NFL Week 6 Picks: Brian Hoyer, Browns Try To Maintain Momentum Against Steelers

Man, that was fun.

Last week had it all for an NFL fan. The Cleveland Browns recorded the largest road comeback in NFL history, Tony Romo made some big-league throws to beat the Houston Texans and Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning reminded everyone that they’re still pretty darn good.

Fresh off all that excitement, we sure can’t wait for Sunday. (Or Thursday. Or Monday.)

(Well, maybe for Monday.)

Last week:

Ben Watanabe: 12-3 (36-24 on season). Only person who had any faith in the Pats last week.
Darren Hartwell: 9-6 (37-23). Looking to bounce back week after the first mediocre week of picks this season.
Mike Cole: 12-3 (39-21). Now the new No. 1, and making sure everybody hears about it.

Indianapolis Colts (3-2) at Houston Texans (3-2), Thursday, 8:25 p.m.

Ben’s pick: Colts. Tony Romo’s having a nice season, but if you let Romo throw for 324 yards and two touchdowns, I just can’t put my faith in you to slow down Andrew Luck less than a week later.

Darren’s pick: Colts. The Texans have three wins this season. Two of them have come against the Redskins and Raiders. This one (hopefully) won’t be another blowout, but Luck and the Colts should take care of business.

Mike’s pick: Colts. The Colts aren’t great, and Thursday night road teams rarely have success. Yet, here I am taking the Colts, because Luck has been that darn good this season.

New England Patriots (3-2) at Buffalo Bills (3-2), Sunday, 1 p.m.

Ben’s pick: Patriots. I made fun of Kyle Orton last week, but I actually think he and the Bills offense will give the Pats more trouble than Andy Dalton did. Fred Jackson is the man, too — just not enough of “the man” for me to take Buffalo.

Darren’s pick: Patriots. Yeah, the Pats looked really good last week, but strange things tend to happen in Buffalo. That being said, New England will win a close one on the road.

Mike’s pick: Patriots. The Bills’ defense could end up frustrating the Patriots, but I’m not sure there’s enough on offense to win. The Bills will need a score or two on defense, which just doesn’t seem likely.

Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2) at Cleveland Browns (2-2), Sunday, 1 p.m.

Ben’s pick: Browns. Pittsburgh is undoubtedly the better team, but Brian Hoyer was ballin’ in the second half last week and I’ll take any opportunity to pick against the Steelers.

Darren’s pick: Browns. I’m good for one bad pick a week, so might as well use it here. The Steelers have been wildly inconsistent this year, so maybe they’ll lay an egg against a team they barely beat at home in Week 1.

Mike’s pick: Steelers. The Browns’ 25-point comeback last week was impressive, especially if you take out the part where they did it against the Titans. Taking the Browns two weeks in a row, though? No, thanks.

Carolina Panthers (3-2) at Cincinnati Bengals (3-1), Sunday, 1 p.m.

Ben’s pick: Bengals. The pressure is off Dalton, who rekindled old questions about his intestinal fortitude with his lackluster showing last week. When little is expected, Dalton tends to be fine.

Darren’s pick: Bengals. News of A.J. Green’s injury gives me “paws” (get it?), but Cincinnati just doesn’t lose at home when something reasonably important isn’t on the line.

Mike’s pick: Bengals. Cat fight! The Bengals won’t be in prime time and won’t be carrying any real expectations, which means they won’t vomit all over themselves like they did Sunday night.

Jacksonville Jaguars (0-5) at Tennessee Titans (1-4), Sunday, 1 p.m.

Ben’s pick: Jaguars. I’ve been looking for an excuse to take Jacksonville. That moment has arrived — for both the Jags and myself. (P.S. — OK, the Jags are going to lose, because they’re awful, but at least I can say I threw my support behind them once this season.)

Darren’s pick: Titans. Yikes. Is it possible for both teams to lose?

Mike’s pick: Titans. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Green Bay Packers (3-2) at Miami Dolphins (2-2), Sunday, 1 p.m.

Ben’s pick: Packers. Green Bay has found its stride following a shaky start to the season. With two weeks to prepare, the Dolphins will prevent the Packers from putting up another 40-spot, but that’s about it.

Darren’s pick: Packers. The Cheeseheads are on a roll (of cheese), piling on 80 points in their last two games. The Dolphins won’t be the ones to spoil them.

*Editor’s note: What the heck is a “roll of cheese”?

Mike’s pick: Packers. When Eddie Lacy is healthy and going good like he was Thursday night, it completely opens up the Packers’ offense for plays like that 66-yard Jordy Nelson touchdown off of play action. Expect more this weekend.

Detroit Lions (3-2) at Minnesota Vikings (2-3), Sunday, 1 p.m.

Ben’s pick: Lions. NFC North football — it’s fan-terrible! Somehow, Detroit holds a share of first place despite losing to Carolina and Buffalo. If only the Vikings didn’t defend like a bunch of Dee Fords taking on Frank Gore.

Darren’s pick: Lions. The Lions could be without Calvin Johnson, but at least they have a kicker now! That’s enough to beat a Vikings team with a banged-up rookie quarterback.

Mike’s pick: Lions. Calvin Johnson is questionable at best, the Lions don’t have a functioning kicking game and they’re on the road. But at least they get to play the Vikings.

Denver Broncos (3-1) at New York Jets (1-4), Sunday, 1 p.m.

Ben’s pick: Broncos. Next week: Tebow time!

Darren’s pick: Broncos. If the Jets’ offense can just muster a few points, maybe their defense can hold … Oh, wait. They’re playing the Broncos. Never mind.

Mike’s pick: Broncos. Denver will win this game, but a curious 8-point line makes you wonder what Vegas knows that we don’t. This game might be closer than expected.

Baltimore Ravens (3-2) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-4), Sunday, 1 p.m.

Ben’s pick: Ravens. I spent a good 15 minutes trying to think of something snappy/smart to say about this game, and this is what I came up with: The Bucs aren’t good.

Darren’s pick: Ravens. The Bucs nearly beat the Saints last weekend, but I don’t think the Saints are very good. The Ravens are a lot better than both teams, so they’ll win here.

Mike’s pick: Ravens. Take out the 42-point pounding on Thursday night a couple of weeks ago, and the Bucs have been competitive in every game. Is that enough to beat the Ravens? I want to say yes, but I am a chicken.

San Diego Chargers (4-1) at Oakland Raiders (0-4), Sunday, 4:05 p.m.

Ben’s pick: Chargers. Actual conversation with Mike the other day: Mike: “Have you seen the Jaguars’ first-round draft history since 2005?” Me: “Yeah, but who’s worse at drafting, the Jags or the Raiders?” Mike: “The Raiders.” Gavel.

Darren’s pick: Chargers. To quote a former San Diego news anchor, this one might escalate quickly.

Mike’s pick: Chargers. San Diego is looking like one of the NFL’s best teams, and the Raiders look like the Raiders.

Chicago Bears (2-3) at Atlanta Falcons (2-3), Sunday, 4:25 p.m.

Ben’s pick: Falcons. You know how people were chastising Josh McDaniels a couple of weeks ago for running Jay Cutler out of Denver, wondering if McDaniels would do the same to Tom Brady? That was cute. Hot sports take: Cutler is no Brady.

Darren’s pick: Falcons. It’s not out of the question that the Falcons finish 8-8 this season while going 8-0 at home and 0-8 on the road.

Mike’s pick: Falcons. There’s a headline in the Chicago Tribune reading “Will Marc Trestman be Jay Cutler’s latest victim?” if you’re wondering how things are going in Chicago.

Dallas Cowboys (4-1) at Seattle Seahawks (3-1), Sunday, 4:25 p.m.

Ben’s pick: Seahawks. The Cowboys have drastically improved, and Romo pulled some jaw-dropping throws out of his you-know-what last week, but it will take more than a few nifty plays to down Seattle.

Darren’s pick: Seahawks. The Seahawks have looked like night and day in away and home games this season. Classify this one under “day.”

Mike’s pick: Seahawks. Looks like a good matchup on paper, but Seattle has won 17 of 18 at home since the start of the 2012 season. Good enough for me.

Washington Redskins (1-4) at Arizona Cardinals (3-1), Sunday, 4:25 p.m.

Ben’s pick: Cardinals. Quarterback Drew Stanton has been just good enough for Arizona’s defense to win games. That should be more than good enough against Washington.

Darren’s pick: Cardinals. The Redskins put up a fight against the Seahawks on Monday night, but the Cardinals haven’t lost a home game yet. That won’t start this weekend.

Mike’s pick: Cardinals. Arizona’s quarterback situation is in a bit of disarray, but I keep watching this video on loop and can’t in good faith take the Redskins.

New York Giants (3-2) at Philadelphia Eagles (4-1), Sunday 8:30 p.m.

Ben’s pick: Eagles. It’s fair to ask whether Nick Foles can psychologically recover from missing out on “his chance to be interviewed by one of the greatest journalists in the country,” but as long as he’s not too wracked by guilt, he should have a day against Big Blue.

Darren’s pick: Eagles. The NFC East has been surprisingly strong this year, but let’s be honest, the Giants haven’t really beaten anyone of note. The Eagles will take care of business and secure their spot atop the division.

Mike’s pick: Eagles. So we’re gonna just go ahead and put the Giants back in the contenders conversation after beating the Redskins and the Falcons? Sure.

San Francisco 49ers (3-2) at St. Louis Rams (1-3), Monday, 8:30 p.m.

Ben’s pick: 49ers. Who schedules these Monday night games, a guy who hasn’t watched the NFL since 1999?

Darren’s pick: 49ers. In the preseason, this game looked like the chance for the Rams to establish themselves as legitimate NFC West contenders. Now, it’s a practice squad quarterback and a banged-up running back being fed to the lions, or in this case, the Niners.

Mike’s pick: 49ers. I’d like the Rams’ chances a lot better here if I had faith they could get the run game going. Easier said than done against a 49ers defense that ranks eighth in rushing yards per carry allowed.

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