NFL Week 7 predictions: Projecting every game for Week 7, from Texans vs Packers to Chiefs vs 49ers

Sean Payton returning to the Superdome on Thursday Night Football? ‘Revenge Game’ narrative unleashed. The New Orleans Saints offensive line has been abysmal as of late due to injuries, allowing 19 QB hits and 6 sacks in the last two games. Meanwhile, the Broncos defense excels at creating pressure and getting to the quarterback. Both defenses should fare well in this one, but there’s not a chance we’re picking against Payton when he’s facing his former team.

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It feels like cruelty for the National Football League to put London through this. The worst defense in the NFL (Jacksonville Jaguars) versus the worst offense (New England Patriots), a stoppable force vs a movable object. Jacksonville does have the pass rushers (Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker) to exploit the Patriots’ woeful offensive line, but Drake Maye could also find some success against the Jaguars’ secondary. We would highly recommend sleeping in for this one, but the Jaguars should pull out a win. Again, sleeping in is a far better alternative than watching Sunday’s Week 7 opener.

We have two of the worst run defenses in the NFL facing two of the league’s best young running backs. If that’s not enough to entice you with offensive fireworks, the Seahawks’ offense is outstanding when Geno Smith is kept upright and the Falcons’ pass rush is the worst in football. However, Atlanta boasts the healthier roster right now and it’s playing with a lot more confidence than the Seahawks, which we believe translates into the Falcons pulling out a victory in a high-scoring game.

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The Buffalo Bills receiving corps is especially underwhelming this season, which has resulted in one of the worst two-game stretches in Josh Allen’s career since he became a top quarterback. Meanwhile, Will Levis is either making dumbfounding decisions with the football or inaccurate passes and this Bills defense can exploit that even with key injuries. We’re not expecting a lot of points in this Week 7 matchup, but a great performance from this Bills defense plus a Grand Canyon-sized quarterback advantage should push Buffalo to a win.

Watch: Calvin Ridley sounds off on Will Levis after Week 6 loss

While the Cincinnati Bengals have one of the league’s worst defenses, Deshaun Watson is proving that he and this Cleveland Browns offensive line can’t even perform at a below-average level against matchups like this. Cleveland’s defense had a nice turnaround in Week 6 and the pass rush should be able to generate fairly consistent pressure against Joe Burrow. There are just too many weapons on this Bengals offense for Cleveland to deal with and four scoring drives is probably all Cincinnati needs to beat Cleveland.

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Two of the best, young quarterbacks in the NFL is a recipe for arguably the best game in Week 7. The Houston Texans offense looked even better this past Sunday with the return of Joe Mixon. Meanwhile, the Green Bay Packers offense is coming off its best performance of the season. Jordan Love and C.J. Stroud are more than capable of going shot-for-shot in a game that should’ve been on Sunday Night Football. Ultimately, the deciding factor in this game is which defense can generate the most pressure and get the opposing quarterback uncomfortable the most. That’s where the Texans have a significant advantage.

With Snoop Huntley starting another game for the Miami Dolphins, the key here for Mike McDaniel will be feeding Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane against an Indianapolis Colts defense that has allowed 120-plus rushing yards in five-of-six games this year. Unfortunately for Miami, it lost Jaelan Phillips to a season-ending injury and that raises serious questions about how often it can generate pressure. Anthony Richardson is expected to start in Week 7, but Jonathan Taylor’s status is still uncertain. Ultimately, which version of Richardson the Colts get probably decides this one.

There are a few must-see games in Week 7 and the NFC North is responsible for a pair of them. This Minnesota Vikings-Detroit Lions matchup loses some of its luster with Aidan Hutchinson (fractured tibia) going down. While we’re still very excited to see the chess match between Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson versus Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores, Hutchinson’s absence looms large. Sam Darnold thrives from a clean pocket and with no Hutchinson, Detroit will likely struggle to get to the Vikings quarterback. It bodes very well for Justin Jefferson, who can feast on a defense that primarily plays man coverage.

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While the ‘Revenge Game’ narrative is overused, it absolutely applies to Saquon Barkley facing the New York Giants in Week 7. The All-Pro running back will certainly be even more motivated after a season-worst performance in Week 6 and there are few things offensive linemen love more than helping their running back get revenge against the team that wouldn’t pay him. Plus, as we’ve seen throughout the year, the Giants’ defense really only plays well when its defensive line can dominate and the Eagles’ offensive line won’t be nearly as easy to create penetration against as the Cincinnati Bengals (4 sacks) and Seattle Seahawks (7 sacks) were.

Even if Cooper Kupp doesn’t return in Week 7, Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay is going to feed Kyren Williams all the carries he can handle against a defense allowing over 140 rushing yards per game. If Kupp does return, which is very much on the table, Matthew Stafford will finally have the offensive weapon he’s been missing even as he’s played like an All-Pro quarterback. As for the Las Vegas Raiders, barring a takeover game by Maxx Crosby, this team just doesn’t seem disciplined enough nor talented enough to win this matchup.

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Jayden Daniels is simply playing at an MVP-caliber level right now, which feels absurd for a rookie quarterback, with the matchup often not even making a difference. In Week 7, the Washington Commanders star faces a Carolina Panthers defense that is allowing a 109.1 QB rating this year to the opposition with 12 touchdown passes and a 69.5% completion rate. This is an opportunity for Washington to win in a blowout.

With Christian McCaffrey out and Jordan Mason (AC joint sprain) uncertain for Week 7, Kyle Shanahan is going to have an even harder time running the football against a Kansas City Chiefs defense that has allowed just 64,3 rush ypg and a 3.0 ypc average in the last four games. With that said, the Chiefs offense has nothing outside of Travis Kelce and this San Francisco 49ers defense can put Fred Warner near him. We’re not expecting many touchdowns in this one, but history says to not pick against Patrick Mahomes when he is facing the 49ers.

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If you’re noticing a trend with our NFL Week 7 predictions, there are quite a few low-scoring games. Two of the best defenses in football go head-to-head on Sunday Night Football in a slugfest that probably won’t have many highlights. Aaron Rodgers (74.5 QB rating) has been very bad when pressured this season and that is one thing T.J. Watt and Co. will do in Week 7. New York should keep it close because of its stout defense causing issues for Justin Fields, but the better defense and the more well-coached team pulls out the win.

The Baltimore Ravens offense looks unstoppable right now and it should feast against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense that allows the ninth-highest yards per carry average (4.7) and the fifth-most passing yards per game (252.3). With that said, Baltimore’s defensive weakness is top wide receivers and Tampa Bay has two of them in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. This should be a phenomenal Monday Night Football game, but the Ravens’ ground game and a few more playmakers defensively swing this one.

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There’s a Monday Night Football doubleheader in Week 7, but you can only watch the Los Angeles Chargers vs Arizona Cardinals on ESPN+. Arizona doesn’t have the bodies up front to compete with a very physical Chargers team and will likely lose the battle in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Kyler Murray might deliver a few splash plays to Marvin Harrison Jr. and Trey McBride, but this Chargers roster is built to beat teams like the Cardinals.