Week 7 NFL Picks: Midweek Vegas Odds, Lines and Predictions

Sometimes it's fairly easy to figure out a pattern when it comes to handicapping in the NFL.

You don't have to be a detective to get a good read on the Buffalo Bills and head coach Rex Ryan. The bombastic head coach would like nothing better than see his team make a run at the New England Patriots and challenge in the AFC East.

He would have a better chance if he focused more on the immediate goal winning two games in a row.

So far, the Bills have not been able to do that. They have followed a W-L-W-L-W-L pattern through the first six weeks of the season. The Bills seem to have an improved talent level this season, but momentum has meant nothing to them.

After winning in Week 5 at Tennessee, they lost for the third time at home against the high-flying Cincinnati Bengals. 

This week they go to London, where they will face the Jacksonville Jaguars, a team that has won just one game. The Bills are seven-point favorites according to Odds Shark, and we expect them to keep their pattern intact for at least one more week.

The Jaguars have some talent with Blake Bortles at quarterback and Allen Hurns and Allen Robinson receiving, but they should be no match for a Bills team coming off a loss.

Quarterback Tyrod Taylor is optimistic about getting back into the lineup after missing last Sunday's game against Cincinnati with a sprained MCL. Even if he can't start, the Bills have versatile running back LeSean McCoy in the lineup, and he rushed for 90 yards and a touchdown against the Bengals.

Additionally, the Bills have big-name talent on their defensive line in Mario Williams, Marcell Dareus and Jerry Hughes. While they have not hit their stride, they have the ability to dominate with their pass rush, and Bortles will have a difficult time getting away from them.

We expect the Bills to cover the spread.

Game	Line	Over/Under	Selection
Seattle at San Francisco	Seattle (-6.5)	42	San Francisco; Over
Buffalo at Jacksonville	Buffalo (-7)	42	Buffalo; Over
Minnesota at Detroit	Minnesota (-2.5)	44.5	Minnesota; Under
New Orleans at Indianapolis	Indianapolis (-4.5)	52	New Orleans; Over
Pittsburgh at Kansas City	No Line	-	Kansas City
Houston at Miami	Miami (-4)	44.5	Miami; Over
NY Jets at New England	New England (-10)	48	NY Jets; Under
Cleveland at St. Louis	St. Louis (-5.5)	41.5	Cleveland; Over
Atlanta at Tennessee	Atlanta (-4)	48	Atlanta; Under
Tampa Bay at Washington	Washington (-3)	43	Tampa Bay; Over
Oakland at San Diego	San Diego (-4)	46.5	Oakland; Under
Dallas at NY Giants	New York (-3)	45	NY Giants; Over
Philadelphia at Carolina	Carolina -3	46.5	Carolina; Under
Baltimore at Arizona	Arizona (-9)	48	Arizona; Over

Jets-Pats may be an underwhelming encounter

Much has been made of the "revenge" tour the New England Patriots seem to be on this year as part of the fallout from Deflategate.

The Patriots have won every game so far, and Sunday night's seven-point victory over the Colts was the first time they did not cover the spread.

Still, the Patriots are strong 10-point favorites at home over the Jets this week, and the total in the game is 48 points. The Jets are off to a strong 4-1 start, and their stock in trade is defense.

New head coach Todd Bowles earned his position after a strong run as the defensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals, and the Jets have the top-ranked defense in the NFL.

The Patriots have a few defensive deficiencies in the secondary, but they are a fairly respectable 16th. The Jets are not going to throw the ball all over the field, and they are almost certainly going to be content to play a ball-control type of game since Chris Ivory has been running the ball so well.

This looks like it could be a hard-fought game between two division rivals who have battled each other since the early days of the American Football League.

This game figures to a low-scoring affair that will be won late. 

The Patriots are not going to light up the scoreboard against the No. 1 defense in the league. This figures to be a 17-14 or 21-17 game. We like the Jets, but we especially like the under.

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

Giants have a lot to make up in revenge game vs. Cowboys

The Giants had won three games in a row when they traveled to Philadelphia Monday night, and they came out of the gate with authority. They drove down the field and scored a touchdown early in the first quarter against the Eagles.

It looked like it might be easy, but the Philadelphia defense woke up and did not give up another scoring drive to the Giants. Philadelphia embarrassed Tom Coughlin's Giants by handing them a 27-7 defeat.

The Giants have been embarrassed several times this year, and that includes their opening game against the Cowboys.

The Giants had a double-digit lead in the fourth quarter, but they couldn't hold Dallas quarterback Tony Romo in check and close out the game. The Giants also gave the the Cowboys an assist when Eli Manning threw an incomplete pass late in the fourth quarter that stopped the clock when the Cowboys had no timeouts.

That gaffe helped the Cowboys improve their chances for a comeback. 

The Giants are 0-2 against the Cowboys and Eagles this year, and they are the two teams that figured to be in the hunt for the NFC East crown at the start of the season. Injuries to Romo and Dez Bryant have hurt the Cowboys, but the Giants can't afford to take them lightly.

They have to play a complete game and find a way to bury their undermanned division rival. The Giants are just a three-point favorite at home, and we expect Coughlin to have his team fully prepared to play its best game. 

Look for the Giants to cover the spread.