Week 6 NFL Picks: Final Vegas Odds and Predictions for Sunday's Slate

The sixth Sunday of the 2016 season is upon us, which means we're in store for yet another exciting day of football action. There are 13 games on today's slate, which culminates with the Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Monday night's matchup has the Arizona Cardinals hosting the New York Jets.

Week 6 got started on Thursday night, of course, as the San Diego Chargers upset the Denver Broncos 21-13. This outcome was a surprise to many folks, and Sunday's action is likely to bring plenty of surprises as well.

We're here to help with the latest odds—courtesy of Odds Shark—and predictions for the remaining Week 6 games. We'll also examine some of the top matchups of the weekend.

Our predictions are based on factors such as past performances, matchup and health where applicable.

Away	Home	Line	Prediction
Cincinnati Bengals	New England Patriots	NE -8	34-24 NE
Pittsburgh Steelers	Miami Dolphins	PIT -7	31-21 PIT
Cleveland Browns	Tennessee Titans	TEN -7.5	26-24 TEN
Los Angeles Rams	Detroit Lions	DET -3	27-24 DET
Jacksonville Jaguars	Chicago Bears	CHI -1.5	31-30 JAX
San Francisco 49ers	Buffalo Bills	BUF -8.5	27-21 BUF
Carolina Panthers	New Orleans Saints	CAR -3	34-30 CAR
Baltimore Ravens	New York Giants	NYG -3.5	25-23 NYG
Philadelphia Eagles	Washington Redskins	PHI -3	27-23 PHI
Kansas City Chiefs	Oakland Raiders	KC -2	28-26 KC
Atlanta Falcons	Seattle Seahawks	SEA -6.5	30-27 SEA
Dallas Cowboys	Green Bay Packers	GB -4.5	24-20 GB
Indianapolis Colts	Houston Texans	HOU -3	31-27 HOU
New York Jets	Arizona Cardinals	ARI -7.5	31-24 ARI

Matchups to Watch

Cincinnati Bengals at New England Patriots

David Richard/Associated Press

With quarterback Tom Brady once again captaining the offense, the New England Patriots looked virtually unstoppable last week. The offense produced 501 net yards, while the defense held the opposition to just 4.4 yards per play.

Of course, it's worth noting that last week's opponent was the Cleveland Browns, who played most of the game with fourth-stringer Charlie Whitehurst at quarterback. This week brings the Patriots a tougher test in the form of the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Bengals are likely to be desperate in this game too. If the team loses and falls to 2-4 on the season, Cincinnati will be looking up at its postseason chances from a very sizable hole.

Unfortunately, the Bengals just are not playing terrific football right now. Cincinnati is ranked 24th in scoring (18.4 points per game) and 16th in scoring defense (22 points per game allowed). Both the defense and the offensive line looked lost early last week against the Dallas Cowboys, which ultimately led to a 28-14 loss.

If the defense and line cannot get things on track in Foxborough, the Bengals are going to be in for a long day. They're likely to be regardless, considering Brady holds a stunning 112-18 record at Gillette Stadium.

The real question here is whether or not the Bengals can come close enough to cover a large spread. Considering what is on the line for the team and the motivation it brings, it's certainly possible.

This is Brady's 2016 home debut, however, and feels more likely that the Patriots are going to get a big early lead and never look back.

San Francisco 49ers at Buffalo Bills

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

The Buffalo Bills have managed to reel off three straight wins and are heavy favorites this week against the 1-4 San Francisco 49ers. However, this game got quite a bit more interesting earlier this week when the 49ers decided to make a change at quarterback.

The 49ers benched Blaine Gabbert in favor of Colin Kaepernick the same week that Kaepernick agreed to restructure his contract. The move eliminates the injury guarantees included in Kaepernick's deal, which obviously protects the team financially.

49ers head coach Chip Kelly, though, insists that Kaepernick's contract restructuring was not a factor in the quarterback decision.

"If I was ever told to not put him in a game, that conspiracy theory should be done, because he’s been in a game," Kelly said, per Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group. "I’ve never been told or implied on who to play or not to play. If I was told not to play him, then why did he play? Whether it’s garbage time or not, you’re still susceptible to injury."

While we're inclined to believe that removing injury guarantees at least made the 49ers more comfortable with playing Kaepernick, there's no denying that Gabbert was not getting the job done.

Through five weeks, Gabbert has completed just 58 percent of his passes and has posted a 69.6 passer rating. More importantly, he hasn't led the 49ers to a win since Week 1.

Even if Kaepernick performs better, it's difficult to envision the 49ers making the cross-country trip and winning this game. However, we do believe the quarterback change can provide enough of a spark for San Francisco to cover what is a rather large spread.

Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints

Grant Halverson/Getty Images

The early-afternoon game between the Carolina Panthers and the New Orleans Saints is an interesting one for a couple of reasons. Perhaps the biggest, though, is that both teams are sitting on a single win—the Saints 1-3 and the Panthers 1-4. The loser of this one could effectively be out of the NFC South divisional race before the midpoint of the season.

The other reason this game should be worth watching is that it marks the return of Panthers quarterback Cam Newton from a concussion layoff. 

Newton missed last week's Monday night game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which the Panthers eventually lost by a field goal. There's no guarantee that a healthy Newton would have been enough to win that contest, but backup Derek Anderson was responsible for three turnovers.

Newton is healthy now, as is running back Jonathan Stewart, who has been out since Week 2 with a hamstring injury. These two make their returns against a struggling Saints defense that is rated just 25th overall by Pro Football Focus.

The Saints are currently surrendering an average of 422.8 yards per game (31st in the NFL) and 32.5 points per game (32nd). Unless New Orleans figured out how to tighten up the defense during last week's bye, the team could be at a big disadvantage against Carolina's third-ranked offense (392 yards per game).

Carolina is only favored by a field goal in this one, likely because the game is being played in New Orleans. We feel pretty good about the Panthers' chances of winning by at least four in this must-win situation.