This article is part of our NFL Picks series.
Overall, it wasn't a great week for the staff with only two of us over .500, and we lost our only unanimous pick, the Cardinals. DDD was in first place briefly a couple weeks ago, but after a 4-11 showing in Week 12, he's now closer to third.
This week, there's only one unanimous pick, the Falcons, and all five of us have different best bets.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bears +7 at Lions | Lions | Bears | Lions | Lions | Lions |
| Eagles +3 at Cowboys | Eagles | Eagles | Cowboys | Eagles | Cowboys |
| Seahawks +1 at 49ers | 49ers | Seahawks | 49ers | Seahawks | 49ers |
| Redskins +9.5 at Colts | Redskins | Colts | Redskins | Colts | Redskins |
| Titans +6.5 at Texans | Texans | Texans | Texans | Texans | Titans |
| Browns +2.5 at Bills | Bills | Bills | Browns | Bills | Bills |
| Chargers +5.5 at Ravens | Ravens | Ravens | Ravens | Chargers | Ravens |
| Giants -2.5 at Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Giants | Giants | Jaguars |
| Bengals -4 at Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Bengals | Buccaneers |
| Raiders +7 at Rams | Rams | Raiders | Rams | Rams | Rams |
| Saints +4 at Steelers | Steelers | Steelers | Steelers | Steelers | Saints |
| Panthers +2.5 at Vikings | Vikings | Vikings | Panthers | Vikings | Vikings |
| Cardinals -2.5 at Falcons | Falcons | Falcons | Falcons | Falcons | Falcons |
| Patriots +3 at Packers | Patriots | Patriots | Patriots | Patriots | Packers |
| Broncos -1.5 at Chiefs | Broncos | Broncos | Chiefs | Broncos | Chiefs |
| Dolphins -6 at Jets | Dolphins | Jets | Dolphins | Dolphins | Jets |
| Best Bet | Broncos | Vikings | Lions | Patriots | 49ers |
| Last Week's Record | 8-7 | 7-8 | 9-6 | 6-9 | 4-11 |
| 2014 Record | 83-91-2 | 89-85-2 | 98-76-2 | 84-90-2 | 93-81-2 |
| Best Bet Record | 4-8 | 2-10 | 9-3 | 7-5 | 7-5 |
| Majority Record | 97-77-2 | ||||
| Unanimous |
Overall, it wasn't a great week for the staff with only two of us over .500, and we lost our only unanimous pick, the Cardinals. DDD was in first place briefly a couple weeks ago, but after a 4-11 showing in Week 12, he's now closer to third.
Unanimous/Majority Picks
The players:
This week, there's only one unanimous pick, the Falcons, and all five of us have different best bets.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bears +7 at Lions | Lions | Bears | Lions | Lions | Lions |
| Eagles +3 at Cowboys | Eagles | Eagles | Cowboys | Eagles | Cowboys |
| Seahawks +1 at 49ers | 49ers | Seahawks | 49ers | Seahawks | 49ers |
| Redskins +9.5 at Colts | Redskins | Colts | Redskins | Colts | Redskins |
| Titans +6.5 at Texans | Texans | Texans | Texans | Texans | Titans |
| Browns +2.5 at Bills | Bills | Bills | Browns | Bills | Bills |
| Chargers +5.5 at Ravens | Ravens | Ravens | Ravens | Chargers | Ravens |
| Giants -2.5 at Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Giants | Giants | Jaguars |
| Bengals -4 at Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Bengals | Buccaneers |
| Raiders +7 at Rams | Rams | Raiders | Rams | Rams | Rams |
| Saints +4 at Steelers | Steelers | Steelers | Steelers | Steelers | Saints |
| Panthers +2.5 at Vikings | Vikings | Vikings | Panthers | Vikings | Vikings |
| Cardinals -2.5 at Falcons | Falcons | Falcons | Falcons | Falcons | Falcons |
| Patriots +3 at Packers | Patriots | Patriots | Patriots | Patriots | Packers |
| Broncos -1.5 at Chiefs | Broncos | Broncos | Chiefs | Broncos | Chiefs |
| Dolphins -6 at Jets | Dolphins | Jets | Dolphins | Dolphins | Jets |
| Best Bet | Broncos | Vikings | Lions | Patriots | 49ers |
| Last Week's Record | 8-7 | 7-8 | 9-6 | 6-9 | 4-11 |
| 2014 Record | 83-91-2 | 89-85-2 | 98-76-2 | 84-90-2 | 93-81-2 |
| Best Bet Record | 4-8 | 2-10 | 9-3 | 7-5 | 7-5 |
| Majority Record | 97-77-2 | ||||
| Unanimous Pick Record | 15-14 | ||||
| 2013 Record | 132-114-10 | 118-128-10 | 123-123-10 | 111-135-10 | 128-118-10 |
| 2012 Record | 110-140-6 | 125-125-6 | 121-129-6 | 143-107-6 | 123-127-6 |
| 2011 Record | 121-128-7 | 134-115-7 | 124-125-7 | 123-126-7 | 127-122-7 |
| 2010 Record | 129-122-5 | 134-117-5 | 126-125-5 | 136-115-5 | 134-117-5 |
| 2009 Record | 123-130-3 | 132-121-3 | 131-122-3 | 130-123-3 | 126-127-3 |
| 2008 Record | 132-114-10 | 128-118-10 | 124-122-10 | 125-121-10 | 130-116-10 |
| 2007 Record | 127-120 | 118-129 | 127-120 | N/A | 130-117 |
| 2006 Record | 118-129 | N/A | 139-108 | N/A | N/A |
| 2005 Record | 121-126 | N/A | 127-120 | N/A | N/A |
| 2004 Record | 124-124 | N/A | 130-118 | N/A | N/A |
| 2003 Record | 121-126 | 118-129 | 124-123 | N/A | N/A |
| 2002 Record | 113-136 | 123-126 | 141-108 | N/A | N/A |
| 2001 Record | 124-113 | 117-120 | 118-119 | N/A | N/A |
| 2000 Record | 123-117 | 134-106 | 141-99 | N/A | N/A |
Unanimous/Majority Picks
This week, we have only one unanimous pick, the Falcons. Last week we went 0-1 on unanimous picks to go 15-14 on the year. And we went 8-7 on majority picks (three or more writers) to go 97-77-2.
Comments:
| Writer | Comment |
| Erickson | The NFL is so concerned about player safety they'll make the Cowboys play the Sunday night game on the road, then turn around and play at 4:30 ET on Thursday. But better make sure that every player is available for inane questions from reporters after the game... I don't know if this is a thing, but this is the third straight road game for the Bengals down south - I feel a letdown coming... I really, really, really hope that NE-GB lives up to its billing... I could see a lot of underdogs winning outright this week. |
| Pianowski | I know a lot of people will complain about the Sunday split (nine early, two late), but that's what happens when a game like Green Bay and New England sits at 4:25 pm ET. And three of the five standalone games look excellent, so I can live with the Sunday imbalance. I am very tempted to boycott Monday's game in New York, however. Is Rex Ryan daring the Jets to fire him?... Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. I'm thankful for you wonderful colleagues and friends, and interesting and insightful readers. |
| Liss | Tough slate. I picked the Lions because I think their defense will hold up at home, and Matt Stafford will finally break through against the Bears defense. Also like the Giants, Ravens and Rams a little bit. |
| Stopa | I think Darrelle Revis will cover Jordy Nelson, and the Patriots will roll extra coverage towards Randall Cobb, slowing down the Packers just a bit. But how are the Packers going to slow down the Patriots? Give me the points in a game NE is probably 50/50 to win outright... Matthew Stafford usually plays better at Thanksgiving, and the Bears are just the turkeys to help him do so again. |
| Del Don | I had a tough time with this week's slate, including coming up with a best bet, so I went with the homer route. |
The players:
•Jeff Erickson: RotoWire Senior editor, 2001, 2008, 2013 Staff Picks Champ. Writes the Weekly Rankings. Covers and roots for the Bengals.
•Scott Pianowski: Fantasy expert for Yahoo! Sports, and also contributes to Rotowire.com. 2009 and 2011 Staff Picks Champ. Roots for the Patriots.
•Chris Liss: RotoWire Managing Editor, 2000, 2002, 2006 Staff Picks Champ, 2003, 2004 co-champ. Writes East Coast Offense, Beating the Book and the Survivor column in addition to Staff Picks. Covers and roots for the Giants.
•Mark Stopa: Staff Writer, 2010, 2012 Staff Picks Champ, Writes Run 'N' Shoot. Roots for the Bills.
•Dalton Del Don: Fantasy Expert for Yahoo! Sports, 2007 Staff Picks Champ. Roots for the 49ers.
