While many people were able to achieve the rare 14-0 mark last week due to the favorites winning, I was one of the people that actually didn't have a perfect record. Nonetheless, I went 11-3, as the NFL throws a curveball at us this week. In case you didn't notice, take a look at this week's schedule. We all know that when bye weeks start, there are usually 14 games played a week. This week, there are only 13 games, since six teams have a bye. The NFL did this so that there would be one less bye week later on in the season.

The first quarter of the season is already over, and there have already been several surprises around the league, most notably the Pittsburgh Steelers. If the Steelers do not start a long winning streak beginning this week, they will be all but eliminated from playoff consideration (not statistically, but logically). And, how about a renewed rivalry in the classic Seattle vs. St. Louis contests we saw a couple of years ago? Let's get to this week's games of the week...

(Red = Prediction)

Classic Shootouts Renewed
Seattle Seahawks vs. St. Louis Rams
After a bye week, Shaun Alexander will still be unavailable for this huge divisional matchup against the Rams. The Seahawks haven't had to worry about anyone in their division for awhile, but suddenly they find themselves looking up at the Rams - just like they did a couple of years ago, when it seemed like Hasselbeck simply couldn't beat them. The Rams defense has not been as sharp in its last two outings, but their offense has begun clicking on all cylinders. Being at home where they are comfortable, along with the hype of taking down their division rivals who are without their main weapon, definitely plays into the advantage of the Rams.

Seattle will be out looking to prove that they are still the team to beat in the NFC. They were completely embarrassed by the Chicago Bears before their bye week, but other than that, the Seahawks looked fairly impressive in their three victories. The big difference from a year ago concerns their running game. With Steve Hutchinson gone, even Alexander wasn't piling on the stats that he did a year ago. Maurice Morris was a near disaster in his start against Chicago, and the Rams will try to take full advantage of forcing Seattle into throwing the football too often. Marc Bulger leads a late scoring drive in the thriller of the week.

Ravens See Defensive Clash Again
Carolina Panthers vs. Baltimore Ravens
Over the past two weeks, the Ravens have faced two of the league's toughest defenses in the San Diego Chargers and the Denver Broncos. The Ravens split those games 1-1, but their offense never really clicked, as was seen in their drought last week. It won't get easier this week against the Panthers, who have won three games in a row after the return of Steve Smith. The other Steve, Steve McNair, is suddenly under fire of whether or not he's comfortable yet in the Ravens offense, despite the fact that he's almost single handedly won two of their four games.

Delhomme and the Panthers actually struggled last week against the Cleveland Browns, despite winning 20-12. The Panthers were 0-for-11 on third down, and Steve Smith and Keyshawn Johnson each dropped several passes in which they were sometimes wide open on. Smith and Johnson are too talented together to have two bad weeks in a row, and the Ravens' secondary has been susceptible to giving up big plays down the field. The Panthers may become one dimensional after struggling with the ground game, which will keep Baltimore hanging in there. McNair will try and lead a late scoring drive, with Julius Peppers coming up with a big defensive play to seal the game for Carolina.

Surprised That They're Here?
Philadelphia Eagles vs. New Orleans Saints
Six weeks into the season, not many people expected both the Saints and the Eagles to collide in a match of two 4-1 teams. Both teams have had wonderful starts to the season. The Eagles have seen a resurgence MVP-like performance from Donovan McNabb, including a big win over Terrell Owens and the Dallas Cowboys last week. The Saints have played much better on both sides of the ball under head coach Sean Payton, including a home victory at the Superdome against the Atlanta Falcons.

This is the toughest game to pick this week in my book. Ideally, a case can be made that the Eagles have more experience on their side, while the Saints could still be riding high on emotion, especially after nearly losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week. On the other hand, the Eagles may be off of their game somewhat after a monumental game against the Cowboys. To confuse myself less, I'm negating both of those factors, and going based on the fact that McNabb continues to find a new hero every week. Donte' Stallworth wants to face his former team this week, but he's doubtful to play due to his hamstring injury. Eagles win, as the Saints suffer a setback with a rather disappointing effort this time around.

Back on Track
New York Giants vs. Atlanta Falcons
Despite all of their offensive "troubles", the Giants find themselves with the second best offense in the league. Granted, most of that came when they were down by a lot to the Eagles and the Seahawks, but last week they calmed down a red hot Washington offense to pick up a big division win. The Giants will be going against the top run offense in the league this week, but will counter with their run defense which has not been too bad this season. Michael Vick will not find it easy to run around as much either, and everyone still has doubts about his ability to throw the ball effectively. Tiki Barber has yet to record a rushing touchdown. One reason for that is because for two weeks, they were so far behind to begin with, that they had to throw to get everything.

The Falcons, whether they thrive or struggle in the running game, will run the football. They consistently get near 300 yards rushing per game, something some of the poor teams struggle to achieve over a span of three games. When they do struggle, they won't be able to recover against the Giants if Vick makes a mistake in the passing game like they were able to do against the Arizona Cardinals a few weeks ago. The final score won't show it, but this will still be a relatively even game throughout, with the Giants pulling out some late heroics for the win.

And now, the rest of the week...

Buffalo Bills vs. Detroit Lions
Personally, I'm considering this one of my upsets of the week. The Lions have yet to win a game under Jon Kitna and their new coaching staff, but have been within striking distance during four of their five games. Last week, they blew it on the road against the Vikings, and should be relieved to be coming home this week. The Bills still aren't where they want to be offensively, and became another victim to a Chicago Bears slaughter last week. J.P. Losman will keep his team in the game, but unlike last week, he'll be the one with a late turnover to cost his team a shot at winning the game.

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Despite a tremendous first game for rookie Bruce Gradkowski against the Saints last week, the Buccaneers will fall back to reality this week by suffering a convincing defeat at the hands of the Bengals. Cincinnati is dangerous enough facing them on a weekly basis, but they have three "X" factors this week. They are: they are looking for revenge after a rare "off" day against the Patriots, they are fresh off the bye week, and Chad Johnson has yet to have a breakout game this season. Expect Johnson to come through with two touchdowns, prepared with a couple of touchdown celebrations that'll be much more pleasant to hear about than the Terrell Owens fiasco.

Houston Texans vs. Dallas Cowboys
The Texans picked up their first victory before their bye week, but their defense has been atrocious so far. The Cowboys have been somewhat of a disappointment to many because they're 2-2 so far, but they have also had to play three road games already. They were able to torch the Redskins in their only home game, and against another bad secondary, the Tennessee Titans, both Terry Glenn and Terrell Owens had heydays. Owens will get the ball early and often this week, simply because the Texans defense might as well be non-existent at times. Cowboys win in convincing fashion, as Owens finally delivers a press conference with something positive to say.

Tennessee Titans vs. Washington Redskins
If the Titans would've been able to hang on last week against the Colts on the road, it would've been the biggest upset in several years. Everyone had picked the Titans to be humiliated, but they earned some respect instead. The Redskins cooled down last week after getting their offense into a groove the previous two weeks. Unfortunately for the Titans, performances like they had a week ago don't come two weeks in a row. And, fortunately for the Redskins, they should be back on track this week if Clinton Portis gets the football more often than he did last week. Redskins win by a couple of possessions.

Kansas City Chiefs vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Ben Roethlisberger has yet to throw a touchdown yet, something that's difficult to comprehend. The Chiefs won their past two games with Damon Huard at quarterback, but this is where his winning streak ends. Huard picked up victories against the San Francisco 49ers and the Arizona Cardinals. Against a good defense like the Denver Broncos, that wasn't the case. The Steelers defense has not been able to perform up to their expectations because Roethlisberger isn't getting them a lead so that they can be more creative in their coverages and afford to take more risks in blitzing. Although the Chiefs defense is ranked fourth in the league, they aren't notorious for creating turnovers yet. I'm not going to even state whether or not Big Ben will have a good day or not, because it's too hard to tell. What I will say is that regardless, I'm taking the Steelers to just barely get by with a victory, salvaging their season.

Miami Dolphins vs. New York Jets
Under Joey Harrington, the Dolphins offense looked more comfortable at times last week. On the same note though, the execution still wasn't what it needed to be, as Harrington threw two picks in costly situations - something he was noted for as a Detroit Lion. Ronnie Brown should be in for a big day running the football, while Chad Pennington will be looking to rebound from an embarrassing 41-0 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jets have matched up well against everyone they've faced besides the Jaguars, and shouldn't have too much trouble disposing of the Dolphins. Jets win by seven.

San Diego Chargers vs. San Francisco 49ers
I always find it interesting that at least one team in a rebuilding mode has a chance to start the season at 3-3. Last year, that was the case for the Cleveland Browns, and this year, the 49ers have a shot at doing so if they can upset the Chargers at home. Even in their loss to the Ravens though, San Diego have executed well on offense and on defense this season. Phillip Rivers looked as if his confidence was established last week, which is what could take the Chargers to the next step if they can get the ball to Antonio Gates more often.

Oakland Raiders vs. Denver Broncos
Call it a hunch, but for some reason, I'm not really comfortable with this pick. It almost seems like a trap game for Denver. Denver's defense has allowed so few points this season, but Jake Plummer has only been able to capitalize with a commanding lead once. The Raiders are definitely in disarray, but in a prime time game that really isn't being hyped due to the Raiders poor cast of players, it just seems like the makings of an upset. I'm not comfortable enough to take Oakland in any game though, which is why the Broncos earn my pick again.

Chicago Bears vs. Arizona Cardinals
Matt Leinart started the game well against the 4th ranked Chiefs defense last week, but the offense dwindled after that due to the lack of a run game and the injury to Larry Fitzgerald. It's difficult to even think he'll be able to muster anything against the Bears defense, being a rookie quarterback. I would love to see him do it, but instead, he'll probably be eaten alive. The running game is a non-factor due to the offensive line, and the Bears will have tight coverage on Arizona's receivers all game long. Bears win in yet another blowout.

There you have it, my predictions for the sixth week of the regular season. Last week, I took the New Orleans Saints to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, so that I wouldn't have to waste the Colts in what seemed like an obvious defeat over the Titans. Instead, both games were very close, but the Saints prevailed to extend my survivor winning streak to five games. This week, I'm taking the Dallas Cowboys to defeat the Houston Texans. I thought about using the Chargers, Bears, or Bengals instead, but with how good those teams are, I'd still rather keep them in reserve to use later in the season, assuming I continue my streak.

Predictions Record to Date: 50-24
Last Week: 11-3
Survivor Streak: Won 5 (Phi over Hou, Bal over Oak, Was over Hou, Cle over Oak, NO over TB.)

Six teams on the bye week seems unusual, making three games less than the first two weeks of the season. Fortunately, there are always exciting games to watch every week in football.

-Chris Pokorny