Jay’s Plays NFL Predictions – Week 7 Picks and Bettor’s Guide
Jay's Plays

Jay’s Plays 2016 NFL Picks: Week 7 predictions and betting guide

ERNESTO THE PREDICTION IGUANA WENT 3-3 AGAIN LAST WEEK
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It was another 3-3 week for Ernesto the Prediction Iguana. He hit with the Patriots, Falcons and Bills, but the Steelers stunk up the joint in Miami, while Dallas shellacked the Packers.

That brings the young season totals to 6-6, but Ernesto looks to rebound this week. As always, we do teasers here. Home team in CAPS, all lines from Vegas Insider.

GREEN LIGHT

Patriots (+7) at STEELERS
EAGLES-Vikings OVER 34

“I think the bookies must be drunk,” said one sports writer as he, Ernesto and I discussed both the Steelers debacle against the Fish and the headscratching line. Roethlisberger is hurt, the run defense gave up 204 yards to a guy no one outside of Miami heard of, and the pass defense makes schlubs like Wentz and Tannehill look like Sammy Baugh.

Parleying that gift with a low over in Eagles-Vikings looks like Halloween candy. The Vikings are one of the two biggest stories in the NFC with their resurgent offense and stiff defense. The Eagles put up 30 on the Steelers. They should have enough firepower to keep reasonable enough pace and take it over a particularly low number for two good offenses.

AMBER ALERT

RAMS-Giants OVER 38.5
ravens +5 at JETS

The NFL is an OVER league now. Scores are slowly rising. The NFL league average moved from a 22-21 game to a 23-22 game in just the last two years alone. Rams QB Case Keenum completed 20 straight passes in a losing effort -- so the Rams do have offensive punch, enough to cover 38.5 with the Giants and Odell Beckham. The Jets are kicking themselves for firing Rex Ryan, as they are likely to return to the bad old days of double digit losses per season.

RED ZONE

Raiders (+7) at JAGUARS
CHIEFS-Saints OVER 43

In four of their five games this year, the Saints have scored over 34 points. The Raiders admittedly have improved, but with the talent they are cultivating, they have a reasonable chance to make the playoffs. The 4-2 start helps.

About the author

Jay Flemma

Starting with a blog and a dream, Jay Flemma launched his first sports-writing website in 2004. Some 13 years and 25 major golf championships later, Jay has won multiple national sports writing awards. Besides GNN, his work has appeared in numerous books as well as on-line at Cybergolf, PGA.com, GolfObserver, GolfChannel.com and many other sites and print magazines. When not trying to find a lost golf ball, Jay is an entertainment, copyright, Internet, sports and trademark lawyer in Manhattan. His clients have been nominated for Grammy and Emmy awards, won a Sundance Film Festival Best Director award, performed on stage and screen, and designed pop art for museums and collectors. Jay lives in Forest Hills, N.Y., and is fiercely loyal to his alma maters, Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts and Trinity College in Connecticut.