This article is part of our NFL Picks series.
This week we have only one unanimous pick, the Cardinals, which also happen to be both Erickson and Pianowski's best bets. It's an interesting game because the book is begging us to take the 9-1 Cardinals getting 6.5, but the advanced metrics deem Arizona a fraud. Looks like we all took the bait, though.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chiefs -7 at Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Chiefs | Chiefs |
| Browns +3 at Falcons | Browns | Browns | Browns | Browns | Falcons |
| Titans +11 at Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Titans | Titans |
| Lions +7 at Patriots | Lions | Patriots | Patriots | Lions | Lions |
| Packers -9.5 at Vikings | Vikings | Packers | Vikings | Packers | Vikings |
| Jaguars +14 at Colts | Colts | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars |
| Bengals +1.5 at Texans | Texans | Texans | Texans | Bengals | Texans |
| Jets +4.5 at Bills | Jets | Jets | Jets | Bills | Jets |
| Buccaneers +5.5 at Bears | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Bears | Buccaneers | Buccaneers |
| Cardinals +6.5 at Seahawks | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals |
| Rams +5 at Chargers | Rams | Rams | Chargers | Rams | Rams |
| Dolphins +7 at Broncos | Broncos | Broncos | Broncos | Dolphins | Broncos |
| Redskins +9 at 49ers | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | 49ers | Redskins |
| Cowboys -3.5 at Giants | Cowboys | Giants | Giants | Cowboys | Giants |
| Ravens +3.5 at Saints | Ravens | Saints | Ravens | Ravens |
This week we have only one unanimous pick, the Cardinals, which also happen to be both Erickson and Pianowski's best bets. It's an interesting game because the book is begging us to take the 9-1 Cardinals getting 6.5, but the advanced metrics deem Arizona a fraud. Looks like we all took the bait, though.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chiefs -7 at Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Chiefs | Chiefs |
| Browns +3 at Falcons | Browns | Browns | Browns | Browns | Falcons |
| Titans +11 at Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Eagles | Titans | Titans |
| Lions +7 at Patriots | Lions | Patriots | Patriots | Lions | Lions |
| Packers -9.5 at Vikings | Vikings | Packers | Vikings | Packers | Vikings |
| Jaguars +14 at Colts | Colts | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars |
| Bengals +1.5 at Texans | Texans | Texans | Texans | Bengals | Texans |
| Jets +4.5 at Bills | Jets | Jets | Jets | Bills | Jets |
| Buccaneers +5.5 at Bears | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Bears | Buccaneers | Buccaneers |
| Cardinals +6.5 at Seahawks | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals |
| Rams +5 at Chargers | Rams | Rams | Chargers | Rams | Rams |
| Dolphins +7 at Broncos | Broncos | Broncos | Broncos | Dolphins | Broncos |
| Redskins +9 at 49ers | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | 49ers | Redskins |
| Cowboys -3.5 at Giants | Cowboys | Giants | Giants | Cowboys | Giants |
| Ravens +3.5 at Saints | Ravens | Saints | Ravens | Ravens | Saints |
| Best Bet | Cardinals | Cardinals | Vikings | Bills | Falcons |
| Last Week's Record | 8-6 | 8-6 | 8-6 | 9-5 | 7-7 |
| 2014 Record | 75-84-2 | 82-77-2 | 89-70-2 | 78-81-2 | 89-70-2 |
| Best Bet Record | 4-7 | 2-9 | 8-3 | 6-5 | 7-4 |
| Majority Record | 89-70-2 | ||||
| Unanimous Pick Record | 15-13 | ||||
| 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 all like the Cardinals. Last week we went 1-1 on unanimous picks to go 15-13 on the year. And we went 9-5 on majority picks (three or more writers) to go 89-70-2.
Comments:
| Writer | Comment |
| Erickson | At the risk of seeking a pattern and relying too much on it, I think the Seahawks will really miss Max Unger against a team that's already good at stopping the run. Apparently the projection systems all hate the Cards, which explains why I'm playing the role of the square in thinking they deserve more credit than they've received... I'm doing my best to avoid recency bias with these picks, so even though the Eagles looked like crud against the Packers, I'm going to write it off as a bad day and predict them to roll this week. |
| Pianowski | While I don't believe in Arizona completely, and I understand Drew Stanton can collapse at any time, Seattle has done nothing to deserve that much line respect. I hate seeing Russell Wilson forced to play with this hodge-podge of mediocre receivers. Even the home-field edge has been muted this year. |
| Liss | I like the set-up for Minnesota at home against the Packers getting nearly 10 (they'll probably lose by 40, though.) I also like the Giants on Sunday night getting more than a field-goal at home against the Cowboys. Odd that the Cardinals are a unanimous pick, the book is begging everyone to take them. |
| Stopa | The snow in Buffalo strikes me as something that a team/region will rally around. Expect an inspired effort from the Bills... The talent disparity between KC and OAK is enormous, and the Thursday games usually get out of hand... Page me when the Falcons beat someone outside their putrid division... The weapons for Indy and Denver are too nicked up for me to lay those kind of points. Miami's D is good enough to duplicate what STL just did, particularly if Emmanuel Sanders and Julius Thomas are out. |
| Del Don | Backing the Chiefs feels like the sucker side, but I held my nose and went with plenty of other ugly dogs this week (10 in total)... I didn't love any best bets, but I'll go with the Falcons. This is actually their first true home game since Week 6. |
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.
