Week 7 Pickem's

Week seven feature matchups that will begin to seperate some teams from the pack as favourites will emerge. Teams with losing records at this stage desperately need a win to keep in the wild race that is securing a playoff spot.

Here We Go

New York Giants 24, St Louis Rams 20

This game will be featured in London where Case Keenum has been making strides…yes you heard that correctly… He is playing better for the Rams in recent weeks. What a world we live in where major receivers such as Allen Robinson, DeAndre Hopkins are off to slow starts but Kenny Britt is having a career year. Giants corner Janoris Jenkins is returning to his former team while having a solid season so this will be a matchup worth watching. Eli Manning is 4-0 against the Rams over his career and with recent explosive play from Odell Beckham Junior this will be the determining factor in this game and bad news for the Rams.

Cleveland Browns 16, Cincinnati Bengals 17

The Browns in this series have been dominated by the Bengals in recent years but this Bengals team lacks previous years’ regular season swagger; particularly offensively. This is a game where earlier in the week I predicted the Browns to win and finally record their first victory of the season. However, with recent doubt surrounding Terrelle Pyror’s availability and Joe Haden still being doubtful it seems that the underachieving Bengals hand Cleveland another heart wrenching loss. Hue Jackson has revenge on his mind but without Quarterback Josh McKown starting it’ll be a challenge to get this team rolling.

*Fantasy Alert Gary Barnidge doesn’t have Josh McKown…..back but its all they got

Washington Redskins 20, Detroit Lions 31

Tough game to pick here; as Kirk Cousins and Matt Stafford are at the top of the NFL in passer rating which with everything considered is pretty expected considering the unpredictability of the NFL so far. The Redskins are streaking at the moment and my gut tells me to pick against them so in an even battle the Lions defense finally shows up and plays out of their skins to save their season.

Oakland Raiders 34, Jacksonville Jaguars 35

The Raiders are a team that if their defense shows any signs of life and ranks between 18-22 in terms of total yards they will have a winning record. Unfortunately for the Raiders they can’t close the floodgates when it come stopping passing yards. Across the way the Jaguars offense has been identical in terms of disappointment when it comes to passing the ball. Somethings got to give and by the standard we’re seeing it looks like the defense of the Raiders will be the one to crumble.

Fantasy Alert* If Allen Robinson doesn’t produce don’t expect much for the rest of the year

Kansas City Chiefs 23, New Orlean Saints 17

The Chiefs beat down a Raiders team that became totally one dimensional as Kansas City’s defense shut the Raiders passing attack down. Andy Reid off a bye is historically brilliant so obviously the preparation won’t be as dominant for the Saints. New Orleans is similar to Oakland which boasts a high octane passing game but an inconsistent run game as well as a woeful defense which proved to work in the Chiefs favour last week. Kansas City is at home and if they contain Drew Brees it will be an uphill battle for the Saints to stop a balanced team with a revitalized run game.

Fantasy Alert* Spencer Ware

Tennessee Titans 20, Indianapolis Colts 17

With the Titans being one of the more aggressive blitzing teams under Dick LeBeau in the NFL the Colts offensive line will be under fire..or more accurately Andrew Luck. Luck has been on the injury report to what seems like the last five seasons and this could be yet another bruising outing for Luck, which is a concern for the Colts. The Titans will be playing keep away with Demarco Murray and Derrick Henry pounding into a weak Colt’s front seven so the Titans should hold off a late rally from luck.

Minnesota Vikings 20, Philadelphia Eagles 14

The Vikings defense is still on track to outperform the Chicago Bears for shear dominance in a regular season. In this new age of offensive juggernauts, it is impressive to see a defense suffocate opposing offenses. Carson Wentz has been solid in his rookie season but from the deceiving ‘A-Gap’ blitz scheme the Vikings run they have a high chance of confusing the young signal caller. This game will be an old school physical matchup that authentic football fans will enjoy.

New York Jets 13, Baltimore Ravens 23

The Ravens have been through the ringer in terms of injuries this season but still play close contests that generally go against them. In terms of quality football, I would look to other games but if you’re a fan of poor secondary play and poor overall football look no further, especially now as Baltimore will be without Terrell Suggs. This game gets even more exciting if Geno Smith takes control of the Jets offense…Sarcasm turning off now.

Fantasy Alert* Terrance West should see the lion share of carries

Atlanta Falcons 21, San Diego Chargers 20

Sorry Charger fans; I smell another heart breaker just after a game where Mike McCoy took a step away off the edge against Denver. Both Matt Ryan and Phillip Rivers are tossing dimes left and right but from how the chips have fallen and the weapons the Falcons have it’ll be just enough to overpower San Diego

New England Patriots 30, Pittsburgh Steelers 10

Potentially, this would have been the game of the year if not for Ben Roethlisberger being sidelined with a knee injury. As a healthy Pittsburgh side minus the Falcons and Seahawks have enough to keep up with New England. Ryan Shazier may be sidelined due to injury which opens the door for James White to make plays from out of the back field.

Arizona Cardinals 23, Seattle Seahawks 27

The series between these two is generally a high quality affair with superstars across the field on both teams. The secondaries are at an elite standard but without safety Kam Chancellor this leaves a playmaking force off the field. We saw how this led to Atlanta taking advantage of Kam’s absence which led to Seattle giving up big plays in the passing game last week. With Michael Bennet back in the lineup this will help stop the bleeding and how Seattle’s offense is rolling it’ll just be enough to take one from the Cardinals in the desert.

Buffalo Bills 20, Miami Dolphins 10

The Bills Keep rolling and prove Jay Ajayi's big game last week was a flash in the pan. If LeSean McCoy is out due to a game time decision this could change the complexion of the game.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17, San Francisco 49ers 7

The Bucs run wild on the leagues worst run defense without Doug Martin.

Fantasy Alert* Mike Evans off play action.