NFL Picks Week 7: Predicting Winners of Sunday's Biggest Clashes

What's the biggest game on the NFL's Week 7 schedule? It probably depends on who you ask. From a divisional standpoint, the New York Giants' clash with the Dallas Cowboys in Big D is the premier rivalry game on the slate.

If you're looking for a game that pits two of the league's better teams against each other, the Cincinnati Bengals at the Indianapolis Colts is a game to watch.

How about the best bet for a Super Bowl preview on the week's ledger. That might be the San Francisco 49ers at the Denver Broncos on Sunday night. All three of these games might feature awesome individual performances and/or a thrilling ending.

Here are my predictions for every game on the schedule and a closer look at the aforementioned contests.

Sunday, Oct. 19	Prediction
Monday, Oct. 20	Prediction
Atlanta at Baltimore	Baltimore
Tennessee at Washington	Washington
Seattle at St. Louis	Seattle
Cleveland at Jacksonville	Cleveland
Cincinnati at Indianapolis	Indianapolis
Minnesota at Buffalo	Buffalo
Miami at Chicago	Chicago
New Orleans at Detroit	New Orleans
Carolina at Green Bay	Green Bay
Kansas City at San Diego	San Diego
Arizona at Oakland	Arizona
NY Giants at Dallas	Dallas
San Francisco at Denver	Denver
Houston at Pittsburgh	Pittsburgh

Dallas Is the Best Team in the NFC East

Elaine Thompson/Associated Press

The New York Giants came crashing back down to Earth last week against the Philadelphia Eagles, and this week the best team in the division will keep them slipping.

Behind a dominant offensive line, a steady Tony Romo and a defense that is markedly better than last year's horrible unit, the Cowboys look like a legitimate Super Bowl contender. I can't even believe I just typed that.

What else can you say about a team that just went into Seattle and knocked off the defending Super Bowl champions? At the very least, Dallas has to be taken seriously.

Meanwhile, the Giants came crashing down from their three-game win streak at the hands of the Eagles. The G-Men were shut out by Philly 27-0 because they couldn't run the ball, and the offensive line gave up eight sacks. The 3.6 yards per carry the Giants managed was their lowest total since Week 2.

The defense also failed to slow LeSean McCoy and the Eagles' run game. McCoy had 149 yards on the ground, and that helped Philly overcome two interceptions from Nick Foles. 

There's reason to believe all of the above could happen to the Giants again in Dallas this week—all except the interceptions from the opposing quarterback. 

Tony Romo has been remarkably consistent and mistake free. He didn't throw an interception against Seattle and in fact has just five interceptions this season overall. He's leaned on the NFL's leading rusher, DeMarco Murray, whose way has been paved by an offensive line that has been the strength of the team.

Last week, the Cowboys defense got to the more fleet-footed and generally better-protected Russell Wilson (13 times sacked to 11) twice. Expect that defensive line to generate enough pressure to rattle Manning this week. Manning will also miss the presence of his injured star at wide receiver, Victor Cruz.

Dallas wins big at home.

Indianapolis Will Handle Cincinnati

Scott Halleran/Getty Images

After starting 3-0 and giving up just 13 points per game in the process, the Bengals defense has been horrendous in its last two games. It has surrendered an average of 40 points per contest in that span and was fortunate to come away with a tie last week against the Carolina Panthers.

That's not a good look heading into a game against the likes of Andrew Luck.

While his interception total is still high (7), Luck has established himself as an elite performer under center this year. He leads the NFL in passing yards, touchdown passes and he's eighth in completion percentage.

Luck's weapons are phenomenal as well. Speedster T.Y. Hilton leads a receiving corps that can burn teams short and long.

The Bengals had no luck (pun totally intended) slowing down Tom Brady and Cam Newton in the last two games. I'm willing to bet Luck and the Colts will have their way in this one. In a potentially high-scoring game, I'll take Luck over Andy Dalton 10 times out of 10.

Denver Will Squeak by San Francisco

Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images

Were this game being played in San Francisco, the prediction might be a little different. As it is, the Broncos should win in Sports Authority Field in Mile High. I wouldn't expect a large margin of victory.

Quietly, the Niners defense is beginning to right the ship, and it will be getting key pieces back in the coming weeks. For this game, the key will be protecting Peyton Manning against standard pass-rushing defensive formations.

If Denver can keep Manning upright and forces the Niners to blitz, Manning will make all of the necessary third-down plays to steer Denver to victory. The Niners are tied for 19th in the NFL in sacks this season, and Manning has only been dumped six times.

In that crucial battle on the line of scrimmage, the Broncos figure to be the winners. Thus they will drive their win streak to three straight.