A wonderful NFL season continues into week 6 this week as teams start to try and separate themselves from the pack.
In a highly entertaining season so far, this week we'll look at three games involving the Carolina Panthers taking on the Los Angeles Rams, the Buffalo Bills clash with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Minnesota Vikings facing off with the Miami Dolphins.
We'll break down each game, give you our best free NFL picks, and see if we can earn you some extra cash for the end of the weekend.
Learn more about how to bet on the NFL here.
Carolina Panthers vs Los Angeles Rams - 10/16/22, 16:05 ET
The Panthers have had a horrible start to the season so far and it doesn't look like it's going to get much better here. A 26-24 loss to the Cleveland Browns in week one was followed by a 19-16 loss to the New York Giants.
They earned their first win in week 3 with a 22-14 win over the New Orleans Saints, but have since dropped results to the St Louis Cardinals 26-16 and then then they got thumped by the San Francisco 49ers 15-37 to make them 1-4.
The 2022 Super Bowl champions the Rams opened their defense with a crushing 31-10 loss to Buffalo, before bouncing back with wins over the Falcons and St Louis Cardinals.
Their winning run came to an end though when the San Francisco 49ers smashed them 24-9, before a 22-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys last week to make them 2-3 for the season so far.
NFL Picks: Back the unders
The Rams are in desperate need of a game to get them back on track and if they could have picked an opponent for Sunday, the Panthers will have been high up on their list of requests.
While the Panthers just fired head coach Matt Rhule, they will also be without the inept Baker Mayfield. This translates to an interim head coach and backup quarterback P.J. Walker going on the road to contend with the struggling, defending Super Bowl champions.
Look for the Rams to be much-improved against a team still struggling to figure themselves out, and that means it should be a blowout at the SoFi Stadium.
The two greatest deficiencies for the Rams have been running the football and their secondary but they're facing a Panthers front yielding the sixth-most rushing yards per game, so it's perfect game to remedy that.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles defense will look like a shutdown unit against Walker. The Rams should run away with the win, but the under is a better play than the spread so back that.
NFL picks: Under 41 points @ -110
Check out our review for BetUS sports betting here.
Buffalo Bills vs Kansas City Chiefs - 10/16/22, 16:25 ET
The Bills have been nearly flawless so far this season, outscoring their opponents by a huge combined total of 91 points over five games so far.
They started the season with a huge 31-10 win over the Rams to show they meant business, before following that up with a dominant showing against the Tennesse Titans with a 41-7 scoreline. Their only defeat came to the Miami Dolphins when they lost 21-19 in week three, but they bounced back with a 23-20 win over the Baltimore Ravens and then smashed the Pittsburgh Steelers 38-3 last week to make the 4-1.
The Chiefs have had a similar run so far this season, with their only defeat also coming in week 3 when they lost 20-17 to the Indianapolis Colts. They have won their other four games though, beating the St Louis Cardinals in week 1 44-21, before scraping a 27-24 win over the Los Angeles Chargers in week 2.
Week 4 was a huge win over Tampa Bay when they outmuscled them to a 41-31 win, before a brilliant third quarter earned them a 30-29 win on Monday Night Football against the Las Vegas Raiders.
NFL Picks: Back the overs
In the Patrick Mahomes era, the Chiefs and Bills have met four times, with three of those games taking place at Arrowhead. In all three of those matchups, the Over was the play. That makes this a pretty straight-forward decision.
Buffalo has played the Titans, Steelers, Dolphins, Ravens, and Rams. We know the Rams are a shell of themselves from 2021 while the Ravens played the Bills tough home, completely stifling Josh Allen.
When it comes to Chiefs games, the Over is 3-2, hitting in two straight. The Chiefs’ defense is their handicap, which means in a game against the Bills, they will have to outscore you to win.
The Over is 5-1 in the past six Bills-Chiefs meetings in Kansas City and with the way Mahomes has started the season, expect it to land yet again here.
NFL picks: Over 54 points @ -108
Check out our review for BetOnline sports betting here.
Minnesota Vikings vs Miami Dolphins - 10/16/22, 13:00 ET
The Vikings have had a fantastic start to the season, going 4-1 with wins over Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, New Orleans Saints and Chicago Bears, with their only loss coming against the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Dolphins on the other hand started the season 3-0 with wins over New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills, but have lost their last two games to the Cincinnati Bengals and the New York Jets to be 3-2.
NFL Picks: Vikings to cover the spread
Both Tua Tagovailoa and Teddy Bridgewater are expected to be cleared in time for this game despite spending the last period of time in the NFL's concussion protocol.
The Dolphins are 3-0 ATS in wins and 0-2 in losses while the Vikings have failed to cover in four straight games, a trend that we anticipate to end in this game.
Vikings’ signal caller Kirk Cousins is tough to trust in big spots but the veteran passer should be at his best for this early game this weekend.
The matchup to watch is the Vikings’ 12th-ranked offense versus the Dolphins’ 29th-ranked defense in points. If Minnesota gets going, the Dolphins won’t be able to keep up en route to covering the -3.
NFL picks: Minnesota Vikings -3 @ -108
