Week 6 NFL Picks: Tips, Odds and Over/Under Predictions for Sunday

Week 6 of the NFL season could be one of major extremes. While some of the games will feature nonstop action and scoring almost every possession, others will have people praying for a field goal just to see some excitement.

While the NFL has become an offensive-minded league, there are still teams that know how to play defense well like the Denver Broncos and New York Jets among others. Adding this to major injuries from key offensive positions, and a few squads will have a huge problem scoring.

On the other hand, there are some teams that simply can't play defense (weird to see the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens in this category), and they will stay involved in high-scoring games until something changes. 

All of this should make it easy to pick out some over/unders for the upcoming slate of games.

Away	Predicted Score	Home	ATS Pick	O/U
Denver Broncos	13-16	Cleveland Browns	CLE +4	Under 42.5
Miami Dolphins	21-27	Tennessee Titans	TEN -1	Over 43.5
Washington Redskins	6-17	New York Jets	NYJ -6.5	Under 40.5
Kansas City Chiefs	16-24	Minnesota Vikings	MIN -3.5	Under 43.5
Cincinnati Bengals	17-20	Buffalo Bills	BUF +3	Under 42.5
Chicago Bears	27-24	Detroit Lions	CHI +3	Over 44
Houston Texans	31-28	Jacksonville Jaguars	HOU +1.5	Over 43
Arizona Cardinals	34-21	Pittsburgh Steelers	ARI -4	Over 45
Carolina Panthers	9-10	Seattle Seahawks	CAR +7	Under 40.5
San Diego Chargers	20-27	Green Bay Packers	SD +10.5	Under 50.5
Baltimore Ravens	21-24	San Francsico 49ers	SF +2	Over 43.5
New England Patriots	38-20	Indianapolis Colts	NE -9	Over 54.5
New York Giants	24-30	Philadelphia Eagles	PHI -5	Over 49.5

Top Over/Under Picks

Washington Redskins at New York Jets (Under 40.5)

This is the lowest over/under line of the week, and yet it is still way too high. 

The Washington Redskins have struggled offensively at times this season behind inconsistent quarterback Kirk Cousins. His job will be much tougher in Week 6 thanks to a bunch of injuries, as reported by Tarik El-Bashir of CSN:

Cousins will be forced to play without the team's starting left tackle (Trent Williams), starting center (Kory Lichtensteiger), his favorite target (Jordan Reed) and most likely his best deep threat in DeSean Jackson. 

"I told them today, 'We’ve got a heck of a team not playing, but we have got a heck of a team playing,'" head coach Jay Gruden told reporters, via ESPN's John Keim. "Nothing is going to change. Business as usual. We have a job to do and we’ve got to do it with the able bodies that we have playing."

The upbeat attitude is good, but it won't do much to help Cousins succeed against a New York Jets defense that currently leads the NFL with just 13.8 points allowed per game.

Washington has played relatively well defensively this year and should keep things close, but with a poor chance of putting many points on the board this final should stay well under the total.

San Diego Chargers vs. Green Bay Packers (Under 50.5)

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

When you think about the Packers you assume a dominant offense with a questionable defense. However, that defense has actually played well lately, as described by Jason Wilde of ESPN Wisconsin:

Green Bay held Nick Foles to a total QBR of 1.5 out of 100 thanks to four interceptions and 12 quarterback hits last week. The unit has allowed just 13 points over the last two weeks combined and is starting to hold its own. With the San Diego Chargers unable to run the ball behind a makeshift offensive line (3.7 yards per carry to rank 27th in NFL), the Packers can continue to be aggressive and slow down the one-dimensional attack.

The Chargers do have other strengths, though, including the ability to slow down the passing attack. Jason Verrett has become a top-flight cornerback, and he has the talent to match up against Randall Cobb throughout Sunday's game. 

Considering the Packers' relatively quiet offensive showings in the past couple of weeks, it wouldn't be surprising to see another down game from Aaron Rodgers and company.

The Packers might instead focus on the rushing attack to take advantage of the Chargers' weakness, which would in turn shorten the game. Green Bay should still come out on top, but it could be a low-scoring battle compared to what is expected.

New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles (Over 49.5)

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

Despite some poor throws in the red zone from both sides, Sam Bradford and Eli Manning are both coming off arguably their best performances of the season. 

Bradford is finally getting the hang of the Chip Kelly offense in Philadelphia and completed a season-high 71.1 percent of his passes in a Week 5 win. He also threw for 333 passing yards and two touchdowns to make up for two early interceptions in the end zone.

Manning had one interception, but he was otherwise outstanding as he earned the conference's player of the week honor with his numbers:

This could lead into an unlikely quarterback duel Monday night as these red-hot quarterbacks will match up against terrible pass defenses. The Eagles rank 26th in the NFL with 280 passing yards allowed per game, while the Giants are dead last in this category.

With Philadelphia also trying to play as fast as possible offensively, this should be an up-and-down game featuring a lot of points from start to finish.

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