Welcome back to Football Bytes, where me and my pal Tyler Lauletta (SI writer and noted sports-betting degenerate) podcast each week to identify our five favorite NFL games to play in the DraftKings pick ‘em contest, from the perspective of my spreadsheets and Tyler’s experienced instincts.
It’s a holiday-week edition of the show, which means ugly games, backup QBs everywhere and enough uncertainty to make a spreadsheet jockey sweat. We’re both coming off matching “grind-it-out” 3-2 weeks, but there’s still more work to do — including debates over whether to trust the Broncos to cover a huge number against a Chiefs team down to emergency passing options (one day I’ll learn the right pronunciation for “Oladokun”), how to handle the Ravens and Packers’ QB question marks, what to do with the Giants-Raiders “Tank Bowl”, and when to emotionally hedge against your own favorite team.
