NFL Week 6 survivor picks

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This week's column is dedicated to the Indianapolis Colts, with an honorable mention to the Oakland Raiders.

Their respective Sunday upsets over the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead and the Chicago Bears in London sewered a ton of survivor pool entries. But not ours. That's right, people - you just took a big step closer to glory.

Now let's get right back at it with your Week 6 guide:

Safest pick: Dallas Cowboys

If you've made it this far without taking the New England Patriots, give yourself a pat on the back. There's likely a decent percentage of you who've picked: New Orleans Saints (Week 1), Baltimore Ravens (Week 2), Cowboys (Week 3), Los Angeles Chargers (Week 4), and Houston Texans (Week 5). The Texans were my "if you're feeling lucky" pick in Week 5. Hopefully, you were.

If that's the route you've gone then you should be all over the Patriots this week. Don't give it a second thought. I have a pair of entries with the Pats still available and that's where I'm going. For the entries that don't have the luxury of the Pats in Week 6, let's turn our attention to the Cowboys.

Coming off a disastrous display against the Green Bay Packers, the Cowboys were dealt their second loss of the season and their second in as many weeks. They couldn't get anything going offensively against a stout Packers unit before piling up points in garbage time. Dak Prescott was under constant pressure in the pocket as he threw three interceptions for just the second time in his career.

Life should be much easier for Prescott against a New York Jets defense that ranks near the bottom of the NFL with just six sacks this season. Dallas will also receive a massive boost with tackles Tyron Smith and La'el Collins expected to be available for this game. Dak should be slinging darts from a clean pocket all day.

On the other side of the ball, expect a spirited effort from a stout Cowboys defense after Aaron Jones dismantled them. They were a top-five unit in the NFL before Green Bay, but that showing was nothing more than an outlier. The return of New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold shouldn't be concerning, either. Darnold is obviously a significant improvement over Luke Falk, but it's hard to imagine he's anywhere close to game speed after battling mononucleosis. He will need at least a game to shake off the cobwebs, and Adam Gase's offense hardly inspires much confidence otherwise.

Adam Gase's last seven games:

- Loss: 41-17 to Minnesota
- Loss: 17-7 to Jacksonville
- Loss: 42-17 to Buffalo
- Loss: 17-16 to Buffalo
- Loss: 23-3 to Cleveland
- Loss: 30-14 to New England
- Loss: 31-6 to Philadelphia

4 total offensive TDs in those seven games

- Joe Caporoso (@JCaporoso) October 6, 2019

This could be considered a sandwich spot for the Cowboys with the game coming a week before a massive NFC East showdown with the Philadelphia Eagles, but coming off two successive losses, it's hard to imagine Jason Garrett's team getting caught looking.

If you're feeling lucky: Cleveland Browns

Everyone stop what you're doing, Alex has lost his mind.

The Seattle Seahawks just beat the Rams, while the Browns were ransacked by the San Francisco 49ers. What's this guy saying, right? Hear me out.

This is what we in the betting industry call a terrific situational spot. The Browns humiliated themselves on national television, playing much, much worse than they are, and get to return home for a date with a Seahawks team the public are infatuated with after beating the Rams in prime time.

As good a spot as this is for the Browns to bounce back, it's equally bad for the Seahawks, who have to travel across the country for an early start in what is absolutely a letdown game for them. Seattle is not as good as its record indicates. Pete Carroll's team has beaten the Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Arizona Cardinals while being blasted at home by Teddy Bridgewater and the Saints. Meanwhile, the whole world seems to be down on Baker Mayfield, setting up the perfect storm for sportsbooks. Don't fall into the trap.

Avoid: Los Angeles Chargers

If you still have any sort of confidence left in the Chargers, leave it at the door. The issues on this team are endless. Who honestly wants to spend their Sunday night watching Philip Rivers desperately lob another 37 passes to his running backs as his offensive line implodes in front of him? Or do you prefer when he skips a ball to the feet of Keenan Allen from 20 yards behind the line of scrimmage? Rivers is an excellent quarterback who rarely gets the recognition he deserves, but I can't be the only one who finds it frustrating to watch him throw. It looks so labored. There are times when it's genuinely shocking he's able to get the ball more than 10 yards down the field based on how contrived his release looks.

Anyway, Rivers is the least of the Chargers' worries right now. Their offensive line can't block, their front seven was just decimated by the Broncos' run game, and their banged-up secondary is giving up chunk plays through the air. Their only home win this season came in overtime and there are no signs of things getting better in Los Angeles before they get worse.

Meanwhile, after a miserable start to the season, the Steelers, to their credit, aren't waving the white flag. They are competing despite Mike Tomlin's best efforts to keep them away from the win column. They've gone back to the basics on offense which seems to be helping, while their defense has really come together with 10 turnovers and 14 sacks over the last three weeks.

Stay far away from the Chargers on Sunday Night Football.

Week 6 safety rankings

Safety rankings (SR) are out of 10 based on the author's picks

AWAY	HOME (SPREAD)	WINNER (SR)
NY Giants	New England (-17)	NE (9.5)
Dallas	NY Jets (+9)	DAL (8)
Cincinnati	Baltimore (-11)	BAL (8)
Seattle	Cleveland (-1.5)	CLE (7)
San Francisco	LA Rams (-4.5)	LAR (7)
Houston	Kansas City (-6)	KC (6)
Tennessee	Denver (-2.5)	TEN (5)
Philadelphia	Minnesota (-3)	MIN (4)
Detroit	Green Bay (-5)	GB (4)
Pittsburgh	LA Chargers (-6.5)	LAC (3)
New Orleans	Jacksonville (-1)	JAC (3)
Carolina	Tampa Bay (+2)	CAR (3)
Washington	Miami (+3.5)	WAS (3)
Atlanta	Arizona (+1.5)	ARI (1)

Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.

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