Week 6 NFL Game Previews: Can The Seahawks Get Off The Mat Again?

Game of the Week: Carolina at Seattle, 4 ET, FOX

Last season, the Seahawks went from 3-3 to 12-4. This season, at 2-3, Seattle is hoping for a similar jumpstart.

Of course, this time last year, the Seahawks were a wee bit more dominant than they are right now. Last year's Seahawks, through Week 5, were second in DVOA. This team crushed the Packers at home to open the season, and then beat Denver in a close game. The 2015 Seahawks are 12th in DVOA. It took them every bit of four quarters to dispatch an 0-5 Lions team. Their only big win was crushing lowly Chicago at home, against the impotent stylings of Jimmy Clausen.

This is not the same team from the previous two years. Of course Seattle can become that team again since they have the talent. But this should be a tight game. The Panthers have a terrific defense, sparked by the development of cornerback Josh Norman. Middle linebacker Luke Kuechly should be back and healthy after suffering a concussion in Week 1. Cam Newton has been terrific at doing just enough to get the Panthers offense going.

Honestly, the biggest reason to believe in the Seahawks right now are the special teams. Carolina is 31st in special teams DVOA. Seattle is first. In what should be a tightly-contested defensive slugfest, field position could change everything.

Seattle will hope so, anyway.

Pick: Seattle 18, Carolina 17

Fantasy Football Addict Game of the Week: New York Giants at Philadelphia, ESPN 8:30 ET

Any time the high-flying play-per-twenty seconds Philly offense gets going, they can make the ordinary look great. Riley Cooper as a fantasy football WR2? Sure. Sam Bradford as a QB1? Absolutely. Under Bradford's tutelage, the offense has been mistake-prone. But the totals are still there, and anyone who didn't give up on Bradford early has been rewarded.

The Giants should probably figure out some plays where they throw the ball to Odell Beckham. So far, they haven't been taking enough advantage of their star receiver. Beckham is dealing with a bum hamstring. And with Rueben Randle also banged up, and James Jones on the Packers, they're an odd fit for a scoring duel. But what does this mean? A game where Shane Vereen gets 20 targets is in play, just as it was for Eli Manning on the final drive against San Francisco last week.

The winner of this game takes a stranglehold on the NFC East, which seems really bizarre considering we all wrote our Chip Kelly obituaries after Week 2, and have been writing our Tom Coughlin obituaries every year from 2012-2015. But hey, someone's got to take advantage of the Brandon Weeden black hole.

Pick: Philadelphia 29, New York 22

Football Nerd Game of the Week: Cincinnati at Buffalo, CBS 1 ET

We've used up all of our material on Andy Dalton this week. Please check back next week for more bemused observations about his ability to come through in the clutch. In the meantime, let's celebrate some other high-flying Bengals weapons. A.J. Green, Marvin Jones, and Mohamed Sanu are each in the top-25 in receiving DVOA. Tight end Tyler Eifert is in the top 10 among tight ends in receiving DVOA. While the running backs haven't been as effective as receivers, Dalton essentially has a mismatch to target on every play.

The Bills survived last week's game against Tennessee, and received the biggest boost in playoff probability of any team in the AFC. Per Football Outsiders, they're now sitting at 52.6%. Unfortunately, starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor hurt himself in the process. Now the wheel turns back to failed prospect EJ Manuel. Manuel is the kind of quarterback Cinci's defense can totally stifle. Of course, in theory, Andy Dalton is the kind of quarterback that Buffalo's defense should stifle.

Pick: Cincinnati 20, Buffalo 9

Game Between Preseason Disappointments: Kansas City at Minnesota, 1 ET CBS

WIthout Jamaal Charles, Kansas City choked away a 17-3 lead against a Bears club without Alshon Jeffrey. Alex Smith was completely ineffective. There is no deep game, and the offensive line is so bad that the Chiefs perpetually make Travis Kelce a blocker. Given how Jimmy Graham has been used this year, it's only the second-most egregious use of a great tight end.

A healthy KC is the AFC doppleganger for Minnesota. The Vikings are still at .500, but their offense has become what Kansas City's was: a great running back, some west coast kerfuffle to mostly mediocre receivers, and three lousily thrown deep balls a game. Teddy Bridgewater has yet to take the next step forward.

And unless the Chiefs just completely fall apart as a defense, that makes for a rather low-scoring game script. Part of the excuse-making for Bridgewater's play starts with an abysmal offensive line, which seems like a bad thing to bring to a fight against premier edge rushers Justin Houston and Tamba Hali.

Expect a lot of running. And expect one team to have Adrian Peterson and the other team to not have Charles.

Pick: Minnesota 20, Kansas City 13

Game You'll Only See On Red Zone Or In Local Markets: Houston at Jacksonville, CBS 1 ET

The stink of the AFC South is wafting off the monitor at you. The Texans have managed to create a quarterback controversy that doesn't actually matter. It literally doesn't matter who they start. Ryan Mallett. Brian Hoyer. Bryan Mallett. Whoever it is, the Texans gain nothing. All that matters is which quarterback picks up the fantasy garbage points in this game for getting to throw at DeAndre Hopkins. I guess the best answer for Houston's future would be Zac Dysert, a practice squad quarterback. But desperation won't set in for another few weeks.

On paper, the Texans defense should be able to make an impact in this game. J.J. Watt is the best player on either side. Jadeveon Clowney has been playing really well, and his explosiveness has not gone overlooked. Houston defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel has done a terrific job of making sure neither of those things matter.

I expect this match to be one of those games that's so bad it becomes fun. Just a pair of bad teams trading punches and throwing a lot.

Pick: Jacksonville 30, Houston 28

Primetime Game That Shouldn't Be: New England Patriots at Indianapolis Colts, NBC 7 ET

Let's take a look at the recent history of the Indianapolis Colts against the New England Patriots.

Big Brother has been trampling all over little brother since they got Andrew Luck and hired Chuck Pagano. This year, Luck has a bum shoulder and hasn't played in two weeks. Matt Hasselbeck has done some remarkable work keeping the rest of the AFC South in check, but these are the New England Patriots.

And given all the Deflategate drama, you can bet that New England is going to run this broken, crappy team off the field on Sunday. Pagano hasn't changed his defense to account for New England's running game in three years. The odds that it'll finally happen now seem small. This is a good week to own LeGarrette Blount in fantasy football.

Pick: New England 40, Indianapolis 10