We're back for another round of NFL picks against the spread! For the second straight season, I am back for the LVH SuperContest. SB Nation's partners over at Odds Shark are sponsoring my entry again. The contest requires selecting 5 games each week and picking them against the spread. This year's contest is expected to have nearly 1,400 participants, including myself, Matt Ufford and Eric Sollenberger from SB Nation. Everybody picks their own five games and there will be a running leaderboard HERE. You can follow my standings under the name "Fooch".
Last year, I finished 39-45-1. This year, I'm off to a decent start. I put together three straight 4-1 weeks, slipped to 3-2, bounced back to 3-1-1, followed that with back-to-back 3-2 weeks, slipped to 2-2-1, bounced back with a 4-1 performance, slipped to 2-3, followed up with a 3-2, and improved further with a 4-1. This past week was a grind, but I still managed a much needed 3-2 performance. The Rams were pummeled by Arizona, while Miami won but failed to cover. I eked out the above .500 performance thanks to the Cowboys winning a wild one in Washington. I am currently 42-21-2 through thirteen weeks. Again, the cushion remains for my inevitable fall! I went 10-6 overall ATS with my picks last week.
Here are my SuperContest picks for Week 14:
EAGLES (+1) over Bills
BEARS (-3) over Washington
CHIEFS (-10) over Chargers
BUCCANEERS (-4) over Saints
Seahawks (-6.5) over RAVENS
I really wanted to take the 49ers this week. They are 1.5-point road underdogs against the Cleveland Browns, and it was oh so tempting. But every time I looked at that line, I considered some advice a buddy of mine has. Those casinos in Las Vegas did not built themselves. That line was installed to suck people in on the 49ers. Now, if the 49ers go in and get a victory, I would not be surprised, but I also would not be surprised if they stumbled and lost to the Browns. Cleveland is an awful team, but this game has let-down written all over it.
If you are a gambling sort, that Seahawks line might seem odd to you. Vegas was slow setting a line for the game due to Matt Schaub's questionable status this week. The Westgate sets our lines on Wednesday and went with that, but since then, every single sportsbook has set the line at either 11.5- or 12-points. Jimmy Clausen is expected to start, and he faces a Seahawks defense that is surging along with Russell Wilson. It is the most popular pick this week in the SuperContest, with 962 of the 1,700+ participants selecting them. On the other side, 55 people took Baltimore. Consider this pick just a matter of trying to hang steady for at least one of my picks.
Laying double digits with Alex Smith and the Chiefs is going to be an interesting one. The Chiefs are on a roll, having won six straight. They went into San Diego two weeks ago and beat the Chargers 33-3. We could very well see Philip Rivers and company bounce back, but I gotta go with the Chiefs at home this week.
The Bears lost to the 49ers last week, while Washington could not beat Matt Cassel and the Dallas Cowboys. It's a battle of two bad teams. The professionals would say to take the points, but I think Chicago can bounce back against a Washington team that is not good on the road.
Here are all my picks for Week 14
CARDINALS vs. Vikings (+8.5): Cardinals - Loss
BENGALS vs. Steelers (+2.5): Bengals
EAGLES vs. Bills (-1): Eagles
PANTHERS vs. Falcons (+7.5): Panthers
BROWNS vs. 49ers (+1.5): 49ers
BEARS vs. Washington (+3): Bears
RAMS vs. Lions (PK): Rams
CHIEFS vs. Chargers (+10): Chiefs
BUCCANEERS vs. Saints (+4): Bucs
JAGUARS vs. Colts (PK): Colts
JETS vs. Titans (+7): Jets
TEXANS vs. Patriots (-3): Texans
BRONCOS vs. Raiders (+7): Raiders
PACKERS vs. Cowboys (+7): Packers
RAVENS vs. Seahawks (-6.5): Seahawks
DOLPHINS vs. Giants (-1): Dolphins