Andrew Wilsher
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NFL Week 7 has arrived and order was somewhat restored last week with road favorites going 9-0 against the spread. We saw the Bills edge the Jets last Monday night and now this week each team will welcome a new star receiver to the franchise, after the Jets traded for Davante Adams while the Bills brought in Amari Cooper. In addition, we have a battle of 1-5 teams on Sunday morning as the New England Patriots battle the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium in London. What will Week 7 have in store for us? Let’s dive into our Pickswise experts’ 3-star NFL best bets for this Sunday’s games after going 4-1 last week, while you can also find out our NFL picks on the side and total for EVERY matchup this season.
NFL Week 7 best bet: Houston Texans +3 over Green Bay Packers (-115)
Odds available at Bet365 at time of publishing. Playable at that number.
We have a battle of two contenders at Lambeau Field here as the Houston Texans travel to Green Bay to take on the Packers. Both are coming off big victories, as the Texans decimated the Patriots 41-21 to improve to a 5-1 record while the Packers crushed the Cardinals 34-13. I had this matchup as more of a pick ‘em and with that in mind I’ll gladly take Houston with a field goal for my Texans vs Packers best bet. They might be on the road, but this Texans team is full of momentum right now. CJ Stroud just threw 3 touchdown passes and his rapport with Stefon Diggs only continues to get stronger, while Joe Mixon returned with a vengeance last week against New England, going for 102 yards on the ground and scoring 2 total touchdowns. That’s twice in his 3 games this season that he’s hit triple digits in rushing and he should be able to give the Packers all they can handle. In addition, Green Bay has allowed the 6th-most passing yards this season and has given up 260+ yards in 4 of their 6 games, including to Will Levis, so could be vulnerable to Stroud and his plethora of receiving options.
As for the Packers’ offense, Jordan Love continues to deliver, having thrown for the 2nd-most touchdowns in the NFL (12) despite missing 2 games this season. While the Texans have given up a lot of TDs through the air, they rank 3rd in passing yards per attempt allowed so could have some success in slowing Love down. Plus, the quarterback hasn’t always been successful when airing it out. Love also ranks 2nd for interceptions thrown which, again, isn’t great when he’s only played 4 times this season. Houston has the talent in the secondary to punish Love if he isn’t accurate, as we saw happen to Drake Maye last week. This should be an explosive encounter between 2 hot teams, but with the momentum the Texans have right now, they look great value with 3 points in this one.
Read our full Houston Texans vs Green Bay Packers predictions
NFL Week 7 best bet: Atlanta Falcons -3 over Seattle Seahawks (-110)
Odds available at BetMGM at time of publishing. Playable at that number.
The Atlanta Falcons will be looking to extend their winning streak to 4 games when they entertain the Seattle Seahawks at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday afternoon. A new-look Atlanta team was slow to get going behind quarterback Kirk Cousins, but the offense now appears to be a well-oiled machine. Cousins and company have reeled off consecutive victories over the NFC South rival New Orleans Saints, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers. They also won at the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 2. Cousins is fourth in the NFL in passing thanks in large part to hanging 509 yards (and 4 touchdowns) on Tampa Bay during the Week 6 installment of Thursday Night Football. As for the running game, Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier churned out a combined 200 yards at Carolina this past Sunday.
Seattle is just 1 game behind Atlanta in the standings at 3-3, but this simply isn’t a very good football team. The Seahawks started 3-0 at the expense of poor competition — the Denver Broncos, New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins. They have since lost to the Detroit Lions, New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers, all by at least 9 points. Yes, they lost to the Giants at home — 29-20 in Week 5. Geno Smith is by no means a terrible QB, but he has as many interceptions as touchdowns (6 apiece) and is not good enough to win games by himself when the running game is nonexistent. Seattle is 29th in the league in rushing, averaging 96.5 points per contest. I can’t see the visitors keeping up with Atlanta in this one — and they likely won’t even come close.
Read our full Seattle Seahawks vs Atlanta Falcons predictions
NFL Week 7 best bet: Las Vegas Raiders vs Los Angeles Rams Over 43.5 (-110)
Odds available at Fanatics Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to 44.5.
I think the over also makes some sense in this spot, because I’m not a believer in either defense. The Raiders have surrendered a whopping 66 points the last 2 weeks to the Steelers and Broncos of all teams, so Matthew Stafford has to be licking his chops coming off the bye week. Stafford’s last three matchups before the bye were against tough Packers, Bears and 49ers defenses, so this is a massive step down in competition for the Rams’ offense.
On the flip side of the ball, the Rams are playing a lot of young guys on defense in the wake of Aaron Donald’s retirement — and it shows. They also lost defensive coordinator Raheem Morris this offseason, and as a result the Rams have given up at least 24 points in each of their first 5 games this year. Las Vegas knows it can’t run the ball, so I expect both teams to be throwing early and often. Los Angeles has given up a league-worst 9.0 yards per pass attempt this season, so even Aidan O’Connell should be able to have some success on Sunday.
Read our full Las Vegas Raiders vs Los Angeles Rams predictions
