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Upsets ruled the day in Week 6, with last-second field goals lifting Atlanta over Chicago and St. Louis over Washington, as well as Cleveland resurrecting its season with a Monday night thrashing of the Giants. In our gut, we were wary of all these games, and yet, perhaps against our better judgment, we didn't listen and lost all three, turning a potential 9-5 week into a not-so-terrific 6-8.

These upsets certainly can take place in the NFL from time to time, but are they really an every-week occurrence? I'm hoping that's not the case, because after analyzing the Week 7 matchups, I've decided to go heavily with the favorites: 11 times out of a possible 14, to be exact. Of course, while figuring out our picks for the week, we put on our satellite radio, tuned in to the '80s channel and heard a few old-time favorites. Maybe that was a factor, but why don't you be the judge? Here we go:

Tale of the Tape
Week 6, Straight Up: 6-8 (Overall: 46-42)
Week 6, Versus the Spread: 6-8 (Overall: 44-44)

Sunday, October 19

San Diego at Buffalo (-½)

"Take On Me," A-Ha: We're still not sure how the lead singer hit those high notes in the chorus, much in the same way we're still not sure how the Bills ended up in first place in the AFC East. Yet the sun always seems to shine on Marshawn Lynch and his teammates, so we won't see fit to go hunting high and low for an upset here.

Prediction: Bills by 1

Minnesota at Chicago (-3½)

"When Doves Cry," Prince: Dig, if you will, the picture of AP and Brian Urlacher engaged in a struggle to the death. Prince may have favored the team in purple, but all we see are animals striking curious poses as the Bears shut down the Vikings' offense from every angle.

Prediction: Bears by 10

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati (+9½)

"Don't You (Forget About Me)," Simple Minds: Remember Willie Parker? Hope you haven't forgotten about him, because all the Bengals' defense will be able to do as he walks on by them into the end zone is to call his name (provided he's back from his knee injury, which isn't a guarantee). Hey, you mess with the bull, you get the horns, my friend.

Prediction: Steelers by 12

Tennessee at Kansas City (+7½)

"Another One Bites The Dust," Queen: There are plenty of ways you can hurt a man and bring him to the ground, but we don't see "the Kansas City defense making tackles" on that list of methods. Chris Johnson and LenDale White lead the charge as the Titans keep their undefeated record intact.

Prediction: Titans by 22

New Orleans at Carolina (-3½)

"Like A Prayer," Madonna: The teams in the NFC South are a mystery, but if the Saints don't end up winning this one, then they may well end up standing alone in the cellar for some time to come. With the expected returns of Marques Colston and Jeremy Shockey, we have no choice but to side with New Orleans.

Prediction: Saints by 1

Dallas at St. Louis (+6½)

"With or Without You," U2: Tony Romo may be out for about a month (or he could play this week), Felix Jones is out with an injury, and even punter Mat McBriar broke his foot last week. No matter. These Cowboys went out and traded for another Roy Williams and made the statement that they plan on winning this week's war with or without their fallen comrades.

Prediction: Cowboys by 13

Baltimore at Miami (-2½)

"Bad," Michael Jackson: If you take the word "bad" literally, you're talking about the Ravens' offense. No matter how well their defense proves themselves to be "bad" in the sense of being "quite good indeed," that's a handicap this team simply can't overcome.

Prediction: Dolphins by 5

San Francisco at Giants (-10½)

"Every Breath You Take," The Police: With Eli Manning dealing with a bruised chest, all eyes will be watching how he is breathing this week. But let's face it, this Giants team was embarrassed Monday night, and they'll be ready for every move Frank Gore makes and every dropback J.T. O'Sullivan takes.

Prediction: Giants by 17

Detroit at Houston (-8½)

"Beat It," Michael Jackson: They told Roy Williams, "Don't you ever come around here! Don't wanna see your face, you'd better disappear!" The problem is, he was one of their best players -- if not THE best. Detroit may not want to be defeated, but that's the likely result.

Prediction: Texans by 10

Jets at Oakland (+3½)

"Time After Time," Cyndi Lauper: Brett Favre shows up for work week after week, time after time. The Jets were lost, and they looked and they did find Brett. So far, it's been a really successful marriage, like peanut butter and chocolate, or rock and wrestling. It should work again versus the rudderless Raiders.

Prediction: Jets by 10

Cleveland at Washington (-7½)

"Livin' On A Prayer," Bon Jovi: Derek Anderson wants his team to take his hand, and he swears they'll make it to the postseason. We tend to think there's a tendency to overreact from a team having one good game (in Cleveland's case) or one bad game (Washington), and Derek will end up back down on his luck. It's tough.

Prediction: Redskins by 8

Indianapolis at Green Bay (+1½)

"Sweet Child o' Mine," Guns N' Roses: So, where do the Packers go now? They turn to their new leader, who has a smile that it seems to me, reminds me of childhood memories. Aaron Rodgers is certainly proving himself as tough as his predecessor, and with the Colts missing Joseph Addai, they won't be as able to capitalize on Green Bay's poor run defense.

Prediction: Packers by 2

Seattle at Tampa Bay (-10½)

"Total Eclipse of the Heart," Bonnie Tyler: Once upon a time, fantasy experts were falling in love with Seattle and its top-notch passing game, but now it's only falling apart. Just when Deion Branch and Bobby Engram begin to get back into the swing of things, we're now looking at Seneca Wallace under center? Nothing I can do but pick the Bucs.

Prediction: Bucs by 20

Monday, October 20

Denver at New England (-3½)

"Don't You Want Me," The Human League: Matt Cassel got the dreaded vote of confidence from his coach, but you know I don't believe Bill Belichick when he says that he doesn't need Brady. Even on the road, I've got to go with Jay Cutler and the Broncos here. You think I'll change my mind? Nah, I'd better stick with Denver or I'll be sorry.

Prediction: Broncos by 3

The ESPN Eliminator requires that you make one and only one pick each week. You win and you live to pick again. You lose, and it's all over. In Week 6, our quest for perfection came to an end, as the Redskins, who we admittedly didn't feel complete confidence in taking, let us down. Perhaps we should have listened to that little voice inside us that wanted to switch to the Jets against the Carson Palmer-less Bengals, but alas, we did not. Undaunted, we will forge ahead and continue to offer our advice to those who are still alive, keeping our rule in place that we shall not select the same team at any of our DEFCON levels more than once.

For Week 7, we're going to lean heavily on those teams facing opponents who are shaky at quarterback. That means selecting against Seattle and either Seneca Wallace or Charlie Frye, against Cincinnati and another Ryan Fitzpatrick outing, and against Detroit and the tandem of Dan Orlovsky and Drew Stanton. None of these signal-callers exactly strikes fear into the hearts of men, and if you're holding out for one of them to be a hero, you might be waiting for quite some time. Here's the full selection list:

DEFCON 5: Bucs
DEFCON 4: Steelers
DEFCON 3: Texans
DEFCON 2: Titans
DEFCON 1: Jets

Good luck to all of you, and we hope these picks will result in a week where you can sit back and relax, without any of these underdogs turning these would-be blowouts into thrillers.

AJ Mass is a fantasy football, baseball and college basketball analyst for ESPN.com. You can e-mail him here.