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, and followed up with a 3-2. I had a nice bounce-back last week, going 4-1 for Week 13. I almost went 5-0, but a late holding penalty cost me the Titans outright win over the Raiders. Such is life. I am currently 39-19-2 through twelve weeks. Again, the cushion remains for my inevitable fall! I went 8-8 overall ATS with my picks in the first week of a full slate of games since before the byes.
Here are my SuperContest picks for Week 13:
BILLS (-3.5) over Texans
DOLPHINS (-4) over Ravens
RAMS (+5.5) over Cardinals
Broncos (-4) over CHARGERS
Cowboys (+4.5) over WASHINGTON
This was a tough week for me with these picks. I just could not get a strong handle on a lot of these games, so I am not entirely comfortable with my picks. I came very close to take the Chicago Bears as seven point favorites over the 49ers, but then I had second thoughts as I considered the 49ers history. San Francisco has been pretty awful on the road, but they played well against the New York Giants earlier this season. The 49ers are facing a bad Bears team, and so a cover would not entirely shock me. I decided to just stay away from the game entirely for SuperContest purposes.
The Cardinals seem like the pick over the Rams, particularly looking for revenge from their early season loss, but I decided to go against the overwhelming public money. Upwards of 85 percent of public money has been on the Cardinals. As tempting as a quality Cardinals team is, that kind of overwhelming percentage made me look the other way. It will take Todd Gurley getting back on track, and the Rams forcing some turnovers, but I'm ready to roll the dice.
The Cowboys pick over Washington is another tough one, and one which probably has me least confident. Or at least among the more least confident picks! Washington has been solid at home with Kirk Cousins, and Dallas is coming off an ugly loss and another Tony Romo injury. They very well could fall completely apart without Romo, but in a divisional game, I like to think they can at least keep it competitive. We'll see.
Here are all my picks for Week 13
LIONS vs. Packers (-3): Packers - Win
BEARS vs. 49ers (+7): 49ers
BROWNS vs. Bengals (-9.5): Bengals
TITANS vs. Jaguars (+2.5): Jaguars
BILLS vs. Texans (+3.5): Bills
DOLPHINS vs. Ravens (+4): Dolphins
SAINTS vs. Panthers (-7): Saints
VIKINGS vs. Seahawks (PK): Vikings
RAMS vs. Cardinals (-5.5): Rams
BUCCANEERS vs. Falcons (+1.5): Falcons
GIANTS vs. Jets (-2.5): Jets
CHARGERS vs. Broncos (-4): Broncos
RAIDERS vs. Chiefs (-2.5): Chiefs
PATRIOTS vs. Eagles (+9.5): Patriots
STEELERS vs. Colts (+7): Steelers
WASHINGTON vs. Cowboys (+4.5): Cowboys