Editor's note: ESPN senior NFL writer John Clayton's weekly "First And 10" column takes you around the league with a look at the best game of the week followed by primers for 10 other games to get you ready for Sunday and Monday. Here's his look at Week 6.

First ... Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants: At some point, some of these streaks are going to end. The question is when.

	Michael Strahan sacked Donovan McNabb twice in the Giants' 20-10 playoff win last year.

Maybe this will be the year that the Raiders will beat the Broncos or the Steelers will beat the Titans -- or the Eagles will beat the Giants. But the NFL is becoming suddenly predictable. The Redskins lost their eighth consecutive game to the Cowboys. The Dolphins blew another 17-point lead in losing to the Jets.

It's déjà vu.

The Eagles will try to stop that Monday night, but they know they face a tough task. First, the Giants look to be a better team than the one that went to the Super Bowl. Kenny Holmes added a pass-rushing threat at right end. Rookies Will Allen and William Peterson have made the Giants' pass defense that much stronger.

Some key offensive people are getting healthier, players such as halfback Tiki Barber and wide receiver Ike Hilliard. Sure, the Giants were hit hard by last Sunday's one-point loss to the Rams. Coach Jim Fassel fumed about officiating and mental mistakes that led to Giants penalties. Several of the Giants were limping around with sore legs.

Going into the season, you figured that the Giants would be playing the Eagles following an emotional game against the Rams. Of course, a Monday night home game against the Eagles should boost their morale.

After all, the Giants' streak against the Eagles is at nine games (including one in the playoffs). Andy Reid's Eagles are coming off a bye week in which the team had too much time to lament blowing a home game against the Cardinals. Suddenly, they find themselves at the crossroads of their season.

No, Reid is still safe in thinking that the Eagles will still make the playoffs. The bottom of the NFC East is filled with what should be easy victories -- the Cardinals, Redskins and Cowboys. But if the Eagles lose this game, they come back with a home game against the Raiders. If they lose that one, too, they would be 2-4. Ouch.

The good news is that Duce Staley will be back and will alternate with promising rookie Correll Buckhalter. Quarterback Donovan McNabb has had an extra week to reflect on his timing with his young receiving corps. Plus, defensive coordinator Jim Johnson has had a few extra days to design more blitzes into his complicated defense.

If the Eagles are ever going to win the NFC East, they have to beat the Giants sometime. Will this be the time?

And 10. Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings: Maybe it's the lighting but Brett Favre usually has problems in the Metrodome. Prior to the 2000 season, Favre lost seven of eight starts and had a streak of six games in which he couldn't break the 200-yard passing plateau. Last December, though, Favre might have broken the jinx. He passed for 290 yards and threw for three touchdowns in a 33-28 victory. That game might have legitimized the streak that has carried the Packers into one of the NFC's best teams. Favre and the Packers have won eight of their past nine. Against the Ravens a week ago, Favre spread the field and ripped up the league's best defense. Obviously, the Vikings don't have the defensive talent of the Ravens. They rank 23rd overall and 29th against the pass. Worse, they are one of the worst in putting pressure on quarterbacks. For the Vikings to win, they have to score points. Randy Moss can't take off routes, and Cris Carter needs a big day.

9. Denver Broncos at San Diego Chargers: Two weeks ago, it looked as though this was going to be a showdown of a 5-0 Chargers team against the 4-1 Broncos. What happened? Well, the Chargers have lost a lot off their usually stubborn defense. Defensive coordinator Joe Pascale had his third back operation and is probably out for the rest of the season. Jim Vechiarella, who took over the defensive play-calling, quit for health reasons, so the Chargers are left with Mark Banker, who was breaking down tapes two years ago. Don't minimize the significance of this change. Pascale is one of the best and he might not be back the rest of the season. The Chargers didn't have answers for repeated completions against well-paid cornerback Alex Molden last week. The run defense isn't as sturdy without tackle Jamal Williams, who blew out a knee and was lost for the season. The key for the Broncos is the health and the effectiveness of quarterback Brian Griese, who once again is battling shoulder problems. Griese is getting hit too much and forcing bad decisions that are leading toward turnovers. That's not the Griese everyone knows. The other problem is that the offensive line is coming off its worst performance. Alex Gibbs, the retired offensive line coach, is only working two days a week in Denver, but the line looks lost without him on Sundays.

8. Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns: Opponents keep digging back for last year's tape of how the Jets spread the field and exposed some holes in the Ravens' great defense. Well, the Browns can't spread the field. Kevin Johnson is the team's only legitimate receiving threat, and unless cloning is approved by the Competition Committee, the Browns will have to stay conservative. Here's their other dilemma. No one runs on the Ravens, and the Browns aren't running well against anyone. James Jackson is averaging 2.8 yards a carry. Backup Jamel White is averaging 3.7 yards a carry. The worry for the Browns is that the Ravens might take out their frustration of losing on quarterback Tim Couch.

	Trung Canidate will be the Rams' No. 1 back if the injured Marshall Faulk can't play.

7. St. Louis Rams at New York Jets: At least my voice has returned from yelling "Duck!" to Kurt Warner after watching Giants defensive end Michael Strahan use wounded right tackle Ryan Tucker like a turnstile. Someone counted that Strahan got to Warner 22 times last Sunday. Four of those were sacks. At least, coach Mike Martz reviewed the tapes and realized he screwed up. Rod Jones starts for the injured Tucker. The Jets have no Strahan, but John Abraham is pretty good on the right side. He might not be seen against left tackle Orlando Pace. The Jets are woeful stopping the run. If they let Trung Canidate get 100 yards, the Jets might change their name to the mats. They let everyone run over them. Still, you don't want to make it a close game. Vinny Testaverde is toughest in the fourth quarter, so Martz's mission will be to get an early lead and put the Jets out of commission.

6. Chicago Bears at Cincinnati Bengals: Whoever wins this game will validate considerations as one of the league's better turnaround teams. Let's say this for the Bears, their defense is good and even better than the positive things thought about them before the season. They are forcing 2.5 turnovers a game. Defensive tackles Ted Washington and Keith Traylor are impossible to run against. Brian Urlacher is having a Pro Bowl season, and let's not forget the big safety, Mike Brown. The question comes down to which quarterback gets the Cinderella nod -- Jim Miller of the Bears or Jon Kitna of the Bengals. Miller is doing a good job of getting the ball downfield. Kitna is succeeding by spreading the field, but the loss of wide receiver Chad Johnson with a shoulder separation will hurt.

5. Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans: Everyone is making a big deal about the matchup of Michael Vick versus his cousin, Aaron Brooks of the Saints, but it's meaningless if Vick doesn't get on the field. At 2-3, the Falcons are seeing the season slip away from them, so coach Dan Reeves is losing the freedom to experiment for the future. Vick will probably get his series or two, but Brooks has a chance to keep the Saints' momentum going into next week's showdown in St. Louis. Usually, Chris Chandler gets some kind of an injury in games against the Saints, so Vick better stay loose. Reeves shook up the struggling secondary by cutting veteran safety Marty Carter, but he better get word to the defensive line. The Falcons aren't doing a good job of stopping the run. Ricky Williams knows this. So does Jim Haslett. If the Falcons overcommit stopping the run, then Brooks will try to test the cornerbacks.

4. Pittsburgh Steelers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Bill Cowher is trying to ride the Bus (Jerome Bettis) to the playoffs, but Tampa is a tough stop. The Steelers are more efficient on the pass, but they don't nickel and dime teams. Instead, they throw pennies at them. Kordell Stewart is averaging 5.3 yards a pass attempt. Think about it. Five yards. It would take 16 tosses to get 90 yards. The Bucs will try to shorten that length. This is usually the time of year the Bucs get on a roll. Having a low-threat, physical offense is the right matchup for the Bucs. Here's the problem, though. The Bucs play so conservatively on offense that the Steelers should be in the game with a chance to win by the last possession. Tampa Bay better stop Stewart and Bettis from getting those five yards then or it will be 2-3.

3. New England Patriots at Indianapolis Colts: You would think that Peyton Manning will have answers for Bill Belichick's rush-three-drop-eight defensive scheme. After all, Manning won't be fighting the winds at Foxboro. He isn't playing before a hostile crowd. This is home and it's in a dome. It's time to get rolling. Manning should bounce back from his nine-interception start. The Colts' worry is that they are starting to give up too many yards on defense, and they can't let quarterback Tom Brady get too much confidence early. Getting swept by the Patriots would cost the Colts the chance to win the AFC East title because they would start falling behind in tie-breakers.

2. Tennessee Titans at Detroit Lions: The Titans have fought their demons and beat them with a victory over a tough Bucs team last Sunday. The running offense came back. So did the ability to stop the run. They are hitting a Lions team that is struggling with confidence and should be able to handle them easily. Of course, any team at home is dangerous unless the crowd boos, and Charlie Batch got some momentum in the second half of the defeat against the Vikings. Figure the Titans to blitz Batch and get sacks. In all but six plays last Sunday, Titans defensive ends Kevin Carter and Jevon Kearse were double-teamed. If the Lions do that, the Titans will get pressure up the middle, which will cause serious problems for Batch. If they don't double the Titans' ends, one of them will break from his sack slump.

1. Kansas City Chiefs at Arizona Cardinals: It was either this or Carolina at Washington. Redskins football is too dreadful to watch now. At least, the Cardinals are interesting. Leonard Davis is burying people at the guard position for the Cardinals. Jake Plummer is at least exciting in close games. Watch for the Chiefs to get their passing offense working a little bit better. Trent Green won't get much pressure, so he should put up good numbers in this bad boy.

John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.