Pick Six: Joe Flacco's Bengals debut vs. Packers headlines NFL Week 6; Chiefs-Lions picks and more

Welcome to the Thursday edition of the Pick Six newsletter!

I don't know how it happened, but Joe Flacco vs. the Packers has suddenly turned into my favorite rivalry in the NFL. The Packers have already faced Joe Flacco once this season (they lost), and now they're going to be facing him again this week, except he's going to be playing for a different team. 

Will Flacco actually be ready to play in just four days? In today's newsletter, we'll take a look at how the Bengals are getting him ready. We'll also be breaking down Thursday night's game between the Eagles and Giants, plus we made a list of players who might get dealt before the NFL trade deadline. 

As always, here's your reminder to tell all your friends to sign up for the newsletter. Let's get to the rundown. 

1. Thursday night preview: Picks and best bets for Eagles at Giants

The Giants have lost eight straight division games, and they'll be looking to end that streak in an NFC showdown with the first-place Eagles. The Giants aren't being given much of a chance of ending their streak in a game where Philadelphia is favored by 7.5 points. 

Here's one reason why each team should be feeling confident going into the game:

• Why the Eagles can win: The Eagles have had some trouble getting their passing game going, but they might not have to worry about that, because they might not need to throw the ball at all. Through the first five weeks, the Giants have surrendered 140 yards per game on the ground, which is the seventh-worst number in the NFL. Saquon Barkley hasn't topped 100 yards in a single game this season, but don't be surprised if he gets going against the Giants, and if that happens, Philly will almost certainly walk away with the win. 
  
• Why the Giants can win: This could turn into the Cam Skattebo game. The Eagles defense is giving up 4.7 yards per carry this year, which is one of the worst numbers in the NFL. In their lone win this season, the Giants rushed for 161 yards, so getting the running game going will be important for New York. Also, Jaxson Dart adds a unique element to the Giants' rushing attack with his ability to run the ball, so that could open things up even more. This feels like a game that's going to be won by the team that runs the ball better. 

You can get a full preview of the game from Jared Dubin.

If you're thinking about betting on the game, here are a couple of props (odds via BetMGM):

• ONE RUSHING PROP I LIKE: Jaxson Dart OVER 35.5 rushing yards (-115): Dart has started two games so far for the Giants, and he's gone over 50 YARDS in both games. Dart was listed on the injury report this week with a hamstring injury, so that could be why this number is so low, but the bottom line is that he's not shy about taking off when he sees an opportunity to run, and that could lead to a big rushing total for him. 
• ONE KICKING PROP I LIKE: Jude McAtamney OVER 1.5 extra points (+110): The oddsmakers clearly have no faith in the Giants offense in this game. If the Giants score just two touchdowns, the over is likely going to hit here, and it's going to hit at PLUS money. This is solid value, but only if you trust that the Giants can get into the end zone twice, which will allow McAtamney to kick at least two extra points. 

If you're wondering how my props are doing this year, I'm 12-10 (5-5 on kicker props and 7-5 on all other props). 

And now, it's time for some picks. 

PICKS FOR 'TNF'

Dubin's pick: Eagles 23-14 over Giants
Pete Prisco's pick: Eagles 29-17 over Giants
Tyler Sullivan's pick: Eagles 24-17 over Giants
Jordan Dajani's pick: Eagles 20-13 over Giants
My pick: Eagles 20-17 over Giants

We've got some more picks over on our CBSSports.com predictions page. 

2. NFL trade deadline is coming: Breaking down possible trade candidates

The NFL trade deadline is officially less than a month away. It's coming on Nov. 4, and since we've already seen one huge trade this week -- hello, Joe Flacco to the Bengals --  we thought now would be a good time to break down the latest buzz around the league. 

With that in mind, Cody Benjamin decided to take a look at several trade candidates and where they might end up. 

Giants QB Russell Wilson
Possible landing spot: Raiders
Cody's breakdown: The Bengals seemed like a perfect landing spot for Wilson until they pulled the trigger on dealing for Flacco. With Cincy out of the mix, how about a reunion with Pete Carroll? The Raiders are off to a 1-4 start under turnover-prone Geno Smith with Kenny Pickett waiting in the wings.

Jets RB Breece Hall
Possible landing spots: Cardinals, Chargers, Chiefs
Cody's breakdown: Now the Jets are 0-5, and while fellow running back Braelon Allen's injury has guaranteed an uptick in action, time is running out for Aaron Glenn's squad to even sniff relevance in 2025. Fresh off a 100-yard outing in Week 5, isn't it possible Hall actually has more value to Gang Green as a trade chip, considering he's due to hit free agency after the season anyway?

Browns TE David Njoku
Possible landing spots: Chargers, Commanders, Rams
Cody's breakdown: Njoku played a big role in Gabriel's first extended NFL action, collecting six passes for 67 yards and a score in Week 5. Still, as a pending free agent, the veteran tight end has an unclear future with the franchise. That's especially the case with rookie Harold Fannin Jr. emerging as a fellow pass-catching threat at the position. Njoku might welcome a chance to work in tandem for an actual contender.

Check out Benjamin's full list of players on the trading block. 

3. NFL Week 6 picks: Chiefs drop second straight game, Chargers' losing streak continues

Welcome to the part of the newsletter where we hand out picks. We have four NFL writers -- Pete Prisco, Jordan Dajani, Tyler Sullivan and myself -- handing out picks each week. For the third straight week, Prisco has bragging rights after going 8-6 straight up in Week 6, but he can't brag that much, because Dajani actually tied him. I'm not going to tell you how I did, because it was horrible. Since going 15-1 in Week 2, I have crashed hard. 

Anyway, if you're new here, here's how things work: I'll give you one Week 6 pick from each writer and then direct you to the rest of their picks for the week. That way, if you like their pick, you'll be able to click over and check out all of their Week 6 picks. If you hate their pick, you can ignore the rest of their picks and move on with your life. 

• Pete Prisco -- Dolphins (+4.5) 27-26 over Chargers. "This is a long trip for a beat-up Chargers team that didn't play well in the second half last week in their loss to the Commanders. The Dolphins are coming off a bad loss to the Panthers. Their defense has struggled to stop the run, but the Chargers have injury issues on their line and in the backfield. The Dolphins will win this one behind a good game by Tua Tagovailoa." Rest of Prisco's Week 6 picks.
• Tyler Sullivan -- Seahawks (+1.5) 27-23 over Jaguars. "The Jags are one of the top rushing offenses in the NFL, but that plays into a key strength of the Seahawks. Seattle is giving up 3.3 yards per carry this season, which is second-best in the NFL. If that continues and they plug up the running lanes for Jacksonville, Lawrence's passing deficiencies could be exposed. Also, let's not ignore the tremendous season that Sam Darnold is putting together for the Seahawks. Remarkably, his completion percentage and passer rating are even better than what he produced last season with the Vikings. I think he leads Seattle into Duval County and leaves with an outright win." Rest of Sullivan's Week 6 picks.
• Jordan Dajani -- Lions (+2.5) 35-31 over Chiefs "The Lions have won four straight games after losing the season opener to the Green Bay Packers, which is actually the longest active win streak in the NFL. Detroit is averaging 40.3 points per contest over this four-game stretch. ... Jared Goff is one of just two players to beat Mahomes multiple times while having zero losses to him (the other is Ryan Tannehill), and I believe the Lions can just simply out-score the Chiefs." Dajani's full slate of picks will be released Friday, but here's an early preview of his predictions. 
• John Breech -- Rams (-7.5) 34-24 over Ravens. "The Ravens have surrendered the second-most passing yards per game in the NFL heading into Week 6, and now, they're about to face the quarterback who is LEADING the NFL in pass yards (Matthew Stafford). That's not a good combination for Baltimore. We're about to find out just how bad the Ravens defense is this season." Rest of my Week 6 picks. 

For more Week 6 NFL picks, you can check out our CBSSports.com picks page. 

4. NFL Week 6 upset alert: 3 favorites who could go down

When it comes to NFL upsets, last week was easily the wildest one of the season with eight favorites going down, including three teams favored by at least seven points. (Rams lost to 49ers, Bills lost to Patriots and the Cardinals lost to the Titans.) 

So, who should be on upset alert this week? 

Tyler Sullivan is here to tell us. 

• Saints (+3.5) over Patriots. New Orleans is just 1-4 on the season, but the Saints have played hard in recent weeks. They gave the Bills a run for their money back in Week 4 and are coming off their first win of the season after taking down the Giants. At home, they have enough playmakers to hang around against New England and possibly clip them if the Patriots aren't careful. 
• Titans (+5.5) over Raiders. Las Vegas has fallen on its face with the Geno Smith experiment, as the veteran quarterback has been dreadful over the first five weeks. Smith already has three multi-interception games, including a two-pick showing in a blowout loss to the Colts last week. If Smith's turnover woes continue, the Raiders will give any team that they face a puncher's chance to pull off a win..
• 49ers (+3) over Buccaneers. It remains to be seen who'll be available to the 49ers in Week 6, including the likes of Brock Purdy and George Kittle. That said, the Niners have shown us over the course of the season that they are capable of competing with a depleted roster, and Mac Jones has been more than serviceable under center. This season, Jones is 3-0 as a starter with a 67% completion rate while throwing for 301.7 passing yards per game and six touchdowns to just one interception..

Check out Sullivan's full list of possible upsets for Week 6. 

5. Joe Flacco will start against the Packers: Breaking down how the Bengals are getting him ready

For the second time this season, Joe Flacco is going to face the Packers. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor announced Wednesday that Flacco will be Cincinnati's starting quarterback this week in Green Bay. The Packers (2-1-1) only have one loss this season, and it came in a game against Flacco. Three weeks ago, Flacco led the Browns to a 13-10 win over Green Bay. 

When Flacco takes the field, he'll become the first quarterback since Jimmy Clausen in 2015 to face the same opponent twice in one season with two different teams. He'll also be aiming to become the first QB in 63 years to beat the same opponent twice, but with two different teams. 

Flacco's first practice with the Bengals came Wednesday, so he'll only have four days to prepare for Green Bay. How are the Bengals getting him ready? Glad you asked. 

• Zac Taylor had a Tuesday night phone call with Flacco. After the Bengals made the trade for Flacco, Taylor knew he had to immediately start the process of getting his new quarterback prepared. The Bengals sent a driver to Flacco's house in Cleveland, and during the car ride to Cincinnati, Taylor was already on the phone with his new signal-caller.  "We talked on the phone while he drove," Taylor said Wednesday. "We just tried to cover all the base pieces of information. I mean, you like to knock out personnel and formations and motions and the easy stuff, and then when you get in here, get the nuts and bolts. So, probably talk some run game, I think, on the phone too, got into the run game plan and just the easy stuff that he knew, and it all sounded familiar. So he'll be ready to roll."
• The Bengals held a walkthrough practice AFTER their regular practice. The Bengals had an extra practice after their regular practice, according to running back Chase Brown. "We just did a post-practice walkthrough [on Wednesday] to kind of go through some plays and show Joe where everybody's going to end up in specific concepts, so that was kind of cool," Brown said. "Just so he can kind of jog his memory and get ahead mentally. I think that's the only different thing as far as preparation-wise this week."
• Flacco is learning the playbook quickly. Brown pointed out that Flacco has already learned some of the lingo from the Bengals' playbook. "Zac [Taylor] would read him a play and then he would pause for a second, and then he would recite the whole play perfectly."
• Matt LaFleur will not be underestimating Flacco. Although Flacco won't have much time to prepare for Green Bay, LaFleur expects the new Bengals QB to be ready to play. "I'd say that Joe Flacco has been playing this game for a really long time and he's been in a lot of different systems, so I'd bet that he'd have no problem picking it up in a short period of time," LaFleur said. "I think the hardest thing for them is going to be the nuances of your cadence, your snap count, the rapport you have with the other players. Now, he's pretty fortunate, he has some good guys to certainly throw to."

I was in the Bengals' locker room on Wednesday to get everyone's reaction on the Flacco trade.

6. Extra points: Browns and Jaguars make late-night trade

It's been a busy 24 hours in the NFL, and since it's nearly impossible to keep track of everything that happened, I went ahead and put together a roundup for you. 

• Browns and Jaguars swap cornerbacks. The Jaguars and Browns made an interesting trade Wednesday night. Cleveland is sending Greg Newsome II and a 2026 sixth-round selection to Jacksonville in exchange for Tyson Campbell and a 2026 seventh-round draft pick. Campbell had just signed a four-year, $76 million extension in the July 2024, but he apparently wasn't a great fit for the system of new defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile. If you want more details on the trade, we've got that here. We also graded the trade. 
• Lamar Jackson misses practice. After sitting out the Ravens' Week 5 loss to the Texans, it's looking like there's a good chance Jackson could once again be sidelined against the Rams. The Ravens QB is dealing with a hamstring injury, and with Baltimore getting a bye after the Rams game, it won't be surprising at all if John Harbaugh decides to hold his quarterback out to give him an extra week to recover. 
• Joe Flacco near the bottom in our weekly QB rankings. Every week, Cody Benjamin ranks all 32 starting quarterbacks and this week, Joe Flacco is now in those rankings as the Bengals' starter. The 40-year-old made his debut at 30th overall. If you want to see who he finished AHEAD of, you can check out Benjamin's full ranking here. 
• Long shots who could win the MVP. Baker Mayfield has been playing like an MVP candidate so far, but could he actually win the award? Zach Pereles decided to take a look at several long shots who might actually be able to win it, and Mayfield was on the list.