This Week in Pools: NFL Week 10 Recap

The time-honored pick’em pool tradition of picking against Carolina and Chicago was a non-starter in Week 10. The league, in its infinite wisdom, made Panthers-Bears a standalone game on Thursday. Thanks again for that, NFL.

So what could players do in lieu of fading two of the league’s punching bags this week? Why, pick against the Cardinals and Texans, of course. 

Well. That didn’t work as planned. But a couple of other highly-picked entries fared better.

This Week in Pick’em Pools

There were four teams turning up on more than 70 percent of entries across RunYourPool and a fifth, Atlanta, that was just a tick under that threshold.

The top choice was Pittsburgh, clocking in at 76.7 percent usage. And all they had to do was come up with a goal-line interception with 3 seconds on the clock and Green Bay driving to get it done.

Good thing they don’t have a “made you sweat” penalty in these contests. Here’s how the top 5 most-picked teams did this week:

• Steelers -3.5 (taken by 76.7 percent of players). Covered.
• Lions -1.5 (75.6 percent). Covered.
• Bengals -6.5 (71.6 percent). Lost outright.
• Bills -7.5 (71.4 percent). Lost outright
• Falcons -0.5 (69.2 percent). Lost outright.

The biggest edge on the board this week, according to the Pick’em Edge Tool, was San Fancisco. They were only laying -2.5 to the Jags, while the Unabated Line (a vig-free consensus line that combines information from the sharpest sportsbooks in the world) was -3. 

And you need every inch of it in a tight game like – hang on, just checking the box score real quick and … oh. Well, in any case, the Niners were the right side and were somehow used on fewer than 60 percent of entries.

Here’s are the other top edges were according to the tool:

• Niners -2.5 (58.3 percent). Covered.
• Falcons -0.5 (69.2 percent). Lost outright.
• Buccaneers -1.5 (57.2 percent). Covered.
• Cowboys -16.5 (63.1 percent). Covered.
• Texans +6.5 (28.4 percent). Won outright..

Count ‘em all up and we’ve got a 2-3 week for the most popular plays in Week 10, and a shiny 4-1 mark using the Pick’em Edge Tool.

On the year, that means the top 5 most-picked teams every week are a combined 25-25. Rolling with the Unabated edges every week would have you at 34-16, which should have you in contention in your pools.

Next Week in Survivor Pools

Last week we pointed out that the Cowboys were a massive -1400 moneyline favorite against the Giants, making them one of the biggest favorites of the season. It’s why the Survivor Optimizer liked Dallas. 

And if you took that advice, congratulations on your sweat-free Sunday. 

This week you don’t have a favorite that hefty to lean on. Miami is the best you can do, -660 at Circa Sports. The Cowboys and Niners are both -650, or about 85 percent to win according to the implied probability. 

But chances are you may not have those teams available. The Optimizer turns to the Texans against Arizona, and it’s hard to not like the way C.J. Stroud has played the last couple of weeks. But are the Cardinals feistier than they’ve been so far this season with Kyler Murray back?

If you’re looking elsewhere, the Jags are a contender, at home and -290 on the moneyline. Though using them means they wouldn’t be available for a Week 17 matchup against the Panthers.

Which way do you play it? Link your entry to the Survivor Optimizer and lock individual weeks to see how your path changes the rest of the way. Get it along with the pick’em tool for just $25 per month.