If the Patriots proved one thing in week 15, it was that defensively, their injuries have taken such a toll that they are now at the very limit of their personnel capabilities. They have an uncanny knack of stepping up when their backs are against the wall, but the NFL analysts back Baltimore this week despite some less than inspiring performances against lesser opponents.
New England @ Baltimore (4:25pm)
**Matchup Difficulty: 58.5% **(the higher the score, the better the experts' success rate when picking these two teams. An 'average' matchup would be 62%)
Consensus: ** Baltimore 69%**
Top 5 Overall: Baltimore** 60**%
**
Best Pick Index:**
**
The Ravens have a clear edge with experts this week, and they also have the support of the best pro pickers. Melissa Stark - who by all accounts appears to know more about the NFL than her Gameday First colleagues Shaun O'Hara and Sterling Sharpe - has a good record, but even going further down to those with over 75%, the Patriots have little support. The good news for Patriots fans is that Joel Beall is one of the very best at picking tight games, so his New England pick cannot be discounted.**
New England
Baltimore
Rank
Expert
Affiliation
Road %
Home %
Overall
Pick
1
Melissa Stark
NFL
85.71%
85.71%
85.7%
BAL
2
Andrea Hangst
Bleacher Report
85.71%
71.43%
78.6%
BAL
3
Brad Gagnon
Bleacher Report
57.14%
100.00%
78.6%
BAL
4
Ron Jaworski
ESPN
57.14%
100.00%
78.6%
BAL
5
Joel Beall
FOX
57.14%
100.00%
78.6%
NEP
6
Gordon McGuinness
ProFootballFocus
71.43%
85.71%
78.6%
BAL
7
Sam Monson
ProFootballFocus
57.14%
100.00%
78.6%
BAL
8
Marshall Faulk
NFL
85.71%
66.67%
76.2%
BAL
9
Prediction Machine
CBS
71.43%
71.43%
71.4%
BAL
10
Mike Golic
ESPN
71.43%
71.43%
71.4%
BAL
11
Michael David Smith
PFT
71.43%
71.43%
71.4%
BAL
12
Nathan Jahnke
ProFootballFocus
71.43%
71.43%
71.4%
BAL
13
Jim Corbett
USA Today
71.43%
71.43%
71.4%
BAL
14
Chris Hansen
Bleacher Report
57.14%
85.71%
71.4%
BAL
15
Dave Richard
CBS
57.14%
85.71%
71.4%
BAL
16
Ryan Wilson
CBS
57.14%
85.71%
71.4%
BAL
17
Gregg Rosenthal
NFL
57.14%
85.71%
71.4%
NEP
18
Matt Smith
NFL
40.00%
100.00%
70.0%
No Pick
19
Mike Freeman
Bleacher Report
57.14%
71.43%
64.3%
BAL
20
Jason La Canfora
CBS
71.43%
57.14%
64.3%
BAL
21
Pete Prisco
CBS
57.14%
71.43%
64.3%
NEP
22
Will Brinson
CBS
57.14%
71.43%
64.3%
BAL
23
Chris Mortensen
ESPN
42.86%
85.71%
64.3%
BAL
24
Seth Wickersham
ESPN
42.86%
85.71%
64.3%
BAL
25
John Halpin
FOX
57.14%
71.43%
64.3%
NEP
26
Whatifsports
FOX
57.14%
71.43%
64.3%
NEP
27
Chris Brockman
NFL
57.14%
71.43%
64.3%
BAL
28
Dan Hanzus
NFL
57.14%
71.43%
64.3%
BAL
29
Heath Evans
NFL
57.14%
71.43%
64.3%
NEP
30
Henry Hodgson
NFL
57.14%
71.43%
64.3%
BAL
31
NFL FAN PICKS
NFL
57.14%
71.43%
64.3%
NEP
32
Shaun O'Hara
NFL
57.14%
71.43%
64.3%
BAL
33
Mike Florio
PFT
57.14%
71.43%
64.3%
BAL
34
Khaled Elsayed
ProFootballFocus
57.14%
71.43%
64.3%
NEP
35
Steve Palazzolo
ProFootballFocus
57.14%
71.43%
64.3%
NEP
36
Frank Schwab
Yahoo
71.43%
57.14%
64.3%
NEP
37
Jarrett Bell
USA Today
42.86%
85.71%
64.3%
BAL
38
Pete O'Brien
USA Today
42.86%
85.71%
64.3%
BAL
39
Accuscore
Accuscore
42.86%
85.71%
64.3%
BAL
40
Ryan Fowler
FOX
42.86%
83.33%
63.1%
No Pick
41
Matt Bowen
Bleacher Report
42.86%
71.43%
57.1%
NEP
42
Michael Schottey
Bleacher Report
57.14%
57.14%
57.1%
NEP
43
Ty Schalter
Bleacher Report
85.71%
28.57%
57.1%
NEP
44
Tyson Langland
Bleacher Report
42.86%
71.43%
57.1%
BAL
45
John Breech
CBS
57.14%
57.14%
57.1%
NEP
46
Adam Schefter
ESPN
42.86%
71.43%
57.1%
BAL
47
K.C. Joyner
ESPN
57.14%
57.14%
57.1%
BAL
48
Keyshawn Johnson
ESPN
57.14%
57.14%
57.1%
BAL
49
Pick ‘em
ESPN
42.86%
71.43%
57.1%
NEP
50
Tom Jackson
ESPN
57.14%
57.14%
57.1%
BAL
51
Adam Rank
NFL
57.14%
57.14%
57.1%
NEP
52
Michael Fabiano
NFL
42.86%
71.43%
57.1%
BAL
53
Chris Law
NFL
57.14%
57.14%
57.1%
BAL
54
Chris Wesseling
NFL
71.43%
42.86%
57.1%
BAL
55
Dave Damashek
NFL
42.86%
71.43%
57.1%
NEP
56
Kevin Patra
NFL
57.14%
57.14%
57.1%
BAL
57
Michael Silver
NFL
42.86%
71.43%
57.1%
BAL
58
Steve Mariucci
NFL
42.86%
71.43%
57.1%
NEP
59
Warren Sapp
NFL
57.14%
57.14%
57.1%
BAL
60
Ben Stockwell
ProFootballFocus
57.14%
57.14%
57.1%
BAL
61
Neil Hornsby
ProFootballFocus
57.14%
57.14%
57.1%
BAL
62
Rick Drummond
ProFootballFocus
57.14%
57.14%
57.1%
NEP
63
Yahoo Users
Yahoo
42.86%
71.43%
57.1%
NEP
64
Vinnie Iyer
Sporting News
57.14%
57.14%
57.1%
BAL
65
Don Banks
Sports Illustrated
42.86%
71.43%
57.1%
BAL
66
Lindsay H. Jones
USA Today
42.86%
71.43%
57.1%
BAL
67
Brian Baldinger
NFL
40.00%
66.67%
53.3%
BAL
68
Erik Frenz
Bleacher Report
57.14%
42.86%
50.0%
NEP
69
Knox Bardeen
Bleacher Report
42.86%
57.14%
50.0%
NEP
70
Matt Miller
Bleacher Report
57.14%
42.86%
50.0%
NEP
71
Zach Kruse
Bleacher Report
42.86%
57.14%
50.0%
BAL
72
Jamey Eisenberg
CBS
28.57%
71.43%
50.0%
NEP
73
Cris Carter
ESPN
28.57%
71.43%
50.0%
BAL
74
Mark Schlereth
ESPN
42.86%
57.14%
50.0%
BAL
75
Mike Ditka
ESPN
57.14%
42.86%
50.0%
BAL
76
Adam Meyer
FOX
42.86%
57.14%
50.0%
NEP
77
Elliot Harrison
NFL
42.86%
57.14%
50.0%
BAL
78
Kurt Warner
NFL
42.86%
57.14%
50.0%
BAL
79
Marc Sessler
NFL
57.14%
42.86%
50.0%
BAL
80
Rich Eisen
NFL
28.57%
71.43%
50.0%
BAL
81
Sterling Sharpe
NFL
42.86%
57.14%
50.0%
NEP
82
Pickwatch
Pickwatch
42.86%
57.14%
50.0%
BAL
83
Black Tie
NFL
42.86%
57.14%
50.0%
BAL
84
Nate Davis
USA Today
42.86%
57.14%
50.0%
BAL
85
Tom Pelissero
USA Today
28.57%
71.43%
50.0%
BAL
86
Simon Samano
USA Today
42.86%
57.14%
50.0%
NEP
87
Steve Wyche
NFL
66.67%
28.57%
47.6%
BAL
88
Josh Katzowitz
CBS
42.86%
42.86%
42.9%
NEP
89
Merill Hoge
ESPN
28.57%
57.14%
42.9%
BAL
90
Eric Allen
ESPN
28.57%
42.86%
35.7%
BAL
91
Les Carpenter
Yahoo
33.33%
33.33%
33.3%
No Pick
92
Michael Irvin
NFL
28.57%
28.57%
28.6%
BAL
93
Coin Toss
None
42.86%
14.29%
28.6%
BAL
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