This article is part of our NFL Picks series.
With so many favorites covering it was a bloodbath for most of the staff (most of all me), but Stopa somehow managed to go 8-6 and keep his total just under 60 percent. We have but one consensus pick, the Thursday night home dog Jaguars, though both Pianowski and DDD like the Vikings as their best bets.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colts -3 at Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars |
| Broncos -4 at Panthers | Panthers | Panthers | Panthers | Broncos | Panthers |
| Chargers +3 at Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Chargers | Buccaneers | Chargers |
| Titans +6 at Dolphins | Titans | Dolphins | Dolphins | Dolphins | Titans |
| Bills +11 at Patriots | Patriots | Bills | Bills | Patriots | Bills |
| Raiders +9 at Ravens | Ravens | Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Raiders |
| Giants -4 at Bengals | Giants | Giants | Bengals | Bengals | Giants |
| Falcons -1.5 at Saints | Saints | Falcons | Saints | Saints | Falcons |
| Lions -1 at Vikings | Lions | Vikings | Vikings | Lions | Vikings |
| Jets +6.5 at Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks | Jets | Jets |
| Cowboys -1 at Eagles | Cowboys | Eagles | Eagles | Cowboys | Cowboys |
| Rams +11 at 49ers | Rams | 49ers | 49ers | 49ers | 49ers |
| Texans +1 at Bears | Bears | Bears | Texans | Texans | Bears |
| Chiefs +12 at Steelers | Steelers | Steelers | Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs |
| Best Bet | Bears | Vikings | Bengals | Patriots | Vikings |
| Last Week's Record | 5-9 | 5-9 | 4-10 | 8-6 | 6-8 |
| 2012 Record | 56-73-3 | 68-61-3 | 59-70-3 | 77-52-3 | 69-60-3 |
| Best Bet Record | 1-7-1 | 6-3 | 3-6 | 6-3 | 5-4 |
| Consensus Pick Record | 12-14-1 | ||||
| 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 |
With so many favorites covering it was a bloodbath for most of the staff (most of all me), but Stopa somehow managed to go 8-6 and keep his total just under 60 percent. We have but one consensus pick, the Thursday night home dog Jaguars, though both Pianowski and DDD like the Vikings as their best bets.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colts -3 at Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars |
| Broncos -4 at Panthers | Panthers | Panthers | Panthers | Broncos | Panthers |
| Chargers +3 at Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Chargers | Buccaneers | Chargers |
| Titans +6 at Dolphins | Titans | Dolphins | Dolphins | Dolphins | Titans |
| Bills +11 at Patriots | Patriots | Bills | Bills | Patriots | Bills |
| Raiders +9 at Ravens | Ravens | Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Raiders |
| Giants -4 at Bengals | Giants | Giants | Bengals | Bengals | Giants |
| Falcons -1.5 at Saints | Saints | Falcons | Saints | Saints | Falcons |
| Lions -1 at Vikings | Lions | Vikings | Vikings | Lions | Vikings |
| Jets +6.5 at Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks | Jets | Jets |
| Cowboys -1 at Eagles | Cowboys | Eagles | Eagles | Cowboys | Cowboys |
| Rams +11 at 49ers | Rams | 49ers | 49ers | 49ers | 49ers |
| Texans +1 at Bears | Bears | Bears | Texans | Texans | Bears |
| Chiefs +12 at Steelers | Steelers | Steelers | Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs |
| Best Bet | Bears | Vikings | Bengals | Patriots | Vikings |
| Last Week's Record | 5-9 | 5-9 | 4-10 | 8-6 | 6-8 |
| 2012 Record | 56-73-3 | 68-61-3 | 59-70-3 | 77-52-3 | 69-60-3 |
| Best Bet Record | 1-7-1 | 6-3 | 3-6 | 6-3 | 5-4 |
| Consensus Pick Record | 12-14-1 | ||||
| 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 one consensus pick: the Jaguars. Last week we went 1-2 to put us at 13-16-1 on the season. Last year we were 30-24-2 on consensus picks.
Comments:
| Writer | Comment |
| Erickson | The line treats the Texans as a better team on a neutral site. I'm not certain that's a fair assessment. I get doubting Jay Cutler an all, but the Texans still have their flaws too. |
| Pianowski | The only thing worse than watching the Eagles is picking the Eagles. Someone, anyone, please pull the plug on this team . . . I hate taking road favorites especially over the three-spot, but when's the last time the Bengals beat a quality opponent? |
| Liss | I like this slate overall, but I couldn't easily decide on a best bet. Picked the Bengals because I chose them Tuesday for ECO, but nothing really jumped out at me as much better than the others. I also picked 11 dogs after last week's favorites cleaned up. |
| Stopa | The Colts have a minus-10 turnover differential, allow a 101.5 QB rating and have struggled on the road (two blowout losses and an OT win vs Tenn). Plus, home teams have dominated the Thursday night games. Fade, fade, fade. If only I trusted Jax more, I'd make that my best bet... I like buying low and selling high, but I'm done with the Vikings. You can't hide your quarterback unless you have a dominant defense, and the Vikings don't... I get the Seahawks home field, but the Jets can run a bit and keep it close... Choosing my best bet is a function of what I'm most confident in. For me, that's the Patriots blowing out the Bills. It's easy to visualize, as we see it every time they play. For a young, reeling Bills team, that has to be in their heads. |
| Del Don | The Vikings have looked bad the past couple of weeks while the Lions appear to have righted the ship, but I'm going the other way here, as I'm not quite ready to lay points on the road with Detroit against a team with a winning record. |
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 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.
