NFL Picks Week 7: Teams That Will Win Week's Most Exciting Matchups

Week 7 of the NFL season features some pretty exciting matchups between both competitive teams and underachieving squads looking to make a run at their respective divisions.

The week's slate of games gets under way on Thursday Night Football when the Seattle Seahawks will travel to Arizona to take on the Cardinals. While that game should prove to be interesting, there are three even more exciting games on the schedule. If that's any indication of the upcoming games, then this week is sure to be a good one.

The best game of Week 6 was, as many predicted, between the New Orleans Saints and New England Patriots. Had it not been for a touchdown pass from Tom Brady to Kenbrell Thompkins with five seconds left, the Saints would still be undefeated and under much less pressure during their Week 7 bye.

We can only hope that one game this week is half as exciting as that one, but there are a few matchups that seriously have the potential.

Cincinnati Bengals (4-2) at Detroit Lions (4-2), Sunday Oct. 20, 1:00 p.m. ET

Both the Cincinnati Bengals and Detroit Lions have been successful through six weeks, though not many analysts are giving them the attention they so rightly deserve. I mean, Cincinnati knocked off New England and Detroit even beat the Chicago Bears.

In this matchup of 4-2 teams, two vastly different playing styles will go head-to-head. The Lions love to air the ball out, and Calvin Johnson—who was active last week against the Cleveland Browns—will look to have a big game. Unfortunately, Matthew Stafford may not have the easiest time passing.

The Bengals allow just 216.3 passing yards per game, so Detroit may be forced to rely on the likes of Reggie Bush and Joique Bell on the ground. While both have had strong seasons thus far, Detroit's allegiance to the passing game cannot be overlooked.

Cincinnati allows 101.3 yards per game on the ground—10th lowest in the NFL. It'll be interesting to see how Stafford and Co. adjust to a tough defense.

For the Bengals, quarterback Andy Dalton will have to manage the game effectively and lean on the likes of BenJarvus Green-Ellis and Giovani Bernard on the ground. A.J. Green will certainly have a big impact on the game, but the two-headed monster in the backfield will be what leads to either feast or famine.

Cincinnati will not win unless both backs put together strong efforts. They've yet to have a game this season where both have been very productive, and that's the type of performance they'll need against a sneakily-strong Lions team.

Detroit should be able to outlast Cincinnati, as I don't trust both of the Bengals' backs to produce at the same time. The Lions win this one, 34-23.

Dallas Cowboys (3-3) at Philadelphia Eagles (3-3), Sunday Oct. 20, 1:00 p.m. ET

Regardless of team records, inter-divisional matchups within the NFC East are always worth watching. To make it more interesting this time, though, the winner of this game will own the top spot in the division.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that quarterback Michael Vick is unsure if he'll be able to play, leaving Nick Foles as the likely starter. That may not be a bad thing, actually, as Foles is 1-0 as a starter this season. In total, he has thrown six touchdowns with no interceptions and a very impressive 542 yards.

Foles is a very underrated backup quarterback that could potentially become head coach Chip Kelly's full-time quarterback at some point this season. That's another discussion for another day, though.

This game should feature big numbers from both Foles and Tony Romo, as Philadelphia and Dallas are the second- and third-worst defenders against the pass in the league, respectively. Dallas' mark is inflated a bit by Peyton Manning's other-worldly performance, but they still allowed the yards.

Given Romo's history as a slinger out of the pocket, I expect him to put up the more gaudy numbers. He's actually having a semi-surprisingly efficient season, and it'll be interesting to see just how well he does against the Eagles.

Dallas has one disadvantage in that DeMarco Murray won't be suiting up, as reported by Todd Archer and Adam Schefter of ESPN.com. Joseph Randle will instead get the start, and just how much head coach Jason Garrett involves him in the offense will be a key thing to watch.

Even still, I like the Cowboys in this one. Romo has a history of success through the air, whereas Foles is still looking to establish consistency from week to week. Dallas wins this one on the strength of Romo's arm, 29-20.

Denver Broncos (6-0) at Indianapolis Colts (4-2), Sunday Oct. 20, 8:30 p.m. ET

The Denver Broncos are on an entirely other level compared to the other teams in the NFL, even if Peyton Manning looked somewhat human last week against the Jacksonville Jaguars—the last opponent you guessed he would look like that against.

The Indianapolis Colts are coming off a tough loss to the San Diego Chargers on Monday Night Football, and the offense looked stagnant throughout most of the game. Indy has been relying on Trent Richardson and Donald Brown quite a lot this season, but they would be smart to abandon that strategy against Denver.

Denver has the worst passing defense in the NFL (337.7 yards per game), so Andrew Luck should be looking down field early and often. After Darrius Heyward-Bey's disappointing performance against the Chargers, expect many of Luck's targets to go toward Reggie Wayne and T.Y. Hilton.

If Luck can take control in the passing game and move the chains, then the Colts stand a chance at pulling off a season-defining victory against the Broncos. But, then again, the chances of that happening don't seem very good.

They are the Broncos, after all.

Look for Manning to come back with a vengeance against his former team. He will be looking to prove a point both because of his pedestrian game in Week 6 and because of his history with the organization he'll be looking to defeat. Giving Manning extra motivation is never, ever a good thing.

Indy will make it interesting, but there's no way Manning lets this game slip through his fingers. Denver wins 38-28.

Picks Around the League

Here's how the entire Week 7 schedule will play out.

Seattle Seahawks	31-14	Arizona Cardinals
Miami Dolphins	17-13	Buffalo Bills
St. Louis Rams	24-16	Carolina Panthers
Chicago Bears	28-23	Washington Redskins
Cincinnati Bengals	23-34	Detroit Lions
Dallas Cowboys	29-20	Philadelphia Eagles
San Diego Chargers	34-17	Jacksonville Jaguars
New England Patriots	31-24	New York Jets
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	14-28	Atlanta Falcons
San Francisco 49ers	35-20	Tennessee Titans
Baltimore Ravens	24-17	Pittsburgh Steelers
Cleveland Browns	21-42	Green Bay Packers
Houston Texans	17-21	Kansas City Chiefs
Denver Broncos	38-28	Indianapolis Colts
Minnesota Vikings	24-30	New York Giants