NFL Week 7 LWOSports Staff Picks

Danny: Trying to figure out the NFC East is like rocket science this year. The Giants aren’t surprising with how bad they are. The Eagles, however, should be much better than their record indicates. The Eagles have faced the top two defenses in the Steelers and Ravens the past two weeks. The offense has surprisingly done really well. Carson Wentz is rounding back into form and carrying a bunch of backups yet again. Help could be on the way in this one which DeSean Jackson likely to play Thursday night per reports.

Shane C.: Two teams at a crossroads playing with one of the highest implied totals on the Week 7 NFL slate at 55.5 points. The Detroit Lions were left for dead by their fanbase calling for the ouster of head coach Matt Patricia as well as general manager Bob Quinn. After a much-needed bye week, the Lions went down to Jacksonville and put an old-fashioned butt whooping on the Jaguars. The defense, which was railroaded earlier by the Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints, appears to be stiffening. No longer are the Lions in the bottom ten of defenses across the board against each position. In fact, they are one of the best against tight ends and firmly in the middle against quarterbacks and wide receivers. They’ll need to continue this trend as Atlanta’s passing game just dismantled the woe-be-gone Minnesota Vikings, shout out to Garrison Keillor.

As mentioned above the Falcons are coming off a much-needed victory after parting ways with their head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Thomas Demitroff. The defense, typically stealing defeat from the jaws of victory, did their job ensuring the win for interim head coach Raheem Morris. Julio Jones returned to form and with the emerging superstar Calvin Ridley, Matt Ryan was able to hang 40 points on the Vikings. 

This week, Atlanta is a two and a half point home favorite. However, which Falcons team will show up? And, the same can be said for the Lions. Both teams can put up points and the last team with the ball should have the chance to win. If the Lions can contain the Falcons pass catchers they should be in a solid position to win the game. Todd Gurley has shown he still has some gas left in the tank and the Lions’ weakness is stopping the run. Conversely, the Falcons’ defensive strength is stopping the run and their secondary is terrible. That said, I like Matthew Stafford and company to do just enough to put Matt Prater in a position to kick their way to victory.

Filip: What a great matchup this is. Two undefeated teams face off in the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Tennessee Titans. This game has huge AFC playoff implications and should probably have been flexed into primetime. Besides the playoff implications, there are just going to be many great individual matchups in this game. For example, the Steelers pass rush vs the Titans offensive line or Derrick Henry against the Pittsburgh run defense.

Speaking of the Steelers, they absolutely shut down the playoff-hopeful Browns in Week 6, and it wasn’t even close with Pittsburgh winning by 31 points. This game really exemplified what the Steelers are: they have the best defense in the league. They get to the quarterback with the likes of T.J. Watt very easily. In fact, they lead the league in sacks and pressures.

This pass rush is so beneficial for the Steelers, not because they can get teams into long-yardage situations, but they force quarterbacks to make errant throws or pick-sixes. This happened in last week’s game when Minkah Fitzpatrick took it to the house.

On the offensive side, many people worried about them not playing well due to Ben Roethlisberger‘s return from injury. Though they haven’t played to their best yet, they have improved every week, and that can be seen when they put up 38 points against the Browns. Aside from Roethlisberger, who is having himself a nice year, the Steelers have gotten their run game going with James Conner, and they have a promising wide receiver in Chase Claypool who has had five touchdowns in the past two games.

Moving onto the Titans, they surprised everybody with their domination over the Bills in Week 5. They were expected to not play well, due to the lack of training, but they looked like they were shot out of a cannon. There was so much energy on that offense, and currently, they look like the best offense in the league.

Derrick Henry is running up and down the field. Most notably, he recorded 212 rushing yards in the Week 6 win against the Texans. Looks like, after a rather slow start, Henry has gotten back to his form. However, the biggest performer on that Titans offense has been the quarterback, Ryan Tannehill. With his 13 touchdowns and a quarterback rating of 83.2, many have considered putting him in the MVP race. He should continue playing well especially, with the recent return of his star receiver, A.J. Brown.

The biggest concern in this game for the Titans is their defense. Although they have the best turnover differential, they do give up a lot of yards. For example, they gave up 427 yards and 36 points to the Texans in Week 6. Though they do give up a lot of yards, they could force turnovers to put their offense into prime field positions in this game.

After looking at both teams, let’s focus on the matchups. The Titans offense has been fantastic and looks unstoppable, but the only team in the league that looks like they can stop them is the Steelers. The Steelers won’t fully stop Derrick Henry, but they might limit him. As for the pass rush, Tannehill has looked great, but the Steelers pass rush can make him uncomfortable. It should be easier with the Titans losing their left tackle Taylor Lewan to an ACL injury this week. Still, the Titans should be able to put up points because that Steelers secondary sometimes looks shaky, and Tannehill can most definitely throw the ball deep. 

On the defensive side for Tennessee, they will give up points to the Steelers, but what is crucial is the pass rush. They just need to pressure Big Ben into getting sacked or, better yet, making poor throws which could result in interceptions. 

One last word on the matchups, the most underrated matchup of this game is the duel between two of the smartest coaches in the league in Mike Vrabel and Mike Tomlin. It will be very interesting to see the plays each of these coaches call, and how they will try to out-coach each other.

In the end, the Titans rely on their offense to put up points, but the Steelers will be able to limit them, and Pittsburgh’s offense will put up points against the Titans defense. The Steelers will win a tight one.

Prediction: 27-24 Steelers Win

Josh Allen is having his best season yet and will look to take advantage of the Jets’ defense for a nice bounce-back performance in Week 7. The Bills should also take advantage of this weaker opponent to try and re-establish their running game. The Bills have been inefficient on the ground, which has contributed to their recent losses. Devin Singletary and Zack Moss need to work together to get the Bills’ run game back where it needs to be. As for defense, the Bills’ pass rushers need to begin to generate pressure, while their front seven needs to prove they can force opponents into passing situations. While Buffalo may be dealing with some issues on both sides, they should pick up a win this week against an inferior Jets team.

Nick: When the (1-5) Washington Football Team and (2-4) Dallas Cowboys meet, it could be for first place in the NFC East. Granted, that’s not saying much given how wretched the division has been through the first six weeks of the season.

Chris: Fresh off a disastrous 38-7 loss at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ hands last Sunday, the Green Bay Packers look to get back on track in a rare matchup with the Houston Texans in Week 7. In a game that fell apart quickly for the Packers, Tampa Bay scored 38 straight points after falling down 10-0 to hand Matt Lafleur just his fourth regular-season loss as the team’s head coach. Flipping to the other side of the field, the 2020 season has been anything but kind for the Houston Texans. Opening the season with one of the toughest schedules in the league, the Texans have lost five of six games after a 42-36 overtime loss at the hands of their divisional rival Tennessee Titans. A game featuring two of the brightest stars in the league in Deshaun Watson and Aaron Rodgers, here’s what to expect in this matchup.

For the second year in a row, the Green Bay Packers were blown out after their bye week. Losing in a similar fashion to their 37-8 beatdown at the hands of the San Francisco 49ers a year ago, the Packers were unable to move the ball on Sunday against a physical Tampa Bay defensive line that harassed Aaron Rodgers all game long. Heading into an easier matchup with a Texans defense that has struggled to get stops all season, expect Green Bay’s offense to have a better showing in Week 7. Ranked in the bottom three teams in the league in both total yards per game and rush yards per game, look for Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams to get a heavy workload. On the defensive side of the ball, the past few weeks have been anything but kind to Mike Pettine‘s group. Unable to generate a consistent pass rush at points behind star outside linebacker Za’Darius Smith, the team will need to be much better if they hope to contain Deshaun Watson on Sunday. 

A team that was expected to contend for the AFC South crown in 2020, the Houston Texans have struggled mightily through six weeks. After firing longtime head coach Bill O’Brien two weeks ago, Houston has begun to play better football under Romeo Crennel. Following a 30-14 victory against the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 5, the Texans lost a heartbreaker in Tennessee on Sunday, dropping them to 1-5 on the season. With Deshaun Watson at quarterback, Houston remains a dangerous opponent for any opposing team, leading to an intriguing matchup with a vulnerable Green Bay defense.

Currently ranked 15th in the league in rushing yards per game, the Packers run defense has struggled at points to stop opposing running backs over the past few games. After allowing Buccaneers running back Ronald Jones to pass the century mark in their week six loss, expect David Johnson to be the focal point for the Texans offense and one of the keys to victory if they hope to upset the Packers on Sunday. Romeo Crennel’s group will be in tough against one of the games premier offenses on the defensive side of the ball. Ranking in the top ten in the league in yards per game, rushing yards per game, and points per game, Houston will need a big game from J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus if they hope to slow down Aaron Rodgers and pull off the upset in this one. 

A game that looks intriguing on paper with two of the game’s great quarterbacks, expect Matt Lafleur and company to bounce back after an embarrassing loss last Sunday. While Houston has begun to play better football the past few weeks, they still lack the talent on defense to slow down Aaron Rodgers and all of the Packers weapons.

Final Score: Green Bay 35 Houston 20

Luca: This week, I am taking the Kansas City Chiefs over the Denver Broncos.

Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals (SNF)