Hello readers! Another week of National Football League action is coming upon us yet again. The week that will be offers some intriguing matchups and hopefully closer games compared to Week 6. I'll be keeping an eye on the Bengals-Ravens, Lions-Rams, and Colts-49ers games this week. For this post I'll be doing a preview of the week as well as my picks for the week's games. Let's get to work!
Week 7 Preview
The seventh week of the NFL's regular season will start in Cleveland, Ohio and finish up in Seattle, Washington. There will be a 13-game slate this week as 26 teams will play. The week has a Thursday night game, six early games, four late games, a Sunday night game and a Monday night game. Buffalo Bills, Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Chargers, Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers will have a bye this week. FOX will have the single, regional game and CBS will carry the doubleheader again this week. Let's get to the picks!
Week 7 Picks
Note: TW is me and CV is Cardinal Viking, my former roommate. All game times are in US Eastern.
Denver (3-3) @ Cleveland (3-3) (FOX/Amazon/NFL Network; 8:20 pm): TW: Broncos; CV: Browns
Both teams lost last week as the Broncos lost to the Raiders and the Browns lost to the Cardinals. Both teams had really bad losses but I think the Broncos seem to be the better team off in this matchup as they don't have players banged up. Cleveland really can't catch a break as both Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt could miss this game. Baker Mayfield could have a rebound game like he has in the past but without a running game that he's been blessed with, he could be in hot water. Denver seems like the less banged up club going in so I'll take them.
Atlanta (2-3) @ Miami (1-5) (FOX; 1:00 pm): TW: Falcons; CV: Falcons
Last week the Falcons were on a bye and the Dolphins lost to the Jaguars. Miami played alright but ultimately lost to the winless Jaguars last week. Miami's inability to stop the offense was the biggest culprit and I think they will have a tough time to win this one. Matt Ryan and company are coming off a bye week that gave them extra rest after playing overseas in Week 5. Miami didn't get that luxury sadly and I think that will play into this one. I'll take the Falcons.
Carolina (3-3) @ NY Giants (1-5) (FOX; 1:00 pm): TW: Panthers; CV: Panthers
Both teams lost as the Panthers lost to the Vikings and the Giants lost to the Rams last week. Carolina started out at 3-0 and are now staring at a not a healthy .500 record. New York couldn't really get anything going on offense and couldn't stop the Rams either. Chubba Hubbard has been a solid choice at running back for Carolina and they can rely on Sam Darnold to keep them in games. I just question how well their defense can do against the Giants. Daniel Jones can play well but Saquon Barkley has had some injury issues this early in the year. They'll need to get to a good start as Carolina is no slouch on defense.
Cincinnati (4-2) @ Baltimore (5-1) (CBS; 1:00 pm): TW: Ravens; CV: Bengals
Both teams got wins last week as the Bengals beat the Lions and the Ravens beat the Chargers. Cincy has had a good season in its helm as Joe Burrow has remained upright and not injured. Baltimore got its offense going against the Chargers and blew them out of the water. I think the Ravens great offense will keep going into this game but they're going to face a challenge in the 8th ranked rushing defense that Cincy possesses. Baltimore's defense is good too and we will have to see how they can slow down the Burrow to Ja'Marr Chase connection. I'll take the Ravens
Kansas City (3-3) @ Tennessee (4-2) (CBS; 1:00 pm): TW: Titans; CV: Chiefs
Both teams won their games last week as the Chiefs beat the Football Team and the Titans beat the Bills. Kansas City found themselves at a challenge this year and their problems that they had in the Super Bowl (offensive line and defense) reared its ugly head this season. Patrick Mahomes didn't play that great against Washington but he did enough to bring the Chiefs back. Tennessee seems to have the offense that can keep Mahomes off the field as they have Derrick Henry and a quarterback in Ryan Tannehill that can grind you to dust. I'll take the Titans.
NY Jets (1-4) @ New England (2-4) (CBS; 1:00 pm): TW: Patriots; CV: Patriots
The Jets had a bye and the Patriots lost to the Cowboys last week. New York is the better rested team as they had the bye last week. New England played a competitive game against Dallas and came close to winning. Mac Jones hasn't been terrible but he hasn't been great either in his rookie year. Zach Wilson has been terrible but after all he plays for the Jets so you have to give him some leeway. New England's saving grace this year has been their defense which is currently ranked 17th in total yards allowed with 359.2 yards/game. I'll take the Pats.
Washington (2-4) @ Green Bay (5-1) (FOX; 1:00 pm): TW: Packers; CV: Football Team
The Football Team lost to the Chiefs and the Packers beat the Bears last week. Washington had a competitive game against the Chiefs and kept with them during the first half. Washington's running attack has been a decent unit with 106.3 yards/game which gives them 19th in the NFL. They face a Packers team that did well on offense and played even better in defense, especially in on pass defense. If Washington wants to win this one they'll need to get Taylor Heinicke to take his chances down the field. I don't see it happening as this seems like a tough one to climb. I'll take the Pack
Detroit (0-6) @ LA Rams (5-1) (FOX; 4:05 pm): TW: Rams; CV: Rams
Last week the Lions lost to the Bengals and the Rams beat the Giants. Jared Goff faces off against his old team and Matthew Stafford faces against his old team in this game. Detroit was expected to not have a great season but certainly not a season like this. They've been close in some of their games but couldn't quite find the winning one. The Rams have had a great year out of Matthew Stafford. I think the game means a bit more to Matthew Stafford facing off against his old team that he had played for 11 seasons. I think he would like nothing more than to beat them and I think the Rams will.
Philadelphia (2-4) @ Las Vegas (4-2) (FOX; 4:05 pm): TW: Raiders; CV: Raiders
Last week the Eagles lost to the Buccaneers and the Raiders beat the Broncos. Philly came close to beating the defending champs and their pass offense has done well despite having a 2-4 record. Las Vegas played their hearts out amid all the controversy over the Jon Gruden emails. They had a great day out of Kenyan Drake as well as Derek Carr. Las Vegas's defense will face a tough task in trying to slow down Jalen Hurts who can beat you with his arm and legs. I think it'll be a close one but I think the Raiders will win.
Chicago (3-3) @ Tampa Bay (5-1) (CBS; 4:25 pm): TW: Buccaneers; CV: Buccaneers
The Bears lost to the Packers and the Buccaneers beat the Eagles last week. Chicago showed some signs of life on the running game with Khalil Herbert and Damien Williams as the runningbacks. After that loss to the Packers, you have to feel that they have some sort of demoralization on their team. They face a tough task in trying to beat the Tom Brady Buccaneers. Tampa hasn't missed a beat as defending champs and Tom Brady has certainly lead the way in that. I'll take the Buccaneers.
Houston (1-5) @ Arizona (6-0) (CBS; 4:25 pm): TW: Cardinals; CV: Cardinals
The Texans lost to the Colts and the Cardinals beat the Browns last week. JJ Watt and DeAndre Hopkins will face against their old team in the Houston Texans. They won't face against against head coach Bill O'Brien but they still feel that they would like to have some sort of revenge against Houston. The Cardinals have been playing outstanding football on offense with a solid support in defense. I'll take the Cards.
Indianapolis (2-4) @ San Francisco (2-3) (NBC; 8:20 pm): TW: Colts; CV: Colts
The Colts beat the Texans and the 49ers had a bye last week. San Francisco had a bye last week and they certainly needed one as they were banged up on offense. Trey Lance won't likely make the start but it is possible that a banged up Jimmy Garoppolo could get the nod from Kyle Shanahan. Indianapolis would like to get back to a winning record come playoff time and they can against the 49ers. Carson Wentz played a solid game last week and the week before. It'll come down to him again this week. I'll take the Colts.
New Orleans (3-2) @ Seattle (2-4) (ESPN; 8:15 pm): TW: Saints; CV: Saints
The Saints were on a bye and the Seahawks lost to the Steelers last week. New Orleans came off of a bye and are the well rested team in this game. The real question is how well they can be consistent as they can be either a great team that dominates opponents or a team that has its wheels fall off. That being said I feel they are the better team on paper. Seattle won't likely have Russell Wilson again and will have Geno Smith to lead them to a win. I personally don't see it happening. I'll take the Saints.
Early & Late Game TV Pairings
Note: Games in bold are games being shown in my area.
CBS Early
Kansas City @ Tennessee
Ian Eagle, Charles Davis
Cincinnati @ Baltimore
Kevin Harlan, Trent Green
NY Jets @ New England
Andrew Catalon, James Lofton
CBS Late
Chicago @ Tampa Bay
Jim Nantz, Tony Romo
Houston @ Arizona
Greg Gumbel, Adam Archuleta
FOX Single
Washington @ Green Bay
Joe Davis, Greg Olson
Carolina @ NY Giants
Adam Amin, Mark Schlereth
Atlanta @ Miami
Chris Myers, Daryl Johnston
Philadelphia @ Las Vegas (LATE)
Kenny Albert, Jonathan Vilma
Detroit @ LA Rams (LATE)
Kevin Kugler, Mark Sanchez
For more information on which game is being shown in your area, check out: NFL 2021: Week 7 Maps.
2021 Pick'em Records:
My record:
Week 1: 7-9
Week 2: 10-6
Week 3: 10-6
Week 4: 9-7
Week 5: 12-4
Week 6: 11-3
Total: 59-35
Cardinal Viking's record:
Week 1: 6-10
Week 2: 12-4
Week 3: 13-3
Week 4: 10-6
Week 5: 10-6
Week 6: 12-2
Total: 63-31
Previous Picking Records:
2017: 167-89
2018: 156-98-2
2019: 151-104-1
2020: 163-92-1
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