NFL Week 7 Predictions: Initial Vegas Odds, Lines, Spreads and Projections

After a miserable start this season, the San Francisco 49ers may be starting to find themselves.

They pulled out a 25-20 victory over the Baltimore Ravens at home in Week 6, but that's not the whole story. Their offense had been stalled prior to their Week 5 Sunday night loss to the Giants, but Colin Kaepernick got it going in that game, and he continued to play well against the Ravens, as he threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns and did not throw an interception.

Kaepernick is seemingly finding his confidence, and it is coming at the right time, as the Niners are home Thursday night against the reeling Seattle Seahawks. Seattle lost at home to undefeated Carolina as their formerly dominant defense gave up two TD drives of 80 yards late in the fourth quarter.

The Seahawks take the same 2-4 record into their Thursday night game at San Francisco that their hosts have. Most expected the 49ers to go through a difficult season, but that was not the script the Seahawks were given.

With talented players like Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch leading the offense and perhaps the most physical defense in the league, the Seahawks were supposed to challenge for the NFC Championship once again.

But they are giving up big drives at the worst possible times, and Kaepernick is getting the ball to his receivers much more consistently than he did earlier in the season. The pressure is off the Niners, but they are playing better football, and they appear to be having fun.

The Niners are 4.5-point underdogs in this game according to Odds Shark, and if they don't win this game, we like them to keep it close in front of their loud and supportive home fans, who will make life miserable for the visitors.

Game	Line	Selection
Seattle at San Francisco	Seattle -4.5	San Francisco
Buffalo at Jacksonville	NL	Buffalo
Minnesota at Detroit	Minnesota -2	Minnesota
New Orleans at Indianapolis	NL	New Orleans
Pittsburgh at Kansas City	NL	Kansas City
Houston at Miami	Miami -4.5	Miami
N.Y. Jets at New England	NL	New England
Cleveland at St. Louis	St. Louis -4.5	Cleveland
Atlanta at Tennessee	Atlanta -3.5	Atlanta
Tampa Bay at Washington	Washington -3.5	Tampa Bay
Oakland at San Diego	San Diego -4.5	Oakland
Dallas at N.Y. Giants	NL	N.Y. Giants
Philadelphia at Carolina	NL	Carolina
Baltimore at Arizona	Arizona -7.5	Arizona

Vikings have to prove they can win on the road

The Minnesota Vikings were looked at as a team that would be on the rise in the 2015 season.

Teddy Bridgewater had done enough in his rookie season that many NFL observers thought he would continue to improve as a second-year player, plus the Vikings were getting Adrian Peterson back in the lineup. Couple those factors with a solid defense and an up-and-coming head coach in Mike Zimmer, and things were looking up for the Vikings.

Through their first five games, the Vikings have a 3-2 record and have played fairly well. However, their three wins came at home and they have lost both of their road games. That means they have not proved anything at this point, because good teams win key games on the road.

They get a chance to show they can do that at NFC North rival Detroit. The Lions went to overtime in Week 6 to beat the Chicago Bears, and while they showed quite a bit of improvement in winning their first game, they have not been consistent this year.

Matthew Stafford is certainly capable of a big game, but he makes a lot of mistakes. He threw for 405 yards and four touchdowns against Chicago, but he has thrown nine interceptions this season.

The Vikings have to take advantage of those opportunities if they want to get their first road win. They appear to be ready to take that step and cover as two-point favorites. 

Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports

Desperate Ravens catching Cardinals at the wrong time

Every team in the NFL has won at least one game this season. However, the list of teams that have won only one game includes one very strange name: the Baltimore Ravens.

John Harbaugh's team has lost its once formidable mojo, as they have dropped back-to-back games to Cleveland and San Francisco after beating Pittsburgh. As a result, the Ravens are buried in the AFC North cellar after many of the preseason magazines picked them to battle Cincinnati for the division title.

The Ravens are playing decently on the offensive side, but their defense has been giving up big plays with regularity, and they show no signs of turning things around. They gave up 340 passing yards to Colin Kaepernick, and that's a huge problem.

Now they have to play the Arizona Cardinals on the road, and the Cardinals are coming off a rare defeat at Pittsburgh. Head coach Bruce Arians was livid throughout his team's 25-13 loss to the Steelers. 

Quarterback Carson Palmer threw for 421 yards as the Cardinals moved the ball up and down the field, but they could not put the ball in the end zone after scoring a first-quarter touchdown.

Defensive back Tyrann Mathieu pointed out the team's inefficiencies after the game, and said the Cardinals need a better effort.

“Guys have to continue to play responsible and accountable,” Mathieu told the Arizona Republic's Dan Bickley. “That’s really what it comes down to. A lot of times you get comfortable. You may get lackadaisical."

The Cardinals are not going to be lackadaisical two games in a row. Arians will have this team prepared for their Monday night game against the Ravens and they will cover the sizable 7.5-point spread.