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

Week 6 saw plenty of movement up and down the NFL hierarchy. For instance, the Green Bay Packers and Cleveland Browns fell a few rungs, while the Pittsburgh Steelers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers saw their stocks rise with impressive performances. 

Such is life in the NFL. This week's darlings are next week's team with serious questions. Except for the New York Jets. They are quickly taking the mantel of the league's worst team and don't seem to be surrendering it anytime soon. 

Before this week, it looked like both New York teams would battle to be 0-16, but Big Blue got their first win of the season against Washington. With a Thursday night matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles on the horizon, they have a chance to make it two in a row (more on that later). 

Here's a look at the complete schedule for the week, along with the odds and totals for each game. 

Week 7 Schedule, Odds and Picks

Thursday, October 22

Giants at Eagles (-4), O/U: 44, 8:20 p.m. ET

Sunday, October 25

Steelers (-1.5) at Titans, O/U: 52.5, 1 p.m. ET

Cowboys at Washington (N/A), O/U: N/A, 1 p.m. ET

Bills (N/A) at Jets, OU: N/A,  1 p.m. ET

Panthers at Saints (-7.5), O/U: 51, 1 p.m. ET

Packers (-3.5) at Texans, O/U: 56.5, 1 p.m. ET

Browns (-3) at Bengals, O/U: 51.5, 1 p.m. ET

Lions at Falcons (-2.5), O/U: 56.5, 1 p.m. ET

Seahawks (N/A) at Cardinals, O/U: N/A, 4:05 p.m. ET

Jaguars at Chargers (-8), O/U: 49, 4:25 p.m. ET

49ers at Patriots (-2.5), O/U: 45.5, 4:25 p.m. ET

Chiefs (N/A) at Broncos, O/U: N/A, 4:25 p.m. ET

Buccaneers (-2.5) at Raiders, O/U: 53.5, 8:20 p.m. ET

Monday, October 26

Bears at Rams (-5.5), O/U: 46, 8:15 p.m. ET

Odds obtained via DraftKings. Picks against the spread in bold.

Top Picks

New York Giants (+4) over Eagles

Approaching the halfway point of the season, we have already reached the point where it feels like it's a battle of survival for some teams. Not only are teams dealing with players entering and exiting the COVID-19 list, but the injuries are also piling up. 

That statement is truer for no other team than the Philadelphia Eagles. 

In addition to a slew of offensive-line injuries that have destroyed any semblance of protection for Carson Wentz, Miles Sanders and Zach Ertz are not expected to be available, per ESPN's Chris Mortensen. 

Are the Giants good because they got their first win against the Washington Football Team last week? No. But at a certain point, you can't pick a team that has as many injuries as the Eagles do. 

The Giants' pass rush showed some signs of life against Washington last week. They combined for three sacks and eight quarterback hits, which is more than enough evidence they can put up similar numbers against the beat-up Eagles O-line on a quick turnaround. 

Without Sanders to bail out the offense, this could be a lowlight for the Eagles. 

Packers (-3.5) over Houston Texans

Had the Packers not laid an egg against the Buccaneers and the Texans not taken the Tennessee Titans to overtime, this line would be much different. 

The question is, should those games have that big of an impact on our perception of these teams? Prior to the Bucs game, the Packers were the top offense in the league in terms of DVOA. Aaron Rodgers was an early front-runner for MVP, and head coach Matt LaFleur was looking like a genius. 

Now, after a rough game against a defense that leads the league in opponent passer rating, the Packers are favored by just 3.5 points against a Texans team that is improved since Bill O'Brien was axed but still 1-5. 

The problem for the Texans is still a pass defense that has been shredded by opposing quarterbacks. Houston is giving up a passer rating of 111.5 to opposing quarterbacks. Only the Atlanta Falcons are worse. 

To put it succinctly, Rodgers gets a nice matchup for a monstrous bounce-back performance after an embarrassing loss to Tampa. It's not a good week to be the Texans. 

New England Patriots (-2.5) over San Francisco 49ers

Yes, these are the same Patriots that just dropped an 18-12 game to the Denver Broncos. But the Patriots had so much working against them in that game that it's hard to hold it against them. 

Cam Newton was making his first start since sitting out Week 4 after testing positive for COVID-19. After shutting down the facility multiple times, the Pats had just two practices to prepare for the game while breaking in a quarterback who doesn't have a long tenure with the organization to begin with. 

That was a recipe for disaster. 

Now the Pats get a full week to prep for a Niners team that will have to travel cross-country with some key injuries. The offensive line, in particular, has been hit hard. 

That doesn't bode well, as the Patriots can bring the heat. They rank third in the league in pressure percentage and don't have to blitz a lot to do it.

With a week to get the offense back on track, a good pass rush going against a banged-up offensive line and getting the benefit of a West Coast team coming to them, the Patriots are in a good spot for a rebound performance.