NFL Week 7 Predictions: Prediction for every game of Week 7, from Texans vs. Packers to Chiefs vs. 49ers

Sean Payton returns to the Superdome Football on Thursday evening? “Revenge Game” narrative unleashed. The New Orleans Saints offensive line has been abysmal lately due to injuries, allowing 19 QB hits and 6 sacks in the last two games. Meanwhile, the Broncos defense is excellent at applying pressure and getting to the quarterback. Both defenses should do well in this game, but there’s no chance we’ll see Payton face his former team.

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It seems cruel that the National Football League should do this to London. The worst defense in the NFL (Jacksonville Jaguars) against the worst offense (New England Patriots), a stopable force against a moving object. While Jacksonville has the pass rushers (Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker) to take advantage of the Patriots’ poor offensive line, Drake Maye could also find success against the Jaguars’ secondary. We’d highly recommend sleeping in here, but the Jaguars should get a win. Here, too, sleeping in is a far better alternative than watching the start of the seventh week on Sunday.

We have two of the worst run defenses in the NFL and face two of the best young running backs in the league. If that’s not enough to entice you with offensive fireworks, the Seahawks’ offense is outstanding when Geno Smith is kept up and the Falcons’ pass rush is the worst in football. However, Atlanta currently has a healthier roster and is playing with much more confidence than the Seahawks, which we think will lead to the Falcons getting a win in a high-scoring game.

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The Buffalo Bills’ receiving corps has been particularly disappointing this season, resulting in one of the worst two-game stretches of Josh Allen’s career since he became a top quarterback. Meanwhile, Will Levis makes either baffling football decisions or inaccurate passes, and the Bills defense can take advantage of that even with key injuries. We’re not expecting a lot of points in this Week 7 matchup, but a great performance from this Bills defense and a Grand Canyon-sized quarterback lead should carry Buffalo to a win.

Watch: Calvin Ridley talks about Will Levis after Week 6 loss

While the Cincinnati Bengals have one of the worst defenses in the league, Deshaun Watson proves that he and this Cleveland Browns offensive line can’t even underperform in such matchups. Cleveland’s defense had a nice turnaround in Week 6 and the pass rush should be able to generate fairly consistent pressure against Joe Burrow. There are simply too many weapons in this Bengals offense for Cleveland to handle, and four scoring drives are probably all Cincinnati needs to beat Cleveland.

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Two of the NFL’s best young quarterbacks are a recipe for arguably the best game in Week 7. The Houston Texans’ offense looked even better this past Sunday with the return of Joe Mixon. Meanwhile, the Green Bay Packers offense is putting together its best performance of the season. Jordan Love and CJ Stroud are more than capable of delivering shot after shot in a game that should have happened Football on Sunday evenings. Ultimately, this game comes down to which defense can generate the most pressure and embarrass the opposing quarterback the most. The Texans have a significant advantage here.

With Snoop Huntley starting another game for the Miami Dolphins, Mike McDaniel’s priority here will be to use Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane against an Indianapolis Colts defense that has scored more than 120 in five of six games this year Rushing yards allowed. Unfortunately for Miami, they lost Jaelan Phillips to a season-ending injury, and that raises serious questions about how often it can generate pressure. Anthony Richardson is expected to start in Week 7, but Jonathan Taylor’s status is still uncertain. Ultimately, what version of Richardson the Colts get will likely decide.

There are a few must-watch games in Week 7, and the NFC North is responsible for two of them. This matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and the Detroit Lions loses some of its luster with Aidan Hutchinson out (shin fracture). While we’re still very excited about the chess game between Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, Hutchinson’s absence is significant. Sam Darnold benefits from a clean pocket and without Hutchinson, Detroit will likely have difficulty getting to the Vikings’ quarterback. That bodes well for Justin Jefferson, who can enjoy a defense that primarily plays man coverage.

Related: Do you love Minnesota sports? Check out Minnesota Sports Fan

While the “Revenge Game” narrative is overused, it absolutely applies to Saquon Barkley’s game against the New York Giants in Week 7. The All-Pro running back will certainly be even more motivated after his worst performance of the season in Week 6, and there are few things offensive linemen love more than helping their running back get revenge on the team that didn’t want to pay him. Plus, as we’ve seen all year, the Giants’ defense only plays well when their defensive line can dominate, and the Eagles’ offensive line isn’t nearly as easy to penetrate as the Cincinnati Bengals (4 sacks). and Seattle Seahawks (7 sacks).

Even if Cooper Kupp doesn’t return in Week 7, Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay will give Kyren Williams all the runs he can handle against a defense that allows over 140 rushing yards per game. If Kupp returns, which is very much on the line, Matthew Stafford will finally have the offensive weapon he’s been missing despite playing like an All-Pro quarterback. As for the Las Vegas Raiders, barring a takeover play from Maxx Crosby, this team just doesn’t appear to be disciplined or talented enough to win this matchup.

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Jayden Daniels is simply playing at an MVP level right now, which feels absurd for a rookie quarterback since the matchup often doesn’t even make a difference. In Week 7, the Washington Commanders star will face a Carolina Panthers defense that has allowed opponents a QB rating of 109.1 this year with 12 touchdown passes and a completion rate of 69.5%. This is a chance for Washington to win if they win.

With Christian McCaffrey out and Jordan Mason (AC joint sprain) uncertain for Week 7, Kyle Shanahan will have an even tougher time running the football against a Kansas City Chiefs defense that has just 64.3 rush YPG and one YPC. Average of 3.0 allowed in the last four games. That being said, the Chiefs offense has nothing but Travis Kelce and this San Francisco 49ers defense can get Fred Warner close to him. We’re not expecting many touchdowns in this game, but history says you shouldn’t choose against Patrick Mahomes when he faces the 49ers.

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If you notice a trend in our Week 7 NFL predictions, there are quite a few low-scoring games. Two of the best defenses in football face off Football on Sunday evenings in a slugfest that probably won’t have many highlights. Aaron Rodgers (74.5 QB rating) has been very poor when pressured this season, and that’s one thing TJ Watt and Co. will do in Week 7. New York should stay close due to their stout defense giving Justin Fields problems, but the better defense and better coached team takes the win.

The Baltimore Ravens offense seems unstoppable right now, and it should be up against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense that has the ninth-highest yards per carry average (4.7) and the fifth-highest passing yards per game (252.3). allows, enforce. However, Baltimore’s defensive weakness lies in its top wide receivers, and Tampa Bay has two of them in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. This should be phenomenal Monday Night Football game, but the Ravens’ ground game and a few other playmakers beat this game defensively.

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There is one Monday Night Football doubleheader in Week 7, but you can only watch the Los Angeles Chargers vs. Arizona Cardinals on ESPN+. Arizona doesn’t have the strength up front to compete with a very physical Chargers team and will likely lose the battle in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Kyler Murray could provide some great plays for Marvin Harrison Jr. and Trey McBride, but this Chargers squad is built to beat teams like the Cardinals.