NFL Picks Week 6: Examining Recent Odds and Expert Predictions

More lopsided affairs than usual appear to grace the Week 6 slate, but as the NFL proves week after week, there's no such thing as a guarantee in this league.

While there are plenty of surging clubs that are facing struggling opposition over the weekend, things rarely work out the way they're expected to in the NFL. Pulling in the evolving information throughout the week and absorbing all of the expert predictions possible are the best ways toward nullifying some of the unpredictability.

That being said, let's take a look at what Bleacher Report's four NFL National Lead Writers think about who's got the edge in every matchup.

NFL Week 6 Odds and Expert Picks

Game	Odds	Matt Miller, B/R	Mike Freeman, B/R	Ty Schalter, B/R	Mike Tanier, B/R
Atlanta at New Orleans	ATL -3	Falcons	Falcons	Falcons	Falcons
Cincinnati at Buffalo	CIN -1	Bengals	Bengals	Bills	Bengals
Denver at Cleveland	DEN -3.5	Broncos	Broncos	Browns	Broncos
Chicago at Detroit	DET -2.5	Lions	Bears	Lions	Lions
Houston at Jacksonville	Even	Texans	Texans	Jaguars	Jaguars
Kansas City at Minnesota	MIN -4.5	Vikings	Vikings	Vikings	Vikings
Washington at N.Y. Jets	NYJ -5.5	Jets	Jets	Jets	Jets
Arizona at Pittsburgh	ARI -3.5	Cardinals	Steelers	Cardinals	Cardinals
Miami at Tennessee	TEN -2.5	Dolphins	Titans	Titans	Titans
Carolina at Seattle	SEA -5.5	Seahawks	Seahawks	Panthers	Seahawks
San Diego at Green Bay	GB -9.5	Packers	Packers	Packers	Packers
Baltimore at San Francisco	BAL -2	Ravens	Ravens	Ravens	49ers
New England at Indianapolis	NE -7	Patriots	Patriots	Patriots	Patriots
N.Y. Giants at Philadelphia	PHI -3.5	Giants	Giants	Giants	Eagles

Odds courtesy of Odds Shark.

Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

The Thursday Night Football contest visiting the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans is unlike many of those that have graced the arena in years past. As far as 2015 goes, every game feels like the lead-up to an inevitable end of an era.

The New Orleans Saints have sputtered to a 1-4 start, coming off a 39-17 bashing by the Philadelphia Eagles that is having many question their future. When your head coach (Sean Payton) is having his name floated around in rumors for other head coaching positions, it's never a good sign, as the below video shows:

Distractions aside, the Saints don't appear capable of matching up with the unbeaten Atlanta Falcons and their newfound offensive balance. Devonta Freeman is taking the league by storm out of the Falcons backfield, and he should have a field day against a Saints run defense that ranks third worst in the league.

New Orleans isn't getting the usual offensive production from quarterback Drew Brees that allows for some defensive issues. Brees has more turnovers (three picks, four lost fumbles) than touchdowns this season, and he doesn't have the right weaponry around him to succeed.

The Saints and Falcons—two teams that were pretty close to even a year ago—seem to have a pretty big distance talent-wise between one another this season. Thursday's game will likely be an indication of that.

Arizona Cardinals at Pittsburgh Steelers

Duane Burleson/Associated Press

They may not have an unbeaten record, but nobody in the league is rolling quite like the Arizona Cardinals entering the second quarter of the 2015 season.

The Cards are healthy to start this season, and it's showing as they dominate the beginning of their schedule again. Their offense is putting up ridiculous numbers, scoring over 40 points in three of their five games this season.

Behind a similarly dominant defense, Arizona is well-equipped to contend in the NFC and should be able to overwhelm the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Steelers somehow escaped out of Monday Night Football with a 24-20 victory after a last-second score against the Chargers in San Diego, but Michael Vick is struggling to command the offense. Pittsburgh looks like a lost cause until Ben Roethlisberger returns, with Le'Veon Bell having to carry the team down the field.

Bell is one of the only reasons why the Steelers could have success Sunday, as Mike Freeman of B/R—the lone Steelers pick for this matchup—noted when Bell won Monday night's game:

If the Pittsburgh defense can play like it did for three quarters against Philip Rivers, the Steelers may be in decent shape to make something of this matchup. But it's hard to count on Carson Palmer and this confident bunch failing to put up the necessary points in this one.