NFL Picks Week 7: San Diego Chargers and Road Warriors That Will Run Wild

Week 7 of the NFL season is a transitional period for many teams. This is the time when playoff contenders start separating themselves from the pack, while pretenders who got off to hot starts will begin falling back to the pack. 

However, there are a few games that feature teams who we think will be contenders, but still have a lot to prove. The one that immediately jumps to mind is between the San Diego Chargers and New York Jets. 

The Chargers are 4-1, but have not been impressive in any way, shape or form, and are feeling the heat from the Oakland Raiders. 

The Jets are in the same boat, except their record is 3-3. Mark Sanchez has not had terrible numbers over the last two weeks—30-for-51, 377 yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions—but he is not making anyone around him better. 

It is tempting to go with the Jets in this game, simply because the Chargers always play down to their competition and they have to travel to the east coast for an early kick off. That being said, the Chargers are the more talented team and nothing the Jets have done this season makes me believe they can win it. 

Chargers 30, Jets 21.

Here are two more road teams that will dominate this week.

Chicago Bears at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

I am cheating a little with this game, because it is being played in London. However, the Bears are technically the road team, so it still counts. 

The Bears are frustrating to watch. They have games where they look like one of the best teams in the NFC— see Week 1 against Atlanta and Week 6 against Minnesota. However, they do not play like that every time out. 

Maybe this is just the kind of team they are and we have to accept it. That said, I believe the Bears are a better team than the Buccaneers. 

The Buccaneers bounced back against New Orleans last week after being humbled by San Francisco in Week 5, but I still have no idea how good or bad this team really is. 

In a lot of ways, these two teams are mirror images of each other. They don't have great playmakers on either side of the ball, but they have enough good players to win eight or nine games this season. 

I think the Bears are a little bit deeper than the Bucs, and they will prove it by winning this game. 

Bears 27, Bucs 20.

Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings

While the first two games are essentially toss-ups, there is no doubt about who is going to win this game. 

The Packers are the best team in the NFL right now. Aaron Rodgers is the best quarterback on the planet, posting video-game numbers, with 17 touchdowns, three interceptions and completing 70 percent of his passes. 

The Vikings offense is a mess. The Donovan McNabb experiment did not work out, so rookie Christian Ponder is going to start for the first time in his career. 

This game will be over before it begins.

Packers 34, Vikings 6.