Paul Sancya/Associated Press The NFL is settling back into a sense of normalcy, something at least somewhat reflected in the Week 6 lines. Unlike the week prior, the Week 6 odds out of Las Vegas have plenty of big lines that will make for some tough decisions. Four lines check in at seven or more points and some—like the Arizona Cardinals visiting the Minnesota Vikings—opened at north of the 10-point mark. Granted, lines will adjust throughout the week so it is still best to put some early work in and capitalize before the shifts if the opportunity presents itself. Here's a look at the full slate and some analysis on a few of the exploitable lines. Week 6 NFL Odds Philadelphia (-3) at N.Y. Giants | O/U 44 Video Play Button Videos you might like Arizona at Minnesota (-10.5) | O/U 43 Carolina at Washington (-1.5) | O/U n/a Chicago (-3) at Miami | O/U 42.5 Indianapolis at N.Y. Jets (-2.5) | O/U 45 Pittsburgh at Cincinnati (-2.5) | O/U 53 Seattle (-3) at Oakland | O/U 48 Buffalo at Houston (-8.5) | O/U n/a L.A. Chargers (-1) at Cleveland | O/U 44 Tampa Bay at Atlanta (-3.5) | O/U 57.5 L.A. Rams (-7) at Denver | O/U 52.5 Baltimore (-3) at Tennessee | O/U 41 Jacksonville (-3) at Dallas | O/U 40.5 Kansas City at New England (-3) | O/U 59 San Francisco at Green Bay (-9.5) | O/U 46.5 Philadelphia (-3) at N.Y. Giants Michael Perez/Associated Press Like a week ago, the NFL starts bettors off with a softball. New England stomping Indianapolis was predictable and so is the Philadelphia Eagles hitting the road and taking care of the hapless New York Giants. Those Eagles are only 2-3 and have lost two in a row, but tough games against Tennessee and Minnesota were bound to produce unpredictable results while Carson Wentz worked his way back into the swing of things. For Wentz, it is a matter of those around him starting to step up: In a 23-21 loss to Minnesota, Wentz threw for 311 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, yet the difference outside of consistent pressure and allowing 300 passing yards was a fumble going back for a touchdown. The Giants, at least, don't pose much of a threat. New York is now 1-4 with Eli Manning still unable to provide a spark and the backfield behind him averaging less than four yards per carry. The defense has now let up 33 points in consecutive outings and Odell Beckham Jr. made some questionable comments to the media before the game, so this wasn't a case of a fluke loss last week on a 63-yard field goal. On a short week, it is much easier to trust Wentz than Manning. Road game or not, this seems like the final warm-up of sorts the Eagles need. Prediction: Eagles 30, Giants 17 L.A. Rams (-7) at Denver Scott Eklund/Associated Press One of the bigger lines in Week 6 is perhaps the most confusing. The Los Angeles Rams, still undefeated, have easily been one of the best teams in the NFL. But them going on the road and winning by seven points is a tough sell, especially considering they went to Seattle the week prior and only escaped with a 33-31 win. Still, wanting to take the over would make some sense. Jared Goff is completing 72.3 percent of his passes with 12 touchdowns and four interceptions and the ground game has seven scores to its name already. Constant pressure has the defense allowing just 19.6 points per game. While the numbers are impressive, bettors might have more of an interest in a different set: Either way, it doesn't bode well for a Denver Broncos team that has lost three in a row, the latest a 34-16 shellacking at the hands of the New York Jets. There, the Case Keenum project continued to stumble as he threw for 377 yards with two touchdowns and a pick and his defense allowed not only three touchdown passes to rookie Sam Darnold, but 323 rushing yards and a touchdown to the Jets' ground game. Bettors will simply have to decide if they trust Denver to show some fight or not. But from the outside looking in, Todd Gurley having a strong performance on the ground seems probable, Keenum is a liability and Sean McVay might just be the best coach in the NFL this side of Belichick, so seven points doesn't seem like too much to ask. Prediction: Rams 27, Broncos 17 San Francisco at Green Bay (-9.5) Duane Burleson/Associated Press On the other hand, a line flirting with double digits feels like it will only grow as the week progresses. The Green Bay Packers at home against a one-win team tends to do that. While the Packers are only 2-2-1, Aaron Rodgers has 10 touchdowns against one pick and—believe it or not—there is only so much he can do. Case in point, the Week 5, 31-23 loss to Detroit saw him throw three touchdowns with 442 yards and no interceptions while kicker Mason Crosby missed four field goals. Keep in mind, too, Rodgers isn't 100 percent: That one-win team is the San Francisco 49ers, a team tasked with hefty traveling while suffering from missing a starting quarterback and a three-game skid. Not only have the Cardinals lost three in a row, they let the Arizona Cardinals grab their first win of the season in Week 5, a 28-18 blowout in which new starting quarterback C.J. Beathard could only manage two touchdowns and interceptions. At home, Rodgers gets to feast on a San Francisco defense ranked 29th as it allows 29.2 points per game, meaning he won't even let somebody like Crosby let him down. Again, bettors might want to grab this one before the line only grows. Prediction: Packers 33, 49ers 14 Odds via OddsShark.<doc-sep>Week 6 of the NFL is here and, at least on the surface, the marquee matchup appears to be Sunday's showdown between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New England Patriots. After a somewhat slow start to the season, New England is back in the driver's seat in the AFC East, while Kansas City has gotten off to a perfect 5-0 start. Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes has set the NFL on fire in his first season as the team's starter. He's impressed fans, teammates and coaches—offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy told ESPN that Mahomes has an amazing mind for the game and play retention that sounds quite a bit like LeBron James's famous ability to rattle off plays from games. "The recall that he has is crazy," Bieniemy told ESPN. "You can go through maybe 12-15 plays during a seven-on-seven period. Then later, you sit back and ask him exactly what happened on, say, Play 3. He can recall exactly what happened, who he threw it to. He can tell you exactly what coverage they were playing, right off the top of his head. That's one of the most impressive things about him. That tells you he sees everything and absorbs it, what a lot of guys don't." Of course, memory is nice, but it also doesn't hurt that Mahomes has a canon for an arm and stellar athleticism. The Patriots, meanwhile, have ascended back to the top of their division with a 3-2 record. There have been promising signs from rookie running back Sony Michel, who seems to now be coming into his own after missing the preseason and struggling a bit in the first few weeks. "He's a guy who's willing to learn," Patriots running back James White said at a press conference this week, via USA Today. "He's working extremely hard... He missed preseason so he missed those live reps but I've been saying the more he gets out there, the more confident he'll be and the more comfortable he'll be out there learning the plays, getting the feel for how defenses are going to play him and what not." Here is all the betting info you need for Patriots vs. Chiefs as well as every other NFL game this week—Odds are via Odds Shark (and Bovada if lines have moved) while predictions came from the CBS Sports's Pete Prisco and ESPN's expoerts. Note: picks are for outright winners, not against the spread. Thursday, October 11 Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants: Philadelphia -3; CBS picked the Giants. Ten ESPN experts were split, 5 experts picking each team. Sunday, October 14 Arizona Cardinals at Minnesota Vikings: Minnesota -10.5; CBS as well as all 10 ESPN experts picked the Vikings. Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans: Houston -10; CBS picked Houston as did all 10 ESPN experts. Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons: Atlanta -3.5; CBS and all 10 ESPN experts picked the Falcons. Carolina Panthers at Washington: Washington -1; CBS picked Washington. ESPN was split, eight experts to two, for Carolina. Indianapolis Colts at New York Jets: New York -2.5; CBS picked New York. ESPN experts were split evenly, 5-5. Pittsburgh Steelers at Cincinnati Bengals: Cincinnati -2.5; CBS picked the Pittsburgh. ESPN experts were split 5-5. Los Angeles Chargers at Cleveland Browns: Los Angeles -1; CBS picked the Chargers. ESPN was split, eight experts to two, in favor of L.A. Chicago Bears at Miami Dolphins: Chicago -3; CBS picked Miami. Nine of ten ESPN experts picked the Bears. Seattle Seahawks at Oakland Raiders: Seattle -3; CBS picked Seattle. Nine of ten ESPN experts picked the Seahawks. Los Angeles Rams at Denver Broncos: L.A. -7; CBS picked the Rams as did every ESPN expert. Baltimore Ravens at Tennessee Titans: Baltimore -3; CBS picked Baltimore as did seven of 10 ESPN experts. Jacksonville Jaguars at Dallas Cowboys: Jacksonville -3; CBS picked the Jags. Seven of 10 ESPN picked Jacksonville. Kansas City Chiefs at New England Patriots: New England -3; CBS picked the Pats. ESPN experts were split down the middle, five experts picking the Chiefs and five experts picking New England. Monday, October 15 San Francisco 49ers at Green Bay Packers: Green Bay -9.5; CBS and all 10 ESPN experts picked Green Bay.<doc-sep>
Before the sixth Sunday of the 2018 NFL regular season kicks off, let’s have some fun by taking a look at the spreads for today’s games. (Click here for NFL Week 6 picks without regard to the spread.) Here are suggestions when trying to beat the odds. You can find all of today’s NFL betting lines and over/unders via SB Nation. My season record so far is 29-48-1 after going 7-8 last week. I really could use a hot streak here. I’ll note once again that I’m doing much better in straight up picks this year. NFL Week 6 Games Arizona Cardinals at Minnesota Vikings (-10.5): The Cards look better with Josh Rosen than Sam Bradford but they’re still really bad. Minnesota’s not going to be susceptible to another letdown loss like they had in the Buffalo game earlier this year. Vikings win comfortably. PICK: Vikings -10.5 Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans (-10): Don’t love to hear that Deshaun Watson is dealing with a chest injury while playing behind a porous offensive line. Still probably a better option than Josh Allen, though. Houston’s defense should be able to stop the run. That’ll make life harder on Allen. I’ll go with the home team here but I’d stay away from this game. PICK: Texans -10 Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Atlanta Falcons (-3): We should have a shootout on our hands here. Two good offenses and two really bad defenses. I’m not a big Jameis Winston believer so his return doesn’t do a ton for me. Atlanta is banged up but I still think they’re better than their 1-4 record indicates. PICK: Falcons -3 Carolina Panthers (-1.5) at Washington Redskins: Carolina almost ended up losing to a very bad Giants team, so I don’t know how much I trust them, but I don’t love taking Washington after traveling home on a short week. PICK: Panthers -1.5 Indianapolis Colts at New York Jets (-2): The Colts are just so banged up. They give good effort under Frank Reich but I can’t take Indy here. Give me the J-E-T-S who played well against Denver last week. PICK: Jets -2 Pittsburgh Steelers (-1.5) at Cincinnati Bengals: Pittsburgh’s offense came to life last week. Ben Roethlisberger isn’t as effective on the road, however. The Bengals have looked like the best team in the AFC North this season and I think that’ll continue. I like them getting points at home. PICK: Bengals +1.5 Los Angeles Chargers at Cleveland Browns (-1.5): Don’t look now but the Bolts are a top five team in DVOA. I like what the Browns have shown but I still think LA is the better overall team. Can’t wait to inevitably regret believing in the Chargers once again. PICK: Chargers +1.5 Chicago Bears (-4) at Miami Dolphins: Chicago’s coming off a bye. The Dolphins are coming off a confusing loss where they led 17-0 and then lost 27-17. Still not really sold on Mitchell Trubisky but that Chicago defense is for real. PICK: Bears -4 Seattle Seahawks (-3) at Oakland Raiders: The Seahawks’ offense should be able to have some success against a leaky Raiders defense. I just don’t see any reason to put your faith in Jon Gruden. PICK: Seahawks -3 Los Angeles Rams (-7) at Denver Broncos: The Broncos began their season with two wins by a combined four points and have since dropped three games in a row. They’re not good. The Rams, meanwhile, are definitely good. PICK: Rams -7 Baltimore Ravens (-3) at Tennessee Titans: The Ravens lost to Cleveland last week while the Titans lost to Buffalo. Not really sure what to make of these 3-2 teams. The analytics favor the road team in this one. Baltimore ranks sixth in DVOA while Tennessee is 20th. Going with this strategy helped me pick Houston over Dallas last week, so I’ll give it another shot. PICK: Ravens -3 Jacksonville Jaguars (-3) at Dallas Cowboys: Blake Bortles versus Dak Prescott is a battle of two bad quarterbacks. This could be a defensive struggle. If that’s the case, Jacksonville should have the edge because their defense is better. PICK: Jaguars -3 Kansas City Chiefs at New England Patriots (-3.5): Game of the week. The undefeated Chiefs are underdogs in this one despite being undefeated. There’s a reason for that. The Pats are still very much a force to be reckoned with, especially playing home at Gillette Stadium.