So, the Seattle Seahawks aren’t invincible at home after all. And the Dallas Cowboys actually might be for real.
It remains to be seen if the latter holds true, but the Cowboys certainly shocked the football world by out-muscling the Seahawks on their home turf in Week 6. Dallas’ win, as well as a wild tie between the Carolina Panthers and Cincinnati Bengals, were just more reminders that the NFL remains unpredictable.
Which, of course, is why we’ll try to predict it. Starting with a Thursday night matchup between the New York Jets and New England Patriots, here’s how the “experts” see Week 7 going down.
LAST WEEK
Ben Watanabe: 11-3-1 (47-27-1 on season). Another solid week has him officially back in the hunt.
Darren Hartwell: 12-2-1 (49-25-1). Put his faith in the Browns last week, and they brought him one step closer to catching Mike.
Mike Cole: 11-3-1 (50-24-1). Still No. 1, and still making sure everybody hears about it.
THIS WEEK
New York Jets (1-5) at New England Patriots (4-2), Thursday, 8:25 p.m.
Ben’s pick: Patriots. Ugly weather won’t rain on the Pats’ parade, as Tom Brady & Co. keep rolling.
Darren’s pick: Patriots. If the weather is a factor, this might not be a blowout. But the Patriots survived the Jets on Thursday night last season, and they’ll do the same this week.
Mike’s pick: Patriots. The Jets play the Patriots tough, and the weather might neutralize some of New England’s most glaring advantages, but can anyone in their right mind justify taking the Jets straight-up?
Minnesota Vikings (2-4) at Buffalo Bills (3-3), Sunday, 1 p.m.
Ben’s pick: Bills. Here’s the thing: The Bills aren’t a god-awful football team. They’re not good, they’re not bad, they’re just … the Bills. The Vikings? They’re just plain ol’ not good.
Darren’s pick: Bills. Buffalo has its bounce-back game and gets the ever-excitable Terry Pegula his first win as owner against a Vikings team that’s looked really, really bad the past two weeks.
Mike’s pick: Bills. The Vikings are a sinking ship with head coach Mike Zimmer already publicly criticizing his team. The Bills aren’t much better, but they should win this game.
Miami Dolphins (2-3) at Chicago Bears (3-3), Sunday, 1 p.m.
Ben’s pick: Bears. Maybe it’s because “Da (1985) Bears” were the hallmark of football excellence for the majority of my life, but I always seem to give Chicago more credit for being good than it deserves. I don’t think that’s the case here, though.
Darren’s pick: Bears. The Bears haven’t won a game at home yet this season, but they tend to be streaky and they beat the Falcons on the road last week. The Dolphins have lost three of their last four games. Good enough for me.
Mike’s pick: Bears. Chicago has started to turn things around, and Jay Cutler might be playing some of the best football of his career. If the Bears can put some early points on the board, there’s no way Ryan Tannehill brings back the Dolphins.
New Orleans Saints (2-3) at Detroit Lions (4-2), Sunday, 1 p.m.
Ben’s pick: Lions. I’ve come to grips with the reality that the Saints just can’t be counted upon to put forth an NFL-worthy effort every week. That makes me sad for Drew Brees.
Darren’s pick: Lions. If this were in New Orleans, I’d pick the “upset,” since I think the Saints still can be a good team. But they just can’t win on the road, especially against a Detroit team that looks pretty darn impressive this year.
Mike’s pick: Saints. I just can’t help myself from going back to the Saints well over and over again until it works.
Carolina Panthers (3-2-1) at Green Bay Packers (4-2), Sunday, 1 p.m.
Ben’s pick: Packers. Did you know that Cam Newton actually has a better passer rating than Aaron Rodgers this season? No? Well, that’s probably because I just made that up. Newton is having a solid season but not enough for me to take him against A-Rod at Lambeau.
Darren’s pick: Packers. The Panthers went on the road and beat didn’t lose to the Bengals, but doing the same thing at Lambeau Field against a red-hot Rodgers will be a different story.
Mike’s pick: Packers. Don’t feel great about this one, though. Cam Newton had his best game of the season, and the Packers have struggled against mobile quarterbacks in recent years (see: Colin Kaepernick).
Cincinnati Bengals (3-1-1) at Indianapolis Colts (4-2), Sunday, 1 p.m.
Ben’s pick: Colts. It’s going to be tough to take Andy Dalton against any quality opponent the rest of the season, even if the Colts’ defense is nothing to write home about. The simple presence of Andrew Luck on the sideline should be enough to psyche him out.
Darren’s pick: Colts. This is another big chance for the Bengals to prove they can hang with the big boys. Which is why they’ll lose. Again.
Mike’s pick: Colts. One of these teams has to prove it can take the next step. In these types of toss-up games, I’m going to continue to take the quarterback, and arguably no one has been better than Andrew Luck this season.
Seattle Seahawks (3-2) at St. Louis Rams (1-4), Sunday, 1 p.m.
Ben’s pick: Seahawks. I was prepared to pick against the Seahawks this week, as they’re almost purely getting by on reputation at this point. Yet even as an irrationally firm believer in Austin Davis, I cannot in good conscience predict good things for the Rams.
Darren’s pick: Seahawks. Seattle has looked pretty mediocre over the last two weeks, but the Rams have looked pretty awful the entire season. Advantage: Seahawks.
Mike’s pick: Seahawks. Seattle isn’t the machine it was last season, but we saw how Colin Kaepernick ripped apart the Rams on Monday night, which bodes well for a Russell Wilson bounce-back.
Tennessee Titans (2-4) at Washington Redskins (1-5), Sunday, 1 p.m.
Ben’s pick: Titans. They needed magic to escape a loss to Jacksonville, which tells me there are magic field-goal-nudging gremlins at work who help the Titans stay just good enough to beat the NFL’s worst teams.
Darren’s pick: Redskins. Yeah, they’ve lost four straight, but the Redskins actually have played a pretty tough schedule so far. Getting the Titans at home should be a nice relief.
Mike’s pick: Redskins. The Titans have coughed up a 25-point lead to the Browns and almost lost to the Jaguars in the last two weeks.
Cleveland Browns (3-2) at Jacksonville Jaguars (0-6), Sunday, 1 p.m.
Ben’s pick: Browns. Hop on the Brian Hoyer bandwagon, folks! As the conductor (bandwagons have conductors, right?), I say there’s still plenty of room.
Darren’s pick: Browns. I’m riding the Cleveland bandwagon, baby! Super Bowl XLIX champs! OK, maybe not, but they’ll still beat the Jags.
Mike’s pick: Browns. Hoyer has the Browns believing, so we’ll stick with them. Quick aside: The Jaguars are 6-35 since the start of 2012. That is astounding.
Atlanta Falcons (2-4) at Baltimore Ravens (4-2), Sunday, 1 p.m.
Ben’s pick: Ravens. Internet commenters everywhere rejoice for a matchup of your two favorite quarterbacks! It’s Matty Ice vs. Joe Camel, or whatever their nicknames are!
Darren’s pick: Ravens. The Falcons can’t even win at home now, and they’re still terrible on the road. I’d be very surprised if they knocked off a Ravens team that flattened the Buccaneers at home last week.
Mike’s pick: Ravens. The Falcons are 1-10 on the road since the start of last season, and they struggle with holding on to the football. Baltimore is starting to put things together, too.
Kansas City Chiefs (2-3) at San Diego Chargers (5-1), 4:05 p.m.
Ben’s pick: Chiefs. Kansas City lost to Denver by a touchdown and by five points to San Francisco, while San Diego’s last four wins are against Buffalo, Jacksonville, the Jets and Oakland. Hmmm. (K.C. also lost to the Titans, and the Bolts beat the Seahawks, but that doesn’t support my argument, so ignore that.)
Darren’s pick: Chargers. Are the Chargers for real this season? The true measuring stick will come in Week 8 against the Broncos, but they’ll need to dispatch the Chiefs at home to set that up.
Mike’s pick: Chargers. The Chiefs have the benefit of coming off a bye this week. However, the Chargers have the benefit of being the better team.
New York Giants (3-3) at Dallas Cowboys (5-1), Sunday, 4:25 p.m.
Ben’s pick: Cowboys. Tony Romo is playing out of his mind, which will make it even more dispiriting when he suffers his inevitable late-season meltdown. I give him until at least Week 10, though.
Darren’s pick: Cowboys. Something (mostly history) tells me the Cowboys will implode at any minute. But the Giants looked downright embarrassing last weekend, so I’ll give the ‘Boys another win here.
Mike’s pick: Cowboys. I’m still not sold on the Cowboys, but the Giants are banged up and coming off of a pathetic Sunday night showing in Philly.
Arizona Cardinals (4-1) at Oakland Raiders (0-5), Sunday, 4:25 p.m.
Ben’s pick: Cardinals. If Larry Fitzgerald can catch passes one-handed while buying things on his phone, he shouldn’t have any trouble with Oakland’s secondary.
Darren’s pick: Cardinals. Oakland gave the Chargers everything they could handle last weekend, but Arizona’s defense will be a much taller task for rookie Derek Carr.
Mike’s pick: Cardinals. The Raiders might have something in Carr, but the Cardinals’ offense looked revitalized last week with Carson Palmer back.
San Francisco 49ers (4-2) at Denver Broncos (4-1), Sunday, 8:30 p.m.
Ben’s pick: Broncos. Colin Kaepernick will want to tape over this performance once Peyton Manning gets done with him. Amiright? Eh? Get it? “Tape”?
Darren’s pick: Broncos. Kaepernick is good, as is San Francisco’s defense. But it’s nearly impossible to slow down Manning these days, especially in the friendly confines of Mile High Stadium, or whatever it’s called now.
Mike’s pick: Broncos. I feel like Denver is going to throw the ball a ton in order to get Manning the all-time touchdown record on national TV. He’ll get it, too.
Houston Texans (3-3) at Pittsburgh Steelers (3-3), Monday, 8:30 p.m.
Ben’s pick: Texans. Houston is coming off a couple of tough, tough losses, and technically has a “long” week due to playing on Thursday in Week 6.
Darren’s pick: Steelers. Pittsburgh desperately needs a win to keep pace in the AFC North. I’ll go with my gut and hope the Steelers faithful carries the hometown team to victory.
Mike’s pick: Texans. Ben Roethlisberger has been sacked 17 times this season; J.J. Watt might get that all by himself Monday night.
Have a question for Darren Hartwell? Send it to him via Twitter at @darren_hartwell
Photo via Adam Hunger/USA TODAY Sports Images
