After a brutal week of NFL picks back in Week 5, it was a much-needed get-right week in Week 6 of NFL picks and score predictions. Even with a variety of upsets over the weekend, it was a productive week of picks and predictions. The question is, can we keep that positive momentum going in Week 7?
We have a lot of teams on a bye week in Week 7, six in total, which means we've got a lot of major fantasy football implications for this week as well as just 13 games overall on the slate. That will make for a very light late afternoon on Sunday, where most fans will be tuning in to watch the Kansas City Chiefs and Taylor Swift host the Los Angeles Chargers.
Let's get right to it and make our weekly NFL picks and score predictions, still seeking that undefeated week as we approach midseason.
2023 NFL picks and predictions for Week 7 games
Week 7 byes: Bengals, Cowboys, Titans, Jets, Panthers, Texans
Jacksonville Jaguars (4-2) @ New Orleans Saints (3-3)
Thursday, October 19, 8:15 PM ET
The Jacksonville Jaguars are currently one of the hottest teams in the NFL and they are heading on the road here early in Week 7 to try and get to 5-2, establishing themselves as the clear favorites early on this season to win the AFC South.
Jacksonville has been getting after it lately both offensively and defensively and they are coming off of a three-interception performance this past weekend against the Colts. It's been a really great stretch of football for the Jaguars dating back to about midway through last season. They're obviously in great position now at 4-2, but they had to claw their way back into the mix after a slow start in 2022.
Going to New Orleans is never easy and the Saints have a strong defense, but this New Orleans offense has been inconsistent at best. Coming off of a tough loss on the road against the Texans, the Saints are one-point favorites in the early betting lines and that speaks to a lack of confidence from the betting experts that New Orleans is going to truly win this game.
As far as NFL picks, I'm torn between the Saints playing great defense at home and the Jaguars being the hotter team overall.
Prediction: Jaguars win 24-22
Las Vegas Raiders (3-3) @ Chicago Bears (1-5)
Sunday, October 22, 1:00 PM ET
Are the Las Vegas Raiders...kind of hot right now?
This is one of the strangest teams in the NFL to me. I don't think the Raiders are true contenders in the AFC, but they have found a way to win some tight games, albeit against poor teams. Luckily for Josh McDaniels and company, they've got another chance to go on the road and get a win against another bad team in Week 7. The Chicago Bears have been beaten up for over a year at this point, and although they got a nice win against the Commanders a couple of weeks ago, they're now facing the reality that quarterback Justin Fields could miss some time.
The Raiders have been dealing with Jimmy Garoppolo missing time already this season as well, but the Bears without Fields would have to start rookie Tyson Bagent, and with Maxx Crosby bearing down, that could get problematic rather quickly.
I think the Raiders have so many good pieces, but it's also unsurprising that they have won three games against teams with losing records and lost three games against teams with a winning record. This Raiders team lacks a true presence at QB.
If this game ends up being Brian Hoyer or Aidan O'Connell against the Tyson Bagent-led Bears, we could be in for a real barn-burner. I'll give the edge to Las Vegas, even though I traditionally don't like teams coming from the West to play in the 1:00 ET window.
Prediction: Raiders win 20-16
Cleveland Browns (3-2) @ Indianapolis Colts (3-3)
Sunday, October 22, 1:00 PM ET
We need to talk about the Cleveland Browns for a moment. The defensive performance they put on against San Francisco was unreal, and thankfully for them, it wasn't an outlier either. This is the way the Browns' defense has performed most of this season so far, and even without Deshaun Watson in the game, they were able to beat arguably the best overall team in the NFL right now.
Kudos to that Browns defense for keeping the score low against San Francisco, and for PJ Walker, Amari Cooper, and the rest of the Browns offense for making the plays when they needed to. It wasn't teach tape offensively (aside from maybe Cooper), but it got the job done and the Browns are 3-2 with a much-needed win going into this week against the Colts.
With Gardner Minshew's three-interception performance against the Jaguars this past week, I can only imagine what's about to happen as he takes on this Cleveland defense, which has superstars at every level. The Browns could absolutely feast in this game in the pass rush department, and I wouldn't be shocked to see the Colts struggle to get to 10 points.
The question is, how much are the Browns going to score? Are they going to struggle with turnovers in this game? Vegas is expecting a number of really low-scoring games this week, and this is another one of them. I think if this ends up being an ugly game, it bodes well for Cleveland.
Prediction: Browns win 23-13
Buffalo Bills (4-2) @ New England Patriots (1-5)
Sunday, October 22, 1:00 PM ET
The New England Patriots have quickly become one of the least-watchable teams in the entire NFL. I mean, their offense is so horrendous on a week-to-week basis, you almost feel bad for Mac Jones at this point. Well, you would if he wasn't taking cheap shots at guys. If you don't know what I'm talking about, look it up.
But at any rate, the Patriots are playing the Buffalo Bills at home this week, and the Bills are in a weird funk themselves. They were bad offensively in London in a loss to the Jaguars. They were bad on Sunday night in a close win over the New York Giants. Regardless, I don't think you can expect anything but the best of what we've seen from the Buffalo Bills on a week to week basis at this point.
Defensively, the Patriots have been playing without Matthew Judon, which has been problematic. I think Buffalo is in a spot to "get right" against the Patriots this week, which is a weird thing to think in the first place, much less type out. The early line has the Bills at -9 and I think you could easily see this one getting out of hand if the Bills can get something going offensively again.
The good news is, against the Giants, their defense came through. Against Mac Jones and this horrendous Patriots offense, perhaps everyone has a chance to get right.
I'm taking the Bills on the road this week.
Prediction: Bills win 27-16
Washington Commanders (3-3) @ New York Giants (1-5)
Sunday, October 22, 1:00 PM ET
I hate to say it, but every week, we have crowned a game as the "worst game of the week" on paper, and this week, the award goes to the Commanders and New York Giants. With that being said, in a handful of months, we'll all be wishing we could have any football, even bad football.
And this isn't necessarily going to be "bad" football, but it's a relatively uninteresting game unless you have fantasy football implications.
The Washington Commanders have been the definition of hot and cold, a true rollercoaster ride of a team this season. There are weeks when you watch that Commanders offense and think to yourself, wow, this team hopefully wins enough games to make the playoffs. They could be interesting.
And they could.
Washington has playmakers at both running back and receiver. They have a very good defensive front and a much-improved secondary. But week to week, it's hard to know what team is hitting the field. They looked good (for the most part) against the Falcons. Can they carry that momentum to New York to face a division foe?
The Giants are coming off of yet another loss. They'd be 0-6 right now if it weren't for a shocking comeback win against the Cardinals. I felt like the Giants' 2022 season was a bit of a mirage, but this may be the worst team in the league at this point.
I'll take the Commanders on a late field goal.
Prediction: Commanders win 22-20
Atlanta Falcons (3-3) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-2)
Sunday, October 22, 1:00 PM ET
I think even just six weeks into the season, the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a bit more in common than anyone could have realized. The main commonality between these two right now? I'm not sure you can bank on either Desmond Ridder or Baker Mayfield being your starting quarterback beyond this season.
Perhaps for at least one of them, maybe even not the duration of it...
The Buccaneers looked great in their creamsicle uniforms on Sunday against the Detroit Lions, but they were held to just six points and couldn't get enough going offensively. Coming off of a bye week, that was rather disappointing to see. I think the Bucs have a playoff-caliber defense, and getting three wins in the first month of the season was critical for them in a pretty open division, but this game is going to potentially have major implications later in the season.
The Bucs are favored by 2.5 at home this week and I think that's fair given what we've seen from Desmond Ridder this season. Against a defense as quality as Tampa Bay's, are the Falcons going to be able to get enough out of their playmakers? The look on Arthur Smith's face after Ridder threw a game-sealing interception this past week really said it all. I probably wouldn't be buying a Ridder jersey if I were a Falcons fan just yet.
Can Atlanta go on the road and get a bit of an upset here? I think they can depending on what version of Ridder shows up. But against a defense like Tampa Bay's, I'm taking the home team.
Prediction: Buccaneers win 24-19
Detroit Lions (5-1) @ Baltimore Ravens (4-2)
Sunday, October 22, 1:00 PM ET
In case you weren't up early enough to see it on Sunday, the Baltimore Ravens notched their fourth win of this young season already, beating the Tennessee Titans across the pond by a final score of 24-16. Lamar Jackson continues to not be his MVP self in terms of the numbers he's posting, but he also continues to be a major difference maker as a dual threat.
The Ravens got some ridiculous pass rush production out of their defensive front on Sunday morning, notably from players like Justin Madubuike and Jadeveon Clowney, who combined for 8 total QB hits (4 apiece) and 4.0 total sacks. In total, the Ravens had 10 QB hits and 6.0 sacks against the Titans, which is the type of pass rush productivity they are going to need in order to beat the Detroit Lions at home on Sunday.
The Lions boast one of the league's best offensive lines, however, and getting pressure on Jared Goff isn't always easy to do. Not only that, but the Lions run the ball extremely well, and they are willing to go with a "death by a thousand paper cuts" strategy offensively if need be.
Detroit put the ball in Jared Goff's hands against the Bucs and came away with an impressive 20-6 victory over the weekend. Jameson Williams provided a big-play threat while Amon-Ra St. Brown almost single-handedly had the Bucs walking the plank.
I love this matchup and I think Detroit's WR play could be a huge difference in the outcome. As great as Baltimore typically is at home, I think Detroit will have them on upset alert. Betting folks like the Ravens by 3. I think this game is a coin flip.
Prediction: Ravens win 24-23
Pittsburgh Steelers (3-2) @ Los Angeles Rams (3-3)
Sunday, October 22, 4:05 PM ET
The Pittsburgh Steelers and their dominant defense are coming off of a bye week to face off against the Los Angeles Cooper Kupps.
In all seriousness, defending Cooper Kupp is really only something you can do on paper. Going up against him and this Rams team with him at full strength in an actual game is another story entirely. Kupp has been dominant since his return from injury, and the Rams' offense now has a number of other dynamic threats with young players like Kyren Williams, Puka Nacua, and Tutu Atwell stepping up in big ways.
There's a lot on TJ Watt's plate this weekend. Although he's not going to be covering those guys, he's going to be tasked with making life really hard on Matthew Stafford. Watt already has a ridiculous 8.0 sacks in five games so far this season. He's probably the premier game-wrecker in the NFL right now and I would contend he's the biggest reason the Steelers are 3-2 instead of way worse.
Pittsburgh is averaging just 15.8 points per game offensively this season and that's not going to be enough to beat the Rams at home. They are going to have to rely on some game-changing plays defensively to get the job done.
Prediction: Rams win 23-19
Arizona Cardinals (1-5) @ Seattle Seahawks (3-2)
Sunday, October 22, 4:05 PM ET
Although we've seen some fight from the Arizona Cardinals this season, nobody is really expecting much from them. I have been pleasantly surprised with a couple of different aspects of that roster, overall. First, you can't help but be impressed by what we've seen so far from Josh Dobbs. Although he was familiar with the offensive system coming in, he's developed a pretty decent chemistry with Arizona's young receivers and you're getting a good look at the players on this team despite their QB situation. Second, those young pass rushers for Arizona have stepped up.
Against Seattle on the road, however, I think we could see the Cardinals struggle quite a bit.
Seattle is coming off of a loss in Cincinnati, which wasn't entirely unexpected. It's hard for West Coast teams to travel and play in the 1:00 ET slot. But coming back home, especially after a loss, I think you'll see a renewed focus from Seattle and this will be a bounce-back game for them.
Right now, they're favored by 7.5 points in this one, and it would almost be a shocker if this one wasn't a two-score win for the Seahawks. Although we've seen some fight from the Cardinals this season, they have regressed the last three weeks with losses of 19, 14, and 17 points respectively.
I think the Seahawks will take care of business at home.
Prediction: Seahawks win 28-14
Green Bay Packers (2-3) @ Denver Broncos (1-5)
Sunday, October 22, 4:25 PM ET
In this rematch of Super Bowl 32, we find the Green Bay Packers and Denver Broncos in very interesting situations.
The Packers have seen some highs and lows from Jordan Love this season, but way too many lows. They are 2-3 and could easily be worse than that. For Love, the Denver Broncos present an opportunity to "get right" especially coming off of a bye week. The Broncos have had one of the worst defenses in the league this season, and Green Bay could definitely use a get-right game in Week 7. They've only reached 20 points one time since Week 2.
The Denver Broncos are returning home after losing in Kansas City on Thursday Night Football in Week 6. It was the Broncos' best defensive performance of the season, holding Kansas City to 19 points, but they still suffered an 11-point loss. The Broncos cannot get a complete game to save their football lives these days.
When the offense plays well, the defense lets the team down. When the defense played well, the offense couldn't throw the ball whatsoever and struggled to score even one time. Green Bay has the type of defensive front that could cause Denver's offense to struggle again, but can Denver's defense build off of a big week against Kansas City, where they held Patrick Mahomes to just 4-of-13 on 3rd down?
This will be the first regular season game I'm attending in person in 11 years. I'm expecting the Broncos to come away victorious.
Prediction: Broncos win 23-20
Los Angeles Chargers @ Kansas City Chiefs (5-1)
Sunday, October 22, 4:25 PM ET
It's a very light late-afternoon slate in Week 7 of the 2023 NFL season, and I think most NFL fans will be tuned into this game over the others. The Kansas City Chiefs have bounced back after losing the season opener against the Detroit Lions to now win five straight games, and they haven't all been pretty.
But Taylor Swift has been at most of them, so there's that.
Despite the Chiefs gaining arguably the most famous celebrity in the world right now as a fan in recent weeks, this is a team that feels like it's really missing something offensively. Travis Kelce is hurt, and he's playing through injury. The main reason for that, which we saw in Week 1, is that the Chiefs don't have a go-to threat in the passing game without him.
Patrick Mahomes has done all he can to be the MVP we all know him to be, but the playmakers haven't all stepped up. Yes, we're nitpicking a team that is 5-1, but the Chiefs have had to find ways to win other than relying on their offense to score 35 points every game. Luckily for them, the defense looks elite in the early goings of the season.
They'll be tested against Justin Herbert and the Chargers, who seemingly always give the Chiefs a good game. I think this game ends up being a one-score game with Kansas City finding a way to close it out like they always do.
Prediction: Chiefs win 30-24
Miami Dolphins (5-1) @ Philadelphia Eagles (5-1)
Sunday, October 22, 8:20 PM ET
Here it is, the NFL's game of the week. The reigning NFC Champion Philadelphia Eagles have finally been bested after really stumbling to 5-0 in the first place (if that's even possible). The Miami Dolphins have had one bump in the road, but they also have the best offense in the NFL putting up absolutely unreal numbers right now.
The Philadelphia fan base is going to be going nuts for this game, which could legitimately be a Super Bowl preview. And this is a rare instance where I feel like the Eagles, playing at home, might be at a pretty serious disadvantage.
Philadelphia finally lost its first game of the year on Sunday, a rather shocking loss on the road against the New York Jets. Robert Saleh's defense held the Eagles to just 14 points, and I'm sure we'll see Vic Fangio do its best to replicate that type of performance anywhere possible.
At 52.5 points, this game is expected to be the highest-scoring of the week, and for good reason. The speed of the Miami Dolphins, the execution they have shown offensively this season -- it all looks like it could be way too much for most NFL teams to deal with. Although I have a very healthy respect for the quality of football the Philadelphia Eagles are capable of playing, I just haven't seen a ton of that this season.
On the other side, we have seen a ton of that from Miami. I'm taking the Dolphins on the road, I'm taking the over, and I am getting my popcorn ready for this one.
Prediction: Dolphins win 31-27
San Francisco 49ers (5-1) @ Minnesota Vikings (2-4)
Monday, October 23, 8:15 PM ET
The San Francisco 49ers were humbled quite a bit on Sunday by the Cleveland Browns and their dominant defense. San Francisco couldn't get anything going offensively against Cleveland after dominating their first five games of the season, seemingly having their way with every team they played. That included the Dallas Cowboys, who statistically went into their game against the 49ers with the no. 1 overall scoring defense in the league.
Now, the 49ers will have a little extra time to prep for the Minnesota Vikings and Brian Flores's defense, which got a bit of a "get right" game over the weekend against the Chicago Bears.
It's going to be tough for the VIkings to beat most teams without Justin Jefferson, but even playing at home, this is a particularly tall task. The 49ers are favored by 7 points on the road in this one, which speaks volumes considering we saw what a great pass rush did to Brock Purdy this past weekend.
It's going to be fascinating after how well the Vikings got after Justin Fields on Sunday to see how they get after Brock Purdy and whether or not that's going to help them stay in this game. Ultimately, I just don't know if I can bet against the 49ers given what we've seen from them for the majority of the season. Their offense is too loaded, their defense is too loaded, and without Justin Jefferson, it's going to be tough for the Vikings.
Prediction: 49ers win 31-23