There is an exciting slate of 12 games on Sunday. Here are final score predictions for all of the Week 6 Sunday contests, with reasoning.
Keep track of my “Sunday Score” all season long. This weighted formula gives me five points for every correct outcome. For every team whose score I predict exactly correct, I get an additional three points. Here’s how I’ve fared so far:
Sunday Score: 229
Winner/Loser picked correctly: 38/65
Week 6
Carolina Panthers 24, Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17
Traditionally, London games do not reach massive scores. This game should remain competitive but the Panthers will be able to pull away in the second half and win the big NFC South matchup. The Bucs, for what it’s worth, will manage to shut down Christian McCaffrey for the second time this season.
Philadelphia Eagles 21, Minnesota Vikings 24
These are two of the most similar and equal teams in all of football, and it was really hard to determine a victor here. In the end, Dalvin Cook and home-field advantage were what swayed my decision to pick the Vikings, but it really could go either way. Kirk Cousins needs to do his part to consistently put up points.
Washington Redskins 12, Miami Dolphins 16
I thought picking the winner of Eagles-Vikings was tough, but that’s easy work compared to trying to decide who to pick here. The winless Redskins and the winless Dolphins are a combined 0-9 this year. Both teams want the loss so they can get an edge on the first pick in the draft. This should be fun but extremely stressful annoying to watch.
Houston Texans 34, Kansas City Chiefs 31
This should be one of the most exciting games to watch this week. The Texans have momentum coming off a huge win against the Falcons, while the Chiefs lost last week. The Chiefs’ lack of solid defense coupled with the Texans’ ability to learn from what the Colts did right last week give the Texans a slight advantage.
New Orleans Saints 26, Jacksonville Jaguars 17
Gardner Minshew is going to lose again. He and underrated-so-far running back Leonard Fournette won’t be able to produce an offensive production as solid as Teddy Bridgewater’s performance alongside Alvin Kamara with New Orleans.
Seattle Seahawks 27, Cleveland Browns 13
Myles Garrett will be the only bright spot for the Browns Sunday, and even he won’t be able to do much in terms of spotting Russell Wilson. I am really looking forward to seeing what the Seattle offense can do to this Cleveland defense.
Cincinnati Bengals 10, Baltimore Ravens 27
The Bengals should be able to find the end zone once or twice, but Zac Taylor will need to keep waiting for his first career win as a head coach. The Baltimore Ravens should be able to handily defeat their AFC North division-mates this Sunday.
San Francisco 49ers 23, Los Angeles Rams 17
The Seahawks eked out a win against the Rams last week, and the 49ers will be able to do so this week, improving to 5-0. I am truly sold on this defense after their beautiful performance silencing the Browns on Monday night. It also doesn’t help that L.A. will be without the services of star running back, Todd Gurley.
Atlanta Falcons 27, Arizona Cardinals 24
I am pretty proud of my start-of-season picks, with the exception of the Falcons (now 1-4) punching a ticket to the Super Bowl. They should probably improve to 2-4 this Sunday, but Arizona will put up a fight. It will be fun to see Julio Jones and Larry Fitzgerald play in the same game this week.
Dallas Cowboys 30, New York Jets 13
I’m still not sold on the Jets this season, even though Sam Darnold returns this week. Perhaps the Jets can change my mind this Sunday but, for now, I remain confident that they are an extremely weak football team who should be handed a loss by Dallas this week.
Pittsburgh Steelers 13, Los Angeles Chargers 23
Undrafted rookie Devlin Hodges gets the start for the Steelers Sunday in this matchup between two under-performing teams. Hodges, the third-stringer, should find the end zone once and lead a couple scoing drives, but the Chargers will be able to improve to .500 (3-3).
