NFL Week 7 Predictions: Forecasting Sunday's Most Intriguing Clashes

As the midway point for the 2014 NFL season nears, only a few teams sit outside of the playoff picture completely. That adds a little bit of weight to the next few weeks ahead.

Now's the time to make your mark.

In a month or so, the true playoff contenders will have likely separated themselves from the pack, while the have-nots will be languishing at the bottom of the standings. Between now and Weeks 10 and 11, you'll begin to see a more accurate illustration of each franchise's true worth.

With that in mind, below are three games that feature teams that have so far either played well above or well below expectations. Sunday will go some way to proving whether the early part of the season was a fluke or a sign of things to come.

Week 7 Predictions

Time (ET)	Matchup	Line	Pick
Sunday
1 p.m.	Atlanta Falcons at Baltimore Ravens	BAL -6	BAL
1 p.m.	Tennessee Titans at Washington Redskins	WAS -4	WAS
1 p.m.	Seattle Seahawks at St. Louis Rams	SEA -6.5	SEA
1 p.m.	Cleveland Browns at Jacksonville Jaguars	CLE -3	See Below
1 p.m.	Cincinnati Bengals at Indianapolis Colts	IND -3	IND
1 p.m.	Minnesota Vikings at Buffalo Bills	BUF -3.5	MIN
1 p.m.	Miami Dolphins at Chicago Bears	CHI -3.5	MIA
1 p.m.	New Orleans Saints at Detroit Lions	DET -2.5	See Below
1 p.m.	Carolina Panthers at Green Bay Packers	GB -6.5	GB
4:05 p.m.	Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers	SD -5.5	SD
4:25 p.m.	Arizona Cardinals at Oakland Raiders	ARI -4	ARI
4:25 p.m.	New York Giants at Dallas Cowboys	DAL -5	See Below
8:30 p.m.	San Francisco 49ers at Denver Broncos	DEN -6	DEN
Monday
8:30 p.m.	Houston Texans at Pittsburgh Steelers	PIT -4	PIT

Note: Betting lines are courtesy of Odds Shark.

Detroit Lions vs. New Orleans Saints

It seems weird calling any Week 7 game a "must-win situation," but that's about where the New Orleans Saints are. If they lose to the Detroit Lions on Sunday, they'll fall to 2-4 and could possibly lose even more ground to the Carolina Panthers.

New Orleans has a brutal stretch of games ahead, with the Green Bay Packers, Panthers, San Francisco 49ers, Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens in that order. Losing in Week 7 could set off a chain of very bad events that all but eliminate the Saints from playoff contention.

The success of the Saints offense will determine this game. The Detroit Lions own the best defense in football, according to Football Outsiders. If New Orleans can't move the football, then there's little hope its defense can do enough to win the game.

However, in the event this game turns into a shootout, you'd favor the Saints. They have the more balanced offense, and the Lions may be without Calvin Johnson for another week. Both he and rookie tight end Eric Ebron are listed as doubtful, per NFL.com's Albert Breer:

With the added motivation for the Saints and extra time to prepare following a bye week, New Orleans should pick up the critical win it needs.

Prediction: New Orleans 30, Detroit 24

Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Cleveland Browns

Remember when the Cleveland Browns were 3-2 last year? They proceeded to finish the season 4-12. Maybe everybody should calm down a bit.

Cleveland fans have learned by now not to get too excited by any positive development surrounding their team. Cautious optimism is the emotion of the day.

It would be in keeping with the Browns' recent history that they'd raise expectations only to lose to one of the two remaining winless teams. And a Cleveland defense that's giving up 409.2 yards a game could be the perfect tonic for a Jacksonville Jaguars offense averaging 290 yards a game.

In addition, this could be a case of the Browns not being as good as their record would have you believe and the Jaguars not being as bad as you think. Jacksonville certainly isn't good, but it's not so historically bad that it should go winless in 2014.

Tony Dejak/Associated Press

Browns head coach Mike Pettine thinks that this could be the proverbial trap game for Cleveland, per Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal:

"

There are reasons why there are people out there saying that this is probably the week for Jacksonville. All the circumstances where you would say this is a trap game and I think as a staff we’re just as curious to see. We’ll talk about it all week, but we’re curious to see how we will come out of the gate, as well. We’re confident. We’re hopeful and confident that we’ll handle it the right way, but this is a big test for us.

"

Indeed this looks like a nice litmus test for Cleveland. Can it handle expectations? Will it play down to the competition?

The Browns defense should keep the Jags at bay just enough for their balanced offense to wear down Jacksonville and take control in the second half.

Prediction: Cleveland 24, Jacksonvile 20

Dallas Cowboys vs. New York Giants

It might be time to get all of your affairs in order. The Kansas City Royals are headed to the World Series, and the Dallas Cowboys are one of the best teams in the NFL.

The rapture may be on the way.

On one hand, you get swept up by Tony Romo throwing only two interceptions over his last four games and DeMarco Murray being on pace to eclipse 2,000 rushing yards.

On the other, this is still the Cowboys, so you're waiting for the other shoe to drop. They seemingly always find a way to mess things up.

And talk about trap games. Dallas is coming off a huge win at CenturyLink Field over the Seattle Seahawks and immediately follows with a game against a division rival that has a chip on its shoulder after getting thoroughly humbled in Week 6.

Call me crazy, but I'm backing the New York Giants here. The Cowboys are the better team and own a personnel advantage at nearly every position, but this game just feels like it will be a regression to the mean. The Cowboys will fall back to earth a bit, while the Giants will look better than they did in their 27-0 defeat to the Philadelphia Eagles.

New York will pound the ball with Andre Williams, who could be in line for big game against a Dallas defense that ranks 30th against the run, according to Football Outsiders.

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Victor Cruz's season-ending injury puts a dent in the Giants passing game. However, if Williams is eating up solid yards, then he'll ease the pressure on Eli Manning and help keep the Dallas offense off the field.

ESPN's Skip Bayless also questioned if playing at home will really be a boost to the Cowboys on Sunday:

This rivalry has been pretty evenly matched of late, with the two teams splitting the last six meetings.

A late turnover will seal the game for New York.

Prediction: New York 24, Dallas 21