Week 7 Predictions: Sunday afternoon/Monday night.

Jacksonville at Tampa Bay: If the Jaguars want to make the playoffs, they’re going to have to succeed with David Garrard in the next few weeks.

Unfortunately, they’re in an extremely tough stretch in the next few weeks, and with Garrard out, Jack Del Rio turns to untested Quinn Gray to run the team. When Garrard went down against Indianapolis on Monday night, Gray came in and struggled, going 9 of 24 for 56 yards and was picked off twice in the 29-7 loss.

Jacksonville’s ground game can carry a load and take the pressure off of Gray to have to win it on his own, but Maurice Jones-Drew is a question mark with an injury he suffered late against the Colts.

So, things aren’t looking too good for the Jaguars right now, but thanks to a defense that has, for the most part, played very well this season, does give them a chance to overcome any issues there might be with the QB.

However, Tampa Bay did rack up more than 400 yards against Detroit, and Jeff Garcia continued his sharp play (minus two crucial fumbles), despite the 23-16 loss.

And, there’s also that defense that can’t wait to feast on a young, inexperienced QB and a nicked-up running back.

Score: Tampa Bay 20, Jacksonville 13

Buffalo at N.Y. Jets: Trent Edwards made his first NFL start in Week 4 against the Jets, and led the Bills to a 17-14 win.

If he can do the same thing on Sunday at the Meadowlands, the Bills will pick up their third win in four games, after knocking off the Ravens 19-14 last Sunday.

While the Bills now know who their starter under center is, there are still some question marks for the Jets. Chad Pennington held on to his job with his 272-yard, 3 TD performance against Cincinnati last Sunday, but it wasn’t enough to give the Jets a win, as the rest of the guys around him made mistake upon mistake to keep the Jets headed in the opposite direction of the Giants. With the team at 1-6, and with nothing at all to lose, Pennington may well surrender his job to the young and talented Kellen Clemens, who everyone thinks is more equipped to lead the team than the injury-prone Pennington.

The Jets need a serious lift, because it’s looking a lot like 1996 (a 1-15 season) instead of 2006, a 10-6 playoff season in Eric Mangini’s first year, success that was supposed to carry over to this season.

Unfortunately, the Bills seem to be righting their ship, while the J-E-T-S, Jets, Jets, Jets haven’t found their life preservers yet.

Score: Buffalo 24, N.Y. Jets 17

Houston at San Diego: There were doubts for most of the week about when or where this game would be played, due to the raging wildfires in southern California. But, it will be played at Qualcomm Stadium as scheduled.

It’s no doubt been a long week for the Chargers, but they’ll be focused when the Texans come to town, as they’re looking to keep pace with Kansas City in the AFC West, and win their third game in a row to move over .500.

After scoring 68 points in the first four games, the Chargers have put up 69 in the last two, in wins over Denver and Oakland. It helps that the offense has gotten it going after struggling in the first four weeks. Philip Rivers has been sharp in the last two games, and then there’s the L.T. factor - 198 yards, 4 TD in the 28-14 win over Oakland in San Diego’s last game two weeks ago.

The Texans still won’t have Andre Johnson, as he’s still trying to recover from a knee sprain, and there’s a chance that QB Matt Schaub won’t play, after suffering multiple injuries in last Sunday’s thriller against Tennessee. Sage Rosenfels came in and threw for 290 yards and four touchdowns, and nearly led Houston to a win, so there is a reliable backup plan in case Schaub can‘t go.

But, the Texans defense has imploded recently, giving up 30+ points in each of the last two games. And that doesn’t make for good news considering how well the Chargers offense is playing now.

Score: San Diego 34, Houston 24

New Orleans at San Francisco: Here’s yet another matchup between two teams headed in different directions.

After starting 0-4, the Saints have won their last two games, including last week’s 22-16 win over Atlanta.

After starting 2-0, the 49ers have dropped four in a row, including last Sunday’s 33-15 loss to the Giants.

Some would say that the 49ers’ slide has been aided by the loss of Alex Smith (who missed most of the last three games with a separated shoulder), but the 49ers offense wasn’t playing well before Smith got injured.

Trent Dilfer had a better game against New York than he had against Seattle and Baltimore, but he didn’t produce any better results than Smith. Now, the third-year signal-caller, who recovered very quickly, will be back in the starting lineup for Sunday’s crucial matchup with San Fran’s former NFC West rival.

But, his return alone may not trigger a turnaround for the 49ers, because a) he has to play better than he did before he got hurt, and b) Frank Gore needs to get it going, and soon. Gore has only 394 yards rushing and three touchdowns in the first six games, and doesn’t have a 100-yard game this season after having nine during his 1,695 yard season last year.

However, Gore may be limited on Sunday by an ankle injury, which dampens the good news (or is it?) of Smith’s return.

The Saints have had the 49ers’ number as of late, winning the last three matchups, and I’ll pick them to take that streak to four.

Score: New Orleans 27, San Francisco 14

Green Bay at Denver (Monday night): Just as with the Bears, you can’t read a lot into Denver’s 31-28 win over Pittsburgh on Sunday night. Good win, yes, but they coughed up a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter, and though the defense played a little better than in the previous couple of games, still gave up 379 yards, including 290 yards passing and four touchdowsn by Ben Roethlisberger.

Denver did a better job against the run, but this game could be just what the doctor ordered for the Packers, as they come into the week last in the league in rushing.

If they can convincingly win beat the Packers, then it will be a lot easier to buy into the Broncos’ turnaround. But, they still have questions on defense, and there’s no telling what to expect from the run game. Jay Cutler took a big step towards showing how well he can lead by directing the game-winning drive against Pittsburgh, and this game offers up another chance for him to show how much he’s progressing.

But, the other QB in the game has been at it for a while, and with the chance to give his team more distance in the NFC North, he’ll be intent on showing the young gunslinger that he’s got plenty left in the tank.

This is one that I might flip-flop on before game time, but for now, I’ll take the Packers to win it, based on their strong defense and the expectation that the ground game will give old #4 some much-needed assistance.

Score: Green Bay 28, Denver 21