This article is part of our NFL Picks series.
Congratulations to Pianowski for winning another Staff Picks title, his fifth overall and his third since 2014. He's got an 11-game lead over DDD, and they don't differ on enough picks to make up the difference.
This week everyone likes the Dolphins and Giants, and both Pianowski and I made the Giants our best bets.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Payne | Del Don | |
| Browns -2.5 at Bengals | Bengals | Bengals | Bengals | Browns | Bengals |
| Bears +1 at Vikings | Vikings | Bears | Bears | Vikings | Bears |
| Falcons pick 'em at Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Falcons | Falcons |
| Saints -13 at Panthers | Saints | Panthers | Saints | Panthers | Saints |
| Jets +1.5 at Bills | Bills | Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets |
| Dolphins +15.5 at Patriots | Dolphins | Dolphins | Dolphins | Dolphins | Dolphins |
| Packers -12.5 at Lions | Lions | Packers | Lions | Lions | Packers |
| Chargers +8.5 at Chiefs | Chiefs | Chargers | Chiefs | Chargers | Chiefs |
| Titans -3.5 at Texans | Titans | Titans | Titans | Texans | Titans |
| Colts -3.5 Jaguars | Colts | Colts | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars |
| Redskins +11 at Cowboys | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Cowboys |
| Eagles -4.5 at Giants | Giants | Giants | Giants | Giants | Giants |
| Steelers -2 at Ravens | Ravens | Steelers | Steelers | Ravens | Steelers |
| Cardinals +7.5 at Rams | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Rams | Cardinals |
| Raiders +3.5 at Broncos | Broncos | Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Broncos |
| 49ers -3 at Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks | 49ers | Seahawks | 49ers |
| Best Bet | Broncos | Giants | Giants | Jaguars | 49ers |
| Last week's Record | 7-8-1 | 8-7-1 | 9-6-1 | 8-7-1 | 8-7-1 |
| 2019 Record | 118-116-6 | 133-101-6 | 115-119-6 | 120-114-6 | 122-112-6 |
| Best Bet Record | 9-7 | 9-6-1 | 8-8 | 11-4-1 | 7-9 |
| Unanimous Pick Record | 22-16-1 | ||||
| Majority Pick Record | 119-115-6 |
Congratulations to Pianowski for winning another Staff Picks title, his fifth overall and his third since 2014. He's got an 11-game lead over DDD, and they don't differ on enough picks to make up the difference.
This week everyone likes the Dolphins and Giants, and both Pianowski and I made the Giants our best bets.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Payne | Del Don | |
| Browns -2.5 at Bengals | Bengals | Bengals | Bengals | Browns | Bengals |
| Bears +1 at Vikings | Vikings | Bears | Bears | Vikings | Bears |
| Falcons pick 'em at Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Falcons | Falcons |
| Saints -13 at Panthers | Saints | Panthers | Saints | Panthers | Saints |
| Jets +1.5 at Bills | Bills | Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets |
| Dolphins +15.5 at Patriots | Dolphins | Dolphins | Dolphins | Dolphins | Dolphins |
| Packers -12.5 at Lions | Lions | Packers | Lions | Lions | Packers |
| Chargers +8.5 at Chiefs | Chiefs | Chargers | Chiefs | Chargers | Chiefs |
| Titans -3.5 at Texans | Titans | Titans | Titans | Texans | Titans |
| Colts -3.5 Jaguars | Colts | Colts | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars |
| Redskins +11 at Cowboys | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Cowboys |
| Eagles -4.5 at Giants | Giants | Giants | Giants | Giants | Giants |
| Steelers -2 at Ravens | Ravens | Steelers | Steelers | Ravens | Steelers |
| Cardinals +7.5 at Rams | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Rams | Cardinals |
| Raiders +3.5 at Broncos | Broncos | Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Broncos |
| 49ers -3 at Seahawks | Seahawks | Seahawks | 49ers | Seahawks | 49ers |
| Best Bet | Broncos | Giants | Giants | Jaguars | 49ers |
| Last week's Record | 7-8-1 | 8-7-1 | 9-6-1 | 8-7-1 | 8-7-1 |
| 2019 Record | 118-116-6 | 133-101-6 | 115-119-6 | 120-114-6 | 122-112-6 |
| Best Bet Record | 9-7 | 9-6-1 | 8-8 | 11-4-1 | 7-9 |
| Unanimous Pick Record | 22-16-1 | ||||
| Majority Pick Record | 119-115-6 | ||||
| 2018 Record | 125-122-9 | 134-113-9 | 141-106-9 | N/A | 120-127-9 |
| 2017 Record | 117-125-14 | 128-114-14 | 117-125-14 | N/A | 98-144-14 |
| 2016 Record | 140-111-5 | 130-121-5 | 123-128-5 | N/A | 132-119-5 |
| 2015 Record | 134-114-8 | 120-128-8 | 114-134-8 | N/A | 121-127-8 |
| 2014 Record | 123-128-5 | 140-111-5 | 135-116-5 | N/A | 128-123-5 |
| 2013 Record | 132-114-10 | 118-128-10 | 123-123-10 | N/A | 128-118-10 |
| 2012 Record | 110-140-6 | 125-125-6 | 121-129-6 | N/A | 123-127-6 |
| 2011 Record | 121-128-7 | 134-115-7 | 124-125-7 | N/A | 127-122-7 |
| 2010 Record | 129-122-5 | 134-117-5 | 126-125-5 | N/A | 134-117-5 |
| 2009 Record | 123-130-3 | 132-121-3 | 131-122-3 | N/A | 126-127-3 |
| 2008 Record | 132-114-10 | 128-118-10 | 124-122-10 | N/A | 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 |
This week we have two unanimous picks, the Dolphins and Giants. Last week, we won with the Broncos, but lost with the Bills, bringing our record to 22-16-1 on unanimous picks. We also went 8-7-1 on majority picks (three or more writers) to go 119-115-6 on the year. We were 26-21-1 on unanimous picks and 132-115-9 on majority picks in 2018.
| Writer | Comment |
|---|---|
| Erickson | I don't want to push back against "need this to win" as a default position, but right now the Broncos are playing better than the Raiders, more so than just by a half-point. It's interesting to see the line assumes the Texans and Vikings will significantly rest their starters, though I haven't seen announcements to that point -- and in the case of Houston, the opposite. They just aren't taking it at face value. Congrats to Pianow for smoking us this year -- continued excellence! |
| Pianowski | Hate this slate (of course that's not predictive). Happy Holidays, all. |
| Liss | The Eagles barely beat the Eli Manning Giants at home three weeks ago, and now they have to face the Daniel Jones version in Giants Stadium. I also like the Bengals (free to win now that they have the top pick) and the Steelers facing the Ravens backups. |
| Payne | Tough to pass on the big underdogs and home dogs considering the lines have moved in their favor. |
| Del Don | Week 17 is always extra crazy, as it's tricky projecting motivation, but give me SF in one of the bigger regular season games in recent memory. |
The players:
• Jeff Erickson: RotoWire Senior editor, 2001, 2008, 2013, 2015, 2016 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, 2014, 2017 and 2019 Staff Picks Champ. Roots for the Patriots.
• Chris Liss: RotoWire Managing Editor, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2018 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.
• Kevin Payne: Staff Writer, Writes our Waiver Wire column. Roots for the Bills.
• Dalton Del Don: Fantasy Expert for Yahoo! Sports, 2007 Staff Picks Champ. Roots for the 49ers.
