This article is part of our NFL Picks series.
Stopa won last week at 9-6-1 to pull within two games of DDD. Otherwise, not much changed. This week, Stopa is on an island with the Ravens, Bengals, Seahawks, Giants and Cowboys, four of which are road favorites. We have two consensus picks, the Steelers and Jaguars.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49ers -3 at Rams | 49ers | 49ers | Rams | 49ers | 49ers |
| Steelers -1 vs. Vikings (in London) | Steelers | Steelers | Steelers | Steelers | Steelers |
| Ravens -3.5 at Bills | Bills | Bills | Bills | Ravens | Bills |
| Bengals -5 at Browns | Browns | Browns | Browns | Bengals | Browns |
| Colts -8.5 at Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars |
| Seahawks -3 at Texans | Texans | Texans | Texans | Seahawks | Texans |
| Cardinals +3 at Buccaneers | Cardinals | Cardinals | Buccaneers | Cardinals | Buccaneers |
| Bears +3 at Lions | Lions | Bears | Bears | Bears | Lions |
| Giants +4 at Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Giants | Chiefs |
| Jets +4 at Titans | Titans | Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets |
| Cowboys -2 at Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Cowboys | Chargers |
| Redskins -3 at Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins |
| Eagles +10.5 at Broncos | Broncos | Eagles | Broncos | Broncos | Eagles |
| Patriots +1.5 at Falcons | Falcons | Patriots | Falcons | Falcons | Falcons |
| Dolphins +6.5 at Saints | Dolphins | Saints | Saints | Dolphins | Dolphins |
| Best Bet | Steelers | Browns | Steelers | Jets | Jets |
| Last Week's Record | 6-9-1 | 7-8-1 | 5-10-1 | 9-6-1 | 7-8-1 |
| 2013 Record | 22-23-3 | 17-28-3 | 18-27-3 | 24-21-3 | 26-19-3 |
| Best Bet Record | 2-1 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 2-1 | 0-3 |
| 2013 Consensus Pick Record | 4-7-2 | ||||
| 2012 Record | 110-140-6 | 124-126-6 | 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 |
Stopa won last week at 9-6-1 to pull within two games of DDD. Otherwise, not much changed. This week, Stopa is on an island with the Ravens, Bengals, Seahawks, Giants and Cowboys, four of which are road favorites. We have two consensus picks, the Steelers and Jaguars.
Consensus Picks
The players:
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49ers -3 at Rams | 49ers | 49ers | Rams | 49ers | 49ers |
| Steelers -1 vs. Vikings (in London) | Steelers | Steelers | Steelers | Steelers | Steelers |
| Ravens -3.5 at Bills | Bills | Bills | Bills | Ravens | Bills |
| Bengals -5 at Browns | Browns | Browns | Browns | Bengals | Browns |
| Colts -8.5 at Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars |
| Seahawks -3 at Texans | Texans | Texans | Texans | Seahawks | Texans |
| Cardinals +3 at Buccaneers | Cardinals | Cardinals | Buccaneers | Cardinals | Buccaneers |
| Bears +3 at Lions | Lions | Bears | Bears | Bears | Lions |
| Giants +4 at Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Giants | Chiefs |
| Jets +4 at Titans | Titans | Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets |
| Cowboys -2 at Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Cowboys | Chargers |
| Redskins -3 at Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins |
| Eagles +10.5 at Broncos | Broncos | Eagles | Broncos | Broncos | Eagles |
| Patriots +1.5 at Falcons | Falcons | Patriots | Falcons | Falcons | Falcons |
| Dolphins +6.5 at Saints | Dolphins | Saints | Saints | Dolphins | Dolphins |
| Best Bet | Steelers | Browns | Steelers | Jets | Jets |
| Last Week's Record | 6-9-1 | 7-8-1 | 5-10-1 | 9-6-1 | 7-8-1 |
| 2013 Record | 22-23-3 | 17-28-3 | 18-27-3 | 24-21-3 | 26-19-3 |
| Best Bet Record | 2-1 | 1-2 | 1-2 | 2-1 | 0-3 |
| 2013 Consensus Pick Record | 4-7-2 | ||||
| 2012 Record | 110-140-6 | 124-126-6 | 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 |
Consensus Picks
This week we have two consensus picks: the Steelers and Jaguars. Last week we went 1-1 to put us at 4-7-2 on the season.
Comments:
| Writer | Comment |
| Erickson | I hate the Thursday night game this week. Part of me thinks I should just take the home dog, especially with so many injuries or absences dogging the Niners. But the other part of me thinks the Rams sort of stink, and I'm sick of taking teams that stink. I wouldn't bet this game if I were in Vegas... Otherwise, this is the week of the home dog - taking a lot of points all over the place. I really hope someone else in our panel is bold enough to take the Colts (I'm sadly not) just so that the sucky Jags aren't a consensus pick. Last week notwithstanding, I'm not convinced the Colts are a really good team. ... I think the Steelers are less crappy than the Vikes, and this isn't a road game for them at all - it's a neutral game, and given that they're a public team, the London crowd is behind them if anything. |
| Pianowski | All sorts of uncertainty about Cleveland's offense (Josh Gordon can't really be *that* good, can he?) but one thing we know for sure - the Browns have an outstanding defense. |
| Liss | Odd that DDD and I both took the Giants, then switched. Hope we're both wrong. |
| Stopa | The Jets should be getting less than a field goal, not more. That defense is nasty. Geno Smith might screw it up, but Jake Locker isn't exactly a peach, either... I really like the Bears, too - they're significantly better than the Lions, whose shortcomings on defense and running the ball can't be masked forever... The Jaguars have historically matched up well with the Colts given their conservative style and the Colts struggles stopping the run. The Jags have to cover a spread eventually, right? I thought the public would have been all over the Steelers, in which event I might have faded. But it's a 50/50 split, so I'll take the vastly superior quarterback who won't go winless forever. |
| Del Don | I'm off to an OK start overall but haven't yet won a "best bet," so feel free to ignore mine this week. The one game I actually changed, thinking it's contrarian to do so, is backing the Chiefs. An overachieving and undefeated KC team versus quite possibly the league's most underachieving and winless NY team, this seems like the perfect time to buy low/sell high. So I'll do the opposite. |
The players:
•Jeff Erickson: RotoWire Senior editor, 2001, 2008 Staff Picks Champ. Writes the Value Meter. 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 Surviving the Week in addition to Staff Picks. Covers and roots for the Giants.
•Mark Stopa: Staff Writer, 2010, 2012 Staff Picks Champ, Writes Working the Wire. Roots for the Bills.
•Dalton Del Don: Fantasy Expert for Yahoo! Sports, 2007 Staff Picks Champ. Roots for the 49ers.
