NFL Week 7 Picks

Seattle at San Francisco

On Thursday on Twitter I picked the 49ers to win the game.

Tennessee at Buffalo

Matt Hasselbeck wasn’t slated to be the starter this year but because Jake Locker got injured early in the season, the former BC Eagle was called upon. And he’s done fairly well. His yardage he’s thrown for has increased each game. He’s also 18 th in the league in completion percentage, ahead of guys like Drew Brees, Mike Vick, Jay Cutler and Ryan Fitzpatrick.

The Bills run the ball well but they don’t stop the run much as they are last in the league in rushing yards allowed per game. This could be a big week for Chris Johnson to step up.

Tennessee wins.

Washington at New York Giants

It’s not surprising that the Giants beat the 49ers last weekend. The shocking aspect of that game was how bad they beat them.

The Giants played smart football against a team many consider to be one of, if not the best team in the NFL. They committed only two penalties and did not turn the ball over.

In his past two games Ahmad Bradshaw has come alive, rushing for 316 yards and two touchdowns. The Redskins are eighth in the league in rushing yards allowed per game but 32 nd in the league in passing yards allowed per game. With Eli Manning under center he should get the Redskins defense off-balance enough to give up some good openings for Bradshaw here as well.

RG3 will be going up against the most difficult defense hes faced to date with a very aggressive defensive front line from the Giants led by Jason Pierre-Paul, who had two sacks last weekend.

New York Giants win.

New Orleans at Tampa Bay

The Saints finally got in the win column two weeks ago and it might be the right time to march on.  Jonathan Vilma returns to the lineup this weekend. The Buccaneers are also 31st in the league in passing yards allowed per game, which shoul.d be making Drew Brees salivate.

Will Tampa Bay be able to keep pace with the Saints? Josh Freeman is completing only 55.2 percent of his passes, ranked 30th in the league.

New Orleans wins.

Dallas at Carolina

In three of their five games this season the Panthers have failed to score more than two touchdowns.

Despite their losses, the Cowboys have scored at least 14 points in four of their five games. The defense is also pretty tough. They rank second in the league in passing yards allowed per game and 13th in the league in rushing yards allowed per game.

With Carolina’s inconsistent and struggling offense, Dallas should be able to contain them enough to not have to do too much on offense.

Dallas wins.

Baltimore at Houston

Houston suffered its first defeat last weekend and the Ravens usually own the Texans. That being said, Baltimore’s defense is in bad shape. Team leader Ray Lewis was placed on the IR with a torn triceps. Cornerback Ladarius Webb joined Lewis on the IR, and DT Haloti Ngata and CB Jimmy Smith also left the game and are both questionable.

Going into Houston with so many injured key players on defense against one of the top offenses in the league will be a tall task.

Houston wins.

Cleveland at Indianapolis

The Browns won their first game of the season last week while the Colts took a beating in New Jersey thanks to the Jets.

The Colts are 2-1 at home however, with the Browns obviously 0-3 on the road.

This is a match-up of rookie quarterbacks, but Andrew Luck should come out on top here. He’s led the Colts to be ninth in the league in passing yards per game. The Browns however are 30th in the league in passing yards allowed per game.

Indianapolis wins.

Green Bay at St. Louis

The Packers ha d a huge win last week against the then-undefeated Texans and Aaron Rodgers threw for six touchdowns against a top-10 passing defense.

The Rams are undefeated at home, but Washington, Seattle and Arizona don’t pack the same punch that Green Bay does. The Rams are also 0-2 against the NFC North.

People were waiting for Rodgers to play to his 2011 MVP form, and he did just that last week. He should be able to continue that trend this weekend.

Green Bay wins.

Arizona at Minnesota

Arizona has lost two in a row now and is having QB issues. Kevin Kolb, who originally won the starting quarterback job because John Skelton got hurt, is now hurt. Skelton is back in and last week he went 2-10 for 45 yards and an interception. And that was against Buffalo’s No. 20 ranked pass defense.

Minnesota’s defense is much better than Buffalo’s, coming in at No. 11 in passing yards allowed per game and No. 10 in rushing yards allowed per game.

Minnesota wins.

New York Jets at New England

Shonn Greene had a huge game last week, rushing for 161 yards and three touchdowns. That was against the Colts and their 29th ranked rush defense.

The Patriots will be a much stiffer test. They rank fifth in the league in rushing yards allowed per game. In six games they have only allowed one 100-yard rusher, and that was Ray Rice, who just squeaked in at 101 yards.

Greene will most likely come back down to Earth in Massachusetts.

New England wins.

Jacksonville at Oakland

The Raiders haven’t been winning games but they did play the undefeated Falcons pretty closely last week.

Carson Palmer threw for 353 yards against the 12th ranked pass defense of the Falcons. His numbers aren’t bad for the entire season either.

Jacksonville is last in the league in points scored per game.

Oakland wins.

Pittsburgh at Cincinnati

Statistically the Steelers are the better team, but the Bengals are the team with more wins.

The odds are stacked against the Steelers, as they haven’t won on the road yet this season and their top two running backs are out.

But Big Ben is playing extremely well this season. He currently has his highest completion percentage and quarterback rating since 2009. He’s healthy. He’s rushing for 5.7 yards per carry, his highest average since 2007. He’s also thrown only two interceptions this season.

The Steelers have an extra few days to rest because they played on Thursday night last week and that should help their case.

Pittsburgh wins.

Detroit at Chicago

The Bears are No. 1 in the league in points allowed per game. The Lions are 24th.

The Bears are second in the league in points scored per game. The Lions are 11th, 4.6 points behind the Bears.

The Bears are 2-0 at home. The Lions are 1-2 on the road.

The Bears had a bye week last week, able to focus two week’s worth of preparation on the Lions.

As the sole NFC North leaders the Bears are in a good position for a huge victory here.

Chicago wins.

Bye Week: Atlanta, Denver, Kansas City, Philadelphia, Miami, San Diego

This Week: 1-0

Last Week: 5-8

Season: 51-40