Looking to dominate your office pool this season? Fifteen Footballguys.com staff members are here to help you out. Each week they will pick the winners of every NFL game, and rank their selections based on how confident they are that the team will win. The most-confident pick gets 16 points, and the least-confident gets just 1. We'll even total up everyone's picks so you can get an overall consensus on who our staff think will be the most likely winners. Each week we'll announce the weekly winners, and track the overall record for the entire season. A couple of things to note before we get to the picks:
- Picks for this pool are straight up (no point spread considered).
- Picks are due on Wednesday nights, and will not reflect any late-breaking news. If your league allows for last minute changes, please make adjustments to your office pool accordingly.
- Our staffers also play in weekly picks Against The Spread, and Survivor Style 'Pick one Winner each week' formats as well. Check out the other weekly articles for more help with those type of games.
THIS WEEK'S PICKS
Here are the picks for this week:
|
Staffer
|
ATL
|
PIT
|
TEN
|
BUF
|
HOU
|
JAC
|
SF
|
TB
|
CIN
|
KC
|
DAL
|
WAS
|
SEA
|
CHI
|
NYJ
|
LAR
|
MNF
|
|
PHI
|
CLE
|
MIA
|
BAL
|
NE
|
NYG
|
MIN
|
NO
|
IND
|
LAC
|
CAR
|
ARI
|
DEN
|
GB
|
DET
|
OAK
|
TOT
|
|
|
Miglio
|
PHI
|
PIT
|
MIA
|
BAL
|
NE
|
NYG
|
MIN
|
NO
|
IND
|
LAC
|
CAR
|
ARI
|
DEN
|
GB
|
DET
|
LAR
|
48
|
|
10
|
14
|
2
|
12
|
13
|
1
|
6
|
15
|
5
|
4
|
8
|
7
|
3
|
16
|
11
|
9
|
||
|
Garda
|
PHI
|
PIT
|
TEN
|
BAL
|
NE
|
JAC
|
MIN
|
NO
|
IND
|
LAC
|
CAR
|
ARI
|
DEN
|
GB
|
DET
|
LAR
|
45
|
|
9
|
13
|
12
|
11
|
1
|
10
|
15
|
8
|
6
|
5
|
7
|
3
|
2
|
16
|
4
|
14
|
||
|
Hicks
|
ATL
|
CLE
|
MIA
|
BAL
|
NE
|
JAC
|
MIN
|
NO
|
CIN
|
LAC
|
DAL
|
WAS
|
SEA
|
GB
|
DET
|
LAR
|
57
|
|
10
|
7
|
6
|
16
|
11
|
8
|
9
|
12
|
5
|
13
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
14
|
1
|
15
|
||
|
Heiser
|
PHI
|
PIT
|
TEN
|
BAL
|
NE
|
JAC
|
MIN
|
NO
|
IND
|
LAC
|
CAR
|
ARI
|
SEA
|
GB
|
DET
|
LAR
|
44
|
|
5
|
15
|
13
|
12
|
11
|
10
|
9
|
16
|
8
|
7
|
6
|
4
|
3
|
14
|
2
|
1
|
||
|
Tuccitto
|
PHI
|
PIT
|
TEN
|
BAL
|
NE
|
JAC
|
MIN
|
NO
|
IND
|
LAC
|
CAR
|
ARI
|
DEN
|
GB
|
DET
|
LAR
|
49
|
|
9
|
11
|
4
|
16
|
13
|
5
|
12
|
15
|
7
|
6
|
2
|
3
|
1
|
14
|
10
|
8
|
||
|
Larkin
|
PHI
|
PIT
|
MIA
|
BAL
|
NE
|
NYG
|
MIN
|
NO
|
CIN
|
LAC
|
CAR
|
WAS
|
DEN
|
GB
|
DET
|
OAK
|
54
|
|
13
|
10
|
6
|
14
|
12
|
5
|
11
|
15
|
4
|
8
|
7
|
3
|
2
|
16
|
9
|
1
|
||
|
Knotts
|
ATL
|
PIT
|
TEN
|
BAL
|
NE
|
JAC
|
MIN
|
NO
|
CIN
|
LAC
|
CAR
|
ARI
|
DEN
|
GB
|
DET
|
LAR
|
44
|
|
4
|
3
|
5
|
16
|
15
|
8
|
14
|
13
|
1
|
12
|
7
|
2
|
6
|
11
|
10
|
9
|
||
|
Brimacombe
|
PHI
|
PIT
|
TEN
|
BAL
|
NE
|
JAC
|
MIN
|
NO
|
IND
|
LAC
|
CAR
|
ARI
|
DEN
|
GB
|
DET
|
LAR
|
53
|
|
1
|
8
|
2
|
15
|
10
|
9
|
14
|
16
|
6
|
7
|
5
|
4
|
3
|
13
|
12
|
11
|
||
|
Haseley
|
PHI
|
PIT
|
MIA
|
BAL
|
NE
|
JAC
|
MIN
|
NO
|
CIN
|
LAC
|
CAR
|
ARI
|
DEN
|
GB
|
DET
|
LAR
|
48
|
|
12
|
13
|
2
|
14
|
11
|
8
|
9
|
16
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
3
|
1
|
7
|
15
|
10
|
||
|
Pasquino
|
PHI
|
PIT
|
TEN
|
BAL
|
NE
|
JAC
|
MIN
|
NO
|
CIN
|
LAC
|
CAR
|
WAS
|
DEN
|
GB
|
DET
|
LAR
|
47
|
|
8
|
11
|
6
|
15
|
5
|
13
|
14
|
16
|
3
|
10
|
7
|
1
|
2
|
9
|
4
|
12
|
||
|
Roberts
|
PHI
|
PIT
|
TEN
|
BAL
|
NE
|
NYG
|
MIN
|
NO
|
CIN
|
LAC
|
CAR
|
ARI
|
DEN
|
GB
|
DET
|
LAR
|
50
|
|
8
|
11
|
4
|
13
|
9
|
1
|
12
|
16
|
3
|
7
|
6
|
5
|
2
|
14
|
15
|
10
|
||
|
Wimer
|
ATL
|
CLE
|
TEN
|
BAL
|
NE
|
JAC
|
MIN
|
NO
|
CIN
|
LAC
|
CAR
|
WAS
|
DEN
|
GB
|
DET
|
LAR
|
42
|
|
12
|
11
|
7
|
6
|
5
|
4
|
16
|
10
|
3
|
9
|
14
|
2
|
1
|
8
|
13
|
15
|
||
|
Bitonti
|
ATL
|
PIT
|
TEN
|
BAL
|
NE
|
JAC
|
SF
|
NO
|
IND
|
LAC
|
CAR
|
ARI
|
SEA
|
GB
|
DET
|
LAR
|
60
|
|
1
|
11
|
9
|
16
|
14
|
5
|
2
|
15
|
4
|
8
|
10
|
3
|
6
|
7
|
12
|
13
|
||
|
Settle
|
ATL
|
PIT
|
TEN
|
BAL
|
NE
|
JAC
|
MIN
|
NO
|
CIN
|
LAC
|
CAR
|
WAS
|
DEN
|
GB
|
DET
|
LAR
|
48
|
|
16
|
1
|
8
|
5
|
7
|
10
|
3
|
2
|
15
|
11
|
13
|
14
|
12
|
4
|
9
|
6
|
||
|
Grant
|
PHI
|
PIT
|
TEN
|
BAL
|
NE
|
JAC
|
MIN
|
NO
|
IND
|
KC
|
CAR
|
ARI
|
DEN
|
GB
|
DET
|
LAR
|
51
|
|
3
|
11
|
8
|
14
|
13
|
7
|
6
|
16
|
5
|
2
|
9
|
1
|
4
|
15
|
12
|
10
|
||
|
Away
|
ATL
|
PIT
|
TEN
|
BUF
|
HOU
|
JAC
|
SF
|
TB
|
CIN
|
KC
|
DAL
|
WAS
|
SEA
|
CHI
|
NYJ
|
LAR
|
|
|
Total Pts
|
43
|
132
|
78
|
0
|
0
|
97
|
2
|
0
|
38
|
2
|
4
|
23
|
11
|
0
|
0
|
143
|
|
|
Home
|
PHI
|
CLE
|
MIA
|
BAL
|
NE
|
NYG
|
MIN
|
NO
|
IND
|
LAC
|
CAR
|
ARI
|
DEN
|
GB
|
DET
|
OAK
|
|
|
Total Pts
|
78
|
18
|
16
|
195
|
150
|
7
|
150
|
201
|
41
|
112
|
107
|
35
|
39
|
178
|
139
|
1
|
|
|
Tot Conf Pts
|
121
|
150
|
94
|
195
|
150
|
104
|
152
|
201
|
79
|
114
|
111
|
58
|
50
|
178
|
139
|
144
|
Note: Tot Conf Pts reflects the total confidence points that were placed on both teams. A higher total (E.G. 201 for the Saints this week) indicates that the staff is very confident in the outcome of this game. A lower total (E.G. 50 for SEA-DEN) indicates that the staff is less confident in the game as a whole, and the majority of the staff did not risk a lot of points on this game either way.
HEAVY FAVORITES
This week has a surprising number of heavy favorites. The first week of the season is always tough and you don't really have a sense of how strong a team really is. That being said, there are a decent number of teams who were heavy favorites from the staff, and they should all be near the top of your weekly board. Baltimore, New England, New Orleans, Green Bay, and Detroit are all unanimous choices by all 15 of our staffers. Jacksonville, Minnesota, Carolina and both teams from LA are also heavily favored by most of the staff to win this week.
DUAL SUPPORT
Denver and Arizona are both favored to win, but the total number of confidence points on both games is less than 60, meaning the staff generally feel less confident in the team that they picked. The Bengals and Colts have the closest game of the week, with Indianapolis getting a slight edge for being at home. Tonight's game favors the Eagles this week, but the Falcons have their share of support as well. It should be an interesting start to the season.
ODDS AND ENDS
With a full 16 game slate this week, having a perfect score will give you 136 total points. As we move through the season, the maximum total will drop significantly based on the number of teams that are on a bye.
As an additional reminder - these picks and confidence points were made on Wednesday night so that this article may come out well before the Thursday opener. As of the time this is published, Le'Veon Bell is still missing from training camp, Carson Wentz and DeVante Parker have not been cleared to play, and Kenyan Drake and Frank Gore are listed as co-starters for the Dolphins. If your league allows you to change your picks right up until each NFL game starts, make sure to check the latest news before making your final selections.
Good luck this weekend!
