First up is the matchup between the Buccaneers and the Falcons. I’m picking Atlanta to win at home; that offense has been racking up points and features a number of skill players that could go off at any time. I’ve got my eye on Calvin Ridley in particular to have a good performance. Stella’s rolling the dice a little bit with her pick of the Bucs, but she thinks the combination of last week’s bye and the return to the helm of QB Jameis Winston will be enough to reinvigorate this Tampa Bay squad.
In a game that I don’t feel particularly confident about, I’m going with the Raiders beating Seattle in London. That "home field" is probably the closest thing to an advantage the Raiders have going for them, although one could certainly see someone like Marshawn Lynch having a big game against this scuffling Seahawks D. Stella’s not high on Seattle, but she thinks that Russell Wilson and company have more than enough to outscore the Raiders. If the run game can handle its business, things will open up for the Seahawks offense. Meanwhile, they’ll have little trouble shutting down the dysfunctional Oakland offense.
This week’s dull-as-dirt faceoff is definitely Colts/Jets. I’m going with Indianapolis largely because I feel like Andrew Luck has been slowly building himself back up and is ready to bust out in a big way; the Jets defense is soft enough to allow him to do so. Granted, the rest of the Indy pieces aren’t great, but Luck will be enough. Stella’s looking at Jets rookie QB Sam Darnold to handle his business against a suspect Colts defense – especially if the New York rushing attack can carry forward some modicum of last week’s massive success.
I like Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers to head into Washington and take them down. Cam remains one of the most dynamic offensive weapons in the NFL, though it’s easy to forget just how good he is. Christian McCaffery looks to have figured out how to be a real factor as well. Their defense isn’t bad either. Stella’s making a gut call on Washington. She thinks the team will bounce back after getting crushed by the Saints on Monday Night Football. Her thought is that Alex Smith is far better than he showed and will be looking to prove it.
This next one is a disagreement that surprises me. I’ve got Jacksonville winning easily against the Cowboys. Sure, the game is in Dallas, but that Jaguars defense will undoubtedly stifle the already-struggling Cowboys offense. Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott and company aren’t going to be able to move the ball with anything resembling consistency. Stella doesn’t disagree with the dominance of the Jacksonville D, but she’s banking on the continued inability of the Jags to score against even soft defenses. She thinks that Blake Bortles is going to commit a couple of backbreaking turnovers and hand the win to Dallas in a low-scoring affair.
Last, but not least, we’re looking at Baltimore/Tennessee. I’m going with the Titans at home, though I’m not at all confident in what Marcus Mariota and his team bring to the table. Still, I like them to muster up enough to take down the Ravens. It won’t be a pretty W, but it will be a W. Stella disagrees; while she acknowledges that this Baltimore defense doesn’t have the talent or gravitas of fabled past units, she also believes that the D doesn’t need to be that great to shut down the inconsistent Titans. The truth is that neither outcome would surprise either one of us; the one thing we agree on is that we expect an unimpressive game.
And there we have it. Week 6 picks, such as they are. Does Stella let me hang around for a while longer? Or is this the beginning of yet another long, ultimately kind of embarrassing descent? Stay tuned.
(winners in caps)
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ALLEN’S PICKS
Thursday, Oct. 11
PHILADELPHIA at NY Giants
Sunday, Oct. 14
Tampa Bay at ATLANTA
Pittsburgh at CINCINNATI
LA CHARGERS at Cleveland
Seattle at OAKLAND
CHICAGO at Miami
Arizona at MINNESOTA
INDIANAPOLIS at NY Jets
CAROLINA at Washington
Buffalo at HOUSTON
LA RAMS at Denver
JACKSONVILLE at Dallas
Baltimore at TENNESSEE
Kansas City at NEW ENGLAND
Monday, Oct. 15
San Francisco at GREEN BAY
Week 5 record: 9-6
Season record: 46-30-2
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STELLA’S PICKS
Thursday, Oct. 11
PHILADELPHIA at NY Giants
Sunday, Oct. 14
TAMPA BAY at Atlanta
Pittsburgh at CINCINNATI
LA CHARGERS at Cleveland
SEATTLE at Oakland
CHICAGO at Miami
Arizona at MINNESOTA
Indianapolis at NY JETS
Carolina at WASHINGTON
Buffalo at HOUSTON
LA RAMS at Denver
Jacksonville at DALLAS
BALTIMORE at Tennessee
Kansas City at NEW ENGLAND
Monday, Oct. 15
San Francisco at GREEN BAY
Week 5 record: 10-5
Season record: 46-30-2
