Week 7 NFL Picks: Vegas Betting Odds, Over/Under Spreads and Line Projections

A chaotic NFL is a fun NFL, even if it makes things like power rankings and picks against spreads and lines quite difficult. 

The league is quite chaotic heading into Week 7, something confirmed by the lines from oddsmakers out of Las Vegas after the oddest week we have seen in years.  

The tally? The Atlanta Falcons, Green Bay Packers, Detroit Lions, Carolina Panthers, Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos all lost. This means teams like the New York Giants, Los Angeles Chargers and Chicago Bears picked up wins. 

In the aftermath, proactive would-be bettors now have to risk capitalizing on early lines when looking ahead to Week 7. Let's help by outlining them and diving deep on a few notables. 

NFL Week 7 Schedule, Odds

Kansas City (-3) at Oakland | O/U 47

Arizona at L.A. Rams (-3.5) | O/U 47.5

Baltimore at Minnesota (-5.5) | O/U 39.5

Carolina (-3) at Chicago | O/U 40.5

Jacksonville (-3) at Indianapolis | O/U

New Orleans (-6) at Green Bay | O/U 48

N.Y. Jets at Miami (-3) | O/U 38.5

Tampa Bay at Buffalo (-3) | O/U

Tennessee (-6.5) at Cleveland | O/U

Dallas (-6) at San Francisco | O/U 47

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh (-5.5) | O/U 41

Denver at L.A. Chargers (-1.5) | O/U 42

Seattle (-6) at N.Y. Giants | O/U 38.5

Atlanta at New England (-3) | O/U 55

Washington at Philadelphia (-4.5) | O/U 48.5

Kansas City (-3) at Oakland

It is normally a good idea to stay away from Thursday Night Football. The short turnaround does odd things to preparation for teams both physically and mentally and often produces odd results. 

This is one to jump all over, though. 

If we're talking short prep for a weird situation, it is a smart idea to pounce against a team still trying to work in a starting quarterback returning from injury. 

This is the struggling Oakland Raiders, of course, a team that got Derek Carr back in Week 6, only for him to look rusty while throwing one touchdown against two interceptions in a 17-16 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. 

Even short stuff like this turned into mistakes: 

These things will be ironed out in time if Carr stays on the field. But the Raiders have to charge head first into a prime-time game against the 5-1 Kansas City Chiefs. Those Chiefs came back down to earth in a 19-13 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 6, but a loss to an erratic team after five wins, including triumphs against New England and Philadelphia, is hard to highlight. 

No, these Chiefs remain arguably the most talented team in the league and it only takes a mistake or two from Carr to swing it in favor of a defense with 15 sacks, five intercepions and seven forced fumbles. 

Prediction: Chiefs 27, Raiders 21

New Orleans (-6) at Green Bay

Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

After a dramatic Week 6 produced a tough week like this, it's a good idea to target areas with major lineup changes. 

One such occurrence goes down in the matchup between the New Orleans Saints and Packers, in which the hosts won't have Aaron Rodgers under center after he suffered a potentially season-ending injury, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.

Disclaimer time: Packers fans are in for a pleasant surprise with backup Brett Hundley. His athleticism is off the charts, and he's the guy Green Bay has invested so much time in for a reason. The season is far from lost with his running the offense, to say the least. 

But he's not outdueling Drew Brees in his first start. 

And the Saints aren't overlooking him. 

"But we don't know to what extent. I mean, Brett Hundley has been sitting behind Aaron Rodgers for what, three years? ... I mean, he's had a lot of tutelage from one of the greats of our era. So that being said, I'm sure he'll be well ready," Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan said, according to ESPN.com's Mike Triplett. 

These Saints have quietly looked like one of the better teams in the league over their past three outings, too, downing the strong Carolina Panthers on the road in 34-13 fashion before last week's 52-38 thumping of a game Detroit Lions squad. 

Brees still looks like his usual self with 10 touchdowns and two interceptions and the running game has experienced a revival of sorts thanks to the tandem of Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara. Truthfully, the defense has looked better than the miserable units of the past few years, too, while permitting 23.2 points per game. 

Given everything here, the Saints aren't the usual liability on the road. 

Prediction: Saints 30, Packers 20

Seattle (-6) at N.Y. Giants

What seems like a major fluke is another smart target during a tough slate. 

Said major fluke is the Giants going to Denver and knocking off the Broncos in 23-10 fashion. 

There, the 0-5 Giants got a silly 117 rushing yards from Orleans Darkwa against a Denver defense that had made light work of Ezekiel Elliott, LeSean McCoy and Marshawn Lynch, holding them all to less than 30 rushing yards. 

So no, the Giants aren't in for a repeat performance. 

Especially not against the Seattle Seahawks. Boasting a defense that permits all of 17.4 points per game, the Seahawks have won their last two games by a combined tally of 62-28. While the Seahawks still seem like they struggle on the road, losses to the Packers in Week 1 and the Tenessee Titans in Week 3—both by fewer than 10 points—suggests the typical Seahawks slow start more than it does road struggles. 

Most recently, the Seahawks went to Los Angeles and swiped a 16-10 win against the Rams, picking off Jared Goff twice to escape an opponent they normally struggle with. And that is the bigger point here: Teams sans elite quarterbacks can't keep up with the Seahawks, hence losses to Aaron Rodgers and Marcus Mariota. 

The Giants have struggled offensively, the big win against the Broncos helping to mask the fact that Eli Manning attempted all of 19 passes for 128 yards. His play this year isn't going to get it done, home or away. 

Prediction: Seahawks 24, Giants 13 

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. Odds according to OddsShark.