The Once-Over: Week 6

With attention spans dwindling, we forgo full game-by-game previews to give you the essentials you need to know about every contest this glorious NFL weekend. We call it The Once-Over.


The Early Games

Kansas City (0-5) at Washington (2-3): Not only have the Redskins lost three out of five games but they haven't scored 20 points yet in any contest. There couldn't be a better time to welcome the winless Chiefs into town as head coach Jim Zorn is fearful of losing his job and injuries on the offensive line have Clinton Portis worried his season could jump off track

The Chiefs have to like the idea of playing against the down-trodden Redskins. And Larry Johnson could have a big game against the 23rd-ranked rush defense of Washington. But for Kansas City to prevail, Matt Cassel needs to be able to throw the ball effectively against a pass defense that doesn't give up a lot of yards.

Pick: Washington

Carolina (1-3) at Tampa Bay (0-5): The Panthers tasted victory for the first time last week, beating Washington in dramatic fashion. For a team that needs to put a few wins together, waking up with Tampa Bay next on the schedule is a good thing. The Tampa defense ranks 29th against the rush and 22nd against the pass -- great news for DeAngelo Williams and Jake Delhomme.

The receiving corps in Tampa has been the walking wounded this season but Antonio Bryant looks "the best he's looked since OTA's," according to head coach Raheem Morris. They'll need a healthy Bryant and some help from their young quarterback Josh Johnson to get into the win column. Keep an eye on the backfield as the Bucs will have all three running backs active and Cadillac Williams, Derrick Ward and Earnest Graham all seem likely to play this week.

Pick: Carolina

Cleveland (1-4) at Pittsburgh (3-2): Derek Anderson is coming off of a game where he only completed two passes (2 of 17) and totaled 23 yards through the air with one interception. The Browns, in a winning effort, only scored six points last week but the task gets much more challenging as they arrive in Pittsburgh. Expect the same offense but not the winning result.

Pittsburgh gets a few players back from injury this week with Troy Polamalu likely to play for the first time since Week 1 and Willie Parker back as well. Parker could back up Rashard Mendenhall but Polamalu will give the defense a needed boost.

Pick: Pittsburgh

New York Giants (5-0) at New Orleans (4-0): In a battle to become Alpha-Male in the NFC the Giants bring a high-powered offense that ranks 4th in scoring with 30.2 points per game to town. Eli Manning needs to be healthy enough to play a full game, something he hasn't done since injuring his foot. Manning hasn't practice in full all week, but the Giants say that he's resting during the week and his partial participation is by design, not because he's still injured.

No team in the league scores more then New Orleans. Their offense churns out 36 points per game and they are coming off a bye-week, so they'll be well rested. Mike Bell and Pierre Thomas both needed the time off and they'll share carries out of the backfield and Drew Brees should continue to keep scoreboard operators very busy.

Pick: New Orleans

Baltimore (3-2) at Minnesota (5-0): The Ravens have lost two in a row and traveling to Minnesota puts them in danger of a three-game losing streak. The Ravens have been penalized 19 times for 161 yards in those two games, and the lack of focus is showing up in inopportune times. The defense needs to step up (something I didn't think I'd ever say about a Baltimore team) and Ray Rice needs continued success running the ball.

The Vikings offense has been a well-tuned machine all season. Brett Favre is spreading the ball around and he's been given the time to make good decisions by his offensive line. That all stops on Sunday. The Ravens defense should pressure Favre into a few mistakes, and they allowed a 100-yard rusher last week for the first time in 40 games. The Ravens will focus on making sure Adrian Peterson doesn't hit that milestone this week.

Pick: Baltimore

St. Louis (0-5) at Jacksonville (2-3): While the Jaguars defense will be focused on stopping the run and keeping Steven Jackson contained, their offense will be gearing up to run the ball, much to the liking of Maurice Jones-Drew. Only four teams have allowed more rushing touchdowns than St. Louis -- meaning MJD should excel on Sunday if he gets the ball as much as he'd like.

Marc Bulger is back and that's great news for the Rams. He's not that much more prolific than Kyle Boller but he really cuts down on the mistakes -- Bulger has only one turnover in four games while Boller had five in three games. Jacksonville is ranked 31st against the pass, so you're going to see Bulger throw the ball a lot on Sunday.

Pick: Jacksonville

Detroit (1-4) at Green Bay (2-2): Not only do the Detroit Lions have the unenviable task of playing the Packers after a bye week, they also may have to play without quarterback Matthew Stafford and star receiver Calvin Johnson. That's not exactly how the Lions wanted to enter Lambeau Field, a place they haven't won in 18 tries.

Green Bay is having trouble protecting their quarterback this season. In four games, Aaron Rodgers has been sacked 20 times -- most in the NFL. The Detroit pass-rush isn't daunting so Rodgers may have some time to hook up with his favorite target, Donald Driver. Driver will also become the Packers all-rime leading receiver with his next reception.

Pick: Green Bay

Houston (2-3) at Cincinnati (4-1): For five consecutive weeks, the Bengals have played in games that were decided in the final minute of the game. And remember we're only five weeks into the season. It would be nice for Cincinnati to win a game convincingly. To do that, Cedric Benson needs to continue building on a great season rushing the ball. He's facing the 28th-ranked run defense which bodes well seeing as how he's already proven that he can run well against top-ten defenses of Pittsburgh and Baltimore.

Matt Schaub is on pace to throw for more than 4,000 yards this season and eclipse 30 touchdown passes. Three times this season already he's thrown for 300-plus yards, and the fact that he's throwing against a defense ranked 23rd against the pass is a good sign his numbers will continue to climb.

Pick: Houston

The Late Games

Arizona (2-2) at Seattle (2-3): Arizona comes into Seattle with an offense that is very capable of putting up big numbers. They'll be put to the test as Seattle allows just eight points per game at home. Kurt Warner must be kept upright as the Cardinals pass protection has been "iffy" at times. Anquan Boldin had one heck of a game in his last trip to Seattle as he has 186 yards receiving and 13 catches. More of the same is needed on Sunday.

Matt Hasselbeck says he feels fine and he'll lead an offense that can air it out. T.J. Houshmandzadeh has 13 catches for 180 yards and two touchdowns over the last two weeks and Nate Burleson is eighth in the NFL with 358 receiving yards. This trio should have a field day against the 27th-ranked Arizona pass defense.

Pick: Seattle

Philadelphia (3-1) at Oakland (1-4): It just seems unfair. When Donovan McNabb goes down with an injury, Kevin Kolb steps in and the Eagles don't miss a step. Brian Westbrook has been slowed by injuries, too, but LeSean McCoy has come to the rescue averaging 4.1 yards per carry. The Philadelphia offense has too many weapons and is very deep -- too deep for good top-tier teams, much less the hapless Raiders.

Oakland's offense is the worst in the NFL, averaging 191.6 yards per game and scoring only 9.8. Whether it's JaMarcus Russell's lack of focus or poor decision making skills or the inability of the rushing attack to build up any steam, the Raiders seem outmatched in just about every aspect of the game. And they'll not get a break facing the second ranked defense in the NFL this Sunday.

Pick: Philadelphia

Buffalo (1-4) at New York Jets (3-2): Buffalo, on offense hasn't done much over the past three weeks. They have scored just 20 points over that time, and in his last three games, Terrell Owens has only seven catches for 104 yards. That's not the output Buffalo thought they were paying for and this Jets defense isn't the squad the Bills need to face this week to get back on track.

The Jets defense was picked apart last week by the Miami Wildcat offense. The Bills won't throw that kind of "gimmicky" approach at New York and Rex Ryan's defense should look like its old self this week. On offense, Mark Sanchez found that he really liked the addition of Braylon Edwards -- hitting the new receiver five times for 64 yards and a touchdown.

Pick: New York

Tennessee (0-5) at New England (3-2): It seems a shame that Kerry Collins is now in the beginning of a quarterback controversy. Collins is still the man, but Vince Young should start seeing more playing time and it won't be long before everyone is crying for a regime change if the Titans cannot right the ship.

No quarterback controversy in New England but there are some troubles with Tom Brady. His accuracy is down this season as he's fighting back from his knee injury. Fortunately for him, the Patriots welcome the AFC's worst pass defense into town and it looks like Wes Welker may be as healthy as he's been in weeks.

Pick: New England

SNF

Chicago (3-1) at Atlanta (3-1): The Bears still remember the sting of Matt Ryan's last second 26-yard pass to Michael Jenkins last season to set up a Jason Elam field goal and vault Atlanta to a 22-20 victory. They've retooled with Jay Cutler at the helm, and he's going to love connecting with Johnny Knox as they find ways to pick apart Atlanta's weak secondary.

The Falcons have weapons galore on the offense as well, and they face a not-so-fantastic secondary too. At home the Falcons are very good and with Ryan having options like Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez and Jenkins their could be a lot of points put up on Sunday night.

Pick: Atlanta

MNF

Denver (5-0) at San Diego (2-2): Every football prognosticator on the planet basically handed the Chargers the AFC West crown in the preseason. That doesn't sit so well in Denver now as they are 5-0 and looking to thump a Chargers team that has won five of the last six meetings. After the miserable start to Brandon Marshall's season, he's turned it all around and has four touchdowns in his last three games. The Broncos also got good news this week as Correll Buckhalter will be back to help out, albeit not in a starting role.

The defensive line for San Diego has struggled this year but they appear healthy and ready to put pressure on Kyle Orton. That's good news as the Chargers only have six sacks in their four games this season (if you'll remember they had six sacks in one game last year). Vincent Jackson and Antonio Gates will have to find ways to continue their early season success against a top pass defense for the Chargers to win on Monday night.

Pick: Denver