2015 NFL Season: Pokorny's Week 6 Picks

Note: This prediction was from Thursday's game thread.

Thursday Night Football: The Falcons have been riding high offensively, but despite having a not-so-great game against the Redskins last week, Atlanta still prevailed. That's one of the marks of a good team, one who can withstand a team's best blow and still come out on top. The Saints are already out of division contention, and the gap between them and Atlanta/Carolina will only continue to grow this week. How many sideline shots are we going to see of Sean Payton wondering why Rob Ryan's defense can't stop anyone in key moments? Falcons 31, Saints 17

Trying to Hold the Fort: As much as the Steelers want Ben Roethlisberger back, it looks like he'll have to wait another week. Pittsburgh has already gotten all they could have asked for out of Micheal Vick after he helped lead a dramatic fourth quarter comeback drive in prime time last week. That was against a pedestrian Chargers defense; this week, he faces perhaps the most complete team in the NFL, including a defense that boasts the highest interception rate in the NFL. Cardinals 24, Steelers 21

Climbing Out of the Basement: Over the past two weeks, the Bears have stunningly emerged victorious in the final moments of the game. Meanwhile, the Lions are at rock bottom, first having the fumble at the goal line in Seattle and then seeing Matthew Stafford get benched part-way through last week's blowout against Arizona. I don't think the benching was too far-fetched of a decision; they were clearly out of the game at that point. Detroit has to get a win soon, and this will be the week with Calvin Johnson having his best day of the season. Lions 28, Bears 13

Upset of the Week: At one point, it was thought that Tyrod Taylor and LeSean McCoy would both miss this week's game against the Bengals. As of now, Taylor appears good-to-go, and McCoy is making a surprising comeback, which should provide a much-needed boost offensively. The Bengals have been playing very good football, but every team is ripe for a bit of an upset. Cincinnati's offense hasn't committed too many turnovers this year, but Rex Ryan's defense will get to Andy Dalton for his worst game of the season as Buffalo rolls, much like they did in Week 1 against the Colts. Bills 27, Bengals 17

Hoyer Must be a Polarizing Figure: Back to Brian Hoyer it is! It was the wrong decision for the Texans to bench him so quickly in Week 1. Head coach Bill O'Brien has shown to have an incredibly short leash on the team's most important position. Perhaps the root problem in Houston isn't even the offensive struggles, though. The Texans' defense isn't generating sacks or turnovers and are yielding way too many points. The Jaguars have been disappointing because I thought they could carve out a niche defensively, which they haven't done. I'll take Arian Foster to be the difference-maker in this close contest. Texans 23, Jaguars 20

Just Keep on Running: How is this for complete opposites: the Vikings rank 2nd in rushing, but 32nd in passing. Coming off of a bye, the Vikings find themselves right in the thick of a wildcard race in the NFC, a spot that is very much attainable if they continue to ride Adrian Peterson. The Chiefs have to be in full-on depression mode: they've lost four in a row and lost Jamaal Charles to another ACL injury last week. The Vikings will follow their formula and run the ball at will at home. Vikings 24, Chiefs 20

Coaching Can Only Do So Much: It was the right move for Miami to make a coaching change before their bye week, and as motivating as the change might be, chemistry can't change overnight. Miami only had 65 points over the first four games, among the worst in the NFL. Defensively, they weren't much better. If every team could reverse those stats overnight by firing their coach, they'd do it. They'll have a fighting chance against Tennessee, but after two straight late collapses, Marcus Mariota will close the door on the opposition this time. Titans 27, Dolphins 20

Lock of the Week: Everyone talked about the remaining undefeated teams this week, but the New York Jets deserve to be in the discussion for one of the league's top teams. The Jets are among the top 5 teams in time of possession because their offensive line controls the line of scrimmage, preventing Ryan Fitzpatrick from getting sacked and especially thriving for Chris Ivory down in the red zone. Defensively, the Jets have the second-ranked defense, only behind Denver. Washington won't have enough punch to move the ball against the Jets. Jets 28, Redskins 10

Time to Flip the Switch: The Seahawks' late-game collapse last week against the Bengals was stunning, but the switch is close to being flipped in Seattle. They take on an impressive Panthers team this week, but Carolina's 4-0 record has seen them take advantage of one of the league's easiest schedules. The Panthers played the Seahawks twice in Seattle last year (regular season and postseason), so they must hate having to come to this place already. Seahawks 23, Panthers 15

Signs of Life: The 49ers can be a physical running team, but what they really need to contend is for Colin Kaepernick to look like a competent NFL quarterback again. After several weeks of looking like a deer in the headlights, he was very good against the Giants last week in a tough defeat. Baltimore's downhill spiral will continue as Joe Flacco might be without another weapon this week in Justin Forsett. 49ers 28, Ravens 21

Continuing to Cruise Along: The Chargers are always subjected to late-game finishes, both good and bad. The Packers, meanwhile, are cruising with Aaron Rodgers, already having a three-game lead in their division and looking to add as much cushion as possible. The Chargers' won't sustain success until they get more healthy bodies back up front.  Packers 35, Chargers 24

No Contest: The Patriots are kicking ass this year, and the Colts are about to be their next victim. Indianapolis will have command of the AFC South because of the state of their division, which saw them win two straight games with Matt Hasselbeck under center. Andrew Luck will be back this week, but the Colts are a very flawed team and the Patriots will flush all of their weaknesses to the forefront. Patriots 42, Colts 21

Monday Night Football: The Giants have won three straight games to take the division lead in the always-changing NFC East. Philadelphia's running game is starting to show slight glimpses of life, but they'll really turn the corner when they start scoring in the first quarter of games again. I anticipate this being an exciting back-and-forth affair, with the Giants making a costly fourth quarter mistake to allow the Eagles to take the division lead. Eagles 31, Giants 27

Top Defense vs. Top Offense: Who would've thought that, in Week 6, people would be talking about the Browns' offensive juggernaut, led by Josh McCown, trying to beat the Broncos' top-ranked defense? My full preview and prediction of the Broncos vs. Browns game will be posted this Saturday on DBN.