NFL Week 7 parlay: Colts, Jaguars, Bears

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The Los Angeles Rams sewered an otherwise perfect parlay last week, but that's the nature of the beast.

In this week's edition, we're favoring a pair of rested teams coming off their bye and a strong bounce-back candidate led by a delightfully mustachioed quarterback.

Colts -1 (vs. Texans)

The Colts were a Marcus Johnson drop away from a 3-0 record against the Texans last season. They stormed into Houston and won twice, including in the wild-card round, while suffering a heartbreaking overtime loss in Indianapolis. The one constant in all three of those games was Frank Reich getting the better of Bill O'Brien.

It can't be understated what a marvelous job Reich has done with the Colts - not only in how he coaches them up, but how he's cultivated a culture of winning in the locker room. He knows how to win football games, and he finds his team in an excellent spot this weekend ahead of a massive AFC South showdown.

Reich's had two weeks to plan for this game, which is a dangerous proposition for Houston with the Colts rested and healthy following their bye. The Texans are fresh off an emotional victory at Arrowhead and will play in their second road game in a row, a spot they're 1-5 straight up in under O'Brien as a 'dog.

Jaguars ML -175 (at Bengals)

It's shaping up to be a great week for the Jaguars. They rid themselves of the Jalen Ramsey distraction, brought in a haul of picks, and now face arguably the best get-right team in the Bengals.

Jacksonville's pass rush has been lethargic this season, but facing the league's worst offensive line should prove to be a great problem-solver. Cincinnati also owns a bottom-five secondary, run defense, and pass rush. Defensive backs William Jackson and Dre Kirkpatrick are set to miss this game as well, leaving a bad secondary even more bereft of talent. In five starts, Gardner Minshew has yet to face a defense ranked outside the top 18 in yards allowed per game, but he finally gets a chance to erupt here against the Bengals' 31st-ranked unit.

Bears ML -175 (vs. Saints)

Let's take a second to appreciate just how impressive the Saints have been this season. Losing Drew Brees could've condemned them to the thick of the wild-card race, but it looks like nothing is going to get in their way of winning the NFC South and likely taking the top seed in the conference. Teddy Bridgewater's perseverance to return from a devastating knee injury and find himself playing effective football is one of the season's great stories.

But this is the toughest test Bridgewater will face in Brees' absence. He's yet to start against a top-10 defense, according to PFF grades, but that will all change Sunday against the league's fourth-best unit. The Bears will be without Akiem Hicks, but their ferocious pass rush still ranks second in the NFL and should have success getting after Bridgewater - something the Jaguars struggled to do with consistency in Week 6.

Sean Payton will game plan heavily around slowing Khalil Mack, but the Bears have allowed just 16 points in their two home games and should make life incredibly difficult for Bridgewater. Mitch Trubisky is expected to return and while he can be an enigma, Matt Nagy remains one of the best offensive coaches in the NFL. With two weeks to prepare, he should be able to put his quarterback in a favorable position to have success as Chicago looks to keep pace in the brutal NFC North.

Parlay: Colts -1, Jaguars ML, Bears ML ($50 to win $186)

Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.