Alright, folks, we’re barreling toward the halfway point of the NFL season! That means it’s time for some serious self-reflection… and by that, I mean giving myself an award. Yep, I’m officially crowning myself "Best Picker of Week 7." Don’t worry, I’ll try to stay humble.

Huge thanks to Joe Flacco for making me look good. Seriously, you just can’t bet against the guy when he’s facing a division rival and has had approximately 10 minutes to learn his new team’s playbook. It’s a statistical anomaly, I tell ya! (My colleagues, of course, ignored my sage advice and paid the price.)

So, how much am I riding the Flacco wave this week? Let’s dive into the picks and find out!

Quick Housekeeping:

• If you’re curious about what the other CBS Sports experts are thinking, you can check out their weekly picks.
• Shameless plug: I run the NFL newsletter here at CBS Sports. If you want some extra football goodness in your inbox, sign up with your email address. I get a tiny bonus for every sign-up, but I think I’m losing money overall considering my pick accuracy.

Okay, enough chit-chat. Let’s get to the predictions so I can figure out how much cash I’m about to hemorrhage this week.

Game Breakdown (with my totally-not-always-accurate predictions):

Minnesota Vikings (3-3) at Los Angeles Chargers (4-3)

Oh, Vikings, you poor souls. For the second year in a row, the scheduling gods have cursed you with a Thursday night game on the West Coast. That’s basically a guaranteed L, folks. Teams flying two time zones or more west for a Thursday game are historically terrible.

Why? Well, you’ve got 72 hours to recover from your Sunday beatdown, and a good chunk of that is spent crammed into an airplane flying halfway across the country. Then, BAM, you have to adjust to Pacific Time. Every time I hit California, I’m ready for bed at like 7:30 p.m. It’s bizarre! So, I’m predicting the Vikings will be yawning by the third quarter, giving the Chargers all the opportunity to take over.

Last year, the Vikings did this exact thing and lost!

Also, their QB situation is messier than my fantasy football team. Carson Wentz is apparently held together by athletic tape and sheer willpower. I’m not a doctor, but that guy’s hurting. And if he can’t go, it’s J.J. McCarthy time with his injured ankle. Not exactly a recipe for success.

My Pick: Chargers 31, Vikings 24 (Sleepiness and time zones win again!)

New York Giants (2-5) at Philadelphia Eagles (5-2)

Deja vu, anyone? These teams just played like two weeks ago, and the Giants smacked the Eagles around, 34-17. I’ve watched the tape (all 11 times), and the Giants just straight-up outplayed them.

The big difference this time is that Jalen Carter is back for the Eagles. He missed the first game, and the Giants ran wild for 172 yards. Carter’s return will help, but the Eagles’ run defense has been leaky all year.

Philly’s pass rush is also MIA. They’ve only got 11 sacks, so they dragged Brandon Graham out of retirement. Not a good sign.

The real question is: How will the Giants respond to blowing a 19-point lead to the Broncos? Either they’ll use it as motivation to beat the Eagles again, or they’ll completely implode, leading to a Brian Daboll firing. I’m going with the former (for now).

My Pick: Giants 23, Eagles 20 (The Giants still have some fight left.)

Dallas Cowboys (3-3-1) at Denver Broncos (5-2)

The Cowboys have a kryptonite: the great outdoors. They’re like indoor cats that can’t survive for more than a few seconds in the wild. Seriously, Jerry Jones needs to invest in a dome for every NFL stadium.

Check out these splits:

• Indoor: Domination
• Outdoor: Disaster