NFL Predictions Week 7: Picks and Odds Advice for Latest Schedule

There's nothing wrong with waiting until the last minute to make NFL picks for a given week.

Granted, one would hope those who procrastinate aren't flying off the cuff with picks sans research during the extended wait—but with the way this season has gone, it's hard to blame anyone who takes it easy.

Those who spar with oddsmakers and the house know how seemingly random this season has been. The Week 7 edition of Thursday Night Football provided an upset when the Oakland Raiders took down the Kansas City Chiefs, perhaps a signal this gameweek won't be any less complicated.

Part of the reason it doesn't hurt would-be bettors to wait is the overwhelming access to information these days. Below, we'll round up every bit of line info before diving head first into some interesting matchups.

NFL Week 7 Schedule, Odds

Arizona at L.A. Rams (-3) | O/U 47.5

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

Carolina (-3) at Chicago | O/U 40.5

Jacksonville (-3.5) at Indianapolis | O/U 44

New Orleans (-4.5) at Green Bay | O/U 48

N.Y. Jets at Miami (-3) | O/U 38.5

Tampa Bay at Buffalo (-3) | O/U 45

Tennessee (-6) at Cleveland | O/U 46.5

Dallas (-6) at San Francisco | O/U 47

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh (-5) | O/U 41

Denver at L.A. Chargers (E) | O/U 42

Seattle (-4) at N.Y. Giants | O/U 38.5

Atlanta at New England (-3.5) | O/U 55

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

New Orleans (-4.5) at Green Bay

It's all about keeping the head above water for the Green Bay Packers.

The Packers would normally look like a favorite in a game like this when the New Orleans Saints visit Lambeau Field. Instead, the team is simply hoping quarterback Brett Hundley can do enough to keep the team within an arm's length for a possible Aaron Rodgers return.

ESPN's Adam Schefter provided the latest on this front:

But that's easier said than done. Hundley is a wickedly explosive player who should be better after getting reps with the first team. He still has quality weapons around him too.

Keeping up with New Orleans counterpart Drew Brees, though, is asking too much. To say Brees has looked like his usual self would be an understatement considering his Saints are 3-2 and he boasts 10 touchdowns against two interceptions while completing 68.7 percent of his passes.

It's not like either of the Saints losses looks bad, either. Going down on the road to the four-win Minnesota Vikings isn't a red flag. Nor is losing to the New England Patriots. Besting the Carolina Panthers on the road and dropping 52 points on the Detroit Lions represent the other end of the spectrum.

The Saints have a top-11 rush defense and seven interceptions, so the unit has the ability to fluster Hundley while Brees does his usual thing while controlling the pace.

Prediction: Saints 30, Packers 20

N.Y. Jets at Miami (-3)

New York Jets wide receiver Jermaine Kearse put it best ahead of Sunday's game against the Miami Dolphins.

"Not a lot of people know about our team," Kearse said, according to Stats LLC (via ESPN.com). "But we're coming together. We fight and compete for each other."

These Jets are 3-3 and—gasp—fun. Everybody loves an underdog story, so having Josh McCown lead an offense while completing 70.1 percent of his passes and Kearse's emergence as a No. 1 receiver while the defense only allows 21.7 points per game is entertaining.

That's mostly because of the way the Jets catch teams off guard. They have picked up wins against Miami, the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns, not to mention most recently coming up short in 24-17 fashion against the Patriots while McCown gunned his way to 354 passing yards.

There isn't as much hype surrounding the Dolphins. After a Week 1 bye, the team lost two games by a combined total of 40-6, only beat a Marcus Mariota-less Tennessee Titans team 16-10 and then stunned the Atlanta Falcons 20-17.

The Dolphins simply don't inspire confidence, whether it's coaching or something else. Quaterback Jay Cutler only has five touchdowns and four interceptions, last year's breakout Jay Ajayi is averaging under four yards per carry and Jarvis Landry has turned 57 targets already into 272 yards (7.2 yards per catch).

In the first meeting between these two, the Dolphins couldn't muster a touchdown until the end of the game—then missed the extra point. Look for a similar story here as the Dolphins (not surprisingly) continue to struggle to find an offensive identity behind a quarterback they picked up at the last second.

Prediction: Jets 17, Dolphins 10

Atlanta at New England (-3.5)

Readers will notice both Atlanta and New England have come up in upset mentions above.

That's not too surprising. The Falcons still have a Super Bowl hangover of sorts after suffering another blown lead. The Patriots have the defense that let McCown throw for north of 350 yards.

The tally? Atlanta has wins over teams like Green Bay and Detroit yet losses to the Buffalo Bills and Miami. The Patriots have slipped past teams like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Jets, only to go down to contenders like Kansas City and Carolina.

As odd as it sounds, the biggest differential between the two might be quarterback Tom Brady's ability to keep up with the Falcons offense—a problem head coach Bill Belichick hasn't shied away from talking about.

"They have a lot of talent," Belichick said, according to Stats LLC (via ESPN.com). "They're strong at every position. The offensive line is good. The quarterback is good. The running backs are good. Tight ends, receivers—they have a lot of explosive players and they're very well-coached."

On-page stats don't showcase this well. Matt Ryan has six touchdowns and six interceptions, though his running game averages nearly five yards per carry. Still, a date with the Patriots is a good way to wake up the unit considering it ranks last in the league, at 324.8 passing yards allowed per game, which naturally leads to 26.5 points per game surrendered.

Brady hasn't been bad, not with 13 touchdowns and two interceptions. But wide receiver Julian Edelman is gone for the year and tight end Rob Gronkowski seems like a permanent injury question mark. Look for the Falcons to exploit the Patriots defense just enough to pull away late given the circumstances.

Prediction: Falcons 28, Patriots 24

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