NFL Week 7 Preview: More Chaos!

By Alex Lauzon from the “Course of Life” podcast

Week 7 - More Chaos!

As this past week’s NFL slate began, there weren’t a lot of picks out on the Browns to beat the Niners with P.J. Walker, or the Jets to topple the Eagles, but that's the inherent beauty of the NFL product. Parody = unpredictably and Sunday’s wacky results were the perfect reflection of that statement, as the last of the NFL’s unbeatens have fallen just six weeks into the season. The 1972 Dolphins pop champagne for at least one more year.

Now with week seven at our heels, this seems to be one of those slates where you need to dig out the opportunities manually. That’s my nice way of saying it’s not the prettiest board of games but that usually implies there will be some shocking results in this weekend’s action. Is another quiet-looking board primed for more chaotic results? Let’s dig out some winners and make sense of the week seven board.

Games of the Week

Jaguars @ Saints (-2) - 8:15 pm ET (Thursday) - TNF gets the weekend going with a Jags team that is quickly becoming a public picking favorite. Fans will be salivating to see Trevor Lawrence and crew are getting a couple of points on the road against a feisty Saints squad.

Falcons @ Bucs (-2.5) - 1 pm ET - Baker Mayfield and the Bucs beat who they are supposed to beat (Bears, Vikings, Saints) and lose who they are supposed to lose to (Eagles and Lions). This Falcons team is one dimensional on offense and has yet to win on the road, so the formula fits for the Bucs to get right on Sunday.

Lions @ Ravens (-3) - 1 pm ET - The stingy front seven of Detroit facing off against the versatility at QB of Lamar Jackson makes for a compelling watch. The Ravens are getting it done ugly so far this season and it’s hard to imagine either team budging in the trenches. Scores will be hard to come by in this one.

Browns @ Colts (+2) - 1 pm ET - Another tight line here as the Browns come off a season-awakening win against the Niners. They now head to Indy to face Gardner Minshew and the Colts, who struggled to consistently move the ball in their loss to the Jags. Two teams that are both surprisingly above .500 in October, something’s gotta give and I lean with the home team in toss-ups like this.

Chargers @ Chiefs (-6) - 4:25 pm ET - Taylor Watch is back yet again as Travis and the Chiefs are home and Taylor hasn’t hit the road yet. As for what’s on the field, the Chargers are reeling after a tough Monday night loss at home, and now they head to the gauntlet that is Arrowhead. Razor thin margins for the Chargers to compete in this one.

Fishy Lines to Watch

Bills @ Patriots (+9.5) - 1 pm ET - As a lifelong Patriots fan, I’m sadly here to say that this is not enough points for the spread to be fair. The Patriots are indeed that bad, and even if they stay in a game with a division rival they know well, they could still fail to cover like last week in Vegas. Could this line move to double digits by week’s end?

Packers @ Broncos (+1) - 4:25 pm ET - In the ultimate “who cares” game of the week, it’s a couple of fizzling franchises meeting a mile in the air. The Broncos are in that rarified air of Patriots or Giants level of bad that they’re not even favored at home against a 2-3 team. It will be fascinating to see what side gets picked more in this bottom-feeder matchup.

The Primetime Pick

Dolphins @ Eagles (-2) - 8:20 pm ET - The Sunday night showcase is a good road test for the electric Dolphins offense, as they’ll have to navigate one of the best front sevens in the NFC to move the ball. It’s hard to picture the Eagles losing at home but the Fins are one of the few squads that could touchdown the Eagles to death if Tua is clicking.

Week Seven Plays to Watch

Let's stay hot after a 4-1 week last week!

Chiefs -6 - The KC offense gets right and they win by 10 at home to a division rival? Seems about right.

Ravens -3 - I might be the last person to fully buy in on the Lions, they have to level off against a tough opponent.

Eagles - 2 - The spot sets up nicely for Philly and money should roll in on Miami this week.

Bills/Patriots Under 41.5 - The Patriots will have a hard time covering but it should be an ugly one that keeps the score down.

Colts +2 - Mainly because the Browns can't reproduce the effort of last Sunday’s win.

Lock of the Week (1-2 This Season)

On the Splash side, we're rolling with the Buffalo Bills against the faltering Patriots for our Lock of the Week! Join our $15K Survivor Revival contest, pick the Bills, and if they lose, we'll refund one of your entries (a $10 value).

‍Bucs -2.5 - The spot sets up well and the Bucs are very predictable - this is a good matchup on both sides of the ball for them. Lock it in!