NFL Week 7 Betting: Baltimore Ravens at Houston Texans
Sunday afternoon obviously features some great games, and some great betting options for all of the games on the board. The game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans at 1:00pm EST immediately caught my eye though. This is a game between two 5-1 teams who are both coming off of some interesting games. For the Ravens, they held on in a close game that they nearly gave away to the Dallas Cowboys when the Boys’ missed a game winning field goal, while the Texans were absolutely lit up by Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers on prime time last weekend when Rodgers threw for six touchdowns. Now the two teams meet in Houston, and the crowd is going to be hoping to get rid of that awful taste in their mouth after the Packers’ game. It won’t be easy against the Ravens this week though, who are consistently one of the stronger teams in the NFL.
The Ravens suffered two brutal losses last week in their win against the Cowboys. The first of the two star losses was linebacker Ray Lewis, who many know and many love, while the other was cornerback Lardarius Webb. Both are out for the year, as Lewis tore his tricep, and Webb tore his ACL. Now, the team is likely to get Terrell Suggs back from injury so that helps out a bit, but they are going to need to get everything out of their offense that they possibly can on Sunday in order to get a big road win in Houston against a fired up Texans team. Expect the Texans to get a heavy dose of Ray Rice on Sunday, and for Joe Flacco to work it down field into the open spots if he gets a chance.
The Texans are going to be ready for this game, I have no doubt about that. Arian Foster had two touchdowns last week, but couldn’t get anything going to help his Yards Per Carry average, and I think that he’ll be in for a massive day against this Ravens defense. Expect Matt Schaub to air it out a little bit, but only to really open up the field for Foster to potentially have a huge day. The Texans want redemption after that brutal home loss last week, and they are going to try to take out their frustrations on this bruised and battered Ravens defense.
Odds and Sports Betting Line
- Baltimore Ravens: +7
- Houston Texans: -7
Free Prediction and Pick
Interesting line here, as I’m curious what the line would have been if Lewis and Webb hadn’t gone down with their injuries for the Ravens. Getting Suggs back this week will be big for the Ravens, but it won’t be enough for them to be able to get a road win. The thing is, this Ravens team is incredibly well coached and still has a very strong offense as well, meaning that I don’t think they will get blown out of this one. Expect Foster to put up huge numbers, which will be great for Texans fans as well as Fantasy Football players, but for it to be around a four point win for the home team here.
Pick: Baltimore Ravens +7
NFL Week 7 Betting: Cleveland Browns at Indianapolis Colts
On Sunday, two teams who came into the 2012-2013 season after having high draft picks are going to meet in an interesting one. While not many people’s eyes may be caught by a game between the Cleveland Browns and the Indianapolis Colts, I think that this game could be a great betting option. The two teams are going to meet in Indianapolis, which has been a tough place for teams to play at times over the past few years. Obviously times are a whole lot different now with Peyton Manning gone, but in comes rookie quarterback Andrew Luck, who has played very well this season. This is a match-up between two rookie quarterbacks as well, with the Browns starting their 29 year old rookie in Brandon Weeden in this game. Let’s not also forget the fact that the Browns are starting a rookie running back as well in Trent Richardson, and a rookie wide receiver in Josh Gordon, but all three have looked strong at times this season. Kickoff is set for 1:00pm EST for this one.
The Browns need to focus on getting that ball to Richardson early and often. He’s shown that, when healthy, he has the potential to be an incredible talent in this league. The Colts defense hasn’t been stellar this season, and if they can get Richardson to get all over that defense early it could make Weeden’s life a whole lot easier throughout the game. The Browns defense started off the season strong, but have taken a few steps back while playing against some strong offenses in the NFL. The Browns are really going to need to work to their strengths on offense, and work the run and pass game off of each other.
The Colts have seemed to just get the ball in Luck’s hands consistently, and just let him toss it around. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. The team will be without running back Donald Brown as well, which means that Vick Ballard is entered in as the starter in this game. Ballard is going to need to find the holes to help out Luck, and also be able to catch some passes out of the back field also. There is some major talent on this Colts offense, and the player I’ll really have my eye on is going to be Reggie Wayne. Wayne has had some ridiculously good games this year, so we’ll have to see if he and Luck can get it going in this one.
Odds and Sports Betting Line
- Cleveland Browns: +1
- Indianapolis Colts: -1
Free Prediction and Pick
This game being right around a pick is about what I expected for it. Both sides feature some rookie options across the field, and both have been up and down this year. The Colts get a slight edge for being on their home field here, and the Browns are actually coming off of their first win of the season. I think that the Colts offense is going to be able to do enough to win this game. I really don’t think defense will factor in all that much on Sunday, and that this game could potentially be high scoring. I’m going with the Colts to win it by a field goal.
Pick: Indianapolis Colts -1
NFL Week 7 Betting: Dallas Cowboys at Carolina Panthers
There are quite a few interesting NFL games on Sunday afternoon, and one that caught my eye was the game going on in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Dallas Cowboys are heading on the road after another brutal loss to the Baltimore Ravens to take on the struggling Carolina Panthers. Both of these teams had high hopes for the 2012-2013 NFL season, and both have failed to live up to expectations. The words “division champs” were tossed around with both of these clubs to some extent, but they both obviously have some major issues to work out before we even talk about that. Both of these teams are in a situation in this game where they really need to get this win, as the Cowboys don’t want to drop to 2-4, and the Panthers definitely can’t afford to drop to 1-5 with how strong the NFC seems this season. Kickoff for this game is set for 1:00pm EST on Sunday afternoon.
The Cowboys just can’t get it together, and then they can’t catch a break. They played well last week against the 5-1 Baltimore Ravens, but couldn’t get the job done after missing a potential tying two point conversion, and then missing a game winning field goal after getting the onside kick. Tough week all-around for the Cowboys, and now they will look to rebound on Sunday without running back DeMarco Murray. Murray is out for at least this week, and this means that they are going to turn to Felix Jones, who showed up with some solid games last year when he had to step in for Murray. The Cowboys did a great job running last week to open up the field for Tony Romo, and they’ll need to do that again on Sunday.
For the Panthers, their defense has to step it up and slow down their opponents. The Cowboys offense still has big play ability, and the Panthers defense hasn’t shown much ability to stop opponents this season. Cam Newton has been frustrated at times and in order for the Panthers to beat the Cowboys and their solid pass defense, he will have to stay focused. Last but not least, I think that the Panthers need to get their running game going again to help out Newton, or else Panthers fans could be in for a long day out in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Odds and Sports Betting Line
- Dallas Cowboys: -1
- Carolina Panthers: +1
Free Prediction and Pick
Many people probably expected this line to be a bit higher than it is, and I’m one of them. The Cowboys may only be 2-3, but when they play well, they seem to have it together. The Panthers on the other hand are surrounded by quite a few question marks and that scares me with this team. The biggest issue though has to be that the match-up’s just don’t go well. The Panthers defense has struggled, the Panthers love to throw the ball, and the Cowboys strongest part of their defense right now is probably their passing game. I’m seeing a touchdown win for the road team in this game.
Pick: Dallas Cowboys -1