Tackling topics is the theme today for a big “No Huddle.” We’ve got the Broncos-Chargers game to preview, as well as look big picture at the rest Week 6, and my game picks for this week to cap it all off. So, there is not a whole time to waste here. Let’s dive right in and talk Thursday Night Football.

This one is pretty cut and dry as far as the matchup goes. Denver is clearly one of the elite teams in the NFL when healthy, now they have the added motivation of getting beat at home last week. That is bad news for a Chargers team that has amazingly found a different way to lose just about every single week.

Credit has to be given to Phillip Rivers though. He has kept San Diego in every game so far despite his team’s long list of shortcomings. Running back Melvin Gordon has also done a great job so far carrying the load in the backfield after a disastrous rookie season. Speaking of rookie seasons, defensive end Joey Bosa looked great last week with two sacks and three tackles for loss. That was a promising sign for a defense that desperately needs playmakers.

On the Denver side of things, they look like they will be at full strength tonight. Right tackle Donald Stephenson, tight end Virgil Green, and quarterback Trevor Siemian should all be back in the lineup tonight for the Broncos. That should stabilize the running game after a couple of down weeks. CJ Anderson is primed for a big night with two of his best run blockers back in the fold. Even if San Diego decides to sell out to stop the Denver rushing attack, Trevor Siemian showed the ability to get the ball downfield to both of his great wide receivers. Considering the injuries in the San Diego secondary, I don’t think they can afford to sell out on the run, so we may see a “bend but don’t break” approach tonight.

All in all, it’s not hard to see the outcome this is trending towards. Denver should easily win this game. They have won 16 straight divisional games on the road and I see no reason to expect that trend to stop tonight. The pundits might be saying trap game for Denver, but I’m not buying it. I’m going with Denver (-3).

Now let’s shift our focus to the rest of Week 6. There are a few really interesting games on the slate, which will make for a potentially difficult week for me making picks, but could prove to be a very fun week overall.

The big game this week is the Atlanta Falcons traveling northwest to play the Seattle Seahawks. Similar to last week, the big storyline here is the matchup between the Atlanta offense going against the Legion of Boom.

I’m intrigued to see how Seattle plans to stop this red-hot Falcons offense. Last week we saw Atlanta use Tevin Coleman to create mismatches against the Denver linebackers. Seattle’s defense is better equipped to deal with that gameplan with a combination of Kam Chancellor and Bobby Wagner. Reports out of Seattle seem to indicate that Richard Sherman will shadow Julio Jones, which should produce a fantastic individual matchup.

Seattle’s offense is starting to take a turn for the better after a terrible opening two weeks. Russell Wilson had the bye week to rest up and recover from his pair of lower body injuries. That will bode well for the Seahawks as Wilson and tight end Jimmy Graham are finally starting to get on the same page in the passing game. We’ll certainly find out whether Atlanta’s six-sack performance on defense was a sign of things to come or the aberration from its usual defensive performance.

The second game I’m keeping a close eye on is the matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders. I haven’t been shy about my love for the Raiders this season so far. I thought this team could take the next step after showing a ton of promise last season. So far, so good for the silver and black as they sit at an impressive 4-1 record. Derek Carr has been one of the primary reasons for this success. He has made some absolutely clutch throws in the first few weeks. Michael Crabtree and Amari Cooper have also been great this season as well. Both present a tough matchup for any defense since you can’t scheme to take one away because the other one will feast on one-on-one matchups (see Crabtree’s three TD performance against Baltimore).

For all of the success though, they haven’t been blowing teams away and have had to grind games out. This team is due for a tough loss at some point. While I like the Raiders, here are a few reasons this is the game they cough up.

First, the last time we saw Kansas City they were embarrassed by Pittsburgh on a national stage. The Chiefs had that bad taste in their mouths for two weeks now, and have a big reason to come out strong in a division game on the road. Don’t be fooled by the Sunday Night Football dud that the Chiefs produced two weeks ago.

Second, Kansas City is coming off of a bye week. Andy Reid is 15-2 in his career following a bye. Reid’s teams always seem to figure something out after the bye week as evidenced by the eleven straight wins the Chiefs reeled off last season. Nine of those wins came after the bye week, which includes the playoff win against Houston.

Lastly, for some odd reason, Oakland struggles at home. Now this could be a product of the Raiders just not being good until this season but for me it’s the eye test that gives me pause. Oakland was 3-5 at home last season, and going much further than that really doesn’t help considering how bad this team used to be. Last week Oakland needed a freak play to beat the Chargers at home.

So, there is a valid argument to be made here for the Chiefs getting a huge divisional win on the road. Will they pull it off? Maybe. This is why they play the game though.

There are a few other games to keep an eye on in the early window on Sunday. Philadelphia-Washington is always a good divisional rivalry game, and we get the added bonus of seeing how this Eagles team responds from last week’s loss in a game it should have won.

Tom Brady’s 2016 home debut will certainly be worth tuning in. Cincinnati presents much more of a challenge than Cleveland so we’ll certainly see how the Patriots decide to attack this defense. Carolina-New Orleans and Baltimore-NY Giants could both have exciting finishes as well.

Alright folks, now we move onto my picks for Week 6. Last week I amazingly found a way to go .500 once again. The 4:00 pm block absolutely crushed what was an amazing start to my Week 5 picks. Oh well, it happens. You live and learn in this game. No blood, no foul though as I still have not dipped below .500 this season. Here are the picks for this week (Winners in Bold).

Last Week: 7-7     2016 Record: 41-36

 1:00 PM

San Francisco vs. Buffalo (-9)

Philadelphia (-2.5) vs. Washington

Cleveland vs. Tennessee (-7)

Baltimore (+3.5) vs. NY Giants

Carolina (-2.5) vs. New Orleans

Jacksonville vs. Chicago (-2)

St. Louis (+3) vs. Detroit

Pittsburgh (-7.5) vs. Miami

Cincinnati vs. New England (-8.5)

 

4:05/4:25 PM

Kansas City (-2) vs. Oakland

Atlanta (+6) vs. Seattle

Dallas (+3.5) vs. Green Bay

 

Sunday Night Football

Indianapolis vs. Houston (-3)

 

Enjoy all of the games tonight. I’ll be back tomorrow with an MLB Postseason round-up tomorrow. Follow me on Twitter @thereal_jmooney and go like the Shooting the Moon page on Facebook.