N.F.L. Week 7 Predictions: Our Picks for Each Game

New Orleans Saints (2-4) at Arizona Cardinals (2-4), 8:15 p.m., Amazon Prime

Line: Cardinals -2 | Total: 44.5

The Cardinals’ losing skids have tended to come in the second half of the past two regular seasons, but this season Arizona is out to a two-win start and its offense has looked incapable of scoring: The offense posted only 9 points in a loss to the Seahawks’ paltry defense Sunday, and managed just 61 yards of offense in the last three quarters. Cardinals Coach Kliff Kingsbury has indicated that he is open to relinquishing play-calling duties if that’s what it will take to win, but Arizona will get a big lift this week with DeAndre Hopkins, its top receiver, returning from a suspension.

The Cardinals will face a Saints team that has been depleted by injuries to offensive starters, but that has still managed to put up lots of points (97 in their last three games). Coach Dennis Allen will wait until Thursday to tab either Andy Dalton (back) or Jameis Winston (back/ankle) as the starting quarterback and the rookie receiver Chris Olave is expected to return from concussion protocol. Arizona hosts, but the Cardinals are 1-7 against the spread in their last eight home games. Pick: Saints +2

Sunday’s Best Games

Atlanta Falcons (3-3) at Cincinnati Bengals (3-3), 1 p.m., Fox

Line: Bengals -6.5 | Total: 47.5

At the start of the season, the line on the Falcons’ total wins was set at 4.5 games. Atlanta has plenty of room to exceed that expectation after beating the 49ers last week in the team’s best offensive performance of the season. Marcus Mariota didn’t throw an incompletion until his 14th and final pass of the game. He rushed for 50 yards and a touchdown and threw for two more. Atlanta faces a Bengals team with the same record and vastly higher preseason expectations, a factor in Cincinnati laying Atlanta nearly a touchdown. Pick: Falcons +6.5

Indianapolis Colts (3-2-1) at Tennessee Titans (3-2), 1 p.m., CBS

Line: Titans -2 | Total: 42.5

The A.F.C. South’s first- and second-place teams will battle it out for the top spot in a rematch of their Week 4 tussle, which the Titans won, 24-17.

Both teams enter on winning streaks, with Tennessee coming in as 2-point favorites thanks to a three-game streak in which running back Derrick Henry has looked like his usual dominant self. Indianapolis, winners of two consecutive games, played last week without running back Jonathan Taylor, who is questionable for Sunday. With Taylor at full strength, the Titans held him to just 42 rushing yards in Week 4 and there’s no reason to think the Colts have an answer for Tennessee’s defense. Pick: Titans -2

Kansas City (4-2) at San Francisco 49ers (3-3), 4:25 p.m., Fox

Line: 49ers +3 | Total: 48.5

Last week, Kansas City lost in Patrick Mahomes’s first career game as a home underdog. The 49ers are also coming off a loss — as 6-point favorites against the Falcons — and oddsmakers have tabbed San Francisco as underdogs for the first time this season. But the 49ers have been dealing with an injury list longer than a CVS receipt and could potentially be bolstered by the returns of defensive end Nick Bosa and left tackle Trent Williams.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/20/sports/football/nfl-week-7-predictions.html