Can Baltimore Avoid An Upset? Which Tampa Bay Team Shows Up? Are The Eagles A Top Team?

Week 6 of the NFL season is here. The leaves are turning and the temperatures are beginning to get cooler as the NFL’s halfway point is just around the corner. Many teams are jockeying to stay in the playoff hunt, while others are merely jockeying for position in next year’s draft. Week 6 is full of matchups between these haves and have nots, and a few of these games hold plenty of value.

Let’s take a look at some of these.

Cincinnati Bengals (+380) @ Baltimore Ravens (-530), o/u 47.5 (-110)
Normally one would look at this matchup between the 0-5 Bengals and the 3-2 Ravens as a cakewalk victory for Baltimore. However, the records can get thrown out when you have AFC North division rivals facing off. The Bengals have been a thorn in the Ravens side for years, particularly in recent years with Andy Dalton as their quarterback. The overall series between the two teams is tied at 23 wins apiece, and the last six games in Baltimore have been decided by seven points or less. No matter the current form of each team, these games are always close. Luckily for the Ravens, there’s no A.J. Green to torch them, nor no John Ross III. Also, the Bengals rush defense is next to last in the league, perfect for the run-heavy offense that the Ravens have. The Ravens will control the clock in this game, and not let Dalton and running back Joe Mixon get too many chances on offense. The Ravens also know they can’t let a winnable game such as this slip through their fingers after last week’s win vs Pittsburgh combined with Cleveland’s loss at San Francisco put them right back at the top of the division looking down at everyone else. The Ravens win this game but the ​Bengals will cover the 10.5 point spread (-110). ​The play with the best value here is ​Away Team +10.5 and Under 48.5 Total Points (+220).

Carolina Panthers (-136) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+112), o/u 47.5 (-110)
We head to the NFC South for an important matchup between these two division rivals. The 3-2 Panthers are trying to stay within one game of the division-leading Saints, while the Bucs at 2-3 know that a win here puts them right into the thick of things in the division despite a shaky start to the season. Quarterback Jameis Winston has been having one of his most consistent seasons yet after a rough season-opener vs San Francisco. He’s thrown for a franchise-record 1,371 yards through the first five games, and he’s tied for second in the league in TD passes, only one behind league-leader Russell Wilson. On the defensive side of the ball, Bucs outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett is having a monster season, leading the NFL with nine sacks. The Bucs for their part will have to contend with ‘White Lightning” aka Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey, off to an MVP-like start, as well as inside linebacker Luke Kuechly. Not to be slept on is quarterback Kyle Allen, who’s more than admirably filled in for the injured Cam Newton. This game is a virtual toss-up. Why? Because the “home” team Bucs aren’t really that at all as the game is being played in London. The London NFL games are so hard to predict because you have no idea how the time difference, the food, the preparation, etc etc are going to affect each team. The Bucs stayed in Florida longer to get almost a full week of practice and have also been speaking with experts on how to do things like sleep to prepare for this trip. The sounds good enough for us. Taking ​the Bucs moneyline (+112) is a more than solid play here.

Philadelphia Eagles (+145) @ Minnesota Vikings (-177), o/u 44 (-110)
Last but certainly not least, we have this pivotal matchup between interdivisional rivals Philly and Minnesota. Both teams come into this matchup at 3-2, but the Eagles are tied for first atop their division (with Dallas) while the Vikings are last in the NFC North, though only by one game. These are the sorts of October matchups that have huge ramifications for who gets into the postseason later on in the year, so the intensity from both sides will be ramped up. Both teams are coming off relatively easy victories, over the Jets (Eagles) and Giants (Vikings), respectively. The Eagles absolutely suffocated the Jets last week, getting 10 sacks. Kirk Cousins has already been sacked eleven times this year, so look for him to not hold the ball in the pocket too long in throwing situations. The Vikings hope to keep said situations to short yardage, so they’ll employ running back Dalvin Cook to keep the chains moving. Cook is second in the NFL with 542 rushing yards (averaging a whopping 5.9 yards per attempt), and even his backup Alexander Mattison has chipped in with 189 yards on 5.6 yards per attempt. The Eagles will combat this with the NFL’s top run defense since 2016, this year only giving up 63 rushing yards per game, which is lowest in the league. This game is going to be the classic example of irresistible force versus immovable object. Last week the Vikings opened up their offense for the first time all season, finally getting catch-everything receiver Adam Thielen into the game plan, and he went off for two TDs and 130 yards receiving. With him and Stefon Diggs taking some of the workload off the back of Cook, the Vikings have more big-play potential in this game than the Eagles (not mentioned, but the Vikings defense is still ​very g​ood). Look for the Vikings to win this one, covering the -3.5 point spread (+102) ​while they’re at it. We also like the value of ​Home team moneyline and under 44.5 Total Points (+195).

That does it for the week 6 NFL preview. These games and several others will be great to watch, so enjoy, but most importantly, good luck!

*Credit to the main photo of this article belongs to Matt Rourke/Associated Press