NFL Week 6 Picks: Picking Winners, Upsets for All 13 Games

Quarterbacks Michael Vick and McCown weren't popular picks this offseason to lead their teams to the playoffs. McCown is a 13-year journeyman who has mostly been in his first season with the Browns, and Vick was a second-stringer with the Pittsburgh Steelers when the season started.

Yet here we are in Week 6, and both are winning games they aren't supposed to while keeping their teams in a third of the way into the season.

There are plenty of intriguing matchups in Week 6, including the hitting the road to play the Green Bay Packers and a rematch of the teams that sparked Deflategate, with Tom Brady and the New England Patriots on the road against the Indianapolis Colts. However, those games will go as planned, with Aaron Rodgers and Brady keeping their respective teams undefeated.

Here are predictions for each game and in-depth takes on a few of the biggest possible upsets of the gameweek that include Vick and McCown earning victories.

Date	Time	Away	Home	Predicted Winner
Sunday, Oct. 18	1 p.m.	Washington Redskins	New York Jets	Jets
Sunday, Oct. 18	1 p.m.	Arizona Cardinals	Pittsburgh Steelers	Steelers
Sunday, Oct. 18	1 p.m.	Kansas City Chiefs	Minnesota Vikings	Vikings
Sunday, Oct. 18	1 p.m.	Cincinnati Bengals	Buffalo Bills	Bills
Sunday, Oct. 18	1 p.m.	Chicago Bears	Detroit Lions	Lions
Sunday, Oct. 18	1 p.m.	Denver Broncos	Cleveland Browns	Browns
Sunday, Oct. 18	1 p.m.	Houston Texans	Jacksonville Jaguars	Jaguars
Sunday, Oct. 18	1 p.m.	Miami Dolphins	Tennessee Titans	Titans
Sunday, Oct. 18	4:05 p.m.	Carolina Panthers	Seattle Seahawks	Seahawks
Sunday, Oct. 18	4:25 p.m.	San Diego Chargers	Green Bay Packers	Packers
Sunday, Oct. 18	4:25 p.m.	Baltimore Ravens	San Francisco 49ers	Ravens
Sunday, Oct. 18	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 Possible Upsets 

Browns Will Reach .500 With a Victory Over the Denver Broncos

Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The Broncos remain unscathed, but have yet to win a game by more than seven points. Ageless quarterback Peyton Manning, who has thrown six touchdowns this season compared to 15 at this point last year, ins't looking like his former Pro Bowl self, but it hasn't not mattered. However, USA Today's Tom Pelissero wrote it could actually become a problem for Denver.

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"He's still really smart and accurate underneath. But he doesn't have much zip on the ball, even less than a year ago, and that mitigates some of the mismatches they can create with Pro Bowl receivers Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders."

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Head coach Gary Kubiak addressed questions from the media Sunday about possibly benching Manning, calling the fact that some are pinning the offensive struggles squarely on Manning, "not fair." He flatly said "no" when asked if Manning may be replaced by backup Brock Osweiler.

However, it's easy to see the defense is carrying the bulk of the load. It is conceding the second-fewest points per game in the league at 15.8, and carried the Broncos to a 31-24 Week 2 victory at Kansas City while forcing five turnovers. It also helped Manning and the offense escape with a 23-20 home victory against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 4 despite Manning throwing just one and two interceptions. In Week 5, cornerback Chris Harris Jr.'s pick-six in a 16-10 road victory against the Oakland Raiders ended up being the Broncos' only touchdown.

Cleveland, on the other hand, is just 2-3. A few weeks ago, it was dealing with a quarterback controversy. TMZ reported anonymous Browns players wanted Manziel behind center, but after starter McCown connected on 36 of 51 passes for 457 yards and two touchdowns in a win at Baltimore in Week 5, it's clear he is the man for now.

The road hasn't been awful to Cleveland the past two weeks as the Browns lost by three to San Diego and defeated Baltimore by the same margin last week. Now, they return home and catch a team with virtually no running game that has been playing with fire.

A running-back-by-committee approach by Cleveland with rookie Duke Johnson Jr. and Isaiah Crowell, who is questionable with a toe injury, has worked well. The emergence of fourth-year wide receiver Travis Benjamin (five total touchdowns) has been a pleasant surprise for the Browns, who are averaging nearly 24 points per game, which is five points better than last season.

The defense has been suspect, yielding at least 27 points in four of Cleveland's five games this year, but with a potent offense and the fact Manning has been bailed out by his defense multiple times thus far, a Browns victory won't be as big of an upset as it would seem.

Prediction: Browns 27, Broncos 23

Buffalo Bills Up to the Challenge of Knocking off the Undefeated Cincinnati Bengals

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The Bengals might be the most complete team in the NFL. They are 5-0 and engineered an epic, 17-point fourth-quarter comeback at home against Seattle with an overtime victory in Week 5. However, this team is not without flaws.

For three quarters against the Seahawks, the Bengals trailed 24-7 and certainly looked beatable. After an A.J. Green touchdown catch on the opening drive, Cincinnati didn't scored again until the final quarter. They also needed a late touchdown to earn the victory against Baltimore in Week 3, and while they did not allow a touchdown to Kansas City in Week 4, they did let the Chiefs drive the ball enough to connect on seven field goals.

The difference between a 5-0 and 3-2 team in the NFL can be minuscule, and the Bills are one bad half against the Giants and a near-epic comeback against the Patriots from also being undefeated.

They've lost two of their three games at home, but the energy of the crowd should be an advantage. The biggest question for the Bills is at the quarterback position. Bob Holtzman of ESPN reported former starter turned backup E.J. Manuel will play in place of the injured Tyrod Taylor.

Taylor was named the starter a few weeks before the of the season despite throwing just 35 passes in his first four years in the league, including zero last season. He has surprised this year with nine touchdowns through the air and two on the ground, while his 70.1 percentage ranks fourth in the AFC. Now it will be up to Manuel to help lead the Bills to an upset. The former Florida State Seminole started 14 games his first two years with Buffalo, and has played in games this year but has not attempted a pass according to pro-football-reference.com. 

The Bills have two more stars nursing injuries as well. ESPN's Mike Rodak reported wide receiver Sammy Watkins is questionable after missing two games with a sore hamstring, while running back LeSean McCoy, who has not played since Sept. 27, should be on the field against the Bengals.

McCoy took to Instagram early on Friday to say he expected to play Sunday.

McCoy has played all 16 games in each of the past two seasons, while Watkins played every game last year with a rib injury, per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. The fact McCoy most likely will be on the field is a huge lift for the Bills, and will be the main reason the Bengals will drop from the ranks of the unbeaten. 

Prediction: Bills 28, Bengals 19

Pittsburgh Will Take Down Arizona With Vick Settling in Under Center

Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

They might be at home, but without star quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, 3-2 Pittsburgh is a 3.5-point underdog against 4-1 Arizona, according to Odds Shark.

The Steelers are 1-1 without their All-Pro QB, as Vick led Pittsburgh to a dramatic "walk-off" win on Monday night against San Diego. Running back Le'Veon Bell scored from one yard out as the final second off the clock. Vick nearly engineered a victory in his first start, but the Steelers lost 23-20 at Baltimore. He also finished out a 12-6 victory in Week 3 against St. Louis when Roethlisberger went down with the knee injury that will keep him on the sideline Sunday, according to Dan Hanzus of NFL.com. 

Arizona looked almost unbeatable in its four victories this season, but it tripped up at home against the Rams in Week 4. Quarterback Carson Palmer, who could win Comeback Player of the Year after suffering a season-ending knee injury last term, is tied for first in the league with 13 touchdowns.

In the loss to St. Louis, rookie running back Gurley had his coming-out party, shredding the Cardinals for 146 yards on 19 carries. Arizona also lost the turnover battle, 3-0. The Steelers have the ability to run the ball with Bell who has 302 yards and three touchdowns while averaging 4.9 yards per carry despite missing two games due to suspension.

The Steelers have a plus-one turnover margin so far and should force the Cardinals to turn the ball over once or twice. If Vick, who has just one interception in 57 pass attempts, can hold onto the ball and rely on Bell to move the ball and keep the defense off the field, the Steelers will earn a victory and feel good about weathering the storm with their star quarterback nearing a return.

Prediction: Steelers 24, Cardinals 20