It was yet another outstanding week for the NFL overall even without the reigning Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs on the schedule. With Week 6 in the books, we’re already on to Week 7 and as I was putting together this week’s NFL picks and score predictions, you won’t believe some of the incredible matchups in store.
This week is shaping up to be absolute peak football season with fall vibes creeping in all across the United States and matchups on the docket like Sean Payton heading back to New Orleans on Thursday night, a couple of “Game of the Week” candidates featuring NFC North powerhouses, and a Monday Night double-header which includes a possible Super Bowl matchup.
Buckle in for another wild week of NFL football, as well as another fun week of NFL score predictions and game picks.
Teams on Week 7 bye: Bears, Cowboys
Weekly NFL picks and score predictions for Week 7 games
Denver Broncos (3-3) @ New Orleans Saints (2-4)
Thursday, October 17, 8:15 PM ET
Thursday night marks the return of Sean Payton to New Orleans for the very first time since he stepped down as the team’s long-time head coach and one of the winningest head coaches in modern football history. Payton and his Denver Broncos now are coming off of a tough loss at home in Week 6 to the Los Angeles Chargers in which some of the same issues that have plagued them in other games reared their ugly heads.
The Broncos were inefficient offensively early in the game, and even when they did get some things going on that side of the ball, their best drives were wiped out with turnovers or penalties. They made a furious comeback late, but it was too late.
The Saints threw rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler into the fire against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and while Rattler showed some nice things out there in his first NFL start, the Saints allowed a whopping 51 points and got steamrolled.
This is basically a toss-up given the fact that New Orleans is playing at home, and neither of these teams has been consistent enough at this stage of the season to say definitively one way or the other what’s going to happen.
I think with the Denver defense having a bit of a clunker against the Chargers on Sunday, we could potentially see them come out against a rookie quarterback like Spencer Rattler and put the pressure on early and often. The question is, will this defense be okay without Pat Surtain II, who is potentially going to miss this game with a concussion? It’s not a great week to have a short week for either of these teams.
Prediction: Broncos win 23-17
New England Patriots (1-5) vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (1-5)
Sunday, October 20, 9:30 AM ET (played in London)
Here you go, London! Here’s an NFL game! We promise, it’s an NFL game.
Wow, the good folks of London are really getting the best of the best, aren’t they? At least there is hope for a bit of a shootout here as you’ve got a former #1 overall pick at quarterback (Trevor Lawrence) matching up against this year’s #3 overall pick (Drake Maye).
The Patriots’ offense showed some signs of life with Maye under center but these are two of the worst teams in the NFL. Even Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson was saying after his team’s loss on Sunday that a culture change is needed in Jacksonville.
There are issues for that franchise that are so deeply rooted, it’s not even worth cracking jokes about anymore. You just have to feel bad for them at this point. The Jaguars looked like they were one of the best up-and-coming teams in the league just a couple of seasons ago, but things have completely taken a turn for the worst.
The Patriots at least know they are rebuilding, and are in evaluation mode right now. The goal of the rest of this season is to make sure to see growth from Drake Maye, and along with that I think you can expect a little bit of winning.
How big of an advantage is it going to be for the Jaguars to have just played in an overseas game? Does that even matter for this team right now? The oddsmakers have them as 5.5-point favorites playing at “home” in Wembley Stadium. I’ll give the edge to the Jags here but I don’t know that they’re going to cover and I don’t even feel great about them winning.
Prediction: Jaguars win 26-24
Tennessee Titans (1-4) @ Buffalo Bills (4-2)
Sunday, October 20, 1:00 PM ET
On a given week, I think there’s actually a chance we might be able to start buying into the Titans a little bit as the season goes along. But going into Buffalo is not a recipe for success for this team right now.
Although they were playing against the Colts, who didn’t have star running back Jonathan Taylor, the Titans hung in there coming off of their bye week and only lost by three points. Will Levis is just still such a work in progress, if you want to even call him that.
He threw for 95 yards against the Colts and while every box score tells a story, ball security continues to be a bit of an issue for Levis. Going up against one of the best teams in the AFC is not really a recipe for success for this Titans team.
The Buffalo Bills went on the road in Week 6 and got themselves a tough win against the New York Jets, who had their backs up against the wall. And they got the win without James Cook in the lineup.
Rookie running back Ray Davis came in and did an absolutely outstanding job in place of the injured Cook, and the Bills continued to prove what makes them such a major threat in the AFC despite the fact that they lost so many key pieces in the offseason.
Josh Allen can will this team to victory.
Prediction: Bills win 27-16
Cincinnati Bengals (2-4) @ Cleveland Browns (1-5)
Sunday, October 20, 1:00 PM ET
Well, who would have thought that this would be a matchup between two teams with a combined three wins here in the middle of the month of October?
Let’s start off by talking about the Cleveland Browns, who have the worst starting quarterback in the NFL right now – Deshaun Watson – with the greatest contract a player has ever received in the history of the league. In desperation, the Browns paid a player with major character flaws $230 million in fully guaranteed money to come in and be the leader of their team and face of the franchise.
It has gone poorly, to say the least.
Head coach Kevin Stefanski is facing weekly questions about whether or not he’s going to throw Jameis Winston into the lineup for a spark offensively. And it seems the Browns – for the time being – are going down with the ship regarding Deshaun Watson. It looks like that’s going to cost some jobs if things keep up.
The Cincinnati Bengals are coming to town after an ugly win – but a win – against the New York Giants on Sunday Night Football. I think we have all seen what was acknowledged on the broadcast that Joe Burrow and this Bengals team are not the “same” as we’ve seen in recent years. But this Bengals team does have the playmakers to go on the road and beat the Browns in Week 7.
The Bengals are favored by 4.5 points on the road, which is wild considering how good the Browns’ defense has been in recent years. This feels like one of those games where things could get a little bit weird but I’m rolling with the Bengals and expecting them to get back into the mix in the AFC. The cream has got to rise at some point, right?
Prediction: Bengals win 24-19
Houston Texans (5-1) @ Green Bay Packers (4-2)
Sunday, October 20, 1:00 PM ET
And here we have the early favorite for NFL game of the week, and it’s unfortunately being played in the 1:00 PM ET window.
The Green Bay Packers are just so much fun to watch every single week, no matter what phase of the game you’re talking about. Jordan Love leads the NFL in touchdowns per game (albeit he has a slight advantage of playing in fewer games than others due to injury) and the Packers’ defense has forced multiple turnovers in every single game they’ve played so far this season.
I want to sit here and say that the Texans are going to come in and give them a good game but I think Green Bay playing at home is just a bit further ahead than where the Texans are right now, even with the Packers having two losses compared to just one for Houston.
The Packers have so many weapons offensively, and that’s going to be tough for the Texans to handle. The question here is – can the Packers keep it up with all the turnovers they are forcing right now defensively? The Texans have plenty of playmakers as well, and are capable of winning a shootout if needed.
This game is going to come down to which team makes fewer mistakes, and I could absolutely see it being a high-scoring affair with two of the league’s brightest stars at quarterback putting on a show. CJ Stroud and Jordan Love is must-see TV in Week 7 of the 2024 NFL season.
The oddsmakers have the Packers as early 2.5-point home favorites in this one, which is a pretty good indicator that Vegas believes this game is more of a toss-up than anything. Can a young kicker in Green Bay make a late clutch kick? I think we find out this week.
Prediction: Packers win 30-27
Miami Dolphins (2-3) @ Indianapolis Colts (2-4)
Sunday, October 20, 1:00 PM ET
The Miami Dolphins were resilient a couple of weeks ago with their second win of the season, their first this year without quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. I think there are a couple of reasons why you should like the Dolphins this way and a couple of reasons I’m all but certain the Colts are going to win.
First of all, the Dolphins did win their most recent game. We’ve got to give them some credit for that, because they were galvanized at least for a week and found a way to get the job done. Second, the Dolphins are taking on a Colts team that hasn’t been very good at all this season, and has been without its starting QB and running back for a bit.
Third, the Dolphins are coming off of a bye week, and while teams aren’t guaranteed to win coming off of a bye, it’s always an interesting note that they have had the extra time to prepare and get healthier.
We’ll see what the injury report brings this week, but I do feel as though the Dolphins are a bit overmatched when you look at some of the offensive explosion the Colts are capable of, even with Joe Flacco in the lineup at QB. Dare I say especially with Flacco in the lineup…
Flacco is getting the receivers involved and the Colts have a good number of them with Michael Pittman Jr., Alec Pierce, and Josh Downs. There are playmakers in Indianapolis and I think we’re going to see those playmakers show out in this game. The Colts are pretty modest 3.5-point home favorites in this game and I think they can cover that, even with Miami coming off of a bye.
Prediction: Colts win 23-19
Detroit Lions (4-1) @ Minnesota Vikings (5-0)
Sunday, October 20, 1:00 PM ET
Well, I may have spoken too soon earlier. I said that the best matchup of Week 7 was going to be the Texans going to Green Bay to take on the Packers but this game has the makings of being one of the top matchups of the entire season so far, much less just this coming week.
We have to acknowledge that the Detroit Lions may have lost their best defensive player with Aidan Hutchinson going down with what will almost undoubtedly be a season-ending injury, one that was disgusting to watch and I do not recommend seeking it out if you haven’t already had the displeasure of seeing it. We wish Hutchinson well.
The Detroit Lions as a whole, however, are really just one of the most outstanding teams in the league right now. I didn’t make this week’s NFL Power Rankings, but if I did, I would have put the Lions in the #1 overall slot. They look like the best team in the NFL. I know the Vikings were off this week and it’s kind of a recency bias thing, but Detroit is just so impressive in all phases.
They are throwing Dan Skipper at wide receiver for crying out loud.
As good as the Vikings have been this season, this is going to be their most brutal test yet. The Lions are an opponent that knows them well and I think Detroit has the clear quarterback advantage here as well. The Vikings have the advantage of home field and the bye week, so this is going to be a closer game and Vegas agrees.
The Vikings are 1.5-point home favorites, which basically means they think this game is a toss-up in terms of being a pick-em. I don’t hate that approach early on in the week but my convictions right now are much stronger in favor of the Detroit Lions, who look like a legit Super Bowl contender.
Prediction: Lions win 31-24
Philadelphia Eagles (3-2) @ New York Giants (2-4)
Sunday, October 20, 1:00 PM ET
It speaks volumes to the way the Philadelphia Eagles have played so far this season that they are just 3.5-point favorites on the road against the 2-4 New York Giants in Week 7.
The Eagles are just not the same team we’ve grown accustomed to in recent years and I don’t think they deserve the immediate edge going into NFL picks and score predictions each week just based on their name alone.
Even coming off of a bye week, the Eagles were a little flat against the Cleveland Browns in Week 6 and even if we’re being a little bit harsh in evaluating this team, I just am not sure they are truly that much better than the New York Giants until we see them prove it out there on the field this week.
Could we see an explosion from the Eagles’ offense in Saquon Barkley’s return to New York? Maybe. But could we also see the New York Giants’ defense with Brian Burns playing at a high level shut it down? Absolutely.
The Giants will hopefully be welcoming back rookie receiver Malik Nabers this week after he missed two straight games with a concussion. We’ll see about Kayvon Thibodeaux’s status as well but the Giants are undoubtedly going to get up for this game. Since Saquon Barkley left, I’m sure they’ve had this one circled on the calendar as much as players and coaches say those kinds of things don’t matter to them.
I actually kind of like the New York Giants to upset the Eagles this week. They can force some turnovers defensively and if Nabers plays, he can take advantage of that Philly secondary. It’s not a prime time game, so Daniel Jones is free to ball out.
Prediction: Giants win 26-23
Las Vegas Raiders (2-4) @ Los Angeles Rams (1-4)
Sunday, October 20, 3:05 PM ET
This one is really easy for me. The Rams are coming off of a bye week and giving Sean McVay that amount of time to prepare is bad news for Antonio Pierce and the Las Vegas Raiders, who are falling apart before our very eyes.
The Rams have not been good this season when it comes to their overall record but if you’ve actually been watching the games, you’ve seen that they’ve played some good teams really tough despite injury issues and I think if they are even slightly healthier against the Raiders, this could end up being one of the bigger blowouts of the week in favor of Los Angeles.
Of course, I say that, and then Aidan O’Connell will come out and throw for 300 yards and 3 TDs. It’s just the way of things in the NFL, isn’t it?
The Rams are 5.5-point home favorites to open this one up and I could see it being at least a two-score game in their favor when all is said and done. Playing at home this past week, the Raiders only put up 13 points against the Pittsburgh Steelers and were thoroughly dominated.
With the Davante Adams distraction, the quarterback change, and the team’s general wear and tear from the NFL season taking its toll, I just don’t know if the Raiders are going to be able to hang with the Rams here. You’re asking Shane Waldron and Antonio Pierce to cook up a scheme on the road against McVay, who has had two weeks to prep for this game with Matthew Stafford at QB.
The Rams are getting back on track this week.
Prediction: Rams win 31-17
Carolina Panthers (1-5) @ Washington Commanders (4-2)
Sunday, October 20, 3:05 PM ET
Through the first month-and-a-half of the season, the Carolina Panthers are who we thought they were. They are one of the worst teams in the league right now and we’re about to see them potentially start selling off pieces at the NFL trade deadline.
The most valuable to them right now is probably wide receiver Diontae Johnson, whose value has climbed in recent weeks since the Panthers made the quarterback change from former #1 overall pick Bryce Young to veteran Andy Dalton. While Dalton has stabilized the offense a bit, he hasn’t done enough to keep the Panthers truly competitive in the NFC South, where the Bucs and Falcons are kind of running away with things right now.
Now, they’ve got to go on the road against the Washington Commanders and take on one of the most talented rookie quarterbacks in the league – Jayden Daniels.
The Commanders had been one of the hottest teams in the NFL heading into Week 6, but getting a win against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens is a very tall order and not easily accomplished by even the best of the best in the NFL.
The Ravens were a great test for Daniels and the Commanders, and I honestly thought watching the game that they really held their own, even making things interesting late. The Commanders will have to tighten things up defensively after getting a little exposed and giving up 30 points to the Ravens, but that Washington offense is going to be too much for the Panthers to deal with, regardless.
The Commanders are early 7.5-point favorites at home and I think they are going to cover that.
Prediction: Commanders win 30-20
Kansas City Chiefs (5-0) @ San Francisco 49ers (3-2)
Sunday, October 20, 3:25 PM ET
What we have here is a classic case of the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object.
The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off of a bye week, but they are playing in San Francisco. The 49ers are coming off of a big win in Week 6, but they also have some extra time before this matchup against Kansas City because they played – and won – on Thursday night.
I said it a couple of times earlier about having the “matchups of the week” or “games of the week” but this Week 7 slate is truly loaded up, isn’t it? There are great games all over the place, and we haven’t even gotten to some of the exciting stuff coming Monday…
Because the Chiefs are coming off of a bye week, my immediate gut says to pick the Chiefs straight up in this game, but we know the 49ers are going to get up for this like none other. And having the bit of extra time after playing on Thursday is bigger than people realize.
Both of these teams have been dealing with significant injuries throughout the course of the season. The Chiefs are dealing with so many skill position players offensively missing, and ultimately, I think that is what could end up costing them in this game.
But what can we really expect here? I think we can expect this game to come down to the final possession and we know no matter who Patrick Mahomes has to throw the ball to, he’s going to keep his team in the game and give them a chance to win it. The 49ers are just the next in a long line of teams that could suffer the same fate.
Give the Chiefs a good game, the officials make a crucial mistake at the worst possible time, and the Chiefs find a way to win. This is yet another of the toss-up games for Vegas in Week 7 as the 49ers are just 1.5-point favorites at home. Even with the Chiefs coming off of a bye week, I’m super tempted to take San Francisco in this game because they may have more of their guys actually available.
This could potentially be our Super Bowl preview yet again.
Prediction: 49ers win 25-24
New York Jets (2-4) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2)
Sunday, October 20, 8:20 PM ET
The Pittsburgh Steelers keep on doing what the Pittsburgh Steelers always do, don’t they? They play great defense, create opportunities for the offense, and the offense finds a way to take advantage of those opportunities.
Although, the Steelers had a little more than just an opportunistic offense against the Raiders as they put up 32 points, ran for over 180 yards, and forced three turnovers. This is going to be a fascinating game because the Steelers are now going to have to take on a Jets team that is going to make life tough on Justin Fields.
Fields has done his part so far this season to keep a tight hold on that starting quarterback job. The Steelers are obviously having team success with a 4-2 record so far, and Fields has brought a dynamic element to the offense with his ability to run, which was huge against the Raiders in Week 6. I don’t even know if we can legitimately say that Russell Wilson is “looming” at this point, or that Fields is on a short leash. It seems to be his job for the year.
He’s going to get a great test in Week 7 with a New York Jets defense that is going to certainly still be taking the firing of Robert Saleh personally.
This doesn’t feel like a matchup that is completely out of reach for the New York Jets, and at some point, you expect this team to really rally around the interim head coach. It happens pretty much every year at some point when coaches get fired during the season.
But the Jets didn’t have that in their first game under Jeff Ulbrich, even though they played a really good Buffalo Bills team tough in Week 6 on Monday night.
This is going to be a bit tougher of a task overall for the Jets, to go on the road and take one from one of the top defenses in the NFL. I have a feeling this one is going to be low-scoring, and the low-scoring games are going to favor the Steelers at home.
Prediction: Steelers win 20-16
Baltimore Ravens (4-2) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-2)
Monday, October 21, 8:15 PM ET
Alright, for the 19th time in this post, I’m going to say there might be another contender for NFL Game of the Week right here. But we’ve got to wait until Monday night to see it.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have one of the best all-around offenses in the NFL right now and the Baltimore Ravens are absolutely rolling, winning their last four games in a row after starting with two disappointing losses.
Let’s start by talking about the Bucs a little bit because I don’t think it’s unfair or a hot take to say that Baker Mayfield is playing at an MVP level right now. He leads the NFL with 14 total touchdown passes and his top two receivers – Mike Evans and Chris Godwin – have five touchdown catches apiece.
The Bucs just laid down 51 points against the New Orleans Saints in Week 6, and we know that this offense is for real. Heck, we know this team is for real. They went into Detroit and got a win. Think about that…
The Bucs are a legitimate contender in the NFC right now but they might be a bit susceptible defensively in this game against the Baltimore Ravens. The Ravens are kind of just clicking on all cylinders right now and they have arguably the biggest difference-maker in the entire league in Lamar Jackson at quarterback.
Baltimore has played well enough over the last month that they are actually 3.5-point favorites on the road early this week. We’ll see if that line moves at all as the week goes along, but that speaks volumes to how good Baltimore is when the Bucs just dropped 51 points and have looked good almost all year.
I don’t think playing in Tampa Bay is a huge advantage here for the Bucs because the Ravens don’t really have a disadvantage playing on the road with how well they run the ball. My gut is telling me to rock with Baltimore this week.
Prediction: Ravens win 27-24
Los Angeles Chargers (3-2) @ Arizona Cardinals (2-4)
Monday, October 21, 8:45 PM ET
Coming off of their bye week, the Los Angeles Chargers looked pretty darn good against the Denver Broncos, at least in the first half.
The Chargers dominated time of possession, Justin Herbert was finding his receivers on third downs with relative ease, and the Chargers put the game out of reach to the point that even a furious comeback by the Broncos couldn’t be completed.
Jim Harbaugh has had some issues on the sideline with his health that bear monitoring going forward, but it’s clear that his style of football is also translating for this Chargers team and they are doing all of the things he wants to do well. They are running the ball (for the most part) well this season, they are playing tough defense, and when Justin Herbert is able to move the chains like we saw against Denver, this team could be tough to beat.
The Arizona Cardinals are a difficult team to project at this point as Kyler Murray and that offense have been up and down, and when Marvin Harrison Jr. is not in the lineup, it’s hard to really want to pick this team straight up.
The Chargers are 2.5-point favorites on the road in this game against the Cardinals and that sounds about right. As the Chargers keep running the ball well and playing tough defense, I don’t know why they can’t be in just about every game.
Barring a huge breakout from the Arizona offense in Week 7, I think this one is shaping up to be another game of keepaway by the Chargers with the occasional explosive offensively. The Cardinals need to hope Harrison can play and that Kyler Murray can make life difficult on LA’s defense as we saw Bo Nix take off and break down the Chargers’ pressure packages with his legs on a number of occasions.
Prediction: Chargers win 23-20