The New Orleans Saints host the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday Night Football. While most attention is focused on quarterback Trevor Lawrence, there are far more moving parts to this game than just his availability. Let’s dig into Thursday’s Jaguars-Saints betting odds as we make our predictions and pick the best NFL Week 7 bet for Thursday Night Football! Also, don’t forget to use your 50% profit boost at DraftKings Sportsbook — new users can even get $200 in bonus bets!
Jaguars-Saints Pick, Prediction & DraftKings Boost | Thursday Night Football
Thursday Night Football Odds
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
Jaguars: +102 | Saints: -122
Jaguars +1: -108 | Saints -1: -112
Over 40: -110 | Under 40: -110
Expert: Isaiah Sirois
Time: Thursday, Oct. 19 at 8:15 p.m. ET
Jaguars-Saints Pick & Prediction
The Jacksonville Jaguars will take on the New Orleans Saints in the Big Easy this Sunday, and the big story for this one is quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence suffered a knee injury last week against the Indianapolis Colts, but he is yet to be ruled out for Thursday Night Football. Plenty of positive press has come out about Lawrence’s progression throughout the week, but the Jaguars signed quarterback Nathan Rourke from their practice squad on Wednesday afternoon, which puts a considerable damper on things. Lawrence is officially questionable on Wednesday’s injury report.
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I’m backing the Saints to win this week’s edition of Thursday Night Football regardless of whether a likely injury-limited Lawrence plays. I have a lot of faith in the Jaguars, but they’re in a really bad spot — their offensive line is likely to be without Walker Little and Brandon Scherff, two of their best contributors on the interior, which could doom a unit that already ranked a dismal 32nd in pass-block win rate (44%) and 30th in run-block win rate (66%). Although poor blocking didn’t stop the Jaguars against the Falcons, Bills or Colts, it certainly didn’t help, and it likely contributed to Lawrence’s injury.
The Saints aren’t that good, but they’re better than the banged-up Jaguars. They’re dealing with plenty of injuries on their own roster, to be fair. Offensive linemen James Hurst and Ryan Ramczyk are likely out, as is linebacker Demario Davis. Still, first-round offensive tackle Trevor Penning and Cesar Ruiz are more serviceable replacements than whoever Jacksonville will trust off the bench. New Orleans ranks 23rd in expected points added (EPA) per rush and 17th in EPA per dropback, which trails Jacksonville slightly in both metrics (the Jaguars rank 21st and 16th, respectively). However, the Saints have the advantage on defense: New Orleans ranks fourth in EPA allowed per rush and sixth in EPA allowed per dropback while Jacksonville ranks second and 10th, respectively.
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Both teams’ injury-depleted offensive lines will cause problems, but instead of playing the under, I’m just trusting the Saints to win this home game outright. New Orleans is 4-2 as a home favorite under head coach Dennis Allen. Jacksonville is 3-6 as a road underdog under head coach Doug Pederson. Although the odds only minimally favor New Orleans, I would make the moneyline -150 if Lawrence plays. With him possibly missing this one, the closing number could wind up well below -150 if the Jaguars turn to backup quarterback C.J. Beathard. Getting this with the 50% profit boost at DraftKings Sportsbook makes this that much sweeter!
Jaguars-Saints NFL Week 7 Pick & Prediction: New Orleans Moneyline -122 at DraftKings
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