Week 6 NFL Betting: 4 Underdog Picks to Consider

Week six of the 2016 NFL season has already kicked off, with Thursday night bringing a major upset with the San Diego Chargers taking down the Denver Broncos. That probably would not have been a game we would have targeted had we pushed our upset picks piece out early, seeing as Denver has an elite defense and the Bolts have blown fourth quarter leads in all four of their losses.

San Diego managed to hold on for the win on Thursday, however, further displaying the upside of going with a calculated NFL upset. There are more upset picks to consider for week six, and we’ve detailed our favorite four:

Jets (+255) @ Cardinals (-310)

There are actually a ton of interesting spots this week. The Falcons (+210) heading into Seattle is another. However, starting off with New York and Arizona, there are no four better NFL upsets to chase this week than the ones we’re zeroing in on here.

The Jets are in shambles right now. Make no mistake about it. Ryan Fitzpatrick is a human turnover machine, the running game has hit a wall, Eric Decker is on injured reserve and even a once vaunted defense has not been remotely close to elite. That doesn’t paint a winning portrait for week six, but the Cardinals are about as bad off. They’ve lost one less game, haven’t seen consistent play out of Carson Palmer and have seen their defense slip up in spurts.

Arizona is the big favorite here for a reason. They had title aspirations ahead of the season, they’re at home and they might be gaining some momentum after winning last Thursday. A win here gets them to 3-3 and probably saves their season. The Jets are floundering at 1-4 and are one more loss away from completely unraveling.

That being said, the Jets still have the offensive firepower to contend with anyone and if Fitzpatrick can cut back the turnovers and their defense can show up, they can steal Arizona’s moment. With these fun odds, they’re certainly worth a flier bet in week six.

Browns (+270) @ Titans (-340)

There is no trusting the 0-5 Cleveland Browns, but let’s consider three things:

  • They’re facing the Titans
  • Unless they got 0-16, they have to win eventually
  • They’ve actually been pretty competitive

Seriously, Tennessee has ridden a strong defense and a determined DeMarco Murray, but otherwise has disappointed greatly in 2016. If Cleveland’s defense can step up and harass Marcus Mariota and the Browns can commit to the ground game, they could keep this close and pull off a huge upset. It’s certainly not likely, but they’re not facing the Patriots like they did a week ago. It’s the Titans, who have two wins and seem to lose games on purposes sometimes.

49ers (+280) @ Bills (-360)

I don’t have any faith in the Niners whatsoever, especially on the road against what has suddenly proven to be a pretty darn good Bills defense. San Francisco has been getting trounced basically ever since dismantling the Rams at home in week one, further promoting the idea that Chip Kelly has no clue what he’s doing.

That being said, the 49ers have a good running back in Carlos Hyde and the switch from the woeful Blaine Gabbert to a spirited Colin Kaepernick provides the slim chance of total redemption. Kap has nothing to lose, as he continues his stand against U.S. oppression and aims to turn his career around.

I’m sure the Bills make it a ton of fun for him, but what if he comes in and just lights Buffalo up and he and the Niners become the feel good story of the year?

I know, it’s doubtful. But with +280 odds and Buffalo’s shaky 0-2 start, I’m not sure it’s that crazy. Not so crazy we can’t toss a flier bet at the wall and see if it sticks, anyways.

Bengals (+290) @ Patriots (-380)

I would have felt a lot better about this one if Tyler Eifert were back (he won’t be) and Tom Brady were still suspended (he’s not). That being said, as haunting as a healthy Patriots team on the road can be, this is still a solid Bengals team that looked like a legit title contender a season ago.

It’s quite possible that was a mirage. It’s also quite possible it wasn’t and winning in New England right now is just too much to ask.

But Andy Dalton can ball a bit, the Bengals have two talented running backs, A.J. Green is a beast and when on top of their game, Cincy’s defense is one of the more balanced units in the entire league.

That all still probably won’t be good enough, but the Bengals were a good team not too long ago and they’re in a must-win situation with insane +290 odds. They deserve a cursory glance when finalizing your week six NFL betting.

No matter what route you take this week, good luck with your NFL picks!

 

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