NFL Picks Week 6: Predicting Fantasy Studs and Winners of Biggest Games

There are a number of huge games on tap for Week 6 in the NFL. Division matchups and vital conference clashes that could determine tiebreakers for the playoffs are headed our way on Sunday.

When the smoke clears, the winners will be in control in their divisions or saved from a panicked fanbase for at least another week. In each of those games, and the others on the schedule, one player or unit has the potential to pay big dividends for fantasy owners.

We take a look at the upcoming schedule, pick the winners and identify the potential fantasy stud in every matchup.

Matchup	Predicted Winner	Fantasy Stud	Notes
Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans	Tennessee	Kendall Wright	You may not trust Charlie Whitehurst, but Kendall Wright should torch the Jaguars' 32nd-ranked pass defense.
Baltimore Ravens at Tampa Bay Buccaneers	Baltimore	Joe Flacco	Teams have lit the Bucs' pass defense up all season. It's Flacco's turn.
Denver Broncos at New York Jets	Denver	Julius Thomas	Even if Michael Vick is prepared for this one, there's no way the Jets win.
Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings	Minnesota	Minnesota Defense	On Sunday we'll see just how valuable Calvin Johnson really is.
New England Patriots at Buffalo Bills	New England	Rob Gronkowski	Gronk had his biggest game of the season against the Cincinnati Bengals last week. He'll torch the Bills this week.
Carolina Panthers at Cincinnati Bengals	Carolina	Greg Olsen	Olsen showed toughness and heart in snagging two touchdown passes in the Panthers' come-from-behind win over his old team. He'll catch a few more intermediate passes to shine against Cincy.
Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns	Cleveland	Brian Hoyer	The Steelers barely escaped in Week 1. The Browns won't let them get away this time.
Green Bay Packers at Miami Dolphins	Miami	Ryan Tannehill	When teams can't get pressure on Tannehill, the Fins are pretty tough to beat. Bet on Tannehill staying upright and playing well.
San Diego Chargers at Oakland Raiders	San Diego	Branden Oliver	You have to love Oliver against the 31st-ranked run defense in the NFL.
Chicago Bears at Atlanta Falcons	Chicago	Jay Cutler	Despite the key picks he has thrown, Cutler has been a solid fantasy performer all season. He'll be more careful with the ball in leading the Bears to the win.
Dallas Cowboys at Seattle Seahawks	Dallas	DeMarco Murray	Dallas has one of the most balanced offenses in the NFL. It will knock off the champions on the road.
Washington at Arizona Cardinals	Arizona	Arizona Defense	Washington's Kirk Cousins was better against Seattle than he was the previous week, but he still wasn't good. Arizona will win a low-scoring affair.
NY Giants at Philadelphia Eagles	New York	Eli Manning	Manning has thrown just one pick since tossing four in the first two games. The Giants offense is looking good.
San Francisco 49ers at St. Louis Rams	San Francisco	Colin Kaepernick	St. Louis gets almost no pass rush. Kaep will run and throw all over the Rams.
Matchup		Matchup

High-Scoring Affair

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If the Chicago Bears and Atlanta Falcons don't score a combined 70 points, it'll be shocking. The Falcons are one of the worst defensive teams in the NFL. Through five games, the team has a total of four sacks.

If any team gives Jay Cutler that much time to find any of the abundance of weapons he has on offense, the enigmatic quarterback should put a good number of points on the board.

Sounds like an easy win for the Bears, right? Not so fast.

Chicago's defense hasn't proved to be formidable when healthy, but when you consider the secondary is mangled with injuries, the prospect of facing an explosive Falcons offense becomes scarier.

Matt Ryan's crew of Julio Jones and Roddy White is perhaps the only wide receiver tandem in the same ballpark as the Bears' Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery. 

Translation: There's going to be a lot of scoring.

The Bears are my pick only because their defensive line is more capable of making a big play to create a turnover than Atlanta's.

Willie Young is tied for third in the NFL with five sacks, and rookie corner back Kyle Fuller is tied for the lead in interceptions with three. The Bears defense will make enough plays to win.

Big Battle in NFC East

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When the Eagles and Giants clash, turnovers will determine the victor. The two quarterbacks have both had their issues taking care of the ball, but the Eagles' Nick Foles has really struggled recently.

After throwing just two picks all of 2013, he's already thrown five this season and fumbled four times. The Eagles defense has bailed him out, but that can't be counted on against a red-hot Giants team.

Eli Manning threw 27 interceptions in 2013, and he began the season as if he would exceed that mark in 2014. He threw four picks in the team's first two games. Since then, Manning has thrown just one interception, and the Giants are on a three-game win streak.

Right now, the Giants are simply the better team, and they will prove it on Sunday.

Proving Ground for Dallas

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Tony Romo is often a major target on social media, but not too many people are making fun of him right now. He's leading one of the most balanced offenses in the NFL, and the Cowboys have won four in a row. 

Traveling to Seattle to take on the Super Bowl champions is never a fun task, but the Seahawks haven't been as scary lately. Quarterback Russell Wilson continues to show just how good he is in the clutch, but the Seattle defense isn't as fierce this season.

Last year's team only allowed five opponents to score 20 points against it all season. In 2014, opponents are averaging 20.75 points against Seattle.

With DeMarco Murray pounding away on the ground, and Dez Bryant and Jason Witten providing targets for Romo, Dallas' offense will make the plays necessary to slay the champs at home.

All stats per Pro-Football-Reference.com

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