NFL Week 7 Picks: Final Overview of Consensus Picks

The Week 7 edition of Thursday Night Football proved why divisional contests can be a little tricky for bettors. After all, the red-hot New England Patriots were playing at home against the hapless New York Jets. Well, 60 minutes later, the Patriots just barely earned a two-point victory in a hard-fought contest.

Looking ahead to the remaining slate of games, there are other matchups that could continue this theme. Those are not this week's consensus picks. Luckily, there are several other intriguing Vegas odds that appear poised to produce more predictable results.

With a focus on those consensus picks, let's take a look at the game lines for each Week 7 game and pick a winner against the spread.

Matchup	Odds	Pick ATS	Reason
Falcons at Ravens	BAL -6.5	Ravens	Falcons are just dealing with too many injuries.
Browns at Jaguars	CLE -6	Browns	The Browns are rolling and play the league's worst team.
Vikings at Bills	BUF -5	Bills	See analysis below.
Titans at Redskins	WAS -7	Redskins	Too many explosive players on Washington's offense for Titans to handle.
Seahawks at Rams	SEA -7.5	Seahawks	Seahawks are reeling after a home loss. They'll take it out on the Rams.
Dolphins at Bears	CHI -3.5	Bears	Bears found their stride in Week 6. Momentum gets them a home win.
Saints at Lions	DET -1	Lions	Lions defense is fantastic and playing an underachieving Saints team.
Panthers at Packers	GB -7	Panthers	Cam Newton's dual-threat ability will keep Carolina in this game.
Bengals at Colts	IND -3.5	Colts	Too much Andrew Luck for a Bengals team without A.J. Green.
Chiefs at Chargers	SD -3.5	Chargers	Philip Rivers puts up too many points and outlasts the Chiefs in a close one.
Giants at Cowboys	DAL -7	Cowboys	Dallas looks unbeatable and the Giants remain wildly inconsistent.
Cardinals at Raiders	ARI -3.5	Cardinals	See analysis below.
49ers at Broncos	DEN -7	Broncos	The 49ers are very good, but Peyton Manning will be too much to handle.
Texans at Steelers	PIT -3	Texans	The Steelers are average on both sides of the ball, and Houston is better than most think.

All game odds courtesy of Odds Shark and current as of October 18.

Week 7 Top Consensus Picks

Minnesota Vikings at Buffalo Bills (-5)

Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

Rookie quarterback Teddy Bridgewater had a rough outing in Week 6. He received very little pass protection against a very good Detroit Lions pass rush, and that resulted in 13 quarterback hits, eight sacks and three interceptions.

Here's a full look at the rookie's struggles against Detroit, via NFL on CBS:

Well, it's not going to get any better for Bridgewater in Week 7. He will be traveling to Buffalo to face a Bills team that has racked up 19 sacks through three games this season, ranking third in the league. In fact, Buffalo's defense is very well rounded. It ranks 11th in the league in yards allowed and eighth in points allowed.

The Vikings have struggled to get points on the board this season, averaging just 17.3 per game, which is good enough for 28th in the league. That trend is very likely to continue against Buffalo's stout defense in Week 7.

Expect quarterback Kyle Orton—who has been surprisingly efficient thus far—to put up plenty of points after the team's defense continues to provide stellar field position.

Prediction: Bills 24, Vikings 10

Arizona Cardinals (-3.5) at Oakland Raiders

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

It's easy to see why this spread is only 3.5 points in favor of Arizona. After all, the Cardinals own the league's worst pass defense, and Oakland's rookie quarterback, Derek Carr, had a field day in Week 6 against the San Diego Chargers.

Don't expect that to happen again Sunday.

Carr wasn't overly efficient against the Chargers, completing 18 of his 34 passing attempts, but the success he was able to create was, in part, due to the team's ability to complement the quarterback with a solid ground game—the Raiders rushed 20 times for 114 yards, averaging 5.7 yards per carry.

This week, there will be no such balance in Oakland's offensive attack, as the Cardinals front seven has been spectacular against opposing ball-carriers this season, allowing just 75.8 yards per game on the ground, ranking third in the league.

Yes, we can expect Oakland's offense to put up some points, but without that balanced attack, don't expect Carr and Co. to keep up with Carson Palmer and the Cardinals offense.

Palmer was sharp in his return against Washington in Week 6, completing touchdown passes to Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd. Not only did Palmer play well, but he flourished under pressure, via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com:

That trio, along with the versatile Andre Ellington, will create problems for a Raiders defense allowing 376.8 yards and 26.8 points per game.

Expect the Cardinals offense to roll, while the team's defense is good enough to keep Carr from another four-touchdown performance.

Prediction: Cardinals 27, Raiders 17