NFL Week 6 Betting – Schedule & Marquee Matchups

NFL Week 6 Betting Marquee Matchups:

Ravens @ Patriots

Last January, Baltimore strode into Foxboro and thumped New England, handing coach Bill Belichick’s Patriots a very rare playoff loss on home turf. The Ravens’ defense frolicked on that Sunday afternoon, hounding a wounded Tom Brady into multiple turnovers that quickly tilted the contest in Baltimore’s favor. This is a classic defense-versus-offense confrontation. While Baltimore will try to avoid losing this game when it has the ball, the ticket-buying public will expect to see fireworks when the Ravens’ deep defense lines up against the Patriots’ pack of playmakers. Will coach John Harbaugh’s secondary shut down New England’s receivers? Will the Ravens’ defensive front hammer Brady once again? This is a very attractive matchup, especially since New England’s period of dominance is over. The Patriots are still a force to be reckoned with, but they certainly won’t be the clear favorite in any game they play against an AFC contender. File away this clash as an important mid-October gauge of these two teams’ evolving fortunes.

Cowboys @ Vikings

Last January, Dallas moseyed on in to Minneapolis oozing with confidence, but after the Vikings handed down a 34-3 spanking that humiliated quarterback Tony Romo and the rest of the Cowboys. Minnesota was comprehensively better than Dallas, making better reactions in all phases of competition and displaying a big-play capability the Cowboys manifestly lacked. Romo’s penchant for playoff meltdowns continued, dealing coach Wade Phillips’ team a devastating blow precisely when it thought it had begun to find a winning formula. Dallas was fortunate to get into the playoffs last season, but once owner Jerry Jones’ team defeated eventual champion New Orleans in a late-season upset, the ‘Boys acquired the resilience that had been absent from their locker room in previous Decembers. Dallas rode its newfound confidence to consecutive wipeouts of Philadelphia, but Minnesota’s prime performance silenced any talk of a Cowboy trip to the Super Bowl. This season, we’ll see if Dallas measures up against Minnesota, nine months after an embarrassing Divisional Playoff defeat.

Colts @ Redskins

In past seasons, this matchup wouldn’t have caused a stir. This year, it pits Peyton Manning against Donovan McNabb. The Colts’ fast and responsive defense will try to use its athleticism to snuff out any creative plans that the credentialed Mike Shanahan can hatch as the mastermind of the Redskins’ offense. This rates as a very intriguing  chess match, a test to see how one of the NFL’s most proven organizations will fare against a franchise that hasn’t had much to crow about in recent times.