Week 6 NFL Update and Pats-Giants Prediction

Just a week ago, there was still a whole slew of unbeaten teams. Now, it’s only one team in each conference. The San Francisco 49ers are 4-0, with the Patriots left standing in the AFC at 5-0.

At this point, some are wondering if New England can achieve a 16-0 season, sans Stephen Gostkowski.

Almost as amazing as the handful of unbeaten teams we had before Week 5, we still have a slew of winless squads and two of them are in the AFC East … how is that even possible? And now we see why Zac Taylor was the laughing stock of the offseason. The Bengals are 0-5. We all figured that the Bengals would be a mess. Still, the Cincy beat writers and of course, franchise media insisted that the Bengals would be competitive in the AFC North. Well, they are competitive; they’re competing with a Roethlisberger-less Pittsburgh Steelers for the last place, and they are winning handily.  So, basically, there are a lot of bad teams in the AFC this season.

Over in the NFC, the Washington Redskins are the only winless squad left. They are coming off getting absolutely handled by the Pats at home. 33-7 at FedEx Field … now that’s just embarrassing.

Can the Pats Beat the Giants by 17.5?

The Pats take on the NY Giants on Thursday Night Football and the line is still all the way up at 17.5, at some of the best online sportsbooks, like Bovada. I know it’s the Pats and they’re rolling, but 17.5 is a lot in the NFL, and the Giants are not that bad. I mean, they’re not what I would call good. But they are 2-3 and putting up 19.4 points per game. The question becomes can they score on this elite Patriots defense that is only allowing 6.8 points per game, No. 1 in the league and No. 2 in total passing defense, along with No. 3 in total rushing defense … and time on the field. The Pats also happen to be No. 1 in yards per play allowed. I mean, they are legit. Those who thought that 33-3 Steelers blowout was just a good defensive showing, and a fluke, have been proven wrong because the Pats have done it for five weeks straight.

The scary thing is the fact that it doesn’t change much at home vs away. At home, the Pats have the No. 1 rushing D, No. 2 overall scoring defense and No. 4 passing defense. They also boast the No. 4 home offense in the league. So, just when we thought the Patriots were at the end of an era … they just chug right along.

New York has a laughable road defense, No. 32 in the league allowing 33 PPG. And their pass rating is No. 31. At least they creep towards the middle of the pack with a sub-par yet not horrendous No. 20 in rushing yards allowed. Their road offense is pretty good when it comes to passing the ball. They rank fourth in the league with 315 yards per game, but only managed 111 rushing yards per game. That said, they have scored a bit better than at home, putting up 24.5 per game. But the thing is, they haven’t played a defense like the Patriots and when they do play a good D, they don’t do well.

They only managed 10 points against the Vikings at home in East Rutherford. So, I don’t think they’ll get more than 10 on the Pats. And the Pats will put up 30. So, I’m sure everyone and their mother will be hopping on New England to cover that 17-point spread … But I still have a hard time with such a big number, especially on Thursday Night Football, when teams tend to play sloppier due to the lack of rest and a full week of practice. So instead, I predict UNDER 43 points total.