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Week 6 turned out to be another pretty successful one for me in picking winners on the NFL games, as I wound up with 11 correct and 2 wrong, making the season record 64-26. This week is the bye week for the Buffalo Bills, among other teams, so again it’s a partial slate of games. Here are my week 7 predictions:

 Washington at Carolina – I’ve stated almost every week that I’m not a big believer in the Redskins, and their fall back to earth will continue here as Cam Newton engineers a big Panther win at home.

Seattle at Cleveland – the Seahawks are one of the hardest teams in the NFL to figure out, looking awful one week then pulling off a big upset the next. Although the Browns have not been very impressive this year, I’ll pick them to beat a team they should beat at home.

Atlanta at Detroit – this should be one of the weekend’s most competitive games, and the Lions, still feeling the sting of their loss to the 49ers last week, will pull out a win to further cement their status as a team that has arrived as a contender.

Denver at Miami – in a strange coincidence, Tim Tebow takes over as the Broncos’ starting QB at Miami in a game in which his Florida national championship team is being honored by the Dolphins. He should have a big cheering section in the stadium and I believe he’ll direct Denver to a win over the winless Fish.

San Diego at New York Jets – the Jets have struggled to find their “A” game this year, especially on offense, and those struggles will continue as the Bolts win in a close matchup.

Chicago at Tampa Bay – this game is being played in London, so there’s no home field advantage for the Bucs, but they’ll outslug the Bears and win this game.

Houston at Tennessee – with the Colts and Jaguars both having down years, this is now a marquee AFC South matchup, and I’ll give the edge to the Titans at home, mostly due to the Texans battling with injuries.

Pittsburgh at Arizona – Cardinal coach Ken Whisenhunt is a former Steeler assistant, and the up-and-down Cards will be up for this game. The Steelers aren’t the same team when they play on the road, and I’ll take Arizona to upset them here.

Kansas City at Oakland – a classic rivalry dating back to the AFL days, and even though the Chiefs are struggling they will make it close. However, the Raiders will win, with their defense dominating the game to help out new QB Carson Palmer as he tries to learn the offense.

St. Louis at Dallas – another tough test for the young Rams, and Dallas will win to keep pace in the NFC East race.

Green Bay at Minnesota – the Vikings turn their offense over to rookie QB Christian Ponder, and his teammates should energize around him. The Packers are just too good, however, and will remain undefeated with a road division win here.

Indianapolis at New Orleans – without Peyton Manning, the Colts are punchless, and New Orleans will have little trouble winning this game.

Baltimore at Jacksonville – Jaguars’ rookie QB Blaine Gabbert facing the tough Raven defense under the Monday night spotlight is not a good situation for him. Baltimore slugs out a win on the road.

The Buffalo Bills dropped a 27-24 heartbreaker to the New York Giants on Sunday in the “new Meadowlands”, AKA Metlife Stadium. They now head into their bye week with a 4-2 record, dropping a game behind New England in the AFC East race after the Pats defeated Dallas later in the day. The loss to the Giants wasn’t a big surprise. New York is a solid team and figured to be focused after falling asleep and being embarrassed by Seattle at home last week. By winning, they also have unlocked the secret to beating Buffalo – although the Bills are extremely competitive this year, if you protect the ball and don’t turn it over, you can beat them. The Bills are a work in progress, especially on defense, and if they are going to stay in the race for the playoffs for the long haul, they are going to have to improve on that side of the ball. They need to find ways to pressure the opposing quarterback, whether it’s rookie Marcell Dareus continuing to progress, Alex Carrington getting more playing time or Arthur Moats getting on the field more even after Chris Kelsay returns from injury. One big bright spot on defense was the return to action of cornerback Terrence McGee, who had a great game defending both the pass and the run. McGee’s return moved the target off the back of Leodis McKelvin and onto Drayton Florence, who struggled all day. Although the defense gave up large chunks of yardage, another 100+ yard rushing day by an opposing back and more long drives, they did make a big stop near the end of the game, holding the Giants to a field goal and giving the offense an opportunity to tie or win the game. Ryan Fitzpatrick, who has been terrific all year, wasn’t up to the task this time. In fact, his underthrown interception prior to New York’s winning field goal drive probably cost Buffalo the game. The pick left me with mixed feelings, however, since his throw to Stevie Johnson on the play represented an aggressive attempt to “go for it” rather than take the conservative route and play for a field goal. That’s one of the things I like about the Chan Gailey regime – the aggressiveness on offense. In his postgame press conference, Fitzpatrick in fact took the blame for both of his interceptions. They were similar in that both were throws to Johnson, both picked by Corey Webster and both underthrown. Fitzpatrick admitted that in both cases, he had the perfect call, the perfect matchup and that Johnson ran a great route. He just didn’t execute the throws.

There were a lot of positives in the game for the Bills, like McGee’s play, which included a perfect form tackle on a Giant receiver that should be made into an instruction video and sent to all NFL teams to show some of the league’s mediocre defenders how it’s supposed to be done. There was another fantastic game by the team’s best player, Fred Jackson, and a great catch-and-run by local hero Namaan Roosevelt for a 60 yard TD. There were good contributions from C.J. Spiller in the passing game. The Bills get their bye week at a good time. They’ll be able to get players like Kyle Williams, Demetrius Bell, hopefully Chris Hairston if his ankle injury turns out to be not too serious, Shawne Merriman and Kelsay healthy. The best thing about the Bills, coaches and players alike, is that they realize they need to keep improving if they’re going to stay in the hunt.

Week five was the first week that included byes in the schedule, so there was only a “partial” slate of games played. I picked 9 winners out of 13, raising the record for the season to 53 right and 24 wrong. Here are my week six selections:

Buffalo at New York Giants – the Bills’ win over the Eagles was a big deal, since Philly needed the game badly. They are doing one thing this season the Giants have struggled to do the last couple of years – playing consistently. The “bad” Giants showed up last week and were upset by Seattle, and I think the Bills will find a way to scratch out a win here.

Carolina at Atlanta – Cam Newton has transformed the Panthers into one of the NFL’s most exciting teams, but that doesn’t necessarily translate into wins. The Falcons will win this division matchup at home.

Indianapolis at Cincinnati – the Bengal defense, statistically the best in the league, will have no trouble shutting down the now punchless Colts. Cincinnati wins at home.

San Francisco at Detroit – who would have ever guessed that going into week 6 of the season, these 2 teams would have only one loss between them? This should be a great game, and I see the Lions staying unbeaten with a rousing win in front of their home fans.

St. Louis at Green Bay – the Rams are an improved team but have been playing a brutally tough schedule. They’ll get beaten soundly by the Pack in Lambeau Field.

Jacksonville at Pittsburgh – the Steelers are not among the league’s elite teams this year, in my opinion, but will win this game handily at home. Jaguars’ rookie QB Blaine Gabbert will be overwhelmed by this situation.

Philadelphia at Washington – this is the week the Eagles break out of their funk. They will bring the Redskins back down to earth with a huge division win, propelling them right back into the NFC East race despite their poor start.

Houston at Baltimore – tough loss for Houston at home last week, and they’ll drop another in this contest against the Ravens in what should be a low-scoring game.

Cleveland at Oakland – the Raiders’ emotional last-second win over the Texans last week a day after legendary owner Al Davis passed away was one of the season’s best highlights so far. I see them rolling over the Browns at home in what should be another emotional scene.

Dallas at New England – the Cowboys are a good match for New England, but the Pats will pull out another typical workmanlike win at home.

New Orleans at Tampa Bay – the young Bucs have to be reeling after getting pasted in San Francisco last week, but on a hunch I think they’ll rebound with a strong effort at home and edge out the Saints for a big division win.

Minnesota at Chicago – in what should be a tough NFC North slugfest, the Bears’ defense will be the difference and they’ll win a close, low-scoring game.

Miami at New York Jets – getting the Dolphins at home is just what the doctor ordered for the Jets to turn around what has been a disappointing start to the 2011 season so far. They’ll keep the Fish winless with a one-sided victory under the Monday Night spotlight.