Greetings football fans. Last week, I predicted wins for the Miami Dolphins, Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Green Bay Packers. The Dolphins and Steelers won big against their opponents while the Packers didn’t fare too well against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Despite the setback, I went 2-1 for the second straight week and my overall season record is 14-3. Now that you’ve been brought up to speed, here are my best picks for Week 7.
Third-Best Bet: Chicago Bears at Los Angeles Rams (-5.5)
This is an interesting matchup on multiple fronts. On the heels of a 23-16 win against the Carolina Panthers, the Bears improved to 5-1 on the season. Meanwhile, the Rams dropped to 4-2 following a disappointing loss to the San Francisco 49ers. Despite their 5-1 mark, the Bears have been winning ugly, and that’s putting it nicely.
On the flip side of the coin, all the Rams’ victories have come against the teams in the NFC East division. Those teams are a combined 5-18-1. Yikes. Although I was born and raised in Chicago, the Bears haven’t looked overly impressive to me this season. At the same time, their defense has been solid.
And in the two previous matchups between these two teams, the Bears’ D has played well against Jared Goff, forcing five interceptions and zero touchdowns. Additionally, Goff has completed just 50 percent of his passes in those two games.
Against my better judgment, I’m going to pick the Bears to win in a close, low-scoring affair.
James’ pick: Bears win by a field goal.
Second-Best Bet: Green Bay Packers (-3.5) at Houston Texans
The Green Bay Packers and Houston Texans are on opposite sides of the spectrum. The Texans have dropped five of their first six games. Meanwhile, the Packers have won four of their first five games. Aside from the records of these two teams, I’m picking the Packers in this one for a myriad of reasons. First, the Texans have the third-worst defense in the league, giving up 423 yards per outing. Not only that, but Houston is ranked dead last in rushing yards allowed per game at 177.5.
This bodes well for a Packers squad that comes in as the sixth-best rushing team in the NFL, averaging 139.4 yards per outing. After taking a thumping at the hands of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the tune of 38-10, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers will be eager to get back into the win column against a team that has had its fair share of struggles from a defensive standpoint.
James’ pick: Green Bay Packers win and cover the spread
James’s NFL Best Bet of Week 7: Kansas City Chiefs (-10) at Denver Broncos
Now it’s time for my lock pick of the week. While the Denver Broncos come into this one with a 2-3 record, both of those victories have occurred in each of their last two outings. Kansas City started the season with four straight victories.
They came up a bit short against the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 5 and followed that up with a 26-17 over the Buffalo Bills last week. Given the fact that Patrick Mahomes has a perfect 5-0 mark against the Broncos, that trend will continue here.
James’ pick: Chiefs win but fail to cover the spread.
