NFL Week 6 will be an odd occurrence around the league with no “Thursday Night Football” game. In no way does this mean that Week 6 won’t provide us with some great games. Odds are that the Green Bay Packers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going to put up a lot of points in a potential NFC Playoff preview.
Over in the AFC, the 4-0 Pittsburgh Steelers take on a surprising 4-1 Cleveland Browns squad in a prime AFC North battle. Who will come out on top here?
As we have done all year, here’s a look at the NFL Week 6 odds and point spreads with a focus on a huge Monday night game between the Bills and Chiefs.
Updated: Oct. 18, 9:10 AM EST
NFL Week 6 Sunday games
Denver Broncos at New England Patriots
Time/station: 1:00 PM EST, CBS
Point spread: Patriots -8.0
This game has been rescheduled for Week 6. The Broncos were supposed to play Miami in Week 6, and now that game is being rescheduled due to COVID-19
Injury updates: Cam Newton (COVID) and Drew Lock (shoulder) will play
NFL news: Patriots, Jaguars, Falcons place multiple players on reserve/COVID-19 list
Denver quarterbacks have thrown 60 touchdowns compared to 53 interceptions in 52 games dating back to Week 1 of the 2017 NFL season. Patriots quarterbacks have combined to throw 89 touchdowns and 33 interceptions during that span. Both Drew Lock (shoulder) and Cam Newton (COVID-19) will be able to go in this one, but the Broncos will play without several key starters on offense. Even without key weapons, a double-digit victory for the Patriots feels unlikely.
Broncos injury report: Mellvin Gordon, Noah Fant among multiple starters OUT for Week 6
Chicago Bears at Carolina Panthers
Time/station: 1:00 PM EST, Fox
Bears-Panthers point spread: Panthers -1.5 (over/under 44.5)
Injury update: Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey (ankle) doubtful
Chicago boasts a shocking 4-1 record despite some major questions at quarterback. Part of the reason? This team’s defense has yielded four touchdown passes compared to three interceptions in five games. The Bears have won four of five despite ranking in the bottom eight in points scored. Even with Teddy Bridgewater playing at a high level for Carolina, take the under here.
Related: NFL Week 6 schedule, predictions
Detroit Lions at Jacksonville Jaguars
Time/station: 1:00 PM EST, Fox
Lions-Jaguars point spread: Lions -3.0 (over/under 54.5)
Want to know just how bad these two teams have been through five weeks? Detroit entered its Week 5 bye having given up an average of nearly 32 points per game. The Jaguars? They’ve now yielded north of 30 points in four consecutive games. Question the offenses all you want in this one. Question the head coaches, too. Ignore the point spread. Just take the over and watch the dumpster fire take off in Duval.
Related: NFL coaches on the hot seat
Atlanta Falcons at Minnesota Vikings
Time/station: 1:00 PM EST, Fox
Falcons-Vikings point spread: Vikings -4.0 (over/under 54)
0-5 for the first time since 1997, the Falcons fired head coach Dan Quinn following their brutal Week 5 showing against the Carolina Panthers. Teams that move on from head coaches in-season tend to get an initial jolt. With Minnesota 1-4 on the season, this is a game between two teams that are going nowhere fast. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Falcons earned their first win of the season under interim head coach Raheem Morris.
Houston Texans at Tennessee Titans
Time/station: 1:00 PM EST, CBS
Texans-Titans point spread: Titans -5.5 (over.under 53.5)
Here’s an interesting stat. In Deshaun Watson’s first four games of the season under recently-fired former Texans head coach Bill O’Brien, he was hit 37 times and sacked a whopping 16 times. Under interim head coach Romeo Crennel, Houston earned its first win of the season Week 5 against the Jaguars. Watson was hit four times and sacked just once. It’s not a coincidence that he went off for north of 400 yards in a 30-14 win. The moral of the story? Regardless of whether you think Houston can come out on top here, take them with the points.
Washington Football Team at New York Giants
Time/station: 1:00 PM EST, Fox
Washington-Giants point spread: Giants -2.5 (over/under 43)
Injury update: Washington QB Kyle Allen (arm) to start)
This is just ugly. Ugly in every possible way. Washington is coming off a 30-10 loss to the Los Angeles Rams. It’s a game that saw Alex Smith and Kyle Allen combine for 70 net passing yards. This team has now been outscored by 63 points in its past four games. While the Giants are in no way a juggernaut (0-5 on the season), the lack of competitiveness from Washington should be concerning. Take the Giants and the points here.
Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers
Time/station: 1:00 PM EST, CBS
Browns-Steelers point spread: Steelers -3.5 (over/under 51.0)
For the first time since “Forrest Gump” and “Pulp Fiction” were dominating the box office, these Cleveland Browns are 4-1 on the season. It just so happens that Bill Belichick was their head coach the last time this happened back in 1994. Pittsburgh might boast one of the top defenses in the NFL, but it’s going to be hard to stop what first-year head coach Kevin Stafanski has built on offense in Cleveland. After all, this unit is averaging 37.5 points during its four-game winning streak. If nothing else, take the over here.
Baltimore Ravens at Philadelphia Eagles
Time/station: 1:00 PM EST, CBS
Ravens-Eagles point spread: Ravens -10.0 (over/under 46.5)
After throwing just seven interceptions in each of the past three seasons, Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz has nine picks through the first five games of the 2020 campaign. Nine! As for the 4-1 Ravens, they have allowed just six touchdown passes in five games. I don’t envision Philadelphia’s offense being able to keep up with Lamar Jackson and Co, especially with multiple starts at receiver and along the offensive line sidelined. Add in the turnover issues, and it’s easy to see Baltimore winning this by 10-plus points.
Cincinnati Bengals at Indianapolis Colts
Time/station: 1:00 PM EST, CBS
Bengals-Colts point spread: Colts -7.5 (over/under 45.5)
Dating back to the start of last season, Philip Rivers has thrown 27 touchdowns compared to 25 interceptions in his past 21 starts. He’s also 8-13 during that span. It certainly appears like the 38-year-old borderline future Hall of Famer has hit that proverbial wall. As for the Bengals, they’ve surprisingly allowed just seven touchdown passes compared to five interceptions in five games. The Colts at -7.5 makes no sense here. Cincinnati will keep it closer than that based solely on these above-mentioned stats.
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New York Jets at Miami Dolphins
Time/station: 4:05 PM EST, CBS
Jets-Chargers point spread: Dolphins -9.5 (over/under 47)
Injury Update: Joe Flacco to start over Sam Darnold (shoulder)
The Jets have been outscored by an average margin of 32-15 through the first five weeks of the season. To put this into perspective, the Browns were outscored by 11 points per during their winless 2017 season. When the Lions went 0-16 back in 2008, they were outscored by an average of 14.5 points. We’re talking about an historically bad NFL team in Jersey. Take the Dolphins and the points, but go with the under.
Green Bay Packers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Time/station: 4:25 PM EST, Fox
Packers-Buccaneers point spread: Packers -1.0 (over/under 55)
Coming off a bye week that forced him to stay in Green Bay, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers could be playing the best football of his legendary career. The future first-ballot Hall of Famer is completing 71% of his passes with 13 touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 128.4 rating. Dating back to the start of the 2014 season, Rodgers has thrown 189 touchdowns and 32 interceptions. Sorry, Tom Brady, I am going with Rodgers in this one. That’s just insane.
Related: NFL Week 6 injury report
NFL Week 6 Sunday Night Football
Los Angeles Rams at San Francisco 49ers
Time/station: 8:20 PM EST, NBC
Rams-49ers point spread: Rams -3.5 (over/under 51.5)
The defending NFC champs boast a 2-0 record against the two winless New Jersey-based teams this season. They outscored the Jets and Giants by a combined margin of 67-22. The 49ers are being outscored 92-57 in their three losses against real NFL teams this season. You can do the math from here. Take the Rams and the points at Levi’s Stadium Sunday night.
Related: Top 100 NFL players of 2020
NFL Week 6 Monday Night Football
Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills
Time/station: 5:00 PM EST, CBS
Chiefs-Bills point spread: Chiefs -4.5 (over/under 57.5)
The 40 points Kansas City gave up in last week’s shocking loss to the Las Vegas Raiders is the most Andy Reid’s squad has yielded since Week 11 of the 2018 season. It’s the most the Raiders have scored since Week 4 of the 2018 campaign. Set to take on a Bills team that’s averaging nearly 28 points per game this season, the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes will have to keep up. The moral of this story? Take the over.
Arizona Cardinals at Dallas Cowboys
Time/station: 8:20 PM EST, ESPN
Cardinals-Cowboys point spread: Cardinals -1.0 (over/under 55)
The Dallas Cowboys are now the first team in NFL history that has scored and allowed 31 more points in four consecutive games. Back in Week 5, Dallas actually gave up 34 points to a Giants squad that had scored 47 combined points in its first four games. Unfortunately for Mike McCarthy and Co., they’re without MVP candidate Dak Prescott for the season. Take both Arizona and the points in this one.