When your pride, reputation, or hard-earned money is on the line, you want to pick teams you can trust. With about a quarter of the 2021 NFL season in the books already, we’ve had quite a few big favorites fail us—and quite a few “locks” go bust.
Using our Pickwatch Pro picks and insights, we can see which teams so far have been letting our top experts and users down.
As you lock in your picks for Sunday, you might want to think twice before siding with any of these repeat disappointments.
Washington Football Team: Against the Spread
A lot of people believed (including your humble author) believed Football Team was going to have one of the best defenses in the league this year. Even if they didn’t win a bunch of football games, they’d keep things close—and often, close enough to cover.
Instead, 73 percent of our top experts and users took an L when they picked Football Team to beat the Los Angeles Chargers by 2.5 points in Week 1. In Week 3, most of them picked Football Team to cover a 7-point spread against the Buffalo Bills; they lost by 22.
Kansas City Chiefs: Straight Up
It’s no surprise that a Super Bowl favorite starting the season 2-2 would catch even expert pickers off guard. But 87 percent of our top experts and users picked them to win in Week 2. Despite the Chiefs getting edged by the Baltimore Ravens that week, 93 percent turned around and picked them to win in Week 3. They got burned again.
New Orleans Saints: SU & ATS
In Week 2, 100 percent of our top experts and users picked the Saints to beat the Carolina Panthers, and 67 percent picked them to cover as three-point favorites. They lost by 19 points. Last week, 93 percent picked the Saints to beat the New York Giants, and 53 percent picked them to cover -7. Instead, they lost by six.
It’s hard to pick team when you never know which version of them will show up.
Las Vegas Raiders: Against the Spread
The Raiders earned the confidence of pickers (and bettors) with big upsets in Week 1 and Week 2. In Week 3, 87 percent of our top experts and users picked them to cover as 3.5-point favorites over the Miami Dolphins. That half a point cost everybody big when they won by a field goal in overtime.
Last week, 73 percent of our top pickers stayed with Vegas as they traveled to Los Angeles to face the Chargers, getting 3.5 points along the way. Instead, they lost by two touchdowns.