NFL picks against the spread, Week 6: SuperContest picks, all picks

The San Francisco 49ers get going in less than 24 hours, and they will be a double digit underdog for the second time this season. They were 13.5-point underdogs to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 2, and this week against Washington they are getting between 10 and 12.5 points, depending on your sportsbook of choice.

We are a quarter of the way through the season, and I’m doing fairly awful when it comes to picking games against the spread. I am 24-38-1, and can’t pick a whole lot of much. Of course, if I had stuck with the San Francisco 49ers each of the past three weeks, I’d be doing fairly well. I took them the past two weeks, and add in the Seahawks game and the 49ers stand at 3-1 against the spread. They’re winless in the standings, but they’re playing some really close games.

For the fourth straight season, I am back for the Westgate 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 over 2,700 participants, which is a new record for the SuperContest. SB Nation is represented by myself, Matt Ufford, and Jason Kirk, and there are folks from all over the blogosphere involved. I got over the .500 mark for the first time this year, putting together a 3-2 performance after four straight 2-3 weeks. That’s something, I guess. There is a running leaderboard here, but you can check how I’m doing against my Odds Shark teammates here. You can follow my standings under the name "Fooch.”

Here are my Week 6 SuperContest picks:

VIKINGS (+3) over Packers
WASHINGTON (-10) over 49ers
JAGUARS (-2.5) over Rams
CARDINALS (+2.5) over Buccaneers
CHIEFS (-4.5) over Steelers

Yep, I picked against the 49ers. I’m also considering taking Washington in my Survivor pool. I’d like to see the 49ers win this game, so I might as well double dip in the jinx pool, right? I’m picking against the 49ers in part because of the third straight road game. I don’t think NFL road trips are quite like playing a bunch of road games in a row in baseball, basketball, or hockey, given how the travel works, but it’s still not an easy task.

I stuck with all home teams this week. I just couldn’t jump on some of these road teams for the Super Contest. I think we’ll see some road wins, but nothing screamed that I needed to take it. And so, we’re laying the points with three teams, and taking the points with two. I think the Cardinals win outright, while I would have preferred the half point hook with the Vikings.

Here are all my picks for Week 5. I finally got in the overall win column, finishing last week 9-4-1. That brings my season total to to 33-42-2.

PANTHERS vs. Eagles (+3.5): Panthers - LOSS
TEXANS vs. Browns (+9.5): Browns
JETS vs. Patriots (-9): Patriots
FALCONS vs. Dolphins (+11.5): Dolphins
SAINTS vs. Lions (+5): Saints
VIKINGS vs. Packers (-3): Vikings
RAVENS vs. Bears (+6.5): Ravens
WASHINGTON vs. 49ers (+10): Washington
JAGUARS vs. Rams (+2.5): Jaguars
CARDINALS vs. Buccaneers (-2.5): Cardinals
CHIEFS vs. Steelers (+4.5): Chiefs
RAIDERS vs. Chargers (+3.5): Raiders
BRONCOS vs. Giants (+11.5): Broncos
TITANS vs. Colts (+6.5): Titans