For most, Week 6 was brutal. Not for Tammy Peterka of Greenwich! She was the clear winner and won the $50 in Food and Drink to Uncle Mario's Garage in Queensbury. You could be next, so make sure you join Football Picks with Rockin' Rick on the App or by clicking here!
Let's move onto Week 7.
Thursday Night Football
New England at Chicago - So Caleb Williams is back, and the Bears sure looked better with him as they defeated Atlanta with ease. The New England Patriots are looking strong with the returns of A.J. Brown and TreVeyon Henderson from injuries. Drake Maye has New England humming after a tough first three weeks, and would like to win on the Bills bye week to keep pressure when the Bills return next week. Short weeks are short weeks, and sure the Patriots had some damage to their offensive line against the Jets, but they're going to be tough for the Bears. If this game wasn't at Soldier Field, I'd be picking the Pats.
Rick's Pick: CHICAGO
Sunday Morning Football
Pittsburgh vs. New Orleans at Paris - New Orleans came out of the locker room slinging in the second half, though it is concerning that they nearly gave up that big lead they had against the New York Giants. Pittsburgh emerged out of the overtime game with Tampa Bay with a much needed win as they continue to build their case for the AFC North.
Rick's Pick: PITTSBURGH
Sunday Early Afternoon
San Francisco at Atlanta - The Falcons had Michael Penix Jr back under center against Chicago, but it didn't matter as they got chewed up by the Bears. And the run game was nearly non-existent. Bijan Robinson led, but couldn't get over the century mark. Now they have to face a San Francisco team that is banged up, but despite their injuries have been performing beyond their expectations.
Rick's Pick: SAN FRANCISCO
Cincinnati at Baltimore - Divisional game, maybe Lamar Jackson will be back? Maybe not. Maybe Cincinnati will be firing on all cylinders. Maybe not. I'm not sure what to expect in this game but I'm going to go with flipping a coin and picking what turns up. Heads? Okay, home team.
Rick's Pick: BALTIMORE
Tampa Bay at Carolina - The way Carolina played early against Philadelphia gave me concern how this game would go if Jalen Hurts was starting and if Saquon Barkley wasn't hurt. Maybe the same, who knew. Chuba Hubbard has been playing extremely well, and so too has Bryce Young. This falls with the same trap of divisional game so you can't count Tampa Bay out of it, but I like Carolina at home.
Rick's Pick: CAROLINA
NY Giants at Houston - If you had told me that Cam Skattebo would be logging only six snaps on offense, I would of looked at you strange. Yes, Skattebo has had issues this season and did cough up the ball in that game against the Commanders that led to that ... tie, but the run game showed no spark with any of the other backs either against New Orleans. Yes, they came back from a 24 point deficit to show life in the 4th quarter, but they also shot themselves in the foot by throwing 3 interceptions between Winston and McCarthy. That offensive line might be more of a liability than we have thought, and now they've got a Houston team that is feeling life after their 0-4 start thanks to their walk-off field goal in London on Sunday. And CJ Stroud is playing well.
Rick's Pick: HOUSTON
Indianapolis at Minnesota - So, what was that, Indianapolis? A divisional dud against the Tennessee Titans to give Cam Ward his first win of the season, and now they have to travel to face a very stout defense in Minnesota. Their 5-0 record through the first six weeks is no fluke, and the crew should be motivated to show that as they come off their bye week.
Rick's Pick: MINNESOTA
Miami at NY Jets - So the Jets went into Foxborough and fought hard, but Gang Green had limited answers for Drake Maye in the end. Maybe Sauce Gardner would have been helpful if he was still in a Jets uniform opposed to Indianapolis, but now they'll get a chance to right the ship against Miami. At some point this season, the Dolphins will get a win, but for now, they'll continue to make Hootie and the Blowfish cry.
Rick's Pick: NY JETS
Cleveland at Tennessee - A big win last week for Tennessee, but it's going to be tough to build on this if Cleveland is back to healthy. Going to have to monitor Judkins and Concepcion through the week to see if they're able to return to the Browns sidelines this week. Even there, Cleveland did pick up a solid win against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
Rick's Pick: CLEVELAND
Sunday Late Afternoon Football
Denver at Arizona - Arizona showed they can beat the Rams, but maybe this is more of troubles with the Rams offense than anything about the Cardinals, since all 18 of their points came on field goals. Against Seattle, Bo Nix showed what Denver can do, but it still was a bit stressful for a team that has been known for slow starts.
Rick's Pick: DENVER
Green Bay at Detroit - Green Bay has definitely improved over the last couple weeks. And Josh Jacobs coming back gives them another threat. Now if only the offensive line can continue to perform the way they have the last couple weeks vs. the start of the season. But their defense is going to need to have an answer for Jaymir Gibbs, otherwise it's going to be a rough afternoon inside the walls of Ford Field. Speaking of defenses, have the Lions figured anything out for their secondary during their bye week? If not, that'll set the stage for trouble.
Rick's Pick: GREEN BAY
LA Rams at Las Vegas - The Las Vegas Raiders has lost three straight. The LA Rams have underperformed so far this season. The Bills was a hard fought loss to a good squad, but the Cardinals offer no excuses. Speaking of the Bills, the Raiders were one of the three straight losses for Las Vegas, but they were fighting strong throughout as they tried to bounce back from two double digit deficits in the 4th quarter. Brock Bowers was limited in capacity as he did not log a catch until the third quarter, so I'm sure they'll try to get him going sooner against a Rams squad that has a lot of questions than they were anticipating entering the season.
Rick's Pick: LAS VEGAS
Sunday Night Football
Kansas City at Seattle - The 12's have been stunned and fuming since their Thursday loss in Denver. Now they have to put up with Patrick Mahomes and company, and this could be a statement game for a team that really needs one after back to back losses that has them looking up at the 49'ers in the NFC West. The Chiefs may be fresh off their bye week, but Seattle is not a friendly environment for away teams.
Rick's Pick: SEATTLE
Monday Night Football
Dallas at Philadelphia - Going into the season, maybe I pick Philadelphia. But we're learning just how much the departure of AJ Brown has hurt the Eagles, plus changes at the offensive line. Now who knows when Saquon Barkley is coming back, and we learned Monday that Jalen Hurts is not only on IR, he's done for the season after multiple clots were found. A healthy Eagles perhaps gives Philadelphia something to cheer about. Surely the NFC East go 0-for in the win column for three straight weeks, can they? I don't think we're getting a tie here, so I'm picking Dak and company to figure out what's wrong on Monday Night.
Rick's Pick: DALLAS
Make sure you get your picks in on the Q101.7 App or here online, and remember - these picks are for entertainment purposes only, do not use these picks for gambling purposes. Trust me ... my standing on the weekly leaderboard should be enough of a precaution not to use my picks for gambling purposes.
