Man, it’s a slate like this one that gets you excited to make NFL Week 7 predictions when you look at the work ahead. And the shining example of that is probably the best and most implication-filled game of the week as the unbeaten Minnesota Vikings welcome the surging Detroit Lions to town for a huge NFC North clash.

Minnesota has been one of the biggest surprises of the season, one of two remaining undefeated teams and now coming off of their bye. Then you have a Detroit, one of the preseason NFC favorites who has worked their way into showing that form, most recently manhandling the Dallas Cowboys while Jerry Jones looked onward in pure disgust.

So now we get these two teams squaring off for the first time this year in Week 7. Even better, though, the headliner is far, far from being the only great matchup on the slate. And coming off a huge week for our NFL picks (13-1 straight-up, 10-4 against the spread), we are ready to tackle it all with our NFL Week 7 predictions straight-up and ATS again.

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2024 NFL Picks Straight-Up Record: 46-30 | ATS Record: 40-36-0

Teams on bye in Week 7: Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys

This might be one of the best top-to-bottom weeks of the NFL season that we’ll see this year. As mentioned, the Lions-Vikings matchup is phenomenal but it’s also in a week when we get a fascinating showdown between the Houston Texans and Green Bay Packers, a prove-it bowl between the Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons, a Super Bowl rematch. between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, a Baltimore Ravens-Tampa Bay Buccaneers showdown in primetime, and even Davante Adams’ debut with the New York Jets against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Buckle up, because it has the potential to be a great one.

Detroit Lions at Minnesota Vikings (-2.5)

No surprise that we have this game on here because these might actually be the two best teams in the NFC, much less the NFC North. For me, however, leaning toward the Vikings isn’t just about this game being played in Minneapolis (though that certainly doesn’t hurt) but rather what Brian Flores has been able to do against Ben Johnson and Jared Goff in this matchup.

Despite concerns about Flores’ side of the ball coming into the year, he’s shut down one elite offensive mind after another. Even though it’s improved, the fact that (outside of beating down the Cowboys last week) we haven’t totally seen the Lions at full force makes me think this could be another. Throw in the fact that the Vikings O-line should be able to contain a Detriot defensive front without Aidan Hutchinson, give me the Vikes to stay undefeated.

Denver Broncos at New Orleans Saints (+2.5)

Of all the games on the schedule, a Thursday Night Football matchup between two teams with a combined 5-7 record might not strike the chord as a great one. However, there should be intrigue here, at least in terms of picking it. Because on one side of the field, we have a stoppable force (the Broncos offense behind Bo Nix) meeting a movable object (the Saints defense). Then on the other side, there’s a New Orleans offense that has fallen back dramatically after a hot start against a defense that’s quietly been nails.

Frankly, this one is going to be extremely low-scoring with those matchups at play. But for me, I’m going to trust the Saints in that spot against a still-inexperienced and erratic Nix-led offense for Denver, especially with this game in the Superdome.

Seattle Seahawks at Atlanta Falcons (-3)

This might come as a shock to some people but it’s absolutely on par with what I’ve seen. Despite some early season pitfalls, the Falcons appear to have things cooking with Kirk Cousins spreading it around on offense and the defense falling into place. On the flip side, the early unbeaten run for the Seahawks now looks like way more of a mirage than we may have realized.

Over the last three games, Mike Macdonald’s defense appears to have been solved as that unit is giving up 7.1 yards per play to opponents. With Cousins and Atlanta getting into their groove, for me, it all comes down to Seattle just not being able to get enough stops to keep this one close enough. This should be an entertaining clash but the Falcons simply appear superior at this juncture.