Mike Ivcic’s Week 7 NFL Preview and Free Picks

By Mike Ivcic, UltimateCapper Contributing Writer

Week 7 predictions from Mike Ivcic:

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Seattle Seahawks @ San Francisco 49’ers
Thu, 8:20pm, NFLN
Line: 49’ers by 7.5
The Niners are the better team and should rebound from a miserable performance against the Giants, while the Seahawks are riding high and feeling good after knocking off New England. Perfect game for San Fran to win, I’m just queasy about giving anyone more than a touchdown right now.
Pick: San Francisco 24, Seattle 20

Arizona Cardinals @ Minnesota Vikings
Sun, 1pm, FOX
Line: Vikings by 6
At this point I have absolutely NO read on the Arizona Cardinals. They pick up to fairly nice home wins against Seattle and Philadelphia, add on a huge road win in Foxboro, then come home and basically get pushed around by the Bills. The Bills! I just can’t buy into them as legitimate after that performance last week, so we’re taking the home team AND the points.
Pick: Minnesota 21, Arizona 13

Baltimore Ravens @ Houston Texans
Sun, 1pm, CBS
Line: Texans by 7
The Ravens defense is hurting, so I’m not surprised that the line is touchdown for a road game against the widely-regarded “best team in the AFC” up until a week ago. There’s also the rematch factor involved after Baltimore knocked the Texans out of the playoffs last year without Matt Schaub, but it’s still a shame these two teams aren’t meeting at full strength for the second straight time.
Pick: Houston 27, Baltimore 23

Cleveland Browns @ Indianapolis Colts
Sun, 1pm, CBS
Line: Colts by 3
Only in Cleveland does a team see its president and GM step down immediately following the most impressive offensive half of football in about three years. Hopefully new ownership will help turn this mess around, but it won’t happen in the next three days.
Pick: Indianapolis 28, Cleveland 24

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Dallas Cowboys @ Carolina Panthers
Sun, 1pm, FOX
Line: Cowboys by 2
Must-win game for the Cowboys. There’s really no other way to cut it. A loss here and a Giants win gives New York at 2.5 game spread in the division and puts Dallas behind virtually the entire NFC for wild card positioning. Carolina likes playing spoiler, so don’t be surprised they pull off the upset, but something tells me the Cowboys pull this one out.
Pick: Dallas 30, Carolina 27

Green Bay Packers @ St. Louis Rams
Sun, 1pm, FOX
Line: Packers by 6
If Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense continues that performance from Monday night and the defense becomes even remotely stable enough to get a stop every once in a while, this could once again quickly become a team on the short list of Super Bowl contenders.
Pick: Green Bay 28, St. Louis 17

New Orleans Saints @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sun, 1pm, FOX
Line: Saints by 3
Coming off a bye, the Saints play their final game without interim head coach Joe Vitt – one that could decide their season. Many in New Orleans feel like this team could still make the playoffs, even in the rugged NFC, as long as the defense plays somewhat well because the offense is that good. Well, 1-4 teams can’t afford losses to inferior teams, regardless of where they’re played. I’m taking the Saints one final time
Pick:

Tennessee Titans @ Buffalo Bills
Sun, 1pm, CBS
Line: Bills by 3
Another “home team favored by 3” game. I love these. It’s basically Vegas’ way of saying, “We don’t really know (or probably in this case, care) who’s going to win, so we’ll just assign the standard three points to the home team and let you figure out.” And, as you’ve all seen, I’ve done such a good job of figuring that out this season.
Pick: Buffalo 24, Tennessee 20

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Washington Redskins @ New York Giants
Sun, 1pm, FOX
Line: Giants by 6
RGIII continues to put up big performances (and ruin my picks) and I’ll say he does it again this week. The Giants should still win, so we’ll go back to the philosophy that buoyed me out of the cellar in weeks 4 and 5 and pick them, but line-wise six points is tough to give up for a team that’s been only average at home over the last couple of seasons.
Pick: New York 24, Washington 21

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Oakland Raiders
Sun, 4:25pm, CBS
Line: Raiders by 4
Two pathetic teams – one that should be and one that shouldn’t be. Oakland really should have a win or two more than they do, because the talent there is better. In this matchup, I’ll use that as the decision-making difference.
Pick: Oakland 20, Jacksonville 14

New York Jets @ New England Patriots
Sun, 4:25pm, CBS
Line: Patriots by 11
There may not be a more pessimistic Jets fan than me – after all, I said the Colts would win in the Meadowlands last week. The Pats will win this game, sure, by 11 points? Even I think that’s too high.
Pick: New England 24, New York 16

Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cincinnati Bengals
Sun, 8:20pm, NBC
Line: Steelers by 1
Experts seem to be looking at this Steelers team as one that’s ready to break out and wrestle control of the AFC North away from the Ravens. I just don’t see that. The defense is injured and the secondary isn’t that strong to start, and the offense has struggled to run the ball all season – Rashard Mendenhall’s 68 yards against Philly is a single-game high. Cincinnati’s clearly going the wrong way, too, but my point is simply that a Steelers win here really doesn’t tell us much about them as a legitimate contender.
Pick: Pittsburgh 20, Cincinnati 17

Detroit Lions @ Chicago Bears
Mon, 8:30pm, ESPN
Line: Bears by 6
At this point, I think it’s safe to say the Lions just aren’t that good. They won their only two games (St. Louis, Philadelphia) with big rallies at the end, and needed a third miracle just to force overtime against Tennessee, a game they ultimately lost anyway. Sure, there’s something to be said for resiliency, but I can’t imagine this group rallying from a double digit deficit on Monday night at Soldier Field against this Bears defense.
Pick: Chicago 31, Detroit 17

Straight-Up: 49-42
Against Spread: 31-58-2

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