Look for big weekend from Vikes

We lost yesterday's SGP — we admit it — all because those horrible teams could muster only 19 total points. On to the next, as Week 6 is here.

Three spread picks for Sunday

The name of our game for this weekend is to look at the quality of the trenches. We now have five weeks of data and analysis on how teams have fared this season, and success begins with strong offensive and defensive lines. There are three such games that seem to offer mismatches on that front. Pro Football Focus (PFF) does a great job grading every unit on the field, so we'll rely on their rankings today.

Vikings -3 at Dolphins

PFF has Miami down as the worst pass-blocking unit in football. It's an interesting grade to us, because the Dolphins have allowed only nine sacks this season. Sack totals don't tell the entire story, and it catches our eye to see a unit graded so horribly toward protecting the passer. Minnesota's pass rush is considered an upper-half-of-the-league group, showing how disruptive it can be pressuring the quarterback on multiple occasions. Rookie Skylar Thompson will likely make the start for the Dolphins with Tua Tagovailoa out and Teddy Bridgewater limited in practice this week, and Minnesota should easily be able to rattle the young passer. Miami's secondary has also been an issue, which fits perfectly into this Vikings offensive philosophy. Look for a big game from Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson.

Panthers +10 at Rams

The Rams offensive line has been horrible. Heading into Week 6, Matthew Stafford had been sacked more than any other quarterback, and PFF has Los Angeles' line ranked 31st in pass protection. The Rams are 1-4 ATS this season, so to give them 10 points to anyone feels like too much. Now, Carolina has been a bad team this season, so this bet isn't for the faint of heart, but there's something about firing your coach that tends to get the players to play better that first week. That is the case for the Panthers this weekend, and even with P.J. Walker at quarterback, we think Carolina can get to Stafford enough on defense and pull out some tricks on offense to keep it close.

Packers -7 vs. Jets

We've bet on the Jets the past two weeks, and they've covered in both of Zach Wilson's starts. We do really like this New York team, but we're having a hard time believing Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay are about to drop two straight games to teams from East Rutherford. The Jets pass-blocking grades out at 28th on PFF, and they've allowed the 10th-most sacks this year. PFF has the Packers pass rush as the ninth-strongest unit in football, and Green Bay has averaged 2.4 sacks per game. The Packers should get to the quarterback, and expect the Green Bay offense to move the ball against this Jets defense.

In the news ...

ALDS update: Astros take 2-0 lead, Yanks-Guardians postponed to today — Yordan Alvarez is cementing himself as an early postseason hero for Houston. The Astros slugger homered again on Thursday, a go-ahead, two-run shot that put Houston up for good. Houston is now up 2-0 over Seattle and will look to close out the series tomorrow. The New York-Cleveland game was postponed due to weather, and first pitch is set for early this afternoon. We liked the under yesterday thanks to two strong pitchers, and nothing has changed in that regard.

Bills-Chiefs takes center stage on Sunday — An extension of our above NFL intro, we have to shine a light on the game of the weekend between Buffalo and Kansas City. The game is set for 4:25 p.m. ET, and we'd recommend getting this one on a TV by itself. This is the first time these two teams are meeting since their epic divisional-round game that saw the Chiefs steal a win, 42-36, in overtime. Buffalo took it to Kansas City last year in the regular season, 38-20. This marks the first game Patrick Mahomes has ever been a home underdog (Chiefs +2.5). All we know is we want to bet on points and touchdowns. Grab the over 54 points, parlay some touchdown scorers, and sit back and enjoy the show.

We have two top 10 matchups this weekend in college football — Saturday's slate has only 13 teams ranked inside the top 25, but we're treated to not one, but two games that consist of both teams ranked inside the top 10. No. 10 Penn State heads to No. 5 Michigan to get our day started, and No. 3 Alabama visits No. 6 Tennessee in a massive SEC clash. This would be season-defining win for the Volunteers, and we can't help but buy in to the home team keeping it close. We're betting Tennessee +7.5.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll