Sanders's Week 6 NFL Predictions!

Sorry for these being late! I forced myself to not watch football or look at scores so I couldn't cheat. Besides, I was doing laundry while writing them anyway.

NFL Week 6 Predictions

This week, I am skipping the “Key Matchup” segment to see how it feels when writing. Anyway,…

It’s funny how the NFL works. All teams that looked decent in the first few weeks now look either terrible or just mediocre. Usually how it turns out to be. We are in the middle of the season and injuries are starting to pile up. Now is when we see who the real teams are. The ones who can fight injuries and still win. To be honest, the only team that has surprised me is the Falcons. I definitely thought they would be over-hyped like they are everywhere but this year they are passing their hype tests with FLYING colors. Haha. Get it. Their Falcons. Flying…..I’ll go hide in the corner now and just give you my predictions now.

Sanders went 10-4 last week putting him to a 47-30 record on the season! Woo. Thought I was gonna fall down the pits at first. Let’s keep it up!

Denver Broncos vs San Diego Chargers

So I definitely thought the Broncos were going to win this game. I will full on admit I was wrong and will take the loss. If I have time, I plan on writing a feature of the Chargers. Probably the most intriguing team in the NFL besides the Vikings right now.

Chargers won. I picked Broncos. RIP

San Francisco 49ers vs Buffalo Bills

The Bills are hot and streaking. The 49ers are one of the worst teams in the NFL talent-wise and their 1-4 record is only evidence of this. Even though Kaepernick is starting, I don’t think it will be enough to penetrate Rex Ryan’s defense. Also, the 49er defense needs to learn how to stop their opponents from putting up so many points and stopping Shady McCoy has been impossible for opposing defenses this season. Neither trend will probably stop this game.

49ers 13  Bills 24

Jacksonville Jaguars vs Chicago Bears

An interesting matchup to say the least. Both teams haven’t done well at all but the Jaguars are coming off of a win that they secured in London against the Colts. Also, the Colts beat the Bears last week. While these two statements really don’t have much to do with each other, I am going to make the connection anyway and say that, naturally, the Jaguars should be the Bears because of the above statements. Besides, isn’t it about time Hoyer made some back-breaking mistakes?

Jaguars 23  Bears 17

Los Angeles Rams vs Detroit Lions

Hard to pick the team to win here. The Lions just upset the Eagles but the Rams are pulling the better record here and against a couple teams that are nothing to laugh at. However, I will give the game to the better QB. Despite only leading the team to two wins, Stafford has looked phenomenal compared to his past years. It’s exciting to see him finally meet his potential and it’s without Calvin Johson! Maybe Johnson retiring and forcing Stafford to make better reads will be better for the Lions in the long run.

Rams 16  Lions 27

Pittsburgh Steelers vs Miami Dolphins

I think it’s time for us to admit that Tannehill just may not be the QB for the Dolphins. Despite cycling through coaches, you would think the guy would have built a rapport with his receivers by now. And he hasn’t been very clutch either for his team recently. It’s a shame to see talent on the Dolphins wasted because coaching staff can never maximize it and the QB can’t maximize his own potential either. The Steelers on the other hand have been finding their groove and getting smacked by the Eagles. I think the Steelers will continue to stay on track and dominate the Dolphins like they did the Jets last week.

Steelers 28  Dolphins 14

Cincinnati Bengals vs New England Patriots

Tom Brady is a man on a mission. Wow what a great start to his season. That doesn’t spell good news for a Bengals team who got dominated by the Dallas Cowboys and desperately need a win at 2-3. Unfortunately, Brady shows no pity for those in his way. The Patriots will take swift advantage of a Bengals team currently in free fall.

On a sidenote: THIS ISN’T DALTON’S FAULT! I figured he would regress but the man is still showing he is just as good as he was last year. Poor guy. Right when he starts to realize his potential, his team starts to falter. Time to replace Marvin Lewis?

Bengals 20  Patriots 31

UPSET OF THE WEEK!!!

Carolina Panthers vs New Orleans Saints

I feel ashamed for calling this an upset but almost everyone thinks that the Panthers are going to win. I say they’ll lose. While, yes, the Panthers are the same team as last year, they are not having as much fun this year as they did last year. I stated in my Super Bowl prediction last year that the Panthers need to have fun in order to keep their mindset in the right direction. So far, they haven’t had any fun this year and a big part is that the secondary has been struggling mightily giving up big plays and points. Enter Drew Brees, the king of big plays and scoring points for over the last decade. No one has a better eye for the big play like Drew Brees and he should take advantage of a poor Panthers secondary. It’s only week 6, but the game is DO OR DIE for both teams.

Panthers 27  Saints 30

Baltimore Ravens vs NY Giants

I had this pegged as Baltimore’s first loss of the season. Even with them at 3-2, I am not changing my mind. Baltimore just fired their OC and that’s a victory for them. One of their primary issues was offensive playcalling (AKA abandoning the run). The run game has looked like the strongest part of the Baltimore offense in the last two weeks and Trestman refused to run it more often than throw. We'll see if new OC Morhinweg learns to run the ball more. Meanwhile, the Giants have lost 3 in a row due to self inflicted wounds. It’s hard to argue that they can win given the state they have been in the past 3 weeks, however, teams tend to get out of funks if they aren't a terrible team. OBJ has started to turn it around but needs to continue doing so if the Giants want to win. The Giants aren’t out of it yet, but they have a long road of recovery to get through and a win here will get them on the right track.

Baltimore 17  Giants 20

Cleveland Browns vs Tennessee Titans

Can Cleveland get their first win? Probably. Are they going to? Not in my books no. I believe in Demarco Murray who has enjoyed a FANTASTIC comeback season so far. If he continues his streak, I would argue him for Comeback Player of the Year. He is the sole reason I think Tennesse can win. I’m just not sure how well the Browns run defense will be able to handle someone of Murrary’s caliber. But HEY! Kessler has looked solid in his rookie season debut. The Browns have hope if Kessler can continue to improve his play. Maybe the Browns have found their future signal-caller after all.

 Browns 21  Titans 24

Philadelphia Eagles vs Washington Redskins

So, did you know that the Redskins have quietly been one of the better defenses in the past 3 weeks? Ironically, that’s the same time Cousins has started to step up this season. Hmm. Weird. It’s as if the Redskins have been decent all along. Haters. Anyway, this is a tough one to predict. The Eagles were finally silenced but it wasn’t even by a dominant team, it was by the Lions! That’s why the matchup looks so tough. The Redskins have started to show who they could be and there is plenty of game tape on the Eagles so now teams can figure out what their strengths and weaknesses are. The Eagles should win on paper, but I am rolling with the hot hand: The Redskins

Eagles 20   Redskin 26

Kansas City Chiefs vs Oakland Raiders

So who are the Chiefs with Jamal Charles? Guess we’ll find out this week. I expect this to be a high scoring game. The Raiders defense hasn’t come up clutch yet except in one game against Baltimore but even then a lot have argued that Marc Trestman’s playcalling lost Baltimore the game in the end. So, where does that leave us? That leaves us with a mediocre Chiefs offense vs mediocre Raiders defense with a good Chiefs defense  vs an elite Raiders offense. On paper, the Raiders should win. In real life? They will win anyway. Derek Carr has been the key to the Raiders 4 wins this season. Put another win on his resume.

Chiefs 17  Raiders 24

Dallas Cowboys vs Green Bay Packers

Even though Atlanta will be playing Seattle too, I think this will be the best game of the afternoon. Is it so hard to believe that Dallas can beat the Packers? Not at all. However, the Packers defense has been very opportunistic recently and I think Prescott will throw his first interception against Green Bay. My gut tells me the Cowboys are going to win, but my brain tells me the Packers will win. However, for that to happen, Rodgers needs to step up. The guy has the lowest completion percentage in the league. Unacceptable.

Cowboys 23  Packers 24

Atlanta Falcons vs Seattle Seahawks

The Falcons showed they can win without Matt Ryan going off……because they have a balanced offense. The running game has been okay all season but finally went off against Denver. The Falcons are a had offense to figure out thanks to OC Kyle Shanahan. I think the Seahawks are formidable but I think the Falcons can still pull it off with a little trickery and outsmarting the Legion of Boom. For the Seahawks to win, Wilson needs to keep showing why he is the future QB to watch in the NFL. The guy has performed well in the pocket and is the absolute definition of dual threat passer.

Falcons 21  Seahawks 20

Indianapolis Colts vs Houston Texans

I’m going to flat out say it. The Colts will win and not because their good. Because the Texans just look bad, specifically, Brock Osweiler looks bad. Unless Osweiler starts performing, the Texans become one dimensional on offense and without J.J. Watt on the defense, the Texans can’t rely on their defense to win games for them. Expect more Luck magic Sunday Night!

Colts 27  Texans 16

New York Jets vs Arizona Cardinals

The Jets defense isn’t living up to the hype and Fitzpatrick is looking more like Fitzpatrick than he ever has before. The return of Fitzmagic will have to wait another week as Palmer is back and this is the game for the Cardinals to get their offense firing back up on all cylinderes. Also, if the Cards defense can shutdown Fitzpatrick completely (not a hard task), even a bad version of the Cardinals offense will win this game. Just give the ball to David Johnson. #FutureHOF

Jets 13  Cardinals 34