2023 NFL picks, score predictions for Week 6

New Orleans Saints (3-2) @ Houston Texans (2-3)

Sunday, 1:00 PM ET

The New Orleans Saints are coming off of one of the most impressive wins in Week 5 of the season. They took Bill Belichick and the Patriots to the cleaner's, going into New England and winning 34-0. That was one of the games I was most wrong about last week as I felt the Patriots would get up for a home game but that didn't end up being the case at all.

Derek Carr and the Saints' offense were efficient, but it was the defense that truly won the day in this matchup. The Saints' defense held the Patriots to just 156 total yards, just over 20 minutes time of possession, three turnovers, and an astounding 1-of-14 on third downs.

The Saints' defense put on a clinic of how to set their offense up for success, and they'll need to do the same against the Texans and their impressive rookie QB CJ Stroud.

Stroud and the Texans were rolling a little bit before their encounter with the Atlanta Falcons and their top-10 defense. That Falcons defense is being run by a former Saints disciple, Ryan Nielsen, so New Orleans has to feel good about the way they could match up in this particular case.

The oddsmakers like the Saints by 1.5 in the early betting lines, but if this game gets to be a defensive battle, I think it plays pretty heavily into the favor of New Orleans.

Prediction: Saints win 22-17