NFL Week 7 Picks: Pittsburgh Steelers and New York Jets Rule The League

After six weeks of games, who's the best team in the NFL?

Some people will tell you its the Pittsburgh Steelers, with their smothering defense and the fact that they only get better with Ben Roethlisberger back.

Some will tell you the Jets, who have allowed only 16.8 ppg while scoring 26.5 ppg, have gotten Santonio Homes into the fold, and have opened up their offense. 

Both teams, however, have one loss in common: the Baltimore Ravens.

But Baltimore also lost to Cincinnati, who lost to New England.

Baltimore lost to New England, too.

New England, however, lost to the Jets.

Notice how the NFC is conspicuously missing from this discussion.

The AFC has just been that much better this year. 

With that food for thought, let's get to the picks for Week 7.

HOME TEAM IN CAPS

BALTIMORE (-13) over Buffalo

The only mystery in this one is how many points the Ravens will score.

Ravens 34 Bills 3

KANSAS CITY (OFF) over Jacksonville

No Garrard, no Trent Edwards. But it won't matter.

The Chiefs are for real, meaning while they might lose to teams like Indianapolis and Houston on the road, they will take care of the Jaguars at home.

Chiefs 21 Jaguars 10

Washington (+3) over CHICAGO

This was a coin flip for me. But in the end, I trust the Bears pass protection about as much as I'd trust an expired condom. Couple that with Donovan McNabb's ability to step it up against the Bears, especially in Chicago(4-2 all time), and the Redskins should take this one.

Redskins 24 Bears 20

ATLANTA (-3.5) over Cincinnati

Matt Ryan is 15-1 in his career starting at home. And Matty Ice is a much better quarterback than Carson Palmer right now.

The Falcons are a better team than the Bengals. They're one of only four teams in the NFC right now that could compete in the AFC.

Falcons 27 Bengals 17

TENNESSEE (-3) over Philadelphia

The Eagles did beat the Falcons last week, and Kolb looked sharp, but if the Falcons were in the AFC, they'd be in the second tier with the Titans, Colts, and Texans. I don't think the Eagles can keep up with those teams. Plus the Titans are already 2-0 against the NFC this season.

Titans 21 Eagles 16

Cleveland (+13) over NEW ORLEANS

Don't the Saints seem to play up or down to their competition every week?

And didn't Cleveland look competitive against the Steelers prior to that nasty Josh Cribbs hit?

Saints 31 Browns 20

San Fransisco (-3) over CAROLINA

Even nightmare seasons have positive points, like two game winning streaks against terrible teams.

But teams going through nightmare seasons tend to lose games like this one.

The 49ers should be fine, though, for this week.

49ers 16 Panthers 10

TAMPA BAY (-3) over St. Louis

Rams at home—take it to the bank.

Rams on the road—eh, not so much.

A tough decision because Tampa is only as good as its competition, and since St. Louis is a division leader the Bucs might think it's time to lose this game.

I'm still going with the Bucs though. St. Louis has to show me they can win on the road before I pick them.

Bucs 27 Rams 20

SEATTLE (-5.5) over Arizona

Winner takes the division. But any NFC West game is a venue call until these teams show me otherwise. 

Seahawks 28 Cardinals 21

DENVER (-7) over Oakland

Trusting Oakland on the road is never a good idea.

Broncos 31 Raiders 10

New England (+3) over SAN DIEGO

Vegas seems to think that these two teams are close.

They are, talent-wise.

So we turn to coaching, and realize that the Patriots are coached by Bill Belichick (who I think is having his best year as a coach since their last Super Bowl season) and the Chargers are coached by Norv Turner.

The Chargers will begin their turn around eventually, but not this week.

Patriots 34 Chargers 30

Minnesota (+3) over GREEN BAY

The Packers and Vikings both need to win this game. The Packers to get off the skids, the Vikings to get back in the race.

Going with the Vikings here—less injuries, more talent. 

Vikings 30 Packers 27

New York Football Giants (+3) over DALLAS

The Giants are not the defense you want to face when your team is undisciplined and uninspiring.

Stick a fork in Dallas—they're done!

Giants 27 Cowboys 23

MIAMI DOLPHINS GAME OF THE WEEK

Pittsburgh (-3) over MIAMI

The Steelers should be a six point favorite; the Dolphins are terrible at home. Sun Life Stadium is freaking haunted! 

All kidding aside, the Steelers are the best team in the NFL, while the Dolphins are a decent AFC team, which means they'd win the NFC by leaps and bounds. But after this game, make it 0-3 at home for my team.

The best news for the Dolphins this week? The fact that Justin Bieber is a Jet-Hating Dolphins fan, as he claimed on Twitter last Sunday. This means we can expect millions of teenage girls all over the world to become Dolphins fans, improving their merchandise sales.

Steelers 24 Dolphins 10

BYE WEEKS: Indianapolis, Houston, New York Jets, Detroit

LAST WEEK (vs. Spread) 7-7 (6-7-1)

Overall (vs. Spread) 48-42 (43-42-2)

Thomas Galicia is now 27 years old. No seriously, his birthday was yesterday. As a birthday gift, follow him on twitter. New Dolfan Diaries entry coming Sunday.