NFL Week 7 Picks: Latest Odds and Top Experts' Predictions Around the Web

If you erroneously chose the San Francisco 49ers to somehow upset the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night, don't worry. There's still time to save face in front of all your buddies with the rest of the Week 7 slate.

Second-guessing one's predictions happens to everyone, so it can be helpful to take a look at what other people, especially those committed to covering the NFL, are feeling about the upcoming matchups. Maybe there's an obvious choice for Week 7's survivor-pool pick that's been overlooked or a team that not only looks capable of beating the spread but picking up an upset as well. 

If that doesn't work, perhaps some Madden simulations, such as the ones in the video below, will take the place of a crystal ball, offering a virtual peek into the future.

Here are the latest odds and predictions from some of the top writers and analysts around the web. Game spreads are courtesy of Odds Shark and updated as of Friday, October 24 at 7 a.m. ET. All picks in the table are straight-up, not against the spread.

Matchup w/ spread	Mike Freeman, Bleacher Report	Merril Hoge, ESPN	Pete Prisco, CBS Sports	Alex Marves, Fox Sports	Ryan Van Bibber, SB Nation	Consensus (# of picks from listed contributor at each site)
BUF (-4) at JAX	BUF	BUF	BUF	BUF	BUF	BUF 38-4-1
TB at WAS (-3)	WAS	WAS	WAS	TB	WAS	WAS 32-11
ATL (-5.5) at TEN	ATL	ATL	ATL	ATL	ATL	ATL 43-0
NO at IND (-4)	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND	IND 36-7
MIN (-1) at DET	MIN	MIN	DET	MIN	MIN	MIN 28-15
PIT at KC (N/A)	PIT	PIT	PIT	PIT	PIT	PIT 33-10
CLE at STL (-7)	STL	STL	STL	STL	CLE	STL 40-3
HOU at MIA (-4)	MIA	MIA	MIA	HOU	MIA	MIA 35-8
NYJ at NE (-10)	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE	NE 37-6
OAK at SD (-3.5)	SD	OAK	SD	SD	SD	SD 38-5
DAL at NYG (-3.5)	NYG	NYG	NYG	NYG	NYG	NYG 30-13
PHI at CAR (-3)	CAR	CAR	CAR	CAR	CAR	CAR 37-16
BAL at ARI (-10)	ARI	ARI	ARI	ARI	ARI	AZ 43-0

Note: Picks are from Bleacher Report, CBS Sports, Fox Sports, SB Nation and ESPN.


Overwhelming Consensus

Atlanta Falcons vs. Tennessee Titans

There's no love for Tennessee at home in Week 7, and that's for good reason. The Atlanta Falcons are coming to town, towing along the league's best back (at least over the past month) in Devonta Freeman. He's gone from backup running back to the league leader in touchdowns with 10. In his past four starts, he's amassed 695 all-purpose yards.

Even with most, if not all, evidence to the contrary, Titans defensive end Jurrell Casey believes his defense can keep Freeman in check.

"I don't think we're really having a hard time stopping the run," Casey said, via Teresa M. Walker of the Associated Press (h/t the Daily Journal). "Our hard thing is letting quarterbacks scramble on us. With Freeman coming in, we just have to stick to what we do and make sure we make the tackle when he runs at us."

Tennessee is allowing 124.8 rushing yards per game, a total well within Atlanta's reach, even if Matt Ryan stays in the pocket all day—as one might expect. The threat of Julio Jones, Leonard Hankerson and, perhaps now he's scored his first touchdown, Roddy White on the flanks should be plenty to keep the Titans secondary busy as it tries to deal with one of the league's best offenses.

James Kenney/Associated Press

The status of Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota is another reason to pick against Tennessee. Mariota sprained his MCL in Week 6 and is day-to-day, per NFL.com's Gilbert Manzano:

"

Marcus Mariota missed another day of practice on Thursday.

Mariota rehabbed his sprained MCL and watched backup quarterback Zach Mettenberger lead the Titans' workout.

Ken Whisenhunt told reporters he's pleased with Mariota's progress and would have a lot more information Friday on the rookie's playing status against the Falcons at home on Sunday.

Mariota was optimistic he'll be under center for Week 7 and said on Wednesday his knee is feeling better every day.

"

If Mettenberger has to start, this offense could get shut out. A diminished threat in the passing game would allow Atlanta, conceding 78.6 rushing yards per game, to completely key in on the ground game.

Neither Bishop Sankey nor Dexter McCluster has game-breaking talent—even if they have strong yards-per-carry numbers—and the team would also lose out on the speedy Mariota keeping the defense on edge. Tennessee's offensive-line play has been a mess this year, especially in pass protection; Atlanta's revamped front should bully them all day on Sunday.

Baltimore Ravens vs. Arizona Cardinals

Rick Osentoski/Associated Press

Baltimore may just be 1-5 on the year, but it hasn't made it easy on any of its opponents. The Ravens' five losses have come by a combined 22 points. Even their lone win, a 23-20 triumph over rival Pittsburgh in Week 4, was a squeaker.

As such, there's a chance this stubborn squad could keep things interesting against the NFC West-leading Arizona Cardinals, but don't count on it.

The Cardinals have the third-best offense and fourth-best defense, according to the Football Outsiders' efficiency metric, Defense-adjusted Value Over Average. Baltimore is in the middle of the pack on both sides of the ball.

The Baltimore Sun's Jon Meoli sees a prime-time beatdown in the Ravens' future: 

"

The Ravens’ two worst weaknesses will come into play here: a team that hits big passing plays, and a team that disguises its coverages and pressures well. Combined, it will be too much for them to overcome on the road in prime time.

"

Ben Margot/Associated Press

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco has been very inconsistent this season. He's thrown eight TDs against seven interceptions, with three games topping the 300-passing yard mark but failing to reach 200 in another two. This is not a good look for Flacco, who's coming up against an Arizona defense that's forced 13 turnovers this year, 11 of them via interception. 

His only reliable threat in the passing game is Steve Smith (510 yards, three touchdowns), while running back Justin Forsett (4.4 YPC, 1 TD) has been adequate this season. Without a cornerstone player in this offense, Flacco is likely to find himself passing quite a bit. This is a problem, as Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon doesn't see Flacco as a quarterback capable of carrying a mediocre team: 

"

It's not as though Flacco is surrounded by scrubs. Twelve quarterbacks, including Tom Brady, have had more dropped passes from their receivers than Flacco, and 21 quarterbacks have been pressured more frequently than he has. He has completed just eight of 27 attempts beyond 20 yards, and he has an accuracy rate lower than oft-criticized pivots Brandon Weeden, Kirk Cousins, Josh McCown and Matthew Stafford. 

Small sample size, but those numbers indicate he can't carry a so-so team on his back. 

"

A committee running back crew spearheaded by Chris Johnson (445 yards, two rushing touchdowns) supplements quarterback Carson Palmer in Arizona's excellent aerial attack. John Brown and Michael Floyd bring elusiveness and size, respectively, to the wide receiver corps.

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

The star of the group however is the old standby, Larry Fitzgerald. Through just six games this season, Fitzgerald has put up comparable numbers to the ones he posted in the entirety of 2014 and has outdone himself in terms of scoring. 

Season	G	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	TGTS
2014	14	63	784	12.4	2	103
2015	6	43	583	13.6	6	54

Part of the bump goes to having a healthy Palmer throwing to him instead of barely passable NFL quarterbacks such as Drew Stanton and Ryan Lindley. However, one shouldn't discount his work ethic and preparation this year, via ESPN's Josh Weinfuss: 

"

Coach Bruce Arians gave the receiver Thursday off, calling it a veteran day off. But even though he wasn't required to go through the almost two-hour practice, it didn't matter to Fitzgerald. He came out in full pads and spent the practice going through every rep with the other receivers, Arians said.

"

With Arizona coming off a disappointing loss to Pittsburgh, poor Baltimore will get the Cardinals' best effort on Monday night. A double-digit loss is in the cards.

Tough Call

Minnesota Vikings vs. Detroit Lions

Ann Heisenfelt/Associated Press

It took until overtime in Week 6 against a bad Chicago Bears team for the Detroit Lions to finally get a win this season. They'll look to make it two in a row on Sunday against NFC North rival Minnesota, a team that beat the Lions 26-16 in Week 2.

An offense that had scored under 20 points in four straight contests exploded for 37 against the Bears. Despite the luxury of targeting two the of the NFL's most talented wide receivers in Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate, quarterback Matthew Stafford has struggled for much of this campaign, his Howitzer throws off line or ending up in the hands of the opposing team all too often.

Four touchdown passes against the Bears is encouraging, as Stafford will have to be at his best against a young, aggressive Vikings defense that held him to to a 67.1 QBR in Week 2, per ESPN. 

Johnson and, to an extent, Tate do some of their best work on longer-developing routes downfield. As ESPN's Michael Rothstein noted, the Vikings defense doesn't really allow quarterbacks time to wait for those opportunities to develop: 

"

However, the quarterback clock might be part of the answer. Putting quarterbacks in disadvantageous positions fast is one of the specialties of Minnesota's defense. The Vikings are tied for fourth in the league—just being the Lions, actually—in time in the pocket before a pass for opposing quarterbacks at 2.13 seconds. The average time before pass of 2.28 seconds is also tied for fourth in the league.

"

Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen made the lone sack in Week 2—the Vikings had eight quarterback hits, so pressure was indeed a factor—and said he is "100 percent" going to play against Detroit despite missing Week 6 with an illness, per the Minneapolis Star Tribune's Jason Gonzalez.

Jose Juarez/Associated Press

The Lions running game should be of little help in this one. Rookie Ameer Abdullah is averaging just 3.3 yards per carry and has fumbling issues, Joique Bell has been out since September (offseason ankle-surgery issues plague him) and Theo Riddick is better as a passing option than an every-down back. 

For the Vikings, the offense has the always-dangerous Adrian Peterson to count on at running back. Peterson carried the ball 26 times for just 60 yards against Kansas City in Week 6, but could feast on a Detroit defense that's given up 10 rushing touchdowns and 120.7 rushing yards per game this year.

If Stafford does end up having more success throwing the ball another 50 or so times than he did in their last matchup, the pressure falls on Vikings sophomore signal-caller Teddy Bridgewater to step up. He's thrown just three touchdowns this year, struggling to connect with an admittedly weak wide receiver corps.

There is a bright spot in rookie Stefon Diggs, who debuted in Week 5 and has already reeled in 13 catches for 216 yards this year. Pro Football Focus' Sam Johnson suggested he's filling the role of another wideout on the team:

Charles Johnson could return after missing the past two weeks. If he does, Bridgewater should have more opportunities to stretch the defense and push the ball downfield, hopefully opening up more routes underneath and keeping Detroit from packing the box and grinding down Peterson.