The Fight Card organizes this week's NFL matchups as if they were a night at the fights, with prelim matches, the mid-card, the upper-card, and the main event. Also included for handy reference are game times, networks, commentary teams and "Vegas expectations," we'll call them. Thanks to�The 506 for the broadcast info and�BetUS for the numbers.
THE PRELIM BOUTS:
St. Louis Rams @ Green Bay Packers
1 p.m. ET, Fox: Chris Myers and Tim Ryan
Packers favored by 15, Over/Under of 48
This is Week 6's version of King Kong Bundy vs. Masked Executioner #2. This could be a bloodbath. Maybe the most questionable part of a Rams team full of questionable parts is their secondary. There aren't enough balls to go around for Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, Jordy Nelson, James Jones and Jermichael Finley? There are this week.
Miami Dolphins @ New York Jets
8:30 p.m.�ET (Monday), ESPN: Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden
Jets favored by 7�, Over/Under of 42�
I guess the Jets' struggles and Miami's propensity to play them tough could make this a halfway interesting game. And maybe Brandon Marshall will go insane. It's hard to see any way around this game being ugly, though. It's Matt Moore against Mark Sanchez. Not pretty. By the way, the rest of the season's Monday night schedule includes the following teams: Kansas City (twice), Jacksonville (twice), Minnesota, St. Louis and Seattle.
Indianapolis Colts @ Cincinnati Bengals
1 p.m. ET, CBS: Kevin Harlan and Solomon Wilcots
Bengals favored by 6�, Over/Under of 41�
I feel bad about listing the Bengals as a prelim, but pretty much anyone's going to get buried on the undercard when they're playing the winless Colts. PainterWatch: Last week, he went 15 of 27 for 277 yards and two touchdowns, and once again made a fantasy hero out of Pierre Gar�on. Paint�on, as I like to call them, has four touchdowns in two weeks. Only 108 behind Manning-to-Harrison.
THE SPECIAL PILLOW FIGHT:
Minnesota Vikings @ Chicago Bears
8:20 p.m. ET, NBC: Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth
Bears favored by 3, Over/Under of 41�
The Vikings, NBC? Really? You picked the Vikings for a Week 6 matchup that can't be flexed out? �I guess the same people who made this call are the same people keeping "Whitney" on the air. I don't even know how NBC promotes this one. "The person who sings our pregame song isn't as crazy as the guy who sang ESPN's pregame song!" "Tune in and see Jay Cutler beaten, but not as mercilessly as he was beaten last week!"
THE MID-CARD BOUTS:
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Pittsburgh Steelers
1 p.m. ET, CBS: Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts
Steelers favored by 12, Over/Under of 41
It's another get-healthy game for the Steelers against an AFC South team. If you record back-to-back blowouts in the National Football League (�Cris Carter), you're probably a pretty good football team. I fully expect that's what the Steelers are going to do here. If Tennessee can't give them a game, what's Jacksonville going to do?
Philadelphia Eagles @ Washington Redskins
1 p.m. ET, Fox: Sam Rosen and Brian Billick
Eagles favored by 3, Over/Under of 47�
I love that we're entering Week 6, we're having conversations about what quarterback in this game is the best. Crazy conversations, but still, conversations. I also love that the Redskins are 3-1, playing a 1-4 team at home, and they're still three-point dogs. I don't like the Redskins and I don't like the omnipresent "We're being disrespected!" nonsense, but even I kind of want the Redskins to come out and get the haters off their back.
Carolina Panthers @ Atlanta Falcons
1 p.m. ET, Fox: Dick Stockton and John Lynch
Falcons favored by 4, Over/Under of 50
If you believe that playing at home is worth three additional points in a point spread, then that means Vegas believes that the Falcons are one point better than the Panthers right now, which actually sounds about right. Also, looking at quarterback ratings to this point in the season, it's Cam Newton 84.3 and Matt Ryan 79.9. Anybody see that coming? Me neither.
New Orleans Saints @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
4 p.m. ET, Fox: Ron Pitts and Jim Mora Jr.
Saints favored by 6, Over/Under of 49�
Your other Week 6 intradivisional NFC South matchup has "blowout" painted all over it. Maybe I'm overreacting to last week's Tampa Bay mauling at the hands of the 49ers, but you couple that with the fact that they barely squeaked past the Colts, and why wouldn't I think that the Saints are going to ugly the Bucs? You see those two quarterback ratings above for Cam Newton and Matt Ryan? Josh Freeman is jealous of both of them.
[Video: NFL's Week 6 locks to win]
Cleveland Browns @ Oakland Raiders
4 p.m. ET, CBS: Marv Albert and Rich Gannon
Raiders favored by 7, Over/Under of 44�
This will be the Raiders' first home game since the passing of Al Davis. How something like that affects a football game, I have no idea. The head coach was on one knee, belly-crying after last week's win, so that suggests emotional letdown, but things are going to be plenty emotional in Oakland on Sunday. It's a should-win for the Raiders, but the Browns are coming off a bye, while the Raiders have been through the emotional meat grinder. Nothing surprises me here.
THE UPPER-CARD BOUTS:
Dallas Cowboys @ New England Patriots
4 p.m. ET, Fox: Thom Brennaman and Troy Aikman
Patriots favored by 7, Over/Under of 56�
ROMO ANGRY, ROMO SMASH! I love the Dallas storyline in this game. Romo seems to want a big game this week more than he's ever wanted one, and that comes with good news and bad news. Good news: He's playing the Patriots secondary. Bad news: The quarterback he'll be compared to after the game is Tom Brady. Most of the country will see this game at 4 p.m. ET.
Houston Texans @ Baltimore Ravens
4 p.m. ET, CBS: Greg Gumbel and Dan Dierdorf
Ravens favored by 7�, Over/Under of 45
This should be a battle of AFC heavyweights, but how heavy are the Texans with Andre Johnson and Mario Williams both out? It's a team game and all, but this is like New Edition without Bobby Brown or Johnny Gill. Matt Schaub's been under a lot of scrutiny since the interception that sealed last week's loss. On the road at Baltimore is a rough road to recovery.
Buffalo Bills @ New York Giants
1 p.m. ET, CBS: Jim Nantz and Phil Simms
Giants favored by 2�, Over/Under of 50�
I double-checked to make sure that line was right. The Giants, who just lost at home to the Seahawks, are favored against the 4-1 Bills. The only thing stopping me from wagering a lot of Monopoly money on the Bills is that it seems so obvious. What do you know, Vegas? What is that you're not telling us? Has Fred Jackson suddenly sprung a conjoined twin out of his left hip? Does Ryan Fitzpatrick owe Tom Coughlin a large amount of money? What's happening?
THE MAIN EVENT:
San Francisco 49ers @ Detroit Lions
1 p.m. ET, Fox: Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnson and Tony Siragusa
Detroit favored by 4�, Over/Under of 46
Oooooh, this one's sexy. You know what I love about these two teams? They're both new to playing decent football, and they've gotten there in completely different ways. Detroit's assembled big-name talent, and the pieces finally seem to fit -- Matthew Stafford, Calvin Johnson, Ndamukong Suh. The 49ers, on the other hand, outside of Patrick Willis, are pretty much superstar-free. Jim Harbaugh and a change in mindset appear to be the big catalysts. Enjoy the spotlight, gentlemen.
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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/blog/shutdown_corner/post/The-NFL-s-Week-6-Fight-Card?urn=nfl-wp9584
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