As the NFL season moves into Week 7, teams try to stay in the playoff picture and, in some cases, set themselves up for division races and home field in the playoffs. Let’s take a look at the best games on the board to play our weekly parlay. Here is our NFL Week 7 Parlay:
The Favorite
New England Patriots at Chicago Bears
Odds: Patriots -3.5
Related: NFL Betting Guide
The Patriots might not have a very good defense, but you saw on Sunday night that Tom Brady is still the best in the business, still able to do whatever it takes to carry his team over the top against a good opponent. The Kansas City Chiefs scored 40 points, but it wasn’t enough. Brady and the Patriots scored 43 and showed they are still the team to beat in the AFC. New England averages 29.3 points per game, fourth-best in the NFL and second in the AFC. Chicago will have a tough time keeping up with that level of firepower. The Bears just lost to Brock Osweiler and the Miami Dolphins, showing that their early start was overrated. Taking a look back, their wins have come against Seattle, Arizona and Tampa Bay. They’ll be playing tight with some pressure on their backs at home, which won’t help matters. The Patriots will win and cover.
Pick: Patriots
The Underdog
Denver Broncos at Arizona Cardinals
Odds: Broncos -2
Yes, the Cardinals are a one-win team but they’ve been competitive the last four weeks since making the switch to Josh Rosen. They led in Minnesota last week, beat San Francisco on the road, lost by three to Seattle and two to Chicago. As for the Broncos, they’re a team that’s imploding. They’ve lost four straight games as quarterback Case Keenum has done virtually nothing. Yes, he has four touchdowns in the last two games but almost all were in garbage time. Their offense is 26th in points per game (20.0). Worse yet, their defense is struggling as they’re 28th in overall defense. They are dead-last in rushing yards per game. If Arizona can run a little and take some pressure off of Josh Rosen, they should win.
Pick: Cardinals +115
The Total
Cleveland Browns at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Odds: 48.5
The Browns are 20th in the NFL in points allowed, with 25.2 per game. The Buccaneers are dead last in the NFL, allowing 34.6 points per game. Sometimes you pick a game relative to the over-under number because you can trust one side of the ball. In this case, you can pick Browns-Bucs because neither defense is trustworthy at all.
The Bucs pass defense is ranked 31st in the NFL. They have just nine sacks (second-fewest) and one interception (fewest). The Browns offense should function in this game and keep up with Tampa Bay’s. That being the case, go over.
Pick: Over 48.5
The Point Spread
New York Giants at Atlanta Falcons
Odds: Falcons -4.5
Why not take the Giants in this spot? To date, the Falcons have been a disaster defensively. They are 31st in points per game allowed at 32 and Tampa Bay — had they not stalled twice in the red zone and missed an extra point — would have been over that mark too.
Yes, the Giants were embarrassed on Thursday Night Football by the Philadelphia Eagles but they’ll have had 10 days to fix things. They might not win but laying points with the Falcons doesn’t make sense right now.
Pick: Giants +4.5
