NFL Picks - Week 7

Week 6 Results (8-5) – Overall (54-31)

Got out to a nice start with the early games (6-1) but went 2-4 the rest of the way.  My Top Performers were duds.  Matt Ryan three 3 INTs, Ray Rice scored twice but tallied only 63 rushing yards, and Demaryius Thomas scored but caught only 2 passes.  Mario Williams was the only bright spot with 2 sacks.  On to the next one…

My favorite matchups of the week –

Redskins @ Giants – Washington win puts the Skins in first place

Ravens @ Texans – the only two AFC teams over .500 hook up

Jets @ Patriots – pissed off Patriots against nothing to lose Jets

Steelers @ Bengals – to stay in shouting distance of the Ravens

Lions @ Bears – Stafford and Johnson against the tough Bears defense

Titans @ Bills

I’m going with the better run game in this one.  Fred Jackson and CJ Spiller push the Bills back over .500.

Browns at Colts

Can Andrew Luck do enough damage against this defense to mitigate what Trent Richardson does against Indy’s weak run defense?  Reggie Wayne v. Joe Haden will be the key matchup in this one.  The Colts win by 1. 

Packers @ Rams

This game would be my sneaky upset pick of the week if I didn’t think the Packers figured it out a bit last week.  I see no letdown here.  It’s close, but Green Bay wins. 

Cardinals @ Vikings

The key to this one will be how often the Vikings pass rush gets to John Skelton.  I think they’ll limit the big plays and lean on Adrian Peterson against a subpar rush defense. 

Redskins @ Giants

The Giants play when they want to, and they better want to this Sunday.  This smells of a letdown after that huge win in San Francisco, but I think the Giants will pull this one out late after trailing at the half. 

Saints @ Buccaneers

Tampa Bay has beaten New Orleans at least once every year since ’07.  They keep that streak rolling here.  The Saints continue to slide. 

Cowboys @ Panthers

If I’m Jerry Jones I make Jason Garrett wear a Flavor Flav clock in this one.  They snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, but I think the Cowboys are better than the Panthers on both sides of the ball. 

Ravens @ Texans

Baltimore lost their defensive leader (Ray Lewis) and best cover man (Lardarius Webb) for the year last week.  Getting Terrell Suggs back will help, but this unit was leaky prior to those losses.  I look for Houston to bounce back and win a slugfest at home to establish themselves as the top team in the conference.

Jaguars @ Raiders

I’m going with a hunch and predicting a big road win for the Jaguars.  That’s hard to do with an inept QB, but I expect MJD to take care of business against the Raiders.

Jets @ Patriots

Don’t hit the panic button just yet.  Yes, the Patriots are 3-3, but their total margin of loss in those game is 4 points.  Look for them to get the lead early in this one putting a zero dimensional offense in an inescapable hole. 

Steelers @ Bengals

Cincinnati is coming off back-to-back losses against inferior teams, but I think they’ll get the job done at home on SNF.  Look for a lot of points in this one as the Bengals stay ahead of the Steelers.   

Lions @ Bears

Chicago keeps rolling in this one.  They get in Matt Stafford’s head early and keep Calvin Johnson fairly in check (only one TD).  Matt Forte controls the game on the ground as the first place Bears get the MNF win to move to 5-1. 

Biggest winners (highest margin to lowest) –

1) Patriots

2) Buccaneers

3) Bears

4) Cowboys

5) Jaguars

Closest calls (lowest margin to highest) –

1) Colts

2) Bills

3) Giants

4) Bengals

5) Vikings

Top Performers –

QB – Robert Griffin III @ Giants

RB – Maurice Jones Drew @ Raiders

WR – Reggie Wayne v. Browns

Defense – Jared Allen v. Cardinals