NFL Week 7 Predictions

Mike

SEA vs. ARI

SEA 27-20

Russell Wilson and his troops did not have their best showing in front of the 12^th man last weekend, but managed to get by the scrappy Titans. They shut down Chris Johnson (who hasn’t this year) and were able to make the important plays down the stretch at home. The last time these two teams played, Seattle squeaked out a 58-0 decision. Arizona is playing with some confidence at 3-3 and feels as if they belong on the same field with the likes of San Francisco and Seattle. The home crowd will be fired up Thursday Night in a close divisional encounter which I see the Hawks winning by a touchdown differential.

TB vs. ATL

ATL 31-21

This is desperation time for the Falcons, who after that devastating, almost-comeback loss vs. the Jets in Week 5 sit at 1-4 in a division with the 5-1 New Orleans Saints. This team just has too much talent to be in this position, even without game-changing WR Julio Jones. QB Matt Ryan will have to distribute the ball more effectively to TE Tony Gonzalez, WR Roddy White, and WR Harry Douglas in order to get Atlanta back in the playoff mix. The absence of RB Stephen Jackson has certainly hurt the Falcons and made them one-dimensional thus far. In the dome in Hotlanta, Ryan and the birds make a few more plays than QB Mike Glennon and his winless Bucs. Is Greg Schiano on the hotseat?

CHI vs. WSH

WSH 23-19

Even though the Chicago Bears are 4-2 tied atop the NFC North, have they really impressed you? I’m not sold on QB Jay Cutler and the Bears, and the 1-4 Redskins have something to play for in the dismal NFC Least. It’s only a matter of time before RGIII completely snaps out of his funk and delivers a game-changing performance. The ‘Skins outgained the Cowboys almost 2 to 1 despite the loss Sunday Night, and the Bears looked mediocre against the winless Giants. I have the ‘Skins in a mini-upset in this one.

DAL vs. PHI

DAL 24-17

Ah, the battle for supremacy in the NFC Least six games into the regular season. The Eagles looked decent in an eleven point win vs. the Bucs last week. QB Nick Foles certainly found his rhythm, throwing for 296 yards and 3 TD’s. RB Shady McCoy added a solid 116 yards on the ground to pace Philly. They did, however, allow some big plays in the passing game as QB Mike Glennon threw 2 TD’s to deep threat, physical WR Vincent Jackson. I expect Dallas QB Tony Romo to take full advantage of a suspect Philadelphia pass defense and throw for over 300 yards and a couple of scores to lead his team to a big road win in the City of Brotherly Love.

NE vs. NYJ

NE 20-14

I really thought about picking the Jets at home in this one, given the fact that the Pats are coming off a draining win which included one of QB Tom Brady’s best game-winning drives in his career. Even though the Jets lost a defensive struggle at home to the Steelers last week, let’s not forget that despite their record the Steelers are still a tough out. Jets rookie QB Geno Smith came down to earth last week after that thrilling Monday night win at Atlanta, throwing 2 interceptions to a team who had not forced a turnover yet this season. I don’t expect Brady and his bunch to play their best game, especially if TE Rob Gronkowski is still unable to go. This pivotal divisional matchup will be a tightly contested field position battle with the more experienced Pats coming out on top.

BUF vs. MIA

MIA 37-23

The Dolphins are coming off their bye week to face the Bills in an important AFC East matchup. After their 3-0 start, Miami has dropped its last two games. QB Ryan Tannehill will welcome the opportunity to get back out on the field at home against a Bills team coming off an overtime home loss vs. the Cincinnati Bengals. The Dolphins currently own one of the two wild card spots in the AFC and will remain there after a nice home win vs. the Bills. A late touchdown run by RB Lamar Miller makes this a two-touchdown differential in an otherwise closely contested game.

SD vs. JAC

SD 34-21

San Diego is in the thick of the AFC Wild Card hunt, and every game going forward is a big one. Jacksonville is playing for pride at this point, and certainly acquiated themselves nicely in testing the undefeated Peyton Manning’s. QB Chad Henne will make some plays in the passing game to WR’s Cecil Shorts and Justin Blackmon, who are having solid statistical seasons. This game is a golden opportunity for QB Philip Rivers and the Chargers to head into their bye week over .500. I see them building off their strong performance last Monday night vs. Indianapolis and heading into the bye with a 4-3 record.

STL vs. CAR

CAR 28-14

The Rams absolutely demolished the now-suspect Houston Texans last week, not by racking up huge yardage offensively but by capitalizing on Texans’ mistakes and strong special teams play. CB Alec Ogletree had a 98-yard interception return for a touchdown off a QB T.J. Yates throw, and QB Sam Bradford added 3 TD passes. The Panthers blew out the heavy-hearted Vikings on the road last week, with strong play behind QB Cam Newton and a defense that has only allowed 68 points all season (2^nd in NFL). Both teams are playing with sneaky confidence, and I’ll go with the home team in this one because of that stout defense.

CIN vs. DET

CIN 31-26

This is an intriguing matchup of division leaders in Week 7, that have not had much experience being the hunted close to the midway point of the season. Although superstar WR Calvin Johnson played last week vs. the Browns, he has not been the same old Megatron we’ve been accustomed to. The Bengals are a prolific team that somehow always makes things interesting, with no exception last week in blowing a 14-point 4^th quarter lead vs. Buffalo. This game will be a high scoring affair that will come down to the wire, and I see QB Andy Dalton and the first-place Bengals getting it done in a big road victory.

SF vs. TEN

SF 17-13

This has the makings of a knock-down drag it out slugfest that will put a smile on the faces of old-school football fans. Combine RB Frank Gore’s downhill, physical running against a Top 10 defense in the Titans, and you have a matchup that will truly be won in the trenches. QB Colin Kaepernick and his passing game found their range last Sunday vs. Arizona in a big way with TE Vernon Davis’ monster game. Don’t expect them to find as much room through the air this Sunday, but Gore will ground and pound the Niners to a hard-working road win in Tennessee.

CLE vs. GB

GB 27-17

The Packers haven’t impressed anyone yet through Week 6, and the latest injuries to two of their main WR threats in the passing game won’t help. RB Eddie Lacy racked up 20 carries for 123 yards last week vs. the defending Super Bowl champions, and Green Bay will have to lean on him more now that they are depleted on the outside. QB Brandon Weeden looked awful last week in a home loss vs. the Lions, throwing two horrible interceptions. He has only thrown 4 TD’s this season, and I do not expect him to find his rhythm this week vs. a Packers defense that has stepped up in the last two weeks. Despite the injuries, A-Rod and co. get this one at home to put them at 4-2.

HOU vs. KC

KC 33-16

Things are looking bleak for the preseason Super Bowl contender Texans, as they have caught the turnover bug and booed their starting QB Matt Schaub’s injury. On the other hand, the 6-0 Kansas City Chiefs (say that to yourself one more time) are looking like serious Super Bowl contenders themselves. They made life extremely tough on Raiders QB Terrell Pryor last week and with Texans QB T.J. Yates looking unimpressive filling in for Schaub vs. the Rams, I envision another long day for the Texans offense and their fans.

BAL vs. PIT

PIT 16-9

The Steelers put together their best performance of the year last week in taking care of the Jets on both sides of the ball. QB Ben Roethlisberger is still an elite QB, and if their defense can continue to force turnovers and shut opposing offenses down as they did last week, I could see Pittsburgh making a late surge in the AFC North. Baltimore suffered a close home loss to the Packers last week and got run over by RB Eddie Lacy in the process. The Steelers do not possess the type of ground game that should bother the Ravens, as they do not have a RB with 100 rushing yards yet on the year, but Roethlisberger is starting to make plays in the passing game to WR’s Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders. With a late afternoon game and a raucous home crowd at Heinz Field, I like the Steelers in a low-scoring affair.

DEN vs. IND

DEN 29-23 (OT)

The King returns home to his promised land as QB Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos collide with second-year QB Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts in the game of the week. This game will live up to its primetime billing and need an extra period to decide whether the former Super Bowl champion can outduel the new, young gun in Indy. The Broncos certainly put a scare into their fans last week with a scratchy performance against the hapless Jags, but ended up securing a 16-point win in the end. QB Andrew Luck would like to be on the field a little more this week, as his offense spent much more time standing on the sidelines then they did in the game vs. the Chargers. This game will not be the offensive explosion the Denver/Dallas game was, but it will be an entertaining conclusion to the Sunday slate of games. Peyton throws a winning TD to WR Wes Welker in a thrilling overtime finish to cap Sunday’s Week 7.

MIN vs. NYG

NYG 35-27

Giants fans can finally exhale! The seemingly long wait for a win will end at MetLife Stadium on Monday Night. Newly acquired QB Josh Freeman cannot be too familiar with the Vikings offense in his first start for Minnesota, and veteran QB Eli Manning, despite his errors, is without question comfortable in his. The trade talks swirling around WR Hakeem Nicks should not be too much of a distraction, and I think the signing of RB Peyton Hillis will, if nothing else, take some pressure off the shoulders of RB Brandon Jacobs. RB Adrian Peterson is still mourning the death of his two-year-old son, and will improve on his 62-yard output last week and eclipse the 100-yard mark in front of a national audience Monday night. Eli will outplay Freeman, and the Giants defense will make a couple of big stops down the stretch to get Big Blue on the board in the wins column. 

Adam

Seahawks vs Cardinals

24-13 Seahawks

The Seahawks pass rush will force Carson Palmer into enough turnovers to control the outcome of this game. Russell Wilson will be handed great field position by his defense and will take advantage of it. Seahawks prevail on Thursday Night Football.

Buccaneers vs Falcons

21-16 Falcons

Both of these teams could really use a win this week. Despite the Falcons losing Julio Jones for the year, I trust Matt Ryan more than Mike Glennon here to lead his team to victory. Ryan and Tony Gonzalez will make sure the Falcons don’t lose two consecutive games at home.

Bengals vs Lions

27-24 Bengals

This could be one of the best games of week 7. It’s going to be interesting to see how the Bengals defense handles Matthew Stafford and a banged up Calvin Johnson. In the end, I see Andy Dalton and AJ Green doing enough against the Lions secondary, who didn’t deal too well with Brandon Weeden and Josh Gordon, to come away with the win.

Bills vs Dolphins

17-13 Dolphins

This AFC East matchup is huge for the Dolphins coming off a big loss and a bye week. They need to keep pace with the Patriots and get the win Sunday.  The Dolphins pass rush will be able to get to Thad Lewis and limit the Bills offense. Dolphins come away with an important win.

Patriots vs Jets

24-16 Patriots

I really want to pick the Jets here but after last week, I have to go with the Patriots. Despite Danny Amendola being out again and Gronkowski’s health still in question, Tom Brady, as he always does, will find a way to win. I expect Rex Ryan to find ways to make this game difficult for Brady but Geno Smith will also have some difficulties against the Pats defense. The Patriots will come away on top.

Cowboys vs Eagles

31-28 Cowboys

This game will be a shootout. Nick Foles will take care of the ball against the Cowboys defense but I see Tony Romo and Dez Bryant being the deciding factors in this division matchup.

Bears vs Redskins

24-20 Bears

Look for Jay Cutler to take advantage of Washington’s secondary and connect with Brandon Marhsall and Alshon Jeffery for some big plays on Sunday. RGIII is getting a little better week by week but the improved Jay Cutler leads the Bears to the win.

Rams vs Panthers

27-13 Panthers

Cam Newton will use the confidence he gained thrashing Minnesota this week against the Rams. The Panthers defense should have their way with the Rams offense and should be able to get to Sam Bradford at ease. Panthers get the win at home this week.

Chargers vs Jaguars

27-16 Chargers

The Jaguars showed some life last week against Denver, but it’s not enough for me to pick them here. Philip Rivers was impressive on Monday against the Colts and should be able to pick apart the Jaguars defense and lead the Chargers to victory.

49ers vs Titans

17-10 49ers

If Jake Locker were in, I’d really consider picking the upset here but I have to go with the 49ers. The 49ers will have some trouble with the Titans defense but I have a hard time seeing Ryan Fitzpatrick moving the ball against San Francisco. San Francisco will use the momentum they’ve created with three straight wins and roll to their fourth straight win.

Browns vs Packers

24-16 Packers

Even with the injury to Randall Cobb, I’m going to stay with the Packers in this one. I see this as picking Aaron Rodgers or Brandon Weeden and I have to go with Rodgers. The Packers have enough firepower to put the loss of Cobb behind them and get the win.

Texans vs Chiefs

24-13 Chiefs

Whether it’s Matt Schaub or T.J. Yates leading the Texans offense into Arrowhead, I don’t see them getting past the Chiefs defense fueled by their home crowd. While the Chiefs offense hasn’t been putting up points with ease lately, they’ll be given great field position by their defense and will take advantage of it. Chiefs move on to 7-0.

Ravens vs Steelers

13-7 Ravens

The Steelers finally got their first win last week. They’ll definitely be hungry to get that second win this week, especially at home. However, I think the Ravens have more offensive talent and their defense will be able to match what Pittsburgh throws at them. Ravens win in an ugly game 13-7.

Broncos vs Colts

35-30 Broncos

This is the game that everyone is talking about. Jim Irsay has been in the press everyday this week saying something different about Peyton Manning and why he decided to go with Andrew Luck. In my eyes, all Irsay has been doing is getting Peyton Manning fired up and that is not something you want to do. In Manning’s return home he will be the Manning that he has been so far this season. Andrew Luck and the Colts will forget their performance from last week and put up a good fight but Peyton Manning will prevail in the end.

Vikings vs Giants

23-17 Giants

Finally, the Giants will get their first win of the year. The Vikings will be excited to see what Josh Freeman can do in his first start but I don’t think he’s been with the team long enough to get the win against the Giants at home. Eli Manning should have enough time in the pocket this week to cut down on his turnovers and get rid of that 0 in the win column.