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Our FREE NFL picks versus the spread are purely for entertainment purposes only. But, let's face it, being right (winning) is more fun than being wrong (losing).
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Every week, the three "handicappers" at The Weekly Blitz will pick their three best NFL games against the spread (ATS).
Final results: Through Week 17, we have a combined record of 84-56-13 (60.0 percent) ATS.
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See also:
- Weekly Fantasy Football Rankings: QB - RB - WR - TE
- NFL Schedule - Tickets - CFB Schedule - Tickets
- 2012 Mock Draft Databases: NFL - NBA
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DAILY WEEK 2 LINES FROM SPORTSBOOK.COM
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SUMMARY OF PICKS BY CONTRIBUTORS
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Week: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17
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Picks are for entertainment purposes only.
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Lines used are always as of the time the pick was made.
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Date/Time (ET)
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Favorite
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Spread
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Underdog
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Kevin
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Dan
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Sean
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Sun, Sep 18 at 1:05 p.m.
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SAINTS
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6.5
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Bears
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Game Thread
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Sun, Sep 18 at 1:05 p.m.
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LIONS
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9.0
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Chiefs
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Game Thread
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KC +9
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Sun, Sep 18 at 1:05 p.m.
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JETS
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9.0
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Jaguars
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Game Thread
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Sun, Sep 18 at 1:05 p.m.
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BILLS
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3.0
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Raiders
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Game Thread
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BUF -3
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Sun, Sep 18 at 1:05 p.m.
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REDSKINS
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3.5
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Cardinals
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Game Thread
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Sun, Sep 18 at 1:05 p.m.
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Ravens
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6.0
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TITANS
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Game Thread
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Sun, Sep 18 at 1:05 p.m.
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STEELERS
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14.0
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Seahawks
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Game Thread
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PIT -14.0
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Sun, Sep 18 at 1:05 p.m.
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Packers
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10.5
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PANTHERS
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Game Thread
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Sun, Sep 18 at 1:05 p.m.
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VIKINGS
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3.0
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Buccaneers
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Game Thread
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Sun, Sep 18 at 1:05 p.m.
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Browns
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2.0
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COLTS
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Game Thread
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IND +2.0
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IND +2.0
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Sun, Sep 18 at 4:10 p.m.
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Cowboys
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3.0
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49ERS
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Game Thread
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DAL -3.0
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DAL -3.0
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Sun, Sep 18 at 4:20 p.m.
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Texans
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3.0
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DOLPHINS
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Game Thread
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HOU -3.0
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Sun, Sep 18 at 4:20 p.m.
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PATRIOTS
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7.0
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Chargers
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Game Thread
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Sun, Sep 18 at 4:20 p.m.
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BRONCOS
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3.5
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Bengals
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Game Thread
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Sun, Sep 18 at 8:30 p.m.
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Eagles
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2.5
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FALCONS
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Game Thread
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ATL +2.5
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Mon, Sep 19 at 8:40 p.m.
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GIANTS
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6.0
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Rams
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Game Thread
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CONTRIBUTOR
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GAME 1
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GAME 2
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GAME 3
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Kevin
2011 Record: 34-14-4 (70.2%)
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Seahawks at Steelers (-14)
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Eagles (-2.5) at Falcons
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Texans (-3) at Dolphins
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Steelers -14
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Falcons +2.5
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Texans -3
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Shocking. That is the only way I know how to
describe the way the Ravens ran all over and
beat down the Steelers in Week 1. The
Steelers, who lost by 28 points and scored as
many points (seven) as they had turnovers,
allowed 170 rushing yards, which was only the
tenth time they allowed that many since 2000.
I can see the Steelers taking their frustration
out on their next opponent, who also happens
to be my 32nd-ranked team in my power
rankings. Tarvaris Jackson is arguably the
league's worst starting starting quarterback
and the team will be without their prized
offseason addition, Sidney Rice, for a second
straight game. In addition, the Seahawks
have struggled to cover as a road underdog
recently. In their past 27 games in that role,
they have covered only six of those games.
On the other hand, the Steelers have covered
in six of their past seven games against
teams with a losing record.
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It may be somewhat of an exaggeration,
but this is a must-win game for the Falcons.
A loss to the Eagles, the favorite of many
in the NFC, would drop the Falcons to 0-2.
We all know the (limited amount of)
success had by teams that start of 0-2, 0-3
or 0-4. To make matters worse (or more
pressure-packed), it's a homecoming of
sorts for quarterback Michael Vick, who still
has plenty of fans in Atlanta. While the
Falcons looked awful against the Bears,
let's not overreact to last week's
embarrassing loss. After all, this is the
team that finished 13-3 and with the No. 1
seed in the NFC last year. While they are
loaded with weapons in the passing game,
the Eagles counter that with arguably the
best group of cornerbacks in the NFL.
Where the Falcons have a huge advantage
is on the ground. Not only did Michael "The
Burner" Turner run for 100 yards on 10
carries last week, but the Eagles showed
how vulnerable they are against the run.
They allowed Steven Jackson to take it the
house on a 47-yard touchdown run to start
the game and Cadillac Williams, filling in
for the injured Jackson, nearly reached the
century mark. Turner, my No. 5 fantasy
running back this week, will have a big
week, the Falcons will control the clock and
the team averts the danger of an 0-2 start
as they win this game outright. From a
bettor's standpoint, the Falcons are 16-5
ATS in their past 21 games after a loss.
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All else being equal, I prefer home
underdogs over road favorites normally.
Not in this case, however. Of course, most
teams prefer to play at home. The
Dolphins are not like most teams. Since
last season, they have won only one of
their nine home games. Over their past 64
games, they have covered only 17 of those
contests. The Dolphins defense is not
nearly as bad as we saw last week. I'm not
sure any defense is that bad. Regardless,
the Texans have one of the league's most
explosive offenses and they will still put up
their share of points. On the defensive
side of the ball, however, I think they are
much improved. Granted, last week they
faced a Peyton Manning-less Colts team,
but Wade Phillips is a great defensive
coordinator (and bad head coach) and the
Texans defense is much improved over last
year from a personnel standpoint. We saw
them apply pressure on Kerry Collins and
force turnovers in Week 1. The Texans'
offense has never been the question. With
an upgraded defense, they can make some
noise this year.
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Dan
2011 Record: 24-21-6 (53.3%)
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Raiders at Bills (-3)
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Browns (-2) at Colts
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Cowboys (-3) at 49ers
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Bills -3
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Colts +2
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Cowboys -3
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Both of these classic bottom-feeding teams
posted some impressive dominating wins last
week, for sure. The Bills looked amazing while
killing the Chiefs on the road, and the Raiders
pounded the Broncos in Mile High. I am really
liking the look of Buffalo's offense, as Chan
Gailey has always been a specialist, and they
have quite the moving parts in Fitzpatrick,
Fred Jackson, and Stevie Johnson. The
Raiders pass defense is still suspect as they
gave up 272 yards to a beleaguered Kyle
Orton. I like the Bills at home playing at 1 PM
against a team that had to fly across the
country after playing a Monday night game.
Lay the points here as the Bills and the sleek
new helmets start the season 2-0.
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OK, so the Browns were the sole team
responsible for posting a loss for our slate
of picks last week, and also looked horrible
in the process of losing to Cincy. The Colts
were crushed in their opener against the
Texans on the road, and looked all out of
sync with Kerry Collins at the helm.
However, I don't think things are that bad
in Indy, and they still have all the pieces
there to put up the points. They still have
Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark, and
Collins is a more-than-capable QB. Colt
McCoy looked simply human last week, and
any team that loses to the Bengals and is a
road favorite the next week, well count me
in for going against the grain here. I love
the small dogs at home, so grabs the Colts
and the free two points that comes with it.
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The 49ers are 1-0 to start the season, after
blowing open the game late against the
Seahawks. Well, I think the national media
covered the Cowboys meltdown pretty well
last week, yet I don't think that Tony Romo
deserves all the credit for that loss. The
Cowboys pass rush looked great, and while
they did struggle in coverage I don't think
Alex Smith would scare me this week. The
49ers win was quite deceptive, as they did
get a kickoff and punt return TD from Ted
Ginn in the 4th quarter to post a lopsided
score against the Tarvaris-led Seahawks. I
love the redemption game here for the
Cowboys, and I would lay the small margin
of 3 points.
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Sean
2011 Record: 27-21-3 (56.3%)
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Cowboys (-3) at 49ers
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Chiefs at Lions (-9)
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Browns (-2) at Colts
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Cowboys -3
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Chiefs +9
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Colts +2
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This line is an absolute joke. Am I missing
something here? San Fransisco beat the worst
team in the NFL, in my opinion, and it took
two special teams TDs to put them away.
Dallas got a bunch of bad breaks, a blocked
punt, and a fumble by Romo inside the
5-yard line. Dallas should have won that
game by 2 TDs. If they had won, this line is
easily 7, and I honestly think it could be 10.
This is an early 5-star must play game for
me. You totals players, I like the over here in
this contest as well as it is 5-0 in the past 5
meetings between these two teams. Dallas
wins an early must-win game to avoid digging
out of a 0-2 hole, 31-20.
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This is the current line at a few online
books. It is always good to have accounts
on a couple of different sites as lines vary
between books based on their action. This
line is the shocker of the week. Are we
ready to crown the Detroit Lions legit playoff
contenders after one week? The Packers
are ten-point favorites at home versus
Carolina. Carolina might I add is worse
than Kansas City. Don't buy the Cam
Newton hype after playing the Cardinals
who are awful against the pass. This line is
an over exaggeration after one solid
performance by the Lions. The Chiefs lost
their best defensive player Eric Berry for the
year, but offensively Matt Cassel has had
another week to rest his sore ribs, and any
team with Jamaal Charles, Dwayne Bowe,
Dexter McCluster & Steve Breaston will score
some points. Last week was a fluke against
Buffalo. I expect Kansas City to come out
and put up a fight in this one, and it
wouldn't shock me to see them upset the
Lions here. I like the over as well here.
Lions win 27-20.
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Just how valuable is Peyton Manning? I am
not a huge fan of Kerry Collins but when
you have the supporting cast around you
like he does you can turn a below average
quarterback into a decent quarterback. The
Colts are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 as home
underdogs, and I expect this trend to
continue this week. I think the play here is
to take the Colts moneyline to the bank.
Peyton Hillis and the Browns offense should
get back on track this week, but I think with
the Colts weapons on offense along with
another week of prep with Kerry Collins
under center gives the Colts the edge here.
Colts win 24-23.
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