This article is part of our NFL Picks series.
Erickson continues to have a three-game lead over Stopa as both went 8-7-1 last week. I fell further into last place with a 4-11-1 showing, but Pianowski took some heat off me with a historic 1-14-1. The one he covered? The Giants who were down 35-7 in the second half. I can't talk - even after Pianow's terrible week, I'm still seven games behind him with only two weeks to play.
This week, we have three consensus picks, the Jaguars, Texans and Patriots. I made the Texans my best bet, while DDD took the Patriots.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chargers +5.5 at Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Chargers |
| Redskins +3 at Eagles | Eagles | Redskins | Eagles | Redskins | Redskins |
| Bears +3 at Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Bears | Bears | Bears | Bears |
| Panthers -7 at Falcons | Falcons | Panthers | Falcons | Panthers | Falcons |
| Cowboys +6 at Bills | Bills | Bills | Bills | Cowboys | Cowboys |
| 49ers +9 at Lions | Lions | 49ers | Lions | 49ers | Lions |
| Browns +12.5 at Chiefs | Browns | Browns | Browns | Chiefs | Browns |
| Colts +1.5 at Dolphins | Dolphins | Dolphins | Colts | Dolphins | Dolphins |
| Patriots -3 at Jets | Patriots | Patriots | Patriots | Patriots | Patriots |
| Texans +4.5 at Titans | Texans | Texans | Texans | Texans | Texans |
| Steelers -10 at Ravens | Steelers | Steelers | Ravens | Steelers | Ravens |
| Jaguars +3.5 at Saints | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars |
| Packers +4.5 at Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Packers |
| Rams +13.5 at Seahawks | Rams | Seahawks | Rams | Seahawks | Seahawks |
| Giants +6 at Vikings | Vikings | Giants | Giants | Vikings | Giants |
| Bengals +3.5 at Broncos | Broncos | Broncos | Bengals | Broncos | Bengals |
| Best Bet | Broncos | 49ers | Texans |
Erickson continues to have a three-game lead over Stopa as both went 8-7-1 last week. I fell further into last place with a 4-11-1 showing, but Pianowski took some heat off me with a historic 1-14-1. The one he covered? The Giants who were down 35-7 in the second half. I can't talk - even after Pianow's terrible week, I'm still seven games behind him with only two weeks to play.
This week, we have three consensus picks, the Jaguars, Texans and Patriots. I made the Texans my best bet, while DDD took the Patriots.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chargers +5.5 at Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Chargers |
| Redskins +3 at Eagles | Eagles | Redskins | Eagles | Redskins | Redskins |
| Bears +3 at Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Bears | Bears | Bears | Bears |
| Panthers -7 at Falcons | Falcons | Panthers | Falcons | Panthers | Falcons |
| Cowboys +6 at Bills | Bills | Bills | Bills | Cowboys | Cowboys |
| 49ers +9 at Lions | Lions | 49ers | Lions | 49ers | Lions |
| Browns +12.5 at Chiefs | Browns | Browns | Browns | Chiefs | Browns |
| Colts +1.5 at Dolphins | Dolphins | Dolphins | Colts | Dolphins | Dolphins |
| Patriots -3 at Jets | Patriots | Patriots | Patriots | Patriots | Patriots |
| Texans +4.5 at Titans | Texans | Texans | Texans | Texans | Texans |
| Steelers -10 at Ravens | Steelers | Steelers | Ravens | Steelers | Ravens |
| Jaguars +3.5 at Saints | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars |
| Packers +4.5 at Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Packers |
| Rams +13.5 at Seahawks | Rams | Seahawks | Rams | Seahawks | Seahawks |
| Giants +6 at Vikings | Vikings | Giants | Giants | Vikings | Giants |
| Bengals +3.5 at Broncos | Broncos | Broncos | Bengals | Broncos | Bengals |
| Best Bet | Broncos | 49ers | Texans | Steelers | Patriots |
| Last Week's Record | 8-7-1 | 1-14-1 | 4-11-1 | 8-7-1 | 7-8-1 |
| 2015 Record | 116-101-7 | 104-113-7 | 97-120-7 | 113-104-7 | 105-112-7 |
| Best Bet Record | 8-6-1 | 7-8 | 6-7-2 | 6-8-1 | 8-7 |
| Unanimous Pick Record | 20-24 | ||||
| Majority Pick Record | 104-113-7 | ||||
| 2014 Unanimous Pick Record | 20-15-1 | ||||
| 2014 Majority Record | 146-116-5 | ||||
| 2014 Record | 123-128-5 | 140-111-5 | 135-116-5 | 124-127-5 | 128-123-5 |
| 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 three more unanimous picks, the Jaguars, Texans and Patriots. We went 0-2 on unanimous picks last week to bring our season record to 20-24. We went 4-11-1 on majority picks (three or more writers) to bring our season record to 103-114-7.
Comments:
| Writer | Comment |
|---|---|
| Erickson | The Bengals will not be able to move the ball with McCarron at the helm against the Broncos. I might be a Chicken Little Bengals fan, but I think this game will get ugly. I hope I'm wrong... I'm strangely heavy on favorites this week, which makes me uncomfortable, but so be it - the picks are the picks. |
| Pianowski | Spineless Jim Tomsula doesn't play to win, but he always has the cover in mind. The Lions shouldn't lay that type of wood against anyone. |
| Liss | It seems crazy taking the Falcons, but they're better at home, and I expect their "A" game against a 14-0 division rival that thumped them two weeks ago. I also think the Texans line was odd - maybe Zach Mettenberger is better than Brandon Weeden, but it can't be by that much, and the Texans defense is better than Tennessee's. Finally, I'd make the Jaguars 3.5-point dogs against the Saints even if Drew Brees were playing. That he's iffy makes this an auto-play. |
| Stopa | A few lines surprised me this week. I've been on Detroit for a while now, but they're not good enough to lay that many points... The Titans are laying more than a FG without Mariota to a better team. Go figure... Are the Bills six points better than anyone right now? It's a travesty what Rex Ryan has done to a talented defense... The Saints aren't more than a FG better than the Jags with Brees hobbled. |
| Del Don | No pick jumped out as a best bet for me this week, so I took the Patriots, who might actually have a better defense than the Jets. |
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, 2011 and 2014 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.
