NFL picks, predictions, odds for Week 7: Will Vikings stay undefeated vs. Lions?

As NFL Week 7 kicks off, we got the first non-conference Thursday Night Football matchup of the 2024 season between the Denver Broncos and New Orleans Saints in the Sean Payton Bowl. The duel of rookie quarterbacks between the Broncos’ Bo Nix and the Saints’ Spencer Rattler turned into an ugly affair, with Denver dominating on the ground to send New Orleans to 2-5 on the season. We now look ahead to the rest of the weekend in our ClutchPoints NFL Week 7 picks, predictions, and odds column.

Last week started off as a historic week with 10 home dogs, the most since 1972. The NFL schedule continued to give us shocking results as 11 of the teams with 65% or more of the public money won and 10 of those teams covered. Las Vegas, the NFL, and the public bettors have gone mad! (And our picks suffered mightily because of it, see below).  So, what does the NFL Week 7 slate have in store?

NFL bye weeks roll on in Week 7, but we get a bonus game this weekend as just two teams head out on their midseason vacation. So, while we welcome the Kansas City Chiefs, Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Rams, and Miami Dolphins, we bid adieu to the surprisingly hot Chicago Bears and the (maybe) surprisingly not Dallas Cowboys.

With that, the NFL Week 7 schedule will include the Thursday game, a third straight London tilt at 9:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, seven 1 p.m. ET games, just three games in the late Sunday window, a Sunday nighter, and oddly, two Monday night meetings once again.

It was an absolutely brutal Week 6 for our picks, and there’s really no other way to say it. We were just 6-8 straight up and 4-10 against the spread. Heading into the NFL Week 7 picks, predictions, and odds column, we drop to 49-43 taking winners and 38-54 versus the Vegas number.

With that, let’s get right into the NFL Week 7 picks, predictions, and odds.

Previous Weeks: Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6

Courtesy of DraftKings, here are the NFL odds.

Denver Broncos (-2.5) at New Orleans Saints

The fact that Derek Carr is out with an injury makes this game more intriguing, not less. We all know that plenty of great QBs come from outside the first round, and the battle between first-rounder Bo Nix and fifth-rounder Spencer Rattler will be fun to watch.

This season, Bo Nix has thrown an interceptions (or two) in all three of his losses. He has not thrown the ball to the other team in the Broncos’ three wins. Rattler, on the other hand, only has two halves under his belt, but those two stanzas have a similar story to Nix’s tale. The former South Carolina Gamecock was 11 of 17 for 140 yards in the first half and the Saints were up 27-24. He threw two picks and was sacked five times in the second half and his team lost 51-27. Who will be the cleaner QB this week? We’ll guess Nix.

Pick: Broncos 16-12

Update: The Broncos absolutely manhandled the sad-sack Saints in a 33-10 drubbing, which was an easy cover.

New England Patriots at Jacksonville Jaguars (-5.5)

Speaking of rookie QB, Drake Maye breathed new life into the Patriots last week, throwing for 243 yards on 20-of-33 passing with three touchdowns and two interceptions. It wasn’t perfect and the Pats got blown out 41-21 by a good Texans team, but it was much better than before.

The other good news for the Patriots is that the Jaguars are not a good team. In fact, they are one of the worst in football, getting crushed by the Chicago Bears in their home away from home across the pond. Last season, the Jags won their second of back-to-back games in London, but this year’s team seems like it has quit. Give me the Pats to pull the upset.

Pick: Patriots 24-23

Tennessee Titans at Buffalo Bills (-9.5)

The Bills have always struggled against the Titans (see Music City Miracle), especially in the last few seasons with Derrick Henry at running back. Well, the Bills already got run over by Henry with the Ravens this season, so maybe they’ll fare better against their AFC South nemesis.

As for the Titans, they had a great shot at a win against the Colts last weekend coming off a bye, and they still laid an egg. This team, led by QB Will Levis, is just not good. With Amari Cooper coming in and giving the Bills a shot in the arm, this one will be a blowout. Bills by a billion, as they say.

Pick: Bills 35-10

Houston Texans at Green Bay Packers (-3)

Both the Texans and Packers blew out their opponents last week, winning by a combined 41 points over the Patriots and Cardinals. That seems like a better win for the Packers, but the Cardinals continue to be overrated, while the Patriots showed renewed fight with their new rookie QB.

It is also the official opinion of the NFL Week 7 picks, predictions, and odds column that the Texans are underrated after a slow start and losing Nico Collins. They have seemingly righted the ship now, and they will show that they are one of the best teams in the league this week by beating one of the top squads the NFC has to offer.

Pick: Texans 27-24

Miami Dolphins at Indianapolis Colts (-3)

The banged-up Dolphins ostensibly got healthier over their bye week and should be in better shape this Sunday. However, they will still be without Tua Tagovailoa, so that does hurt substantially. On the Colts' side, they are actually better with backup Joe Flacco right now, but it looks like Anthony Richardson is set to return. Jonathan Taylor might be another story, however.

Once again, this game is a referendum on Miami head coach Mike McDaniel. With a week to prepare and a healthier team, he should be able to coach up his team to a win. Here at the NFL Week 7 picks, predictions, and odds column, we still believe he is a good coach and should be able to do this. That opinion might change if he loses here.

Pick: Dolphins 23-20

Seattle Seahawks at Atlanta Falcons (-3)

Don’t look now, but the Falcons are on a three-game winning streak. Conversely, the Seahawks are on a three-game slide. With that in mind, this line seems a little suspicious, like they are begging you to take the Falcons.

However, you can’t double-okey-doke the NFL Week 7 picks, predictions, and odds column! See, they know we know that they know they want us to take the Falcons and that’s exactly what we are going to do. Does any of that make sense? No. But the Falcons are the hotter, better team and are at home. Let’s take the Dirty Birds.

Pick: Falcons 30-21

Cincinnati Bengals (-5.5) at Cleveland Browns

We’ll make this short and sweet. The Browns stink. Deshaun Watson stinks. And despite the Bengals regularly playing down to their level of competition this year, their midseason move up the standings has already started and will continue on Sunday.

Pick: Bengals 28-14

Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings (-1.5)

Game of the Week Alert! Arguably the two best teams in the NFC and easily two of the top five — and maybe even three — teams in the NFL face off in a killer matchup between Lions offensive genius Ben Johnson and Vikings defensive mastermind Brian Flores. All football fans should be dialed-in to this game.

The Lions suffered a killer blow last week, losing superstar Aidan Hutchison for the season, and maybe even beyond, with a broken leg. Plus, the Vikings are coming off a bye, giving Flores even more time to scheme his guys up. Still, the Lions have a ton of weapons on offense, and if they can turn this into a shootout, they can take it and get the edge in the NFC North.

Pick: Lions 35-33

Philadelphia Eagles (-3) at New York Giants

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This showdown in the NFC Least (not a typo) is the first of two Saquon Barkley revenge games. The star running back still has a lot of tread left on the tires, and through six games, he has been the best thing about the Eagles offense. Still, the Eagles are no longer a giant killer (pun intended) and the actual Giants are playing better than the results indicate.

There is a chance that Saquon goes off to show Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll that they screwed up. On the other hand, do the Eagles seem like a team right now that should have a three-point advantage over anyone on the road? We’ll go with the latter more than the former and take the G Men.

Pick: Giants 19-17

Las Vegas Raiders at Los Angeles Rams (-6.5)

Trading Davante Adams doesn’t really set the Raiders back all that much, as they haven’t had the star WR for the last three games. The Raiders went 1-2 in those games, with their only win coming against the sinking ship, dumpster fire that is the Browns.

The Rams are coming off a bye and that gave them the opportunity to get healthier after getting absolutely crushed by injuries this season. Puka Nacua likely won’t be back, but fellow wideout Cooper Kupp could be. It may be a lot easier to pick the Rams next week as Nacua and offensive lineman Joe Noteboom and Steve Avila could be back then, too, but for now, Kupp could make enough of a difference.

Pick: Rams 26-17

Carolina Panthers at Washington Commanders (-8)

Here is another one where we don’t have to use a lot of words in the NFL Week 7 picks, predictions, and odds column to explain our pick. The Panthers stink and Jayden Daniels is HIM. Enough said.

Pick: Commanders 31- 11

Kansas City Chiefs at San Francisco 49ers (-1.5)

The Chiefs have pulling out just enough to win down to a science. Sure, they still don’t have Rashee Rice or Isaiah Pacheco, but that’s OK. They have Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and a defense that looks better each week. Plus they have Andy Reid coming off a bye, which is always dangerous.

This pick is more pro-Chiefs staying undefeated and less anti-49ers because the NFC West squad is playing well, too. This honestly comes down to Reid, the bye, and Mahomes, as well as getting the points.

Pick: Chiefs 26-25

New York Jets (-2.5) at Pittsburgh Steelers

Whether the Steeler under center is Russell Wilson or Justin Fields, the QB will face a Jets D that will cause them problems all day. On the Jets side of the ball, getting Davante Adams will make an immediate impact, and the WR and Rodgers should easily get back to their old form if all goes through in the next few days.

If the Jets can cool it just a bit on the penalties — or at least get a little more forgiving referee corps — they should be able to take this game and keep their playoff hopes not just alive but well.

Pick: Jets 24-17

Baltimore Ravens (-3.5) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

This is the Monday Night Football game to tune into first and stay locked in on. These are two top-10 teams and this should be a phenomenal game. The huge battle here is between the Ravens' No. 1-ranked rushing defense vs. the No. 6 Buccaneers' rush attack on one side and the Ravens' No. 1 rushing offense vs. the Bucs’ No. 7 rushing defense on the other.

This may come down to which QB can make the most plays, though, as the rushing advantages could cancel each other out. While Lamar Jackson is incredible, don’t sleep on Baker Mayfield, who can make plays happen out of nowhere as well. This should be an excellent game, so let’s split the baby here and go Ravens by less than a field goal.

Pick: Ravens 28-27

Los Angeles Chargers (-2.5) at Arizona Cardinals

The Chargers are starting to find their stride under Jim Harbaugh, even though the high-energy coach suffered a scary heart issue last Sunday. His team is starting to understand who it is, though, and with rookie Kimani Vidal coming on strong, they could be in it for a Wild Card.

The Cardinals seemed to be in a similar position early in the season after a strong performance against the Bills and a win over the Rams. Since then, though, the team is 1-3 (the win did come against the 49ers), and even though they are fun to watch, they aren’t a weekly winner yet.

Pick: Chargers 28-21

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