The underdogs and the ‘under’ stole the show in Week 6 of the NFL season. The ‘dogs barked at an 8-6 against-the-spread clip with six winning outright, including the Browns’ 35-14 blowout win over the previously-unbeaten Giants on Monday Night Football.

Five games were decided on the last play, including the Rams’ shocking 19-17 triumph at Washington in Jim Haslett’s debut as the interim coach. St. Louis beat the ‘Skins as an 11 ½-point underdog thanks to Josh Brown’s 49-yard field goal as the gun sounded.

Look at the Atlanta Falcons, who are the surprising co-leaders in the NFC South with a 4-2 record. They pulled out a thrilling 22-20 home win over the Bears when Jason Elam drilled a 48-yard field goal with no time left. Mike Smith’s team took the money as a three-point underdog.

Atlanta was in control of the game from the start and appeared poised to put it away with 2:43 left, but Elam hooked a 33-yard attempt for his first miss of the year. Minutes later, Chicago QB Kyle Orton found Rashied Davis in the back corner of the end zone for a 17-yard scoring strike with 11 seconds left, giving the Bears a 20-19 lead.

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Game, set, match, right? Wrong. The Falcons returned the kick to the 44, using only five seconds. With six seconds remaining, rookie QB Matt Ryan hit Michael Jenkins for a 26-yard gain to Chicago’s 30, setting up Elam’s game winning field goal with just one tick left.

Elam has now made 16-of-17 field-goal attempts and all 13 of his PAT’s this season. He’s 8-for-8 from beyond 40 yards. When Atlanta GM Thomas Dimitroff gave Elam a decent chunk of cash at age 38 during the off-season, many rolled their eyes at the free-agent signing when the team seemingly needed to address deeper concerns other than the place-kicking position.

Nobody is rolling their eyes now. Not at Dimitroff, not at owner Arthur Blank and not at the Falcons, who go into their bye week as an improbable playoff contender.

Detroit is still winless, but the Lions certainly provided this guy with several anxious hours Sunday. I took Minnesota (instead of Washington!) in my Eliminator League that’s down to 13 going for the prize. The Vikings overcame a pair of costly fumbles from Adrian Peterson to win a 12-10 decision on Ryan Longwell’s short field goal as time expired.

Rod Marinelli’s team covered the spread as a 13 ½-point underdog, but money-line backers were forced to rip up a plus 500 ticket.

Back to the Browns, who returned to their 2007 form on the national stage Monday. Derek Anderson and Braylon Edwards were brilliant in the outright victory as eight-point underdogs. Anderson threw for 310 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions, while Edwards had five catches for 154 yards and one TD.

Eli Manning had his first suspect performance of the season, as he was intercepted three times, including Eric Wright’s 94-yard pick-six that put the game on ice in the final stanza.

Tampa Bay pulled into a first-place tie with Atlanta and Carolina in the NFC South when it took out the Panthers by a 27-3 count as a 1 ½-point ‘chalk.’ Warrick Dunn erupted for 115 rushing yards and Jeff Garcia managed the game to perfection (15/20, 173 yards, 1/0 TD-INT). The Bucs’ defense intercepted Jake Delhomme three times.

New Orleans is just one game out in the NFC South after trouncing Oakland 34-3 as a seven-point favorite. Drew Brees had an(other) incredible game, completing 26-of-30 passes for 320 yards, three TDs and zero interceptions. Reggie Bush had a TD catch and a TD run.

San Diego, Jacksonville, Green Bay and Philadelphia each won crucial games to improve to 3-3. The Chargers spanked New England 30-10 as six-point favorites, while Green Bay won 27-17 at Seattle as a one-point underdog. The Eagles won 40-26 at San Francisco as five-point ‘chalk,’ and the Jags beat the Broncos 24-17 in Denver. 

With the Chargers' victory, they pulled to within one game of the loop-leading Broncos in the AFC West.  

**B.E.’s Bonus Nuggets**

--Ryan had his best day as a pro (so far, that is) against the Bears, completing 22-of-30 throws for 301 yards, one touchdown and most importantly, zero turnovers.

--I’m certainly not always right, but I love it when I am. I’ve said it time and time again on the Power Hours – Adam Jones is a career criminal and it was only a matter of time before he was suspended from the NFL for life. For now, it’s not a lifetime ban, but his indefinite suspension levied Tuesday by Commissioner Roger Goodell is probably the end of Pacman’s career. Even if he’s eventually reinstated, what team would sign him? Jerry Jones is certainly willing to sign a sketchy character if he plays like a Pro-Bowler, but Pacman’s play this year has only been a little better than average, definitely not worthy of Pro-Bowl consideration.

--Rookie of the Year candidates:
1-Matt Ryan (Atlanta QB)
2-DeSean Jackson (Philadelphia WR)
3-Chris Johnson (Tennessee RB)
4-Steve Slaton (Houston RB)
5-Matt Forte (Chicago RB)

--Coach of the Year candidates:
1-Mike Smith (Atlanta)
2-Jeff Fisher (Tennessee)
3-Jim Zorn (Washington)
4-Ken Whisenhunt (Arizona)
5-Dick Jauron (Buffalo)

--MVP candidates:
1-Clinton Portis (Washington RB)
2-Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh QB)
3-Brandon Jacobs (New York RB)
4-Larry Fitzgerald (Arizona WR)
5-John Abraham (Atlanta DE)

--Detroit has placed QB Jon Kitna (back injury) on injured reserve, likely ending his career with the Lions. They have also traded WR Roy Williams to the Cowboys for three future draft picks. Might Detroit be capable of an 0-16 campaign now?

--Blank thinks Michael Vick deserves to be back in the NFL, just not in Atlanta.

--I love ESPN’s Ron Jaworski, but what on earth was going through his mind when he was critical of Cleveland’s Romeo Crennel for going for two when the Browns took a 33-14 lead with just over eight minutes left in the fourth quarter? Jaws, you were wrong on that one. I’m constantly baffled at how some have no clue about when teams should go for two.

Brian Edwards can be reached at briane@vegasinsider.com.