NFL Predictions Week 6: Early Odds, Picks and Projections for Upcoming Schedule
October 9, 2018
Betting the Week 6 NFL schedule will be one of the more difficult tasks of the season.
Divisional clashes, the first London game and tricky road tests for favorites have most of the lines sitting around three points.
Of course, there are a few outliers, including the undefeated Los Angeles Rams sitting as a seven-point favorite, but Sean McVay's team isn't guaranteed to cover the spread in Denver.
Some betting decisions appear easier than others, which could cause some line fluctuation throughout the week, but even if some changes are made, you'll be looking at the majority of spreads at five points or fewer.
Week 6 Schedule and Odds
All Times ET.
Predictions against the spread in bold.
Thursday, October 11
Philadelphia (-3) at New York Giants (8:20 p.m., Fox/NFL Network)
Sunday, October 14
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati (-3) (1 p.m., CBS)
Los Angeles Chargers (-1) at Cleveland (1 p.m., CBS)
Indianapolis at New York Jets (-2.5) (1 p.m., CBS)
Buffalo at Houston (-8.5) (1 p.m., CBS)
Seattle (-3) vs. Oakland (1 p.m., Fox) (Game in London)
Chicago (-3) at Miami (1 p.m., Fox)
Tampa Bay at Atlanta (-3.5) (1 p.m., Fox)
Arizona at Minnesota (-10.5) (1 p.m., Fox)
Carolina at Washington (-1.5) (1 p.m., Fox)
Los Angeles Rams (-7) at Denver (4:05 p.m., Fox)
Jacksonville (-3) at Dallas (4:25 p.m., CBS)
Baltimore (-3) at Tennessee (4:25 p.m., CBS)
Kansas City at New England (-3.5) (8:20 p.m., NBC)
Monday, October 15
San Francisco at Green Bay (-9.5) (8:15 p.m., ESPN)
Odds via OddsShark.
Predictions
Take the Rams with Caution
The Los Angeles Rams take their undefeated record into Denver Sunday afternoon, and while they're an overwhelming favorite on paper, they must be wary of the Broncos.
The Broncos are in the middle of a three-game losing streak, but one of those contests was a tight Monday night affair with the Kansas City Chiefs.
If Case Keenum connected on a few throws on the final drive, the Broncos would've handed the Chiefs their first defeat.
The combination of home-field advantage and the belief drawn from the Kansas City loss should inspire the Broncos to keep the game close, which is why the spread of seven points might be too big.
While the Broncos should be up for the game, the Rams are an unstoppable machine at the moment, and it's going to take a perfect defensive performance to slow them down a bit.
Denver ranks 27th in defensive yards conceded and sits 23rd in the NFL in points conceded with 131.
Jared Goff, Todd Gurley and Co. should be able to find holes in the Denver defense, which will lead to yet another offensive outburst.
But the real key for the Rams in Week 6 will be their defense, which isn't talked about enough.
The Rams rank in the top 10 in total yards, passing yards and points conceded per game, while they've made 13 tackles for loss and intercepted four passes.
The only concern for the Rams moving into Week 6 is the health of their receiving corps, as both Brandin Cooks and Cooper Kupp left the game against Seattle in concussion protocol, but there's a chance both are back for Sunday, as Rams head coach Sean McVay noted, per the team's official website.
Even if Cooks and Kupp aren't active for Week 6, Goff has a wide range of targets he can hit to dictate the pace of the game and lead the Rams to a win of just over seven points.
Expect the Jaguars to Bounce Back
The Jacksonville Jaguars have lost back-to-back games once in the last two years, and that was at the end of the 2017 season when the AFC South title was already secured.
The Jaguars are in need of a bounce-back performance in Week 6 after faltering at Arrowhead Stadium in a game that felt one-sided from the start.
The good news for Doug Marrone and Co. is that they face the struggling Dallas Cowboys Sunday for a chance to move their record to 2-0 after losses.
Following the Week 3 defeat to Tennessee, the Jaguars stormed back into the win column with a 31-12 victory over the New York Jets.
A similar performance is expected Sunday against a Dallas team that failed to impress in an overtime loss to the Houston Texans in Week 5.
The defeat to the Chiefs featured an uncharacteristic defensive performance from Jacksonville, as it let up 30 points for the third time in a regular-season game since the start of 2017.
In their four wins that followed a loss in 2017, the Jaguars posted 27 points or more, and that trend continued into the victory over the Jets.
Although they'll control the game on both sides of the ball, the Jaguars might struggle to score early, as the Cowboys have the fifth-best scoring defense in the NFL.
Jacksonville should cover the spread of three points, but the over/under of 40.5 might be hard to reach.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.