NFL Week 6 might be described as a tale of gut checks and heat checks. Contenders like the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers looked lost in Week 5 defeats, while a few upstarts like the Washington Commanders and Denver Broncos kept rolling. The upcoming schedule brings a couple of exciting quarterback clashes, too.
Week 6 starts with a Thursday Night Football matchup between two teams facing a serious gut check: the 49ers vs. Seattle Seahawks, with San Francisco narrowly favored. The 49ers again lost after posting as Week 5’s biggest favorites over the Arizona Cardinals, and the Seahawks fell at home to the New York Giants playing without Malik Nabers. San Francisco is banged up and badly needs a bye but won’t get it until Week 9, but the early 3-0 start for the Seahawks is feeling like ancient history after two tough losses.
The Giants, meanwhile, are in the Sunday night game this week against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals are favorites on the road but not by much, indicative of the Giants exceeding expectations in Week 5 while the Bengals continue to lose close games. But the Bengals have largely been competitive in their games against fierce competitors, so this should be their chance to get another badly needed W. (If not this week, they have the Cleveland Browns next up…)
The biggest favorites of Week 6 are the Philadelphia Eagles against the Cleveland Browns. The 2-2 Eagles will have home-field advantage and the benefit of extra rest after a bye in Week 5, while the 1-4 Browns are coming off a 34-13 drubbing by the Commanders. At least Cleveland fans have playoff baseball because the Browns haven’t scored more than 18 points in any game yet, and they haven’t had a tough schedule (their three games before the Commanders were against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Giants and Las Vegas Raiders). The Eagles have struggled to find consistency, though, so they face their own big questions after a week to reset.
The 4-1 Houston Texans had what you might call a heat-check game against the Bills and passed the test 23-20, and are now big favorites heading into their Week 6 matchup in Foxborough against the 1-4 New England Patriots. Keep an eye on injuries here, though, as the Texans could be without both running back Joe Mixon and wide receiver Nico Collins.
The Bills, meanwhile, are grappling with the fallout of some bad decision-making in a tough loss to the Texans. They are narrow favorites in a Monday Night Football matchup with the 2-3 New York Jets, who struggled against the Vikings in London. But if Josh Allen is healthy, this matchup of quarterback stars should be a fun game to watch, and the spread says oddsmakers think it will be competitive.
It’s the Commanders turn for a gut check in another game that should give us a fun QB matchup: After a four-week winning streak, Washington is a touchdown underdog to the Baltimore Ravens. Early odds have the Ravens as significant favorites, but the Commanders demolished their 3.5-point spread against the Browns, and Jayden Daniels continues to look like one of the best QBs in the game. But can the Commanders defense do anything to stop the rushing attack of Lamar Jackson and Derrick Henry? The Ravens have outrushed their opponents by at least 100 yards in all five of their games this season. But they’re 3-2 and have also had their own defensive struggles, allowing Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase to do massive damage on Sunday in a high-scoring affair. We have our popcorn out for this one.
Across the rest of the schedule, the NFC South has its third consecutive divisional matchup this week as the New Orleans Saints face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Both teams lost to the Falcons and need this divisional win. The Saints are narrow favorites at home. Another NFC showdown between the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys sees the Lions favored on Dallas’ home turf. Detroit is coming off a bye week and have seemed to improve each week prior to that. Did the extra rest add fuel to that momentum, or temper it?
Week 6 has a few other games closer than a field goal: The Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Chicago Bears (Sunday morning in London), Indianapolis Colts vs. Tennessee Titans and Los Angeles Chargers vs. Denver Broncos.
On bye this week: Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins and Minnesota Vikings
Read on for the odds for every game, plus schedule details and how to watch.
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox.
Free, daily NFL updates direct to your inbox.
Sign Up
NFL Week 6 odds
Odds are updated live and are from BetMGM. Looking for NFL tickets? Find them here. For information on streaming, click here. Games are on Sunday unless otherwise noted.
San Francisco 49ers at Seattle Seahawks (Thursday, Prime Video)
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Chicago Bears (NFL Network)
At Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints (FOX)
Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans (CBS)
Cleveland Browns at Philadelphia Eagles (FOX)
Houston Texans at New England Patriots (CBS)
Washington Commanders at Baltimore Ravens (CBS)
Los Angeles Chargers at Denver Broncos (CBS)
Detroit Lions at Dallas Cowboys (FOX)
Cincinnati Bengals at New York Giants (NBC)
Buffalo Bills at New York Jets (Monday, ESPN)
(Photo of Josh Allen: Alex Slitz / Getty Images)
