Office Pools are a fun way for even casual NFL fans to enjoy a little bit of sports gambling. It is an excellent opportunity to bond with your colleagues, enjoy a little friendly competition, and most importantly, win a little money.
The staff at Footballguys.com also enjoys these contests, and each week we will publish our picks to give our subscribers some ideas on what teams to pick in your office pools or at your local sportsbook.
Each week, we will post our office pool picks with three different themes:
- Office Pool – NFL Game Picks. Our staff will pick the winner of every NFL contest every week. They will also rank how confident they are with their selection from 16 (most confident) down to 1 (least confident). We'll also combine everyone's confidence points, giving you a Wisdom of the Staff confidence level as well.
- Office Pool – Against the Spread Picks. Each week, the staffers will choose their eight favorite NFL games and pick the winner, based on the early Las Vegas lines for each of them.
- Office Pool – Eliminator/Survivor Picks. Sounds simple, right? Just pick one team to win this week. The only catch is that you can only use a team once the entire season.
This Week's Picks
The Table below shows the team that each staffer picked to win the game and how confident they are with that pick. 16 = Virtual Lock, 1 = Flip a Coin. In case of a tie, the Monday Night Football (MNF) Total points scored will be the tiebreaker (closest to the total win).
| DAL | KC | CIN | LV | TB | PIT | NYG | ARI | MIA | CAR | SF | TEN | HOU | DET | BAL | MIN | MNF | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Staffer | PHI | LAC | CLE | NE | ATL | NYJ | WAS | NO | IND | JAX | SEA | DEN | LAR | GB | BUF | CHI | TOTAL |
| Bitonti | PHI | KC | CIN | LV | ATL | NYJ | WAS | ARI | MIA | JAX | SF | TEN | LAR | DET | BUF | CHI | 50 |
| 16 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 15 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 5 | ||
| Blaylock | PHI | LAC | CIN | NE | TB | NYJ | WAS | ARI | MIA | JAX | SF | DEN | LAR | DET | BAL | CHI | 45 |
| 12 | 3 | 16 | 2 | 10 | 8 | 15 | 13 | 9 | 11 | 7 | 14 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 5 | ||
| Brown | PHI | KC | CIN | NE | ATL | PIT | WAS | ARI | IND | CAR | SEA | DEN | HOU | DET | BUF | CHI | 0 |
| 14 | 15 | 11 | 2 | 10 | 8 | 13 | 7 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 16 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 3 | ||
| Carey | PHI | KC | CIN | NE | TB | NYJ | WAS | ARI | IND | JAX | SEA | DEN | HOU | GB | BUF | MIN | 44 |
| 16 | 7 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 2 | 11 | 5 | 15 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 4 | ||
| Cummins | PHI | LAC | CIN | NE | ATL | PIT | WAS | ARI | IND | JAX | SF | DEN | LAR | GB | BAL | CHI | 44 |
| 15 | 11 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 12 | 2 | 16 | 7 | 8 | 1 | 6 | ||
| Dodgson | PHI | LAC | CIN | NE | TB | NYJ | WAS | ARI | MIA | JAX | SF | DEN | LAR | GB | BUF | CHI | 38 |
| 14 | 10 | 16 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 13 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 15 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Grant | PHI | KC | CIN | NE | TB | PIT | WAS | ARI | IND | JAX | SF | DEN | LAR | DET | BAL | CHI | 46 |
| 16 | 5 | 13 | 10 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 12 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 14 | 8 | 9 | 3 | 1 | ||
| Gray | PHI | KC | CIN | NE | ATL | PIT | WAS | ARI | IND | JAX | SEA | DEN | HOU | DET | BUF | MIN | 38 |
| 15 | 5 | 13 | 9 | 11 | 4 | 14 | 8 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 3 | ||
| Hicks | PHI | LAC | CIN | LV | TB | S | WAS | ARI | MIA | JAX | SF | DEN | LAR | DET | BAL | CHI | 45 |
| 13 | 7 | 16 | 4 | 8 | 5 | 14 | 12 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 11 | ||
| Larkins | PHI | LAC | CIN | NE | ATL | PIT | WAS | ARI | IND | JAX | SEA | DEN | LAR | DET | BAL | MIN | 42 |
| 13 | 2 | 14 | 10 | 3 | 11 | 16 | 8 | 7 | 12 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 15 | ||
| McCarty | PHI | KC | CIN | LV | ATL | PIT | WAS | ARI | MIA | JAX | SF | DEN | LAR | DET | BAL | MIN | 34 |
| 11 | 10 | 14 | 5 | 9 | 13 | 4 | 15 | 16 | 8 | 3 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 6 | ||
| Weisse | PHI | KC | CIN | NE | TB | PIT | WAS | ARI | MIA | JAX | SF | DEN | LAR | GB | BUF | MIN | 45 |
| 15 | 10 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 14 | 5 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 2 | ||
| Away | DAL | KC | CIN | LV | TB | PIT | NYG | ARI | MIA | CAR | SF | TEN | HOU | DET | BAL | MIN | |
| Total Pts | 0 | 64 | 163 | 23 | 48 | 64 | 0 | 137 | 59 | 9 | 50 | 4 | 11 | 38 | 17 | 30 | |
| Home | PHI | LAC | CLE | NE | ATL | NYJ | WAS | NO | IND | JAX | SEA | DEN | LAR | GB | BUF | CHI | |
| Total Pts | 170 | 33 | 0 | 63 | 46 | 16 | 152 | 0 | 39 | 111 | 22 | 144 | 44 | 23 | 13 | 33 | |
| Tot Conf Pts | 170 | 97 | 163 | 86 | 94 | 80 | 152 | 137 | 98 | 120 | 72 | 148 | 55 | 61 | 30 | 63 |
The bottom of the table reflects the 'Wisdom Of the Staff' for each game. Higher total points mean the staff strongly believe that the team will win. A score of zero means none of the staff expect that team to win.
High Confidence Picks
With 170 total confidence points, the staff strongly believe that the Eagles will open the season with a victory tonight against the Cowboys. The Bengals, Commanders, and Cardinals were also unaminous choices to win their respective games. The Jaguars and Broncos are also highly favored to win this week.
Low Confidence Picks
The Sunday night game between the Bills and the Ravens received just 30 total points for the week, making it the game the staff felt least confident in their choices. The Ravens have a slight edge in confidence points with 17 compared to 13 for the Bills. Division games with the Lions vs. the Packers and the Vikings vs. the Bears were also tough to call, with none of these teams being a strong favorite to win. While the Rams were a clear favorite to win against the Texans this week, having only 44 total confidence points still make them a low confidence pick.
Final Thoughts
If you're a casual fan looking to dominate your office pool, or a gambler looking for additional advice on this week's moneyline bets, this article should provide additional guidance in helping you make your selections. The easy rule to remember is that more points = more confidence that the team will win.
Note: The picks for these games lock on Wednesday night. If there are late injury updates or changing weather conditions, please adjust your picks accordingly.
Good luck!