We are entering the sixth week of the season, and we are starting to see some separation at the top of the standings. The Los Angeles Rams and Kansas City Chiefs are looking like the favorites in each conference, while our 49ers are a dumpster fire for the time being. San Francisco heads to Green Bay to close out the week on Monday Night Football, but the week gets going with an NFC East affair on Thursday Night Football with the New York Giants hosting the Philadelphia Eagles.
It’s time once again for our pick ‘em and Survivor pool contest options. We have the weekly prediction contest this season, and you can make those picks here. We also have a traditional “Pick ‘Em” contest. If you still want to join, the group name is Niners Nation, the group ID is 45734, and the password is go49ers. You’re pretty far behind, but feel free to join.
I took my first strike in my double-elimination Survivor pool. I got greedy, and like Icarus I flew too close to the sun in choosing the 49ers to beat the Cardinals. I pondered the Carolina Panthers, but thought I was the smart one. Welp. I’m still alive, but it’s a disappointing strike.
This week, I think I am going to play it relatively safe and take the Minnesota Vikings over the Arizona Cardinals. If I lose to the Cardinals in back-to-back weeks, it clearly just was not meant to be. I would take the Green Bay Packers over the 49ers, but I used the Packers two weeks ago when they thumped the Buffalo Bills.
Tonight, Week 6 opens with the Giants hosting the Eagles. This is a tough call. The Giants stink, but the Eagles are proven to not be particularly good this season. The Eagles are a field goal favorite, according to sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark. Are the Giants emotionally spent after that last second loss to Carolina? I’m thinking I’ll just take the points and be done with it. This is a tough matchup, so Giants +3 it is!
Here are the rest of my straight-up picks. I was 11-4 last week, bringing my season record to 52-24-2. I’ll have my picks against the spread later this weekend.
Eagles @ Giants: Eagles
Buccaneers @ Falcons: Falcons
Steelers @ Bengals: Bengals
Chargers @ Browns: Chargers
Seahawks @ Raiders: Seahawks
Bears @ Dolphins: Dolphins
Cardinals @ Vikings: Vikings
Colts @ Jets: Jets
Panthers @ Washington: Washington
Bills @ Texans: Texans
Rams @ Broncos: Rams
Jaguars @ Cowboys: Cowboys
Ravens @ Titans: Titans
Chiefs @ Patriots: Patriots
49ers @ Packers: Packers