This article is part of our NFL Picks series.
For the podcast version of this article, click here. To subscribe, here.
It was a below-average week for the staff, thanks in large part to my 5-9 showing. Pianowski still leads, but he's only one game up on Stopa.
This week we have four unanimous picks: the Lions, Steelers, Seahawks and Broncos. Erickson also made the Seahawks his best bet.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dolphins +8 at Patriots | Dolphins | Dolphins | Dolphins | Patriots | Patriots |
| Lions +4.5 at Chiefs (in London) | Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions |
| Vikings -1 at Bears | Vikings | Bears | Bears | Bears | Bears |
| Buccaneers +7 at Falcons | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Falcons | Buccaneers |
| Giants +3 at Saints | Saints | Giants | Giants | Giants | Giants |
| 49ers +8.5 at Rams | Rams | 49ers | Rams | Rams | Rams |
| Cardinals -5 at Browns | Browns | Browns | Browns | Cardinals | Browns |
| Bengals -1.5 at Steelers | Steelers | Steelers | Steelers | Steelers | Steelers |
| Chargers +3 at Ravens | Ravens | Ravens | Ravens | Chargers | Chargers |
| Titans +4 at Texans | Texans | Titans | Texans | Titans | Titans |
| Jets -2 at Raiders | Jets | Raiders | Jets | Jets | Jets |
| Seahawks -6 at Cowboys | Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks |
| Packers -3 at Broncos | Broncos | Broncos | Broncos | Broncos | Broncos |
| Colts +7 at Panthers | Panthers | Colts | Colts | Panthers | Panthers |
| Best Bet | Seahawks | Bears | Rams | Falcons | Jets |
| Last Week's Record | 7-7 | 7-7 | 5-9 | 8-6 | 6-8 |
| 2015 Record | 52-50-3 | 55-47-3 | 43-59-3 | 54-48-3 | 47-55-3 |
| Best Bet Record | 4-3 | 5-2 | 3-3-1 | 2-4-1 | 5-2 |
| Unanimous Pick Record | 6-8 | ||||
| Majority Pick Record | 50-52-3 | ||||
| 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 four unanimous picks, the Lions, Steelers Seahawks and Broncos. We won our only unanimous pick last week, the Jets, to bring our season record to 6-8. We went 5-9 on majority picks last week to bring our season record to 50-52-3.
Comments:
| Writer | Comment |
|---|---|
| Erickson | In theory, you can exploit the Seahawks defense by hitting the tight end and avoiding Richard Sherman and Earl Thomas as much as possible. But that requires a skilled quarterback and talented wide receivers. Even if Dez Bryant returns, I don't think Cassell is capable of doing that. |
| Pianowski | Minnesota screams out "fraudulent." They beat the Lions, big deal. The Niners beat them soundly. The Chiefs outplayed Minnesota, somehow lost anyway. Metric-based power rankings aren't everything, but Football Outsiders has Minnesota ranked 28th in their DVOA mishmash. And the Bears haven't been that bad with Jay Cutler... I have bye week as a seven-point favorite over the Bills. |
| Liss | I like the Rams to beat up on the hapless Niners at home. I also like the Bears, Steelers, Texans and Jets. |
| Stopa | After struggling on the road last week (just 10 points), the Falcons offense should bounce back in a big way at home against an awful Bucs defense. And for all my love of Mike Evans, Tampa has no VJax, no Murphy and Jameis Winston won't play a clean game in this spot. Massey-Peabody thinks this spread should be more like 11.5, and I agree... I really like the under in Denver (opened at 43, now at 45.5 or 46). Those two defenses are both better than people realize, and the offenses aren't as good as the name brand suggests. 3 points ATS might matter in that spot. |
| Del Don | For what it's worth (probably nothing), this week's slate came easily to me. Other than the Jets, the Rams were my next favorite bet of the week. |
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.
