Shoutout to the top performers of Week 5! Only two entrants finished above .500, and iGrow* won the week with 9 correct picks and the MNF tiebreaker over friend-of-the-show Sean "DC Lemon Guy" Kennedy.
This year we are hosting our pick'em contest on Sleeper, and just because you missed the first three weeks doesn't mean you can't still join and try to catch the pack.
Let's get to our concensus misses and lone wolf picks from Week 6.
*If you want to be shouted out by name, be sure to let us know who you are!
This week featured two games where the three of us were in agreement and went down with the ship together. Those games were:
Detroit Lions at Kansas City Chiefs (-1.5) - All three Sportsballers took the Lions and the points. While this was hardly a gimme, it's unlikely anybody expected a double-digit victory for the Chiefs, who were an unpopular pick across the board in our pool.
Pool results: 17% took KC
Buffalo Bills (-3.5) at Atlanta Falcons - All three Sportsballers laid the points on the Bills on the road. Not only did it not work out in our favor, the Bills never even held a lead on Monday night. Shoutout to ZachH12*, the only entrant in our pool to get this one right.
Pool results: 3% took ATL
We also had a few games where one of us went off the beaten path. Here are those games and whether our lone wolf got the kill or unexpectedly found himself as the prey:
Philadelphia Eagles (-7.5) at New York Giants - Evan was the lone member of the Sportsballers to lay the points on the Eagles, surprising considering he loves to overindex on road teams playing poorly on Thursday night. Not only was he wrong, Eric and Cory could've taken NYG -7.5 and barely broken a sweat by the middle of the third quarter.
Pool results: 41% took NYG
Denver Broncos (-7.5) at New York Jets - Eric was the lone member of the Sportsballers to lay the points on the Broncos on foreign soil. In a low-scoring affair by a final score seen only twice before and not since 1986, the Broncos did win but by only two points.
Pool results: 35% took NYJ
Los Angeles Rams (-7.5) at Baltimore Ravens - Cory was the lone member of the Sportsballers to take the points on the Ravens, hoping the home field advantage would allow them to keep the deficit within a touchdown. Instead, they lost by two of them in a 17-3 second half beatdown after entering the locker rooms in a 3-3 tie.
Pool results: 86% took LAR
Dallas Cowboys (-3.5) at Carolina Panthers - Evan was the lone member of the Sportsballers to fade the favored Cowboys on the road. It proved to be a wise decision as he earned the lone wolf win in a 30-27 Panthers victory.
Pool results: 25% took CAR
Arizona Cardinals at Indianapolis Colts (-6.5) - Eric was the lone member of the Sportsballers to take the points given the 2-3 Cardinals on the road against the 4-1 Colts. Indianapolis pulled out the win, but by just four points giving him the lone wolf win.
Pool results: 11% took ARI
Seattle Seahawks (-1.5) at Jacksonville Jaguars - Eric was the lone member of the Sportsballers to lay the points. With such a narrow line, this basically equated to Cory and Evan taking the Jags to win the game, and things did not work out that way. Despite Seattle failing to score a single point in the final 25 minutes of the game, the Jags lost by eight.
Pool results: 38% took SEA
Los Angeles Chargers (-4.5) at Miami Dolphins - Evan was the lone member of the Sportsballers to lay the points on the Bolts. Miami's offense has been playing better of late, and despite three Tua interceptions, the Fins put up 27 points. They lost the game by two, but they kept it close enough for Cory and Eric.
Pool results: 34% took MIA
New England Patriots (-3.5) at New Orleans Saints - Cory was the lone member of the Sportsballers to take the points. After a rough first quarter, the Saints settled in and kept the game from getting out of hand, but they never did quite claw back within the spread, ultimately losing by six.
Pool results: 75% took NE
Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers (-4.5) - Eric was the lone member of the Sportsballers to take the points. Between Pittsburgh's propensity to eat rookie quarterbacks for lunch and the Browns entering the game on a 21-game losing streak in the Steel City, Cory and Evan were anything but surprised to see a 14-point Steelers victory.
Pool results: 75% took PIT
Tennessee Titans at Las Vegas Raiders (-4.5) - Eric was the lone member of the Sportsballers to lay the points in this matchup between 1-4 teams. The 20-10 final score in favor of Vegas doesn't reflect how lopsided this game was; Cory and Evan wound up looking like fools, as did more than half the entries in our pool.
Pool results: 47% took TEN
San Francisco 49ers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-3.5) - Cory was the lone member of the Sportsballers to take the points. Considering the Bucs had not won a single game this season by more than three points, you can hardly blame him, but the Bucs scored the final 10 points of the game and made Evan and Eric look like geniuses.
Pool results: 45% took TB
Chicago Bears at Washington Commanders (-4.5) - Cory was the lone member of the Sportsballers to take the points. A walk-off field goal gave the Bears the outright victory after the Commanders appeared to have taken control of the spread midway through the second half.
Pool results: 35% took CHI
Standings
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