There are no longer any undefeated teams remaining in the NFL as we come into Week 7 of the 2023 season. It was the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles holding up that mantle last week, but both were taken down in shocking fashion at the hands of the Browns and Jets, respectively. Unfortunately, we didn't see those shocking results coming with our NFL picks. But hey, even with that, we still went 9-6... you have to take that.
But it's onward and upward and the NFL Week 7 slate promises a ton of action, not the least of which is the titanic Sunday Night Football clash between a pair of now-5-1 teams, the Eagles and explosive Miami Dolphins. The result could be a power plant of electricity with how these two teams are capable of cooking.
The rest of the slate we have to make our NFL picks with, though, isn't too shabby either. Can the Buffalo Bills get right against the lowly New England Patriots? Will the Detroit Lions keep cruising as they go on the road to face a still-trying-to-get-out-of-their-own-way Baltimore Ravens team? Will the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers provide their usual fireworks?
After having only two teams on bye a week ago, that number jumps to six in Week 7 with the Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans, New York Jets and Tennessee Titans all out of action for the week. The good news is that there is plenty of action for us left to absorb -- but first, we're going through every Week 7 game with our NFL picks and score predictions.
2023 NFL Picks Record: 57-36 (Week 6: 9-6)
NFL picks and score predictions for Week 7
Trevor Lawrence is dealing with what the Jaguars have categorized as a "knee sprain", which is not what you want on three day's rest for Thursday Night Football, even more so on the road. The Saints are a baffling offense right now, but the defense facing C.J. Beathard on a short week should give New Orleans a home win.
Whether it's PJ Walker, Deshaun Watson or even Tim Couch coming off of, well, the couch, I don't have faith in this iteration of the Browns offense right now. The defense, contrarily, might be the best unit in the NFL right now. With Anthony Richardson out again, I expect Cleveland's defense to all but completely shut down the Colts, driving the way to a victory.
There's at least a conversation to be had that Tyrod Taylor might make the Giants offense more functional than Daniel Jones, which is good news as he's projected to be the starter in Week 7. He should produce somewhat, but Sam Howell has the Commanders working sneakily well on offense and New York will get clipped again in this divsion rivalry.
Detroit might be one of the rare cases of a team that had the preseason hype train behind it and is living up to it. At the same time, though, the Lions are getting beaten up a bit, particularly at running back, while the Ravens are actually getting slightly healthier and have yet to have their scoring match their efficiency. That changes at home this week as they narrowly get past the Lions here.
Avert your eyes from a game that might be Tyson Bagent against Brian Hoyer. This should be ugly, but I have more faith in Hoyer being a functional backup for the Raiders with the weapons around him than Bagent and the Bears. Again, this is going to be ugly, but I have Vegas winning relatively comfortably.
The Buccaneers' hot streak came to a halt against the juggernaut Lions last week, but now they host the Falcons in Week 7. Atlanta remains friskier than it feels like anyone is expecting, but Todd Bowles should have plenty of ammo to stifle Desmond Ridder and that offense enough to pick up a win at home.
There's a world wherein the Steelers come out of the bye week and start to get the juices flowing a bit more than they have to this point. Having said that, the Rams might just have too much offense for them. Even with Kyren Williams out for this game, I expect Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua to tear the Pittsburgh secondary to shreds.
At this point, we might as well admit that it's impossible for the Seahawks to play anything but a close game... so why even try to fight it, especially in a rivalry matchup? The Cardinals aren't good but they remain competitive and should have enough firepower to make this game in Seattle closer than it probably should be.
Things are continuing to go poorly for the Sean Payton Broncos, which is definitely part of the reason as to why I have them losing at home to the Packers. On top of that, though, Jordan Love showed some early positive signs at the helm of Green Bay's offense, and I suspect that Matt LaFleur might unleash a bit more from that unit coming out of the bye week.
The Chiefs and Chargers are virtually incapable of playing a normal game, though that often leads to an entertaining affair between the AFC West rivals. Having said that, Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City offense haven't exactly been lighting the world on fire. But the LA defense could be a good remedy for that. With the way KC's defense has performed as well, I give the Chiefs the edge at home.
Sunday Night Football has the makings of an instant classic between two of the NFL's best teams. Yes, the Eagles could have some fire lit under them after their first loss of the season. At the same time, Philadelphia has shown some warning signs they might not be the team they were in 2022. More importantly, though, I'm not sure they have the speed on the back end to contain this Dolphins offense, which is why I'm giving Miami the edge to win on the road here.
If what we saw against a porous Bears defense last week is what we can expect from the Vikings offense without Justin Jefferson, consider me out on that. The 49ers will likely be shorthanded for this game, perhaps without both Christian McCaffrey and Deebo Samuel. Even still, I think they have enough defensively and enough weapons left over to go on the road and win this one.