NFL Week 7 Picks: Teams with Toughest Matchups to Overcome

There are definitely some exciting games to watch in Week 7 of the NFL season, but there are also a few games featuring teams faced with incredibly tough matchups to overcome. While these games may end up being exciting, they could also end up being difficult to watch.

The Indianapolis Colts have arguably the toughest game of the week against the Denver Broncos, but the difficult matchups I'm talking about come in the form of unit-against-unit. For example, Tony Romo should thrive against a weak Philadelphia Eagles secondary. That's an easy matchup for Romo and the Dallas Cowboys.

This article will focus on the flip side. It will take a look at those matchups between units that will be nearly impossible for teams to overcome. Their ability to work past these matchups will likely lead to victory, but it won't be easy for any of the following teams.

Seattle Seahawks (5-1) at Arizona Cardinals (3-3), Thursday Oct. 17, 8:25 p.m. ET

The Arizona Cardinals face a ridiculously tough matchup on Thursday night against the Seattle Seahawks. Their defense will have to deal with Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch, but the most difficult thing for Arizona to overcome will be the NFL's second-best pass defense.

The Cardinals aren't exactly a formidable team on the ground (they average just 85.7 yards per contest), so they'll have to rely on Carson Palmer to make things happen in the air. Relying on him to carry them against Seattle could end up being a recipe for disaster, though.

Seattle allows just 188.3 passing yards per game. Richard Sherman, Brandon Browner, Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas have been stellar in the secondary, but the pass rush headlined by Chris Clemons has pressured quarterbacks into errant throws all season. This combination is what makes Seattle's defense so lethal.

If Arizona wants any chance at winning this game, then Palmer will have to be flawless—something he's had problems doing consistently since his early days with the Cincinnati Bengals. Larry Fitzgerald will have to have a huge game, but that won't be easy given Sherman's presence.

Fitzgerald will likely be double-teamed throughout the entire game, so Palmer will have to look at secondary options like Michael Floyd and Jim Dray. It goes without saying that they aren't of the same caliber as Fitzgerald.

The Seahawks will win this one handily: 31-14.

Houston Texans (2-4) at Kansas City Chiefs (6-0), Sunday Oct. 20, 4:25 p.m. ET

The Houston Texans are a train wreck given their early-season expectations, and things will only get worse for them in Week 7. They'll face off against the Kansas City Chiefs in Kansas City but, most importantly, they'll be facing one of the league's toughest defenses.

Matt Schaub has already had a rough start to the season. He's thrown nine interceptions and just eight touchdowns through six weeks, and it would be safe to bet on that ratio becoming even more lopsided against the NFL's best pass rush.

The Chiefs have 31.0 sacks through six weeks, nine more than the second-best team—the Baltimore Ravens. Leading the charge is linebacker Justin Houston with 9.5 sacks, though fellow linebacker Tamba Hali is right behind him with 7.5.

Dontari Poe leads the defensive line with 4.5 sacks, but it will be the blitzing linebackers that need to be the focus of Schaub and the offensive line. If Schaub can't pick up blitz formations prior to the snap, then he'll find himself on his back more times than he'd like.

The key for Houston is protecting Schaub. Arian Foster and Ben Tate will need to help out in blitz pickup, and the offensive line will have to work hard to both pick up their assignments and get a hand on the free man rushing to the quarterback. If they don't do this, then they simply won't be able to muster anything in the air.

Given Kansas City's relatively average offensive attack, this game will be closer than it actually appears. Kansas City will win 21-17.

Buffalo Bills (2-4) at Miami Dolphins (3-2), Sunday Oct. 20, 1:00 p.m. ET

Surprisingly, the Miami Dolphins have a pretty tough matchup against the Buffalo Bills in Week 7. While the Bills secondary allows its fair share of yardage, they're tied for the league-lead in interceptions with 10. This will make life for Ryan Tannehill a little difficult.

It will either be feast or famine for Tannehill. Either he'll carve up the defense that allows 270.8 yards per game through the air, or he'll get dominated by a secondary that prefers to go for the ball instead of sticking with receivers. Clearly, this mentality of the Buffalo defensive backs has been met with mixed results.

To win this one, Tannehill will have to keep the DBs honest by mixing in effective pump fakes and play-action passes here and there. They will more than likely get anxious and hesitate upon seeing these strategies early on in the game—something that Tannehill will have to capitalize on.

Later on, Buffalo head coach Doug Marrone will rein in his secondary and force them to play the receiver—not the ball. When this happens, expect more contested passes.

The Dolphins are a good football team, though, so they should be able to overcome this matchup. This difficulty can easily be avoided by those play actions and pump fakes, but also by keeping the ball on the ground and moving the chains the old-fashioned way.

Miami will win 17-13, but it might not be the prettiest of games.

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