Marc Calnan continued his stranglehold on the top spot through 16 weeks of the Eastern Maine Sports staff NFL picks. Calnan went 9-7 and still leads second place Chris Lessner (10-6) by nine games. If Calnan builds a 12 game or more lead after the end of the regular season games this weekend, he will clinch his first picks championship. The staff will continue to pick games through the playoffs as positions two through five are still highly in doubt. Jeff Hoak (10-6) is just one game behind Lessner in third, while Anthony DelMonaco (9-7) is two games behind Hoak in fourth. Cassidy Lessner (8-8) rounds out the field, as she sits in fifth four behind DelMonaco and 16 off of Calnans’ pace. This week has one feature game as the San Francisco 49ers go to Seattle to take on the Seahawks for the NFC West title. The loser gets the Wild Card and goes on the road the first week of the playoffs. The NFC East is still to be decided between Philadelphia and Dallas. If the Eagles beat the NY Giants they take the division, but if they lose and the Cowboys beat Washington then Dallas takes it. Other games around the league also have seeding implications, including with the New England Patriots as they need either a win or a Kansas City loss to clinch the #2 AFC seed. Here are the results from last week/season standings and then the Week 17 picks:
Marc 9-7/154-85
Chris 10-6/145-94/-9
Jeff 10-6/144-95/-10
Anthony 9-7/142-97/-12
Cassidy 8-8/138-101/-16
Sunday, December 29
Green Bay at Detroit
All staff picks Packers
NY Jets at Buffalo
All staff picks Bills
Miami at New England
All staff picks Patriots
Chicago at Minnesota
All staff picks Vikings
LA Chargers at Kansas City
All staff picks Chiefs
Cleveland at Cincinnati
Browns- Chris, Jeff, Anthony
Bengals- Marc, Cassidy
New Orleans at Carolina
All staff picks Saints
Atlanta at Tampa Bay
Falcons- Chris, Jeff
Buccaneers- Marc, Anthony, Cassidy
Indianapolis at Jacksonville
Colts- Chris, Jeff, Anthony, Cassidy
Jaguars- Marc
Philadelphia at NY Giants
Eagles- Chris, Anthony, Cassidy
Giants- Marc, Jeff
Arizona at LA Rams
Cardinals- Marc, Anthony
Rams- Chris, Jeff, Cassidy
Pittsburgh at Baltimore
Steelers- Marc, Anthony
Ravens- Chris, Jeff, Cassidy
Titans at Texans
Titans- Marc, Jeff, Anthony
Texans- Chris, Cassidy
Oakland at Denver
Raiders- Marc
Broncos- Chris, Jeff, Anthony, Cassidy
Washington at Dallas
All staff picks Cowboys
San Francisco at Seattle
49ers- Chris, Anthony, Cassidy
Seahawks- Marc, Jeff
