This article is part of our NFL Picks series.
Last week was a mediocre one for the Staff with Pianowski and Payne winning it at just 9-7, and DDD going 5-11. Pianowski now has an insurmountable 10-game lead as a result.
The silver lining is we won three of four unanimous picks to go 17-10 on the year.
This week, we have a whopping six unanimous picks: the Redskins, Broncos, Bengals, Lions, Jaguars and Rams. And Pianowski and I both made the Bengals our best bets. Erickson and Payne are going head to head on their best bets, with the Bears and Cowboys, respectively.
| Erickson | Pianowski | Liss | Payne | Del Don | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cowboys -3 at Bears | Bears | Bears | Bears | Cowboys | Cowboys |
| Ravens -5.5 at Bills | Bills | Bills | Bills | Bills | Ravens |
| Redskins +13 at Packers | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins | Redskins |
| Broncos +9.5 at Texans | Broncos | Broncos | Broncos | Broncos | Broncos |
| 49ers +2.5 at Saints | Saints | 49ers | 49ers | Saints | 49ers |
| Bengals +8.5 at Browns | Bengals | Bengals | Bengals | Bengals | Bengals |
| Panthers +3 at Falcons | Panthers | Falcons | Panthers | Panthers | Falcons |
| Lions +13 at Vikings | Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions | Lions |
| Dolphins +5.5 at Jets | Dolphins | Dolphins | Dolphins | Jets | Dolphins |
| Colts +3 at Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Colts | Colts | Colts | Buccaneers |
| Chargers -3 at Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars |
| Chiefs +3 at Patriots | Patriots | Patriots | Patriots | Chiefs | Patriots |
| Steelers -2.5 at Cardinals | Steelers | Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Steelers |
| Titans -2.5 at Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Raiders | Titans |
| Seahawks -1 at Rams | Rams | Rams | Rams | Rams | Rams |
| Giants +8.5 at Eagles | Giants | Giants | Giants | Giants | Eagles |
| Best Bet | Bears | Bengals | Bengals | Cowboys | 49ers |
| Last week's Record | 8-8 | 9-7 | 8-8 | 9-7 | 5-11 |
| 2019 Record | 100-90-2 | 110-80-2 | 93-97-2 | 98-92-2 | 98-92-2 |
| Best Bet Record | 7-6 | 7-5-1 | 6-7 | 9-3-1 | 5-8 |
| Unanimous Pick Record | 17-10 | ||||
| Majority Pick Record | 98-92-2 | ||||
| 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 six unanimous picks, the Redskins, Broncos, Bengals, Lions, Jaguars and Rams. Last week, we won with the 49ers, Bengals and Steelers, but lost with the Jaguars, bringing our record to 17-10 on unanimous picks. We also went 7-9 on majority picks (three or more writers) to go 98-92-2 on the year. We were 26-21-1 on unanimous picks and 132-115-9 on majority picks in 2018.
| Writer | Comment |
|---|---|
| Erickson | Rarely do I choose the Thursday night game as my best bet, but both teams are actually playing with a full week, having played on Thanksgiving. My line was Bears -3, so I'll stick with that. Meanwhile I'm backing a lot of bad teams this week, so I'm not feeling all that great. |
| Pianowski | A lot of these games were picking the underdog by default, distrusting so many of these favorites asked to spot curious numbers. And when in doubt, fade the Browns. Cincinnati actually looked like a professional football team, with a legitimate quarterback back in the saddle. I also feel like I'm going to walk the earth with the 2019 Miami Dolphins. |
| Liss | I don't see a major disparity between the Andy Dalton Bengals and the Browns without Myles Garrett. That line seems much too big. And I get that the Patriots were probably overrated for much of the year, but they have to be bigger than just three-point favorites against the inconsistent Chiefs at home. |
| Payne | The AFC will get very interesting if both the Bills and Chiefs win (there's like a 10-15 percent chance of that happening I realize). |
| Del Don | While San Francisco continues to be disrespected with these lines, the Browns are on the opposite spectrum, so I also like Cincy this week. |
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 and 2017 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.
