Week 6 is officially underway -- the Chargers (!) held onto a big fourth-quarter lead and beat the Broncos on Thursday night -- and now we're looking ahead to the weekend's action. Here are the most recent odds, and how and why they've changed over the course of the week.
Remember: You can check all our NFL expert picks right here.
NFL Week 6 updated odds
Bengals at Patriots (Opening line: Patriots, --6.5 points)
Current line: Patriots (-9 points). Tom Brady is back and he's angry. The Bengals won't like Tom Brady when he's angry, which -- at least in the terms of Bruce Banner and The Hulk -- explains why the line has moved 2.5 points. Also contributing: The Bengals have played some uninspiring football for the first month of the season, and it turns out Andy Dalton and A.J. Green aren't enough to overcome offseason departures on both the offense and coaching staff (chief among them: Marvin Jones, Mohamed Sanu, Vance Joseph). There's also this: The last time the Bengals won a road game against the Patriots, it was 1986 and Boomer Esiason was the quarterback. New England's quarterback? Tony Eason.
Ravens at Giants (Opening line: Giants, -3 points)
Current line: Giants, (-3 points). Immovable force, meet unstoppable object. We're talking about these two offenses, which can kindly be described as putrid. According to Football Outsiders the Giants are slightly better, ranking 19th overall (19th in passing, 22nd in rushing) while the Ravens are 27th (27th pass, 20th run). Presumably, things can't get worse for Baltimore; the team fired offensive coordinator Marc Trestman this week and replaced him with Marty Mornhinweg. Meanwhile, conventional indicators of success go out the window when talking about these two teams: New York lost despite winning the turnover battle, 2-1 -- it was the sixth time that's happened since the start of last season. And Baltimore has lost its last two games despite having more total yards, more first downs, fewer turnovers and more time of possession.
Panthers at Saints (Opening line: Panthers, -2 points)
Current line: Panthers, (-2.5 points). Cam Newton appears set to return to the starting lineup after missing last week's game against the Buccaneers with a concussion. That's the good news. The bad news is that the Panthers (1-4) have been pretty awful this season, just a few months after they went 15-1 and made it to the Super Bowl. The Saints haven't been much better -- they're 1-3 -- and while the offense is clicking under Drew Brees, the defense remains a liability. Newton is 6-2 straight up against the Saints since 2012, but last season New Orleans was an NFL-best 5-1 against the spread when facing divisional opponents.
Steelers at Dolphins (Opening line: Steelers, -7 points)
Current line: Steelers, (-7 points). You can make a convincing case that the Steelers have the NFL's most high-powered offense. It starts with Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown, but Le'Veon Bell has added another dimension since he returned from suspension two weeks ago. Then there's Sammie Coates, who spends Sunday afternoons blowing past helpless defensive backs. But Coates and Markus Wheaton could be sidelined with injuries, and Pittsburgh's defense remains a work in progress. That said, the Dolphins might be one of the league's worst teams, and that starts with a porous offensive line that makes Ryan Tannehill's job all but impossible. The Dolphins are 1-4 ATS in 2016, which is tied for the worst record in the NFL. The Steelers are 4-1 ATS in 2016, tied for the second best record in the NFL.
Jaguars at Bears (Opening line: Bears, -2 points)
Current line: Bears, -1.5 points. Jay Cutler remained sidelined at practice this week as he recovers from a thumb injury, but that's not necessarily bad news for the Bears since the offense has looked pretty good with backup Brian Hoyer under center. At 1-3, the Jaguars have fallen woefully short of some lofty preseason expectations. And while they're shown signs of life, Gus Bradley's job remains on the line. The Bears are 0-3 ATS as home favorites since the beginning of 2015. The Bears are also just 1-4 ATS overall in 2016.
49ers at Bills (Opening line: Bills, -7 points)
Current line: Bills, (-9 points). Apparently Vegas thinks Blaine Gabbert gives the 49ers a better chance to win than Colin Kaepernick. These are troubling times, indeed. Then again, perhaps it doesn't matter who plays quarterback in San Francisco (this isn't the first time someone has said this): Since 2015, the 49ers are 1-5 straight-up in games that kick off at 1 p.m. ET. They're also just 2-6 ATS against AFC teams since 2014.
Rams at Lions (Opening line: Lions -2.5 points)
Current line: Lions, (-3 points). One of the most amazing stories of the young season is that the Rams are 3-2 despite featuring the 31st-ranked offense and being coached by Jeff Fisher, who entered the season with a 27-36-1 record since joining the team in 2012. Knowing that, this shouldn't surprise you: The Rams are an NFL-worst 10-16-1 ATS on the road since 2013.
Browns at Titans (Opening line: Titans, -6 points)
Current line: Titans, (-7 points). The Titans, who won three games last season and two in 2014, are currently 2-3. Marcus Mariota has struggled at times, but he has all the making of a franchise quarterback, which is something the Browns cannot say. It looks like rookie third-rounder Cody Kessler will be able to play, but it's unclear if he'll be anything more than a stopgap until the Browns draft their next franchise quarterback (this is where we won't mention that they passed on Carson Wentz).
Eagles at Redskins (Opening line: Pick'em)
Current line: Eagles, (-2.5 points). Rookie first-round wunderkind Carson Wentz lost his first game -- and logged his first turnover -- of the season last week against the Lions and that was notable for any number of reasons. For our purposes here, we'll just note that it was also their first loss against the spread. The Redskins offense has sputtered under Kirk Cousins, though they've still won three straight games. In related news: The Skins have also won three in a row straight-up against the Eagles.
Chiefs at Raiders (Opening line: Raiders, -2 points)
Current line: Raiders, (-1 points). How 'bout them ... Raiders? Seriously, the Raiders are in first place in the AFC West and a lot of that has to do with Derek Carr playing like one of the league's best quarterbacks. Specifically, he's No. 3 behind only Matt Ryan and Dak Prescott according to Football Outsiders, and it's helped Oakland to a 4-1 start. But the Chiefs and coach Andy Reid are always a tough division opponent, and Sunday will likely be no different. They are 5-1 straight-up against Oakland since Reid became the coach in 2013. And since 2013, Oakland is just 4-13 ATS after a win.
Falcons at Seahawks (Opening line: Seahawks, -6 points)
Current line: Seahawks (-6 points). The Falcons offense is red hot, thanks to Matt Ryan's resurgence, but they'll have their toughest test of the season when they travel to CenturyLink Field to face an always-formidable Seahawks defense fresh off its bye week. The matchup: Atlanta is 4-1 ATS this year, but the Seahawks are an NFL-best 33-5 ATS at home since 2012, and that includes the postseason. There's more: Seattle is also 39-12 ATS in non-divisional games, which is tops in the league.
Cowboys at Packers (Opening line: Packers, -5.5 points)
Current line: Packers, (-4 points). If you saw this headline -- "This is the alternate universe where Brian Hoyer has outplayed Aaron Rodgers" -- you'd probably be more inclined to take the Cowboys too, right? Perhaps that helped move the line. Either way, the reality is that Aaron Rodgers has been replacement-level this season and rookie Dak Prescott and been one of the NFL's brightest stars. The Packers have been fantastic at stopping the run, and Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott is making his case for rookie of the year. Of course, the Cowboys haven't beaten the Packers since 2008, when Prescott was 15 years old. That said, Dallas is 4-1 ATS this season.
Colts at Texans (Opening line: Texans, 3.5 points)
Current line: Texans, (-3 points). Two months ago, maybe you could convince yourself that this would be a marquee AFC South matchup. Well, it's an AFC South matchup, but between two bad football teams; the Colts are 27th, according to FO, while the Texans, despite their 3-2 record, rank 31st. Andrew Luck is a legit franchise talent, but he has no one to protect him. Brock Osweiler, on the other hand, is being paid like a franchise quarterback but looks more like Brandon Weeden. Houston has struggled against Indy, going 2-6 straight-up since 2012. And Luck has had his way ATS against divisional opponents, going 20-5 in those games. That includes a 4-1-1 record ATS against the Texans in their past six meetings.
Jets at Cardinals (Opening line: Cardinals, -6.5 points)
Current line: Cardinals, (-7 points). The Cardinals are one of the early season disappointments but they'll have a chance to get back on track against a punchless Jets team. Ryan Fitzpatrick didn't have any turnovers in last week's loss to the Steelers -- which means he keeps a tenuous hold on the starting job -- but he'll be without Eric Decker, who landed on injured reserve. On the other side of the ball, the Jets defense has struggled badly to pressure the quarterback, which no doubt plays a part in the secondary regularly getting torched for big plays. For the season, Arizona is 2-3 ATS, and New York is 1-3-1 ATS.
Bye weeks: Vikings, Buccaneers
