NFL Picks Week 7: Underdogs That Could Win Outright

NFL Week 7 is upon us, and there are once again teams throughout the league that have been unfairly labeled as underdogs, but have a legitimate shot at winning outright and proving the odds makers wrong.

Odds makers are consistently wrong, which is the beauty of the parity that exists in the NFL. Week 7 of the 2012 NFL season will be no different—supposed underdogs will shock the favorites at home and on the road.

There are currently three teams listed as underdogs that will more than likely be able to pull out a victory in Week 7 for numerous reasons. Let’s examine why these underdogs could buck the spread and win outright this week.

Note: All spread info courtesy of Bovada.

 

Seattle Seahawks (+7) over San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers are a highly-publicized Super Bowl favorite, but could have serious trouble even winning the NFC West thanks to the quietly superb Seattle Seahawks.

San Francisco is the definition of inconsistent, having won Week 4 and 5 matchups by a combined score of 79-3, and then being absolutely embarrassed by the reigning Super Bowl champions, losing at home 26-3 to the New York Giants.

Conversely the Seahawks are coming off a victory over the New England Patriots thanks to the No. 2 ranked defense in the NFL led by physical cornerbacks Brandon Browner and Richardson Sherman, along with elite safety Earl Thomas.

Seattle is riding a wave of momentum and should be able to shut down the San Francisco offensive attack with ease. The matchup will be a defensive struggle, but one the Seahawks should be able to win outright.

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+3) over New Orleans Saints

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have had an unlucky start to the 2012 season, losing three games by a combined 15 points. With a balanced attack and a well-rounded roster, the Bucs are a tough out at home, so being underdogs by three points does not make a lot of sense.

New Orleans is coming off a bye week with a horrendous 1-4 record, primarily thanks to one of the worse defensive units in all of football. Simple fundamentals such as proper tackling are an issue and surrendering a league-worst 456 yards per game is not going to bode well for the Saints in Tampa Bay.

Last season, this would not have been an issue thanks to an offense led by Drew Brees that could simply defeat any team in a shootout. That has not been the case in 2012 as the Saints have lost offensive struggles with the Washington Redskins, Carolina Panthers and even the lowly Kansas City Chiefs.

While the Bucs don’t have the most explosive offensive in the world, the balanced offensive attack should be able to keep Brees and Co. off the field while controlling the time of possession battle en route to a divisional victory.

 

Arizona Cardinals (+6) over the Minnesota Vikings

The Arizona Cardinals quarterback carousel continues now that Kevin Kolb is out with injury once again, but John Skelton has, and should step right in and keep the offense rolling at a balanced pace—and who couldn’t with a target like Larry Fitzgerald?

On the other side of things, the Minnesota Vikings are simply not as good as advertised, having taken advantage of an extremely weak schedule so far. Minnesota has won matchups against mediocre squads such as the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans and Detroit Lions—although the victory against the San Francisco 49ers was mightily impressive.

Arizona should be able to win with a well balanced offensive attack as the Vikings will have no answer for Fitzgerald, and the No. 4 ranked defense in the NFL should be able to contain Minnesota quarterback Christian Ponder.

Vikings running back Adrian Peterson will of course get his, but it won’t be enough at the end of the day as overall the Vikings are simply outmatched.

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