NFL Picks Week 6: Jay Cutler and 3 QBs That Will Lead Teams to Close Victories

All the Jay Cutler criticism should cease with last Monday night's courageous performance against the Detroit Lions. Cutler's toughness rating on Madden 12 should go up to 99 just for suiting up behind that offensive line.

The Bears will defeat the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night. The Bears have played one of the toughest schedules in the NFL, so though they aren't elite, they aren't a terrible team either.

The Bears' three losses are to the undefeated Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions and the one-loss New Orleans Saints, who lost to the Packers. That is a combined record of 14-1 for those opponents.

Cutler will find time, as Mike Martz has agreed to do away with the seven-step drops, and the commitment to the running game has been shown over the past two weeks.

The Bears win 21-17.

Cam Newton will lead the Carolina Panthers to a win in Atlanta over the Falcons. Atlanta can't seem to put it together for an entire game.

They had the Packers beat for a half in Week 5, only to have their offense lose their punch. They were bitten by settling for too many field goals when their defense was holding the Packers' vaunted offense down in the first 30 minutes.

The Falcons pass coverage has been their Achilles heel, and Newton will find Greg Olsen and Steve Smith to burn the birds in the Georgia Dome.

The Panthers take it 27-24.

Joe Flacco will need to put points on the board as the Ravens host the Texans. The Houston offense is still dangerous, even without Andre Johnson, who is still sidelined.

The Ravens won't be able to ride the defense exclusively. Flacco will answer the challenge in Week 6. He seemed to find a go-to guy in Torrey Smith as the Ravens routed the Rams in Week 3. Smith was injured in that game and has been hobbled since. Lee Evans will not return so Smith will start a third straight game.

Either way, Flacco gets it done at home against the Texans.

Final score: Ravens 26 Texans 19.