NFL Week 6 Picks: Predicting the Winner of All 14 Matchups

The Week 5 NFL slate is behind us, which means there is only one proper thing to do: Look forward to what's going to happen over the next seven days of football.

Week 6 will allow us to fully bypass the one-third mark of the regular season, which should allow us to take a more big-picture look at the league. The first five weeks have shown there's a very clear hierarchy at the top of the league. New England, Green Bay, Cincinnati and Arizona look like the clear-cut favorites to play in their respective championship games. Denver, Atlanta and Carolina continue to be undefeated but are a tier down for one reason or another.

After those seven, though, it's anyone's guess. A very clear top and bottom doesn't make sorting out the murky middle any easier. Hopefully, Week 6 helps sort that out a bit. With that in mind, here's a look at picks for each matchup and in-depth analysis of a few locks.

Date	Time (ET)	Away Team	Home Team	Predicted Winner
Thursday, Oct. 15
	8:25 p.m.	Atlanta Falcons	New Orleans Saints	Falcons
Sunday, Oct. 18
	1 p.m.	Arizona Cardinals	Pittsburgh Steelers	Cardinals
	1 p.m.	Chicago Bears	Detroit Lions	Lions
	1 p.m.	Cincinnati Bengals	Buffalo Bills	Bengals
	1 p.m.	Denver Broncos	Cleveland Browns	Browns
	1 p.m.	Houston Texans	Jacksonville Jaguars	Texans
	1 p.m.	Kansas City Chiefs	Minnesota Vikings	Vikings
	1 p.m.	Miami Dolphins	Tennessee Titans	Dolphins
	1 p.m.	Washington	New York Jets	Jets
	4:05 p.m.	Carolina Panthers	Seattle Seahawks	Seahawks
	4:25 p.m.	Baltimore Ravens	San Francisco 49ers	Ravens
	4:25 p.m.	San Diego Chargers	Green Bay Packers	Packers
	8:30 p.m.	New England Patriots	Indianapolis Colts	Patriots
Monday, Oct. 19
	8:30 p.m.	New York Giants	Philadelphia Eagles	Eagles

Week 6 Locks

Cincinnati Bengals over Buffalo Bills

Frank Victores/Associated Press

The Bengals and Bills each showed resilience in Week 6. Cincinnati overcame a 17-point deficit and then stole a 27-24 victory over the Seahawks in overtime. Buffalo trailed by 10 in the third quarter before Tyrod Taylor led a one-man comeback to give the Bills a 14-13 win over the Titans. Both were the exact type of victories that separate playoff teams from those sitting on the outside.

One key distinction, however: One team was playing Seattle. The other was playing Tennessee. There isn't a much bigger talent discrepancy in the league, even as the Seahawks continue to confound with their inconsistent play. Cincinnati's comeback cemented its status as Super Bowl contenders; Buffalo's kept its hopes alive for one of the two wild-card spots.

The two teams are also following markedly different health paths. The Bengals are without cornerback Leon Hall and tackle Andrew Whitworth but otherwise have a clean bill of health. The Bills are probably going to be without three of their four top running backs Sunday. LeSean McCoy remains out with a hamstring injury, Karlos Williams sat out Week 5 with a concussion and the team placed Cierre Wood on injured reserve Monday.

Add in a banged-up Sammy Watkins and a pass rush that's somehow in the bottom half in sacks, and this isn't a world-beater in Buffalo. The Bills are hanging onto their playoff lives through guile, the surprising fourth-quarter efficiency of Taylor and the continually underrated Rex Ryan, who seems to thrive doing more with less.

Even on the road, the Bengals should cruise to a victory here. Buffalo's just too banged-up and probably a tier or two down even when healthy.

Seattle Seahawks over Carolina Panthers

Andy Lyons/Getty Images

The Panthers and Seahawks have played four times over the last three seasons. Cam Newton and Co. are 0-4, including a 31-17 defeat during last year's NFC divisional round. While each of the games have been close, they've also featured a neutered Newton. The Seahawks have held the Carolina quarterback to three touchdown passes against as many interceptions, with Newton failing to top 200 yards through the air in three of those contests.

A matchup with Newton might just be the elixir for a Seattle secondary that's looked anything but spectacular in 2015. Dalton went for 332 yards and two touchdowns Sunday, and aside from a fortuitous Jimmy Clausen matchup in Week 3, this hasn't been anywhere near a Legion of Boom. Nick Foles went for nearly 300 yards in Week 1, Aaron Rodgers was almost flawless in Week 2 and Matthew Stafford's only game in 2015 without an interception came against Seattle.

"That's why I'm baffled a little bit by it," Pete Carroll said, per Danny O'Neil of 710 ESPN. "Because we're clear about this, and we know what we're trying to get done and our language and all of that. What's startling is that it's not happening. Because we have had to be terrific in this mode for years to do what we've done. There's three games here that are all basically the same storyline at the end."

So why the faith in Seattle? Well, for one, the Seahawks return home this week. Each of their three losses have come away from the friendly confines. They've looked much closer to world-beaters at CenturyLink Field, though it's fair to point out those two wins came against Chicago and Detroit—not exactly teams that are, like, good at football.

The Panthers also feel like a team with a level of play that is exceeded by their record. They've taken down the Jaguars, Texans, Saints and Buccaneers this season. Somehow the team with the most wins out of that group is Tampa. None of the four victories have been in particularly dominant fashion, either, so Carolina is a team that might be due for a regression once its schedule ramps up.

Look for that to start Sunday.