Welcome!
Here at FakeTeams we like to create fun and new challenges for all of you. Whether it’s Game of Thrones, Olympics, Baseball, there is always some additional stat based fun to have. Surely we weren’t going to let everyone go through Football without that same level of frivolities right? As promised, we have a football game and as such, I would like to introduce FakeTeams: Beat the Spread. We allowed week 1 to play out and let everyone see what each team has to offer before starting this game up.
Here is the way this game works. I will supply the Sunday and Monday matchups (we are ignoring the Thursday game after this week, no one likes those). With each matchup will be the line as of the last 24 hours. What you need to do is:
Step 1. Pick 3 teams who are NOT the favorites that you think will cover the spread
Step 2. Well…that’s it.
What you are trying to do, is select the three teams most likely to beat the spread. You will get the points POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE that each team earns vs. the Spread. Have I lost you yet? See the example below
Example: If the San Francisco 49ers are facing the Denver Broncos and the line is:
Denver -8. You would pick the 49ers since they are NOT the favorite.
Outcome 1). Let’s say the 49ers lose the game by 3 points, you would earn 5 points since they beat the spread by 5 points.
Outcome 2). Let’s say the 49ers win by 1 point, you would earn 9 points since they beat the spread by 9 points.
Outcome 3). Let’s say the 49ers lose the game by 10 points, you would lose 2 points since they lost to the spread by 2 points.
The cumulative point total of your three selections would be your weekly score. Some of the week 1 favorites would have been
Indianapolis -3 vs. Cincinnati. A Bengal pick would have yielded 14 points
New Orleans -9.5 vs. Tampa Bay. A Bucs pick would have yielded 17.5 points.
CONVERSELY.
Baltimore -7.5 vs. Buffalo. A Bills pick would have given you a negative 36.5 points.
Carolina -3 vs. Dallas. A Cowboys pick would have given you negative 5 points.
As you will see, each person’s scores can (and will) fluctuate wildly from week to week so don’t go thinking you have it in the bag or you are out the race, one ‘Baltimore vs. Buffalo’ game can swing a team by 36+ points.
Beat the Spread Week 2
Week 2 | Favorite | Underdog |
---|---|---|
Week 2 | Favorite | Underdog |
Cin -1 | Cincinnati Bengals | Baltimore Ravens |
NO -9 | New Orleans Saints | Cleveland Browns |
NE -2 | New England Patriots | Jacksonville Jaguars |
Atl -5.5 | Atlanta Falcons | Carolina Panthers |
LAC -7.5 | Los Angeles Chargers | Buffalo Bills |
GB -1 | Green Bay Packers | Minnesota Vikings |
NYJ -3 | New York Jets | Miami Dolphins |
Pit -5 | Pittsburgh Steelers | Kansas City Chiefs |
Phi -3 | Philadelphia Eagles | Tampa Bay Bucaneers |
Wash -6 | Washington Redskins | Indianapolis Colts |
LAR -12.5 | Los Angeles Rams | Arizona Cardinals |
SF -5.5 | San Francisco 49ers | Detroit Lions |
Den -5.5 | Denver Broncos | Oakland Raiders |
Dal -3 | Dallas Cowboys | New York Giants |
Chi -3.5 | Chicago Bears | Seattle Seahawks |
Leave you 3 underdog picks (or questions) in the comments section below. Houston vs. Tennessee was a push so that game was omitted.
Finally, in an effort to inject some knowledge to each week (who says we don’t value a good education here at FakeTeams), I will revive some old idioms.
This week’s term: “Take the Egg”. A popular term for winning.
Example: It is my hope that you take the egg in this challenge this season.