NFL Picks Week 7: Detroit Lions and Teams That Must Win on Sunday

Ask any NFL coach and he'll probably tell you, in typical "coach speak", that every game is a "must-win." Press the coaches of these three teams just a bit further and they'll continue to tell you that, and for good reason.

Detroit Lions

Too often in recent years have we seen surprising teams in the NFL get off to blindingly fast starts before falling back to Earth over the remainder of the season. Detroit could well be one of those teams if it doesn't get its act together in a hurry.

The Lions were lucky to enter Week 6 undefeated after needing furious comebacks to defeat the Buccaneers, the Vikings and the Cowboys in the early going. The 49ers exposed Detroit's vulnerability on the ground, both offensively and defensively, by putting up 203 yards rushing while limiting the Lions to just 66 yards in that same capacity.

Jim Schwartz must pick his battles wisely this week as he leads his young team into Atlanta against a veteran Falcons squad. Another loss could very well send Matthew Stafford, Ndamukong Suh and the gang headed in the wrong direction, and fast.

Houston Texans

Speaking of teams stuck on a downward spiral, the Texans have dropped three of their last four games amidst injuries to Andre Johnson and Mario Williams. Johnson should be back at some point this season, while Williams will miss the remainder with a torn pectoral muscle.

In the meantime, the task falls to veteran quarterback Matt Schaub to keep the team on track to earn the AFC South crown that was so widely bestowed to them before the season began. That effort begins in earnest this week, when Houston travels to Tennessee to take on the division-leading Titans. Hence, the Texans need a win here not only to get back on track, but also to ensure that they don't fall too far behind in the division.

Dallas Cowboys

How 'bout them Cowboys? They've yet to win a game by more than three points or lose one by more than four, which is to say, they always find a way to make things interesting.

On paper, that shouldn't be the case this week against the Sam Bradford-less Rams, though with Tony Romo as up-and-down as he's been this season—and Jason Garrett as timid a playcaller as he's been—you can never quite tell. A loss wouldn't necessarily drop Dallas from the race in the NFC East, which is already rather muddled as is, though a game against a winless opponent is clearly an opportunity to "right the ship" that the Cowboys can hardly afford to squander.