittsburgh Steelers	Cleveland Browns	1:00 p.m.	CBS	CLE -2
October 12	New England Patriots	Buffalo Bills	1:00 p.m.	Fox	EVEN
October 12	Carolina Panthers	Cincinnati Bengals	1:00 p.m.	Fox	CIN -7
October 12	Jacksonville Jaguars	Tennessee Titans	1:00 p.m.	CBS	TEN -6
October 12	Green Bay Packers	Miami Dolphins	1:00 p.m.	Fox	GB -3
October 12	Detroit Lions	Minnesota Vikings	1:00 p.m.	Fox	DET -3
October 12	Denver Broncos	New York Jets	1:00 p.m.	CBS	DEN -6
October 12	Baltimore Ravens	Tampa Bay Buccaneers	1:00 p.m.	CBS	BAL -3.5
October 12	San Diego Chargers	Oakland Raiders	4:05 p.m.	CBS	SD -7
October 12	Chicago Bears	Atlanta Falcons	4:25 p.m.	Fox	ATL -3
October 12	Dallas Cowboys	Seattle Seahawks	4:25 p.m.	Fox	SEA -8.5
October 12	Washington Redskins	Arizona Cardinals	4:25 p.m.	Fox	ARI -4
October 12	New York Giants	Philadelphia Eagles	8:30 p.m.	NBC	PHI -3
October 13	San Francisco 49ers	St. Louis Rams	8:30 p.m.	ESPN	SF -4

New York Giants over Philadelphia Eagles

Michael Perez/Associated Press

Tabbed as a three-point favorite, the Eagles are in a prime spot for an upset.

Taking on a resurgent Giants squad, the shaky-looking Eagles will meet their match this week at home under the lights of Sunday Night Football.

For starters, it's appears as though the old Eli Manning is back. During the Giants' three-game win streak, ESPN's SportsCenter points out that Manning has a glowing touchdown-to-interception ratio:

Manning has also completed at least 63 percent of his passes in all three games and hasn't been sacked more than once in any of the three victories.

Eliot Shorr-Parks of NJ.com points to the discrepancy between how many times the two quarterbacks have been sacked on the young campaign:

A look at each team's last three weeks also points to the Giants being the team to pick this week, with Philadelphia barely beating the likes of the St. Louis Rams and Washington Redskins.

Week	Giants Result	Eagles Result
3	30-17 Win vs. Houston	37-34 Win vs. Washington
4	45-14 Win at Washington	26-21 Loss at San Francisco
5	30-20 Win vs. Atlanta	34-28 Win vs. St. Louis

While the Giants were beating everybody by two scores, the Eagles barely managed to defeat the Redskins and Rams. Their loss on the road to the 49ers was only as close as it was because of their defense and special teams touchdowns as well.

With LeSean McCoy struggling and Philadelphia playing down to the level of their opponents and the Giants seeing Manning settle into the new offense and finding success with rookie running back Andre Williams the last few weeks, New York should be able to earn a big head-to-head win in prime time to tie the Eagles in the NFC East.

And let's not forget, no QB wins more in the month of October than Manning:

Prediction: The New York Giants offense continues to find its groove with Manning adjusting to Ben McAdoo's system and Odell Beckham providing another offensive weapon.

New York Giants 27, Philadelphia Eagles 24

Chicago Bears over Atlanta Falcons

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

Picking against the Atlanta Falcons when they're at home is never easy to do, but if there was ever a week and matchup to do it, this would be it.

In what should be a shootout between two dynamic passing offenses, the difference could be which team is able to come up with that extra defensive stop.

While the Falcons have Julio Jones and Roddy White, the Bears can counter through the air with Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery.

Marshall struggled last week, but that may end up helping the Bears this week, as head coach Marc Trestman came out and said that they have to target their star wideout more in Week 6, per Jeff Dickerson of ESPN Chicago:

That doesn't bode well for a Falcons defense that surrenders the ninth-most passing yards per game, per NFL.com.

Contrast that with Chicago, which is middle-of-the-pack in that respect, and the Bears have the edge.

Not to mention, White hasn't had the type of year many people expected of him and shouldn't scare the Bears defense.

Week	Receptions	Yards	Yards Per Reception	TD
1	5	72	14.4	1
2	5	42	8.4	0
3	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
4	4	73	18.3	1
5	2	26	13	0

Even his predictions for his own success have fallen short, per Mike Clay of ESPN:

For two teams that are pass-first football clubs, you have to like Chicago's chances to pick up a big road upset.

Prediction: In what turns into a shootout at the Georgia Dome, Chicago's Marshall and Jeffery outduel Atlanta's Jones and White.

Chicago Bears 37, Atlanta Falcons 31

Tampa Bay Buccaneers over Baltimore Ravens

Bleacher Report's Chris Simms may believe Tampa Bay is guaranteed to lose, but don't let their 1-3 record fool you: The Bucs are a tough team to beat.

Keep in mind, two of their three losses came by just one possession, with the game against Atlanta being the lone blowout.

Jonathan Bachman/Associated Press

The last few weeks have seen the offense turn around with Mike Glennon under center as well, with the team scoring 27 points in its lone win of the year against Pittsburgh and 31 in a Week 5 overtime loss to New Orleans.

As for Baltimore, any game on the road is a tough one for the Ravens, who are just 7-11 away from M&T Bank Stadium since the beginning of the 2012 season.

That combination is a recipe for an upset and could be part of the reason why the Ravens aren't favored by more than a field goal.

As for their offense, it stalled in Indianapolis in Week 5, with James Hurst being exposed on the offensive line in place of Eugene Monroe. Mike Preston of The Baltimore Sun tweeted at the half that the Ravens were lucky to still be in that game because the offense looked so poor:

If Tampa Bay can expose Baltimore's weakness at tackle, that could help limit the Ravens offense and keep the Bucs in the game.

Meanwhile, if Glennon can keep the offense rolling and continue to find Vincent Jackson and Louis Murphy—or both—the Buccaneers don't just have a chance to stay in this game. They could come away with the win.

Prediction: Much like it did against Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay keeps this one close and manages to win it in the latter stages of the fourth quarter.

Baltimore Ravens 14, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17

Follow Jon on Twitter: @JonReidCSM.