This article is part of our NFL Staff Picks series.
Tough times for most of the writers last week. Every favorite covered except the Eagles. That left all of the pickers under .500, except for Nick Whalen, who went 8-6 to dethrone Kevin Payne for the first time this season.
Whalen was also the only writer to hit his best bet, the Lions. And, wouldn't you know it, Payne and Dalton Del Don picked the one favorite that failed to cover, the aforementioned Eagles, as their best bets.
Unanimous picks went 0-2 and majority picks were 5-9.
Yes, it was a bleak week if you were on the dogs. It was especially bleak for seven-time Staff Picks champ Scott Pianowski, who chimed in with this story to put it all into perspective:
Back in the 1990s, I used to play in a great football pool that had about 75 players a week. Everyone entered with a nickname. I entered as Secret Squirrel. Cashed regularly, had a ball. The pool ran out of a racquetball club, which was a drinking club on a Friday night, when the pool sheets would come in.
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One of the players went by TFC, which stood for Thanks for Coming — he rarely cashed in the pool. He was a donation. One of my favorite pool names.
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One week, TFC went winless. Lost every game on the board, score of zero. Gerry, the esteemed poolmeister, decided on the spot TFC now stood for "Totally F-ing Clueless."
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I used to think that story was funny.
Tough times for most of the writers last week. Every favorite covered except the Eagles. That left all of the pickers under .500, except for Nick Whalen, who went 8-6 to dethrone Kevin Payne for the first time this season.
Whalen was also the only writer to hit his best bet, the Lions. And, wouldn't you know it, Payne and Dalton Del Don picked the one favorite that failed to cover, the aforementioned Eagles, as their best bets.
Unanimous picks went 0-2 and majority picks were 5-9.
Yes, it was a bleak week if you were on the dogs. It was especially bleak for seven-time Staff Picks champ Scott Pianowski, who chimed in with this story to put it all into perspective:
Back in the 1990s, I used to play in a great football pool that had about 75 players a week. Everyone entered with a nickname. I entered as Secret Squirrel. Cashed regularly, had a ball. The pool ran out of a racquetball club, which was a drinking club on a Friday night, when the pool sheets would come in.
-
One of the players went by TFC, which stood for Thanks for Coming — he rarely cashed in the pool. He was a donation. One of my favorite pool names.
-
One week, TFC went winless. Lost every game on the board, score of zero. Gerry, the esteemed poolmeister, decided on the spot TFC now stood for "Totally F-ing Clueless."
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I used to think that story was funny. It's a little less funny today.
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I hate when all the favorites win. No bueno for me.
No bueno, indeed. It's enough to make one go 5150.
This week, the Packers -2.5 vs. the Texans is the sole unanimous pick among the group, though seven teams garnered four votes each.
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| MATCHUP | ERICKSON | PIANOWSKI | WHALEN | PAYNE | DEL DON |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broncos -2.5 at Saints | Saints | Broncos | Broncos | Saints | Broncos |
| Patriots +5.5 vs. Jaguars at London | Patriots | Jaguars | Jaguars | Jaguars | Patriots |
| Seahawks +2.5 at Falcons | Falcons | Seahawks | Falcons | Seahawks | Seahawks |
| Titans +9 at Bills | Bills | Titans | Titans | Bills | Titans |
| Bengals -6.5 at Browns | Browns | Browns | Bengals | Browns | Browns |
| Texans +2.5 at Packers | Packers | Packers | Packers | Packers | Packers |
| Dolphins +3.5 at Colts | Colts | Dolphins | Dolphins | Dolphins | Dolphins |
| Lions +2.5 at Vikings | Lions | Lions | Lions | Vikings | Vikings |
| Eagles -3 at Giants | Eagles | Giants | Eagles | Eagles | Giants |
| Raiders +7 at Rams | Rams | Rams | Rams | Rams | Raiders |
| Panthers +8 at Commanders | Panthers | Commanders | Commanders | Panthers | Commanders |
| Chiefs +1.5 at 49ers | 49ers | 49ers | Chiefs | 49ers | 49ers |
| Jets -2 at Steelers | Steelers | Jets | Jets | Jets | Jets |
| Ravens -3.5 at Buccaneers | Buccaneers | Ravens | Ravens | Ravens | Buccaneers |
| Chargers -2.5 at Cardinals | Cardinals | Cardinals | Chargers | Cardinals | Chargers |
| Best Bet | Falcons | Ravens | Jets | Cardinals | Packers |
| Last Week Record | 6-8 | 1-13 | 8-6 | 6-8 | 4-10 |
| 2024 Record | 40-50-2 | 34-56-2 | 42-48-2 | 55-35-2 | 34-56-2 |
| 2024 Best Bet Record | 1-5 | 4-2 | 2-3-1 | 4-2 | 1-5 |
| 2024 Unanimous Pick Record | 2-6 | ||||
| 2024 Majority Pick Record | 42-48-2 | ||||
| 2023 Record | 133-131-8 | 125-139-8 | 129-135-8 | 140-124-8 | 127-137-8 |
| 2022 Record | 127-136-8 | 149-114-8 | 124-139-8 | 131-132-8 | 133-130-8 |
| 2021 Record | 129-140-3 | 134-135-3 | N/A | 145-124-3 | 136-133-3 |
| 2020 Record | 121-127-8 | 128-120-8 | N/A | 115-133-8 | 118-130-8 |
| 2019 Record | 126-124-6 | 140-110-6 | N/A | 127-123-6 | 134-116-6 |
| 2018 Record | 125-122-9 | 134-113-9 | N/A | N/A | 120-127-9 |
| 2017 Record | 117-125-14 | 128-114-14 | N/A | N/A | 98-144-14 |
| 2016 Record | 140-111-5 | 130-121-5 | N/A | N/A | 132-119-5 |
| 2015 Record | 134-114-8 | 120-128-8 | N/A | N/A | 121-127-8 |
| 2014 Record | 123-128-5 | 140-111-5 | N/A | N/A | 128-123-5 |
| 2013 Record | 132-114-10 | 118-128-10 | N/A | N/A | 128-118-10 |
| 2012 Record | 110-140-6 | 125-125-6 | N/A | N/A | 123-127-6 |
| 2011 Record | 121-128-7 | 134-115-7 | N/A | N/A | 127-122-7 |
| 2010 Record | 129-122-5 | 134-117-5 | N/A | N/A | 134-117-5 |
| 2009 Record | 123-130-3 | 132-121-3 | N/A | N/A | 126-127-3 |
| 2008 Record | 132-114-10 | 128-118-10 | N/A | N/A | 130-116-10 |
| 2007 Record | 127-120 | 118-129 | N/A | N/A | 130-117 |
| 2006 Record | 118-129 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2005 Record | 121-126 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2004 Record | 124-124 | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2003 Record | 121-126 | 118-129 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2002 Record | 113-136 | 123-126 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2001 Record | 124-113 | 117-120 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2000 Record | 123-117 | 134-106 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| WRITER | COMMENT |
|---|---|
| Erickson | The Seahawks have the rest advantage, but that's negated by the travel. And they haven't stopped anyone as of late, and I don't think that changes against Atlanta. Worst bets this week include the Niners (my number is the same as the betting number, ugh), and Rams, where I went YOLO against my own number because I just don't want to take the Raiders. |
| Pianowski | The love line is never straight and narrow/unless your love is tried and true. We take a chance with new beginnings. Still we try, win or lose, take the highs, with the blues. (And you don't even know what that means.) |
| Whalen | We're getting in the mud here a bit, but I think this is the long-awaited bounce-back spot for the Jets after (another) crushing loss in primetime last week. The Jets got the running game going last week, and I like the defense to get after Russell Wilson in his first start of the season. |
| Payne | Rough week last week, but at least for me, I was overdue for one (not so humble brag). Some great matchups this week: Chiefs-49ers, Texans-Packers, Lions-Vikings. |
| Del Don | The Texans are 5-1 but have a +8 point-differential and will continue to miss Nico Collins. C.J. Stroud's YPA has dropped 1.5 yards on the road during his career. |
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. 2009, 2011, 2014, 2017, 2019, 2020 and 2022 Staff Picks champ. Roots for the Patriots.
• Nick Whalen: RotoWire Senior Media Analyst. Writes Beating the Book. Roots for the Jaguars.
• Kevin Payne: RotoWire Staff Writer, 2021 and 2023 Staff Picks champ. 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.
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