NFL Picks Week 6: Examining Recent Odds and Expert Predictions

One of the biggest draws of the NFL is its unpredictability. With a few exceptions, it's hard to know which teams are going to dominate and which will flounder on a week-to-week basis. Even the best teams can be held in check under the right conditions.

Did you expect the Indianapolis Colts to hold the Kansas City Chiefs to just 13 points in Week 5? After seeing the Colts get gashed by the Oakland Raiders the previous week, probably not.

Yet, trying to predict what will happen is also part of the fun, and that's what we're going to focus on here.

Below, you'll find a look at the latest odds and over/unders from Caesars, along with score predictions for every Week 6 matchup. We'll also dig into some of the latest expert predictions, found at NFL Pickwatch.

NFL Week 6 Lines, Over/Unders and Predictions

New York Giants (+17, 41) at New England Patriots: New England 32-15

Carolina Panthers (-2.5, 47.5) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Carolina 23-22

New Orleans Saints (+1, 44) at Jacksonville Jaguars: New Orleans 27-24

Philadelphia Eagles (+3, 44) at Minnesota Vikings: Philadelphia 24-20

Seattle Seahawks (-1.5, 46.5) at Cleveland Browns: Seattle 27-24

Washington Redskins (-3.5, 41) at Miami Dolphins: Washington 28-18

Atlanta Falcons (-2.5, 51) at Arizona Cardinals: Atlanta 24-22

Houston Texans (+4.5, 54) at Kansas City Chiefs: Kansas City 35-20

San Francisco 49ers (+3.5, 50.5) at Los Angeles Rams: San Francisco 28-21

Dallas Cowboys (-7.5, 44) at New York Jets: Dallas 33-24

Cincinnati Bengals (+11, 48) at Baltimore Ravens: Baltimore 29-26

Tennessee Titans (+2.5, 39.5) at Denver Broncos: Denver 25-20

Pittsburgh Steelers (+6.5, 41.5) at Los Angeles Chargers: Los Angeles 27-23

Detroit Lions (+4, 47) at Green Bay Packers: Green Bay 31-27

The Heavy Favorites

Before we dive into two of the most intriguing games of the weekend, let's take a quick look at the games pretty much everyone agrees on. As of this writing, four teams are predicted to win by 100 percent of expects, according to NFL Pickwatch.

The New England Patriots are universally picked over the New York Giants. Considering the plethora of talent that the Giants will be missing, this isn't a shock.

The Baltimore Ravens and Dallas Cowboys are universal picks over the Cincinnati Bengals and New York Jets, respectively. Again, this isn't a major surprise, as both the Bengals and Jets are winless and have struggled to even be competitive most weeks.

The Los Angeles Chargers are also favored by 100 percent of experts, This is likely because starting Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph is uncertain for Sunday's game. He remains in concussion protocol after being knocked unconscious last week, but he has returned to practice on a limited basis.

"When he's available to us, he's available to us," head coach Mike Tomlin said, per ESPN's Brooke Pryor.

With their quarterback in question and a cross-country trip upcoming, the Steelers are rightfully underdogs in Los Angeles.

Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (in London)

Michael Wyke/Associated Press

We'll now turn to one of the games that have experts split. On Sunday morning, the Carolina Panthers will take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in London, and only 51 percent of experts are going with the "home"  team here.

Of course, the Buccaneers are only the designated home team, and there won't be a real home-field advantage in this game. The advantage for the Buccaneers will be found in their run defense. While quarterback Kyle Allen has played extremely well over the last few weeks, running back Christian McCaffrey remains the Panthers' biggest weapon.

The Buccaneers, meanwhile, have allowed just 69.8 rushing yards per game and 3.1 yards per carry.

The problem for Tampa is that McCaffrey is more than just a runner. He already has 31 receptions and 279 receiving yards this season. Though he was recently held out of practice with a back injury, it would be a major surprise if he didn't play—and a bigger surprise if Carolina didn't use him to attack Tampa's pass defense.

Tampa Bay has allowed a league-high 323.6 passing yards per game.

Philadelphia Eagles at Minnesota Vikings

Adam Hunger/Associated Press

Another game that has experts pretty evenly split is the early afternoon tilt between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings. Though the Vikings are the odds favorites, 51 percent of experts are going with the Eagles.

This likely stems from the up-and-down nature of the Vikings offense this season—and the inconsistent play of quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Minnesota's defense is playoff-caliber. It's allowing an average of just 292.4 yards and 14.6 points per game. However, the Vikings have largely had to rely on the running game because Cousins has not shown the ability to take over games.

However, Cousins did have a strong performance in Week 5—he passed for 306 yards and two touchdowns—and he could have another against the Eagles. Philadelphia has struggled to defend the pass this season, allowing an average of 271.2 yards per game through the air.

The Vikings will need Cousins to deliver some big plays because the Eagles have been fantastic at defending the run. They've allowed an average of just 63 rushing yards per game and 3.2 yards per carry.

If Philadelphia can contain the running-back tandem of Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison, then this game could fall almost entirely on Cousins' shoulders.