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Five weeks into the season, 25 of the league's 32 teams are within one game of a playoff spot -- either via the wild card or a division crown. That’s the NFL for you.
So entering Week 6, while it certainly helps to be near the top of the standings, don’t count anyone out. Except John Mara's karmically challenged Giants of course. But even in a parity-driven league, some teams look better than others. The Saints, Broncos and Chiefs are all unbeaten, and our panel of writers doesn't see that changing this weekend.
Overall, there's not much variety in the panel's picks this week, as most games appear to have a clear favorite, though there are a couple of exceptions.
- Can the Buccaneers give the Eagles a run for their money, perhaps aided by more red zone futility and turnovers by the Eagles offense?
- Can the Saints win on the road against a tough opponent as they go up against the stingy Patriots defense?
- Are the 3-2 Jets good enough to win against the 0-4 Steelers who are coming off a bye week?
In the NFC East, our panel sees the Cowboys and Eagles sharing first place after this weekend as both teams move to 3-3, while the Redskins drop to 1-4 and the Giants are manhandled by the Bears and drop to 0-6.
Note that since 2009, the Eagles and Cowboys both have a 35-34 record. The Giants are only one game better at 36-33. After the weekend, and if the panel's projections hold up, all three teams could have a 36-34 record since 2009. The Cowboys and Eagles have already made changes at head coach during that period. When will the Giants follow suit?
Here are our picks for Week 6, 2013.
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| Coty | Dave | Dawn | Joey | KD | OCC | rabble | Tom | Consensus | |
| Season Record | 40-37 | 51-26 | 46-31 | 47-30 | 38-39 | 46-31 | 47-30 | 47-30 | 47-30 |
| Percentage | .519 | .662 | .597 | .610 | .494 | .597 | .610 | .610 | .610 |
| Last Week |
6-8 | 8-6 | 8-6 | 8-6 | 6-8 | 5-9 | 6-8 | 7-7 | 7-7 |
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| NYG @ CHI (-7.5) |  |
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| OAK @ KC (-9) |  |
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| PHI (-1.5) @ TB |  |
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GB (-3) @ BAL |
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DET (-2.5) @ CLE |
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| CAR @ MIN (-2.5) |
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| STL @ HOU (-7.5) |
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| PIT @ NYJ (-2.5) |
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CIN (-7) @ BUF |
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| TEN @ SEA (-13.5) |
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| JAC @ DEN (-27.5) |
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| ARI @ SF (-10.5) |
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| NO @ NE (-2.5) |
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| WAS @ DAL (-5.5) |
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IND (-1.5) @ SD |
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