Mattie T’s Week 6 NFL Predictions

Interesting trend with last week’s bye teams (Atlanta, Arizona, Carolina & Philadephia) as all of them won. Three of the four bye week teams this Sunday (Chicago, New Orleans & San Diego) are involved in big games, so who will come out on top?

Week 5: 8-6

Overall: 54-22 (.710)

Houston at Cincinnati.

Those Cardiac Bengals pulled out yet another impressive win last week, as a late Carson Palmer touchdown capped up a stunning road victory against Baltimore to put them in 1st place.

I don’t think Palmer will have any trouble against Houston, who is allowing just under 30 points per game on the road this season & giving up 363 yards per game, which is currently ranked 26th in the NFL.

Leading rusher Cedric Benson should have himself a nice day against the Texans’ shaky run defense, as Cincinnati will escape with a close win to remain in 1st place.

Detroit at Green Bay.

The Lions could be without their top wide receiver and quarterback for Sunday, as Calvin Johnson & Matthew Stafford are both dealing with knee injuries.

Daunte Culpepper will receive his 2nd start of the season if Stafford can’t go & will look to beat the Packers at Lambeau for the first time since the 2004 Wild Card Playoffs, when his former Minnesota Viking team won 31-17.

Aaron Rodgers has very good career numbers (318 passing yards per game, 6 touchdowns & no interceptions in 2 career meetings) against Detroit & should have a big day as Green Bay will roll to an easy win.

St. Louis at Jacksonville.

Can you believe it’s been a full calendar year since the Rams won a game?

That will be the case on Sunday, as Jacksonville will look to rebound from an embarassing 41-0 loss to Seattle.

They will have Mike Sims-Walker available, who was deactivated for the Seattle game after missing the team’s bed check curfew.

Don’t expect the Rams to put up much of a fight even with the return of Marc Bulger, as they have only managed SEVEN points in three road games so far this season. Jaguars in a laugher here.

Baltimore at Minnesota.

The Vikings’ cupcake part of their schedule is over. On Sunday, they will face their first true test of the season when John Harbaugh’s Ravens come to town.

Minnesota might have to play without the services of rookie wide receiver Percy Harvin, who will reportedly be a game-time decision for Sunday.

A key matchup worth watching is Vikings defensive end Jared Allen against Ravens rookie tackle Michael Oher, as Allen is definitely sure to draw some doubleteams throughout the game.

Unless Adrian Peterson shakes out of his mini slump (Peterson has never strung together 5 straight games of UNDER 100 yards rushing in his career), i think Baltimore has what it takes to go into the Metrodome & pull out a crucial road win to avoid hitting the .500 mark.

N.Y. Giants at New Orleans.

This matchup of unbeaten NFC Heavyweights will be a homecoming for Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who returns to the town he grew up in & where his father Archie excelled over 3 decades ago.

Manning should be fine for Sunday’s game after leaving early during their 44-7 rout over the Raiders last week, but New Orleans’ defense has registered a league-high 10 interceptions this season & sports veteran safety Darren Sharper, who has always done well in his career against the Giants.

If the Saints are able to slow down Brandon Jacobs (yards per game & carry is down from 2008) & Ahmad Bradshaw, i think they’ll squeak out a win to remain unbeaten.

Cleveland at Pittsburgh.

The Steelers will receive a key member back on defense for Sunday, as All-Pro safety Troy Polamalu is expected to return after missing the last 4 games with a knee injury.

Willie Parker will also return after missing the team’s last 2 games with a toe injury, but will split carries with Rashard Mendenhall as Mike Tomlin will go with “whoever’s hot”.

Look for the Steelers to take advantage of the Browns’ terrible run defense, as they’ll dash their way to an easy win.

Carolina at Tampa Bay.

The Panthers might have saved their season with a much-needed 2nd half comeback to beat Washington.

Now they’ll get to face a Tampa Bay team who absolutely cannot stop the run, so i can see DeAngelo Williams exploding for a huge game on Sunday.

Josh Johnson will make his 1st home start for the Buccaneers, but will face the wrath of Julius Peppers, Jon Beason & Co as i look for Carolina to pull off a win & inch closer to the .500 mark.

Kansas City at Washington.

If it weren’t for the Oakland Raiders, then i’d call Washington the most uninspired team in football.

Two teams (Detroit & Carolina) have already notched their first wins of the season at the ‘Skins expense, while Kansas City will look to be #3 on Sunday.

It will be tough for the Chiefs to pull it off with a struggling run offense & a terrible secondary that ranks 29th in the league.

Washington’s schedule gets really tough after this week, so look for them to pull out a win at home.

Philadelphia at Oakland.

Has Tom Cable lost his team? With only 16 points scored in the last 3 weeks, it looks as if Oakland isn’t trying at all.

JaMarcus Russell was so inconsitent against the Giants that he almost tied his sack total (6) with his completed passes rate (8).

With that bad Raider run defense, look for Brian Westbrook & LeSean McCoy to “rush” Philadephia to a convincing road win.

Arizona at Seattle.

The Seahawks couldn’t of picked a better time for Matt Hasselbeck to be healthy, as they have averaged close to 35 points a game with their All-Pro quarterback behind center.

Hasselbeck should have himself a field day against a porous Arizona secondary that’s the only NFL team allowing over 300 yards through the air.

I can’t pick the Cardinals to win here, as they have struggled with their ground game & converting on 3rd downs, which will be key in a game that figures to be a shootout.

A healthy Hasselbeck should give Seattle the edge on Sunday & put them at the .500 mark.

Tennessee at New England.

Tom Brady should have his biggest game of the season Sunday against a struggling Titans secondary that’s ranked 31st in the league.

The run defense remains strong, so Kerry Collins will have to throw often in order to get some positive drives going on offense.

I think this is the week Randy Moss finally has a monster game, as the Patriots will “air” their way to a win & drop the Titans to 0-6.

Buffalo at N.Y. Jets

Since scoring a season-high 33 points during their Week 2 win over Tampa Bay, Buffalo has only managed to score 20 points during their current 3 game losing streak.

I don’t know if that will be enough to beat a frustrated Jets team that has lost two straight while having trouble stopping the run, which was clearly evident during their last-second Monday night loss to Miami.

Braylon Edwards will make his home debut for the Jets on Sunday, but Thomas Jones will steal the show as i look for New York to get back on track with a big home win on Sunday.

Chicago at Atlanta.

The Bears will be looking for payback on Sunday evening, as they lost a heartbreaker to Atlanta last season after scoring the go-ahead touchdown with 11 seconds remaining.

The Falcons looked extremely impressive last week during their 45-10 rout over San Francisco, as Matt Ryan & Roddy White both had career days.

Look out for former Bear & current Falcons wide receiver Marty Booker, who will play a key role on 3rd downs, where Atlanta has the 9th highest successful rate this season.

Two Bears will have to come up big on Sunday in order for them to pull out a big road win. Running back Matt Forte (67.8 yards per game is down from last season’s 77.4) & Tight end Greg Olsen (10 receptions in 4 games) need to perform better in order to help out Jay Cutler, who did beat Matt Ryan as a member of the Denver Broncos one year ago.

Unless the Bears’ pass rush can get to Matt Ryan (sacked twice in 4 games), then i think Atlanta will have just enough offensively to pull out a close win.

Denver at San Diego.

After a bye week that included a spat between General Manager A.J. Smith & linebacker Shawne Merriman, i expect for San Diego to show plenty of emotion in a game they must win in order to stay on pace with Denver in the AFC West.

Luckily for the Chargers, Philip Rivers has been excellent on Monday Night Football where he sports great numbers & also has done well career-wise against the Broncos.

Look for San Diego to be the first team to crack 20 points or more on Denver’s defense & record a much-needed home win to stay in the division hunt.