NFL Week 6 ‘Thursday Night Football’ game picks and open thread

As expected, Week 5 brought a little more clarity to the NFL landscape. By now, we’re starting to get a sense of the best teams in each conference, the ones with a chance to compete for the playoffs, and those who are unlikely to break out of an early-season funk. Some teams in the middle took a step forward—like the Cincinnati Bengals, Atlanta Falcons, New Orleans Saints, and Jacksonville Jaguars. Others continued a downward trend, like the Washington Commanders, New York Giants, New England Patriots, and Minnesota Vikings.

Week 6 can offer more answers...or more wackiness. You never really know in the NFL. Things kick off with Thursday Night Football, featuring an AFC West divisional matchup between the struggling Denver Broncos (1-4) and the mighty Kansas City Chiefs (4-1).

Let’s get right to tonight’s pick, which I’ll be making on a straight moneyline (aka picking the winner) basis. I’ll still provide the information on the spread and over/under, for those interested. At the bottom, I’ll show the rest of the staff’s picks for the game.

All odds are taken from DraftKings Sportsbook and are subject to change. See the current odds here.

Thursday Night Football: Denver Broncos (1-4) at Kansas City Chiefs (4-1)

The pick: Chiefs (-535)

Spread: Chiefs -10.5 | Over/Under: 47.5 | Moneyline: Chiefs -535, Broncos +440

When you’re a reeling team coming off a miserable loss, I can’t think of a much tougher test than traveling to Kansas City to face the Chiefs. Sure, this year’s KC squad isn’t quite firing on all cylinders at this stage, but it’s only a matter of time. It’s a division game, which always have the potential to go a little crazy, but Patrick Mahomes versus this Broncos defense should be as close to a lock as you can get in the NFL.

Staff picks

What are your picks and predictions for tonight’s Thursday Night Football matchup?