Week 6 NFL Picks: Saints’ Attack Likely to Be Too Much for Patriots, While Giants Are Still Bad
It seems like this space is used every week to talk about one of three things. It’s either about how bad our picks were the week before, the humongous spread the Broncos are favored by or the humongous spread the Jaguars are up against.
Well, we went a combined 16-14 last week, which is actually pretty darn good in our book, so we don’t have to talk about how much we suck. We will, however, continue to talk about the Broncos and Jaguars because they’re going to play football together this week.
In the process, they’ll make some history with the most lopsided point spread in NFL history. The 28-point spread looks like it’s going to stick, a spread more likely to be seen in the first couple of weeks of college football rather than the NFL’s Week 6.
That’s far from the only intriguing matchup this week, either. The Saints and Patriots meet at Foxboro in a matchup that will probably be a heavy workout for the scoreboard operator, while Thursday night features a hapless Giants team in danger of falling to 0-6 and being further embarrassed by the Bears.
Can the Broncos really cover that spread? NESN.com’s John Beattie and Mike Cole have made their weekly picks, which you can check out below.
All lines are from Bovada as of Thursday. If lines are off on Bovada Thursday, Yahoo! lines will be used for those games.
Giants at BEARS (-8)
John Beattie: Bears
Mike Cole: Bears
Why: The Giants defense is really bad, and Eli Manning really likes throwing footballs to opponents.
Raiders at CHIEFS (OFF; -9 on Yahoo!)
JB: Raiders
MC: Raiders
Why: Nine points is a pretty sizable spread, even if the Chiefs are 5-0. However, the Raiders are coming off a big win over San Diego, and they’ll keep it close for much of the afternoon. -MC
Eagles at BUCCANEERS (+2)
JB: Eagles
MC: Eagles
Why: The Bucs don’t really score points and the Eags don’t really stop teams from scoring points, so this one is going to be gross to watch. The Jackson-Revis matchup might be fun, though? Even though the Bucs are home-dogs coming off a bye, I’ll take Foles/McCoy over Glennon/Martin.
Packers at RAVENS (+3)
JB: Ravens
MC: Packers
Why: The Packers got back on track last weekend, and while the Clay Matthews injury will hurt them at some point, I don’t think it will be this weekend. I also get the feeling Aaron Rodgers is about to get hot. -MC
Lions at BROWNS (OFF; +2 1/2 on Yahoo!)
JB: Browns
MC: Browns
Why: Let’s make it four straight wins for the Cleveland Browns (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). Despite something named Weeden playing quarterback, the Cleveland offense has a pretty solid punch in Gordon, Cameron and McGahee (who looked pretty decent last week).
Panthers at VIKINGS (-3)
JB: Vikings
MC: Vikings
Why: I actually watched a lot of the Panthers-Cardinals game last week because I have Cam Newton in fantasy. At one point, he turned the ball over and Ron Rivera called the offense over on the bench. He chewed them out. After that, Newton and another member of the offense walked away and started laughing with each other. That’s enough for me to think they’ll get run this week as well. -MC
Rams at TEXANS (-9)
JB: Texans
MC: Rams
Why: Matt Schaub has a lot to prove this weekend, and he’ll get a nice blowout win against a pretty crummy Rams team to win back some fans for at least one week.
Steelers at JETS (-3)
JB: Jets
MC: Steelers
Why: Pittsburgh had a bye last week. The Jets played on Monday night. While the Steelers are awful this year, I think they’ll be good enough to squeak out a win against the up-and-down Jets. -MC
Bengals at BILLS (+7)
JB: Bengals
MC: Bengals
Why: Thad Lewis won’t be able to do what Tom Brady and Rodgers couldn’t. Also, The Law Firm really likes beating up on the Bills. Seven points is a lot, especially at home, but the ground game can only carry the Bills so far.
Titans at SEAHAWKS (-14)
JB: Seahawks
MC: Seahawks
Why: The Seahawks are 4-1-0 ATS this year, including 2-0-0 at home. Now the Titans have to go to Seattle and try to give them a game? No way, Jose. -MC
Jaguars at BRONCOS (-27)
JB: Broncos
MC: Broncos
Why: Peyton Manning probably won’t allow anyone to take him out of the game, which is bad for folks salivating at the league’s biggest points spread ever. The Jags have no running game (and no Luke Joeckel) and Justin Blackmon — who is pretty darn good, folks — means nothing when Chad Henne is throwing the ball.
Cardinals at 49ERS (-11)
JB: 49ers
MC: Cardinals
Why: The Cardinals looked really good last week, but that was against a Panthers team that looked like it would rather be doing anything other than playing football. They got a ton of pressure on Newton, and if they do that again this week, they might have a chance. I doubt they’ll win, but I’ll buy them keeping it under double digits. -MC
Saints at PATRIOTS (OFF; -2 1/2 on Yahoo!)
JB: Saints
MC: Saints
Why: The Patriots’ Vince-less defense might not be able to keep enough points off the board if this turns into an offensive battle. Pierre Thomas and Darren Sproles will open things up for the NFL’s best tight end, Jimmy Graham, and Hofstra’s Marques Colston.
Redskins at COWBOYS (-6)
JB: Cowboys
MC: Cowboys
Why: Here’s the problem with taking the Cowboys in this game. It might end up being a shootout like last week’s Cowboys-Broncos game. If that’s the case, you’re putting faith in Tony Romo not making a costly turnover late. Apparently I’ve learned nothing. I’ll take the Boys. -MC
Colts at CHARGERS (OFF; +1 1/2 on Yahoo!)
JB: Colts
MC: Colts
Why: The Colts are for real, people. Despite the Chargers beating the Cowboys in their last home game and giving the Texans a good battle in their only other home game, Indy can easily cover this spread.
Last week:
JB: 9-5
MC: 7-7
Overall:
JB: 32-41-4
MC: 31-42-4
