2014 NFL Season: Pokorny's Week 6 Picks

Avoiding a Blowout: Can we please have a competitive Thursday Night game? Ryan Fitzpatrick makes me doubt that we will, but I'm hoping the Texans' defense can hang tough to make this a compelling game. The Colts and Texans are both atop the AFC South at 3-2, so the winner of this game will have the division lead six games into the season. The Colts have won three games in a row, so I'll continue riding them. Colts 24, Texans 17

Note: This game already happened, but I'm posting my pick from our DBN open thread for record-keeping purposes.

Upset of the Week: While the Ravens have been dominant at home, they barely got by the Browns a few weeks ago and then fell completely flat to the Colts last week. Tampa Bay seems to have found some offensive firepower under Mike Glennon, so I'll go with them to send the Ravens into their first mini-slump of the season. Buccaneers 20, Ravens 17

Defense Gets it Done: Andy Dalton will be without his best playmaker in A.J. Green, but Cincinnati as a whole will be looking to rebound from last week's horrible outing against the Patriots. Carolina has been an inconsistent team, and with depth issues at running back, the Bengals' defense will shut down the Panthers' offense this week in a low-scoring affair. Bengals 17, Panthers 10

Blowout of the Week: Put a fork in the Jets. Rex Ryan has guided his teams back from the grave in the past, but the quarterback situation between Geno Smith and Michael Vick provides no reason for optimism, especially against the best teams in the AFC. Broncos 31, Jets 13

Lions Take Down Bridgewater: When Teddy Bridgewater won his first game, he had an effective running game at his disposal. This week, he goes up against a Lions defense that has been among the best in the NFL. There is reason to be optimistic about Bridgewater this season, but he'll come down to earth a bit this week, much like Bortles has in Jacksonville. Lions 21, Vikings 13

Still Trying to Get a Pulse: It's not easy to get a pulse on the Dolphins right now. They dismantled the Raiders a couple of weeks ago and followed that up with a bye. With fresh legs underneath them, can they hold off the Packers? I have to ride with a Green Bay team that has blown out two division rivals in a row. Packers 24, Dolphins 20

Dud of the Week: How would you like to see Blake Bortles vs. Charlie Whitehurst? If you are raising your hand up high, then this game is for you. The Jaguars are 0-5, while the Titans are 1-4 after having lost 4 straight. The Jaguars got close last week against Pittsburgh, and after Tennessee's meltdown to Cleveland, these teams could be going in slightly opposite directions. Jaguars 23, Titans 17

Legacy Wins Out: Kyle Orton is 1-0 as the Bills' starting quarterback, the story of their win last week was their defense. Tom Brady seemed to have his moxy back last week, and I think New England finally utilizing tight end Tim Wright was a big reason for that. Wright had 5 catches for 85 yards and 1 touchdown despite playing just 19 snaps. The Patriots may be weakening, but nobody else in the division is quite ready to leap over them yet. Patriots 23, Bills 20

Bury Some More Footballs: Tony Sporano buried a football at the Raiders' training facility to show that the first four games are behind them. Sadly, you can't just flip a switch in the NFL when your team is so bad. The Chargers have been performing like the best team in the NFL with a deadly formula -- putting together long drives, converting with touchdowns, and playing stout defense. Chargers 31, Raiders 6

Wild Card Implications: Both of these teams should have the talent for a wildcard spot, but they've each lost two in a row and are sitting at 2-3. I get the feeling that when Week 17 comes and we're looking at NFC wildcard scenarios, we might look back and say, "when did the Bears face the Falcons," because whoever wins here will own a tiebreaker over the other. I have to take the Falcons, who are 0-3 on the road but 2-0 at home. Falcons 31, Bears 27

Game of the Week: For years, we've been forced to watch the Cowboys play as the featured team despite having a mediocre record. Now, they are finally putting things together at 4-1 and having won four straight. The Seahawks are impossible to predict against when they're at home, but I think Dallas will keep this a much closer game than expected until the end. Seahawks 27, Cowboys 20

Cardinals Working Through QB Situation: When healthy, there is no doubt that Carson Palmer will start for the Cardinals. Right now, due to injuries, we don't know who will start for Arizona between Palmer, Drew Stanton, and Logan Thomas. While having Thomas start makes me nervous, I shouldn't really fear much: the Redskins' defense isn't very good, while the Cardinals' defense will make up for falling flat against Denver. Cardinals 27, Redskins 16

Sunday Night Showdown: Alright, this is what I'm talking about! After Week 2, I looked forward and actually thought that this game would be flexed out of its slot. Instead, the Giants have won three straight and made it a very worthy game. This could be for the division lead, and Philadelphia's running game has run into a big-time dry spell. Eli and the Giants will capitalize for a bit of an upset. Giants 28, Eagles 24

Winning Ugly: The 49ers are winning games again, in large part due to Phil Dawson, who is 9-of-9 in field goals over the past two weeks, including 3-of-3 from beyond 50 yards. Dawesome. Despite the Rams' near comeback last week, I think the 49ers' defense has stepped up and will make things difficult for Austin Davis. 49ers 21, Rams 17

Looking for a Division Win: You can read our full preview and prediction for the Browns game here.