This article is part of our NFL Picks series.
Stopa won the week again at 10-4, but he should apologize for cashing on GB and TB last week. Still he has an insurmountable 15-game lead with only six weeks to go.
We have four consensus picks this week, the Raiders, Chiefs, Chargers and Giants. As Erickson notes, it's as if we're all duty-bound to take the ugly underdogs.
Happy Thanksgiving.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texans -3 at Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions | Texans | Texans |
| Redskins +3 at Cowboys | Cowboys | Redskins | Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys |
| Patriots -7 at Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets | Patriots |
| Raiders +9 at Bengals | Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Raiders |
| Steelers pick 'em at Browns | Steelers | Steelers | Browns | Steelers | Steelers |
| Bills +3 at Colts | Colts | Bills | Bills | Bills | Colts |
| Titans -3 at Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Titans | Jaguars |
| Broncos -10.5 at Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs |
| Vikings +4.5* at Bears | Bears | Vikings | Vikings | Bears | Vikings |
| Falcons -1 at Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Falcons | Buccaneers |
| Seahawks -3 at Dolphins | Dolphins | Dolphins | Dolphins | Seahawks | Dolphins |
| Ravens pick 'em at Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers |
| 49ers -1 at Saints | Saints | Saints | 49ers | 49ers | Saints |
| Rams +1 at Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Rams | Cardinals |
| Packers +1.5 at Giants | Giants | Giants | Giants | Giants | Giants |
| Panthers +2.5 at Eagles | Eagles | Panthers | Panthers | Eagles | Eagles |
| Best Bet | Lions | Giants | Bills | Steelers | Dolphins |
| Last Week's Record | 8-6 | 7-7 | 7-7 | 10-4 | 5-9 |
| 2012 Record | 71-86-3 | 79-78-3 | 73-84-3 | 94-63-3 | 79-78-3 |
| Best Bet Record | 2-8-1 | 8-3 | 4-7 | 7-4 | 6-5 |
| Consensus Pick Record | 15-18-1 | ||||
| 2011 Record | 121-128-7 |
Stopa won the week again at 10-4, but he should apologize for cashing on GB and TB last week. Still he has an insurmountable 15-game lead with only six weeks to go.
We have four consensus picks this week, the Raiders, Chiefs, Chargers and Giants. As Erickson notes, it's as if we're all duty-bound to take the ugly underdogs.
Happy Thanksgiving.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Stopa | Del Don | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texans -3 at Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions | Texans | Texans |
| Redskins +3 at Cowboys | Cowboys | Redskins | Cowboys | Cowboys | Cowboys |
| Patriots -7 at Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets | Patriots |
| Raiders +9 at Bengals | Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Raiders |
| Steelers pick 'em at Browns | Steelers | Steelers | Browns | Steelers | Steelers |
| Bills +3 at Colts | Colts | Bills | Bills | Bills | Colts |
| Titans -3 at Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Titans | Jaguars |
| Broncos -10.5 at Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs | Chiefs |
| Vikings +4.5* at Bears | Bears | Vikings | Vikings | Bears | Vikings |
| Falcons -1 at Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Falcons | Buccaneers |
| Seahawks -3 at Dolphins | Dolphins | Dolphins | Dolphins | Seahawks | Dolphins |
| Ravens pick 'em at Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers | Chargers |
| 49ers -1 at Saints | Saints | Saints | 49ers | 49ers | Saints |
| Rams +1 at Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Rams | Cardinals |
| Packers +1.5 at Giants | Giants | Giants | Giants | Giants | Giants |
| Panthers +2.5 at Eagles | Eagles | Panthers | Panthers | Eagles | Eagles |
| Best Bet | Lions | Giants | Bills | Steelers | Dolphins |
| Last Week's Record | 8-6 | 7-7 | 7-7 | 10-4 | 5-9 |
| 2012 Record | 71-86-3 | 79-78-3 | 73-84-3 | 94-63-3 | 79-78-3 |
| Best Bet Record | 2-8-1 | 8-3 | 4-7 | 7-4 | 6-5 |
| Consensus Pick Record | 15-18-1 | ||||
| 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 four consensus picks: the Raiders, Chiefs, Chargers and Giants. Last week we went 2-1 to put us at 15-18-1 on the season. Last year we were 30-24-2 on consensus picks.
Comments:
| Writer | Comment |
| Erickson | Lions get a huge advantage playing at home, early in this game, after having a home game last week. Trust me, with a compressed schedule, those extra non-travel hours make a difference... The thing I hate about this exercise is that I always end up picking dog teams because I feel like I *should* do so, so you see the likes of the Dolphins, Eagles and especially the Chiefs among my picks. But I don't enjoy it. If I were in Vegas, I'd just stay away from those games... Then again, nobody is any good - we can always find reasons to hate on a team. Everybody stinks. Happy Thanksgiving. |
| Pianowski | A bunch of reflexive dogs this week. So it goes. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. |
| Liss | SEA-MIA is an interesting test of the affects of travel (there's no longer trip) and Seattle's home/road disparity. Plus it's a good buy-low for Miami as a home dog. I also like Buffalo with the points against Indy's defense. |
| Stopa | The Cowboys are notably better than the Redskins but aren't being treated as such... Antonio Cromartie can cover one of the Patriots weapons, and with Gronk out, there aren't that many left who scare anyone. Thursday nights have also been good for the home teams... I'm going to keep fading Indy until, well, probably until the season ends - or Vegas adjusts... If making money on Denver were that easy, Vegas wouldn't have all those lights... I thought about SF as my best bet, but I just can't see the Steelers losing to the Browns, so that's my choice... I spent the most time deliberating ATL/TB and NYG/GB. I desperately want to fade the Falcons, but the Bucs secondary (8.2 YPA, 312 yards/game) is the perfect matchup for Matt Ryan to bounce back. But I'd like it more if Julio Jones were healthy. The Packers are playing conservatively on offense because the O-line is awful. The Giants are a bad matchup in that regard, and I expect a huge NY bounceback after the bye. Still, it's hard to pass Rodgers getting points. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. |
| Del Don | This week has an unprecedented amount of road favorites, highlighting just how little home field has mattered this season. |
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.
