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The Cowboys will kick off the 2014 NFL season on Sunday night, which means it's time for us to kick off our sixth BTB writer pick 'em, where we have the front-page writers embarrass themselves publicly by picking their winners for each NFL weekend.
Here at BTB, we're very objective about our lack of objectivity. Most of us pick the Cowboys to win every game regardless of who the opponent is, and this week is no different - the Cowboys are our unanimous favorites against the Giants, and for good reason: the Cowboys have an NFL best .667 (36-18-1) winning percentage in season openers.
In a 16-game schedule, every game counts, including the season opener. The 49 Super Bowl winners have a combined 39-9-1 record in the Kickoff Weekend games of their title seasons.
Since 1978, when the NFL adopted the 16-game schedule, and excluding the abbreviated season of 1982, teams that win their season openers are more than twice as likely to reach the playoffs as opening game losers:
- Of the 538 teams which won openers 281 went to the playoffs (168 won division titles).
- Of the 539 teams which lost openers 129 went to the playoffs (74 won division titles).
With all of that in mind, here are the Week 1, 2015 picks from the BTB writers.
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| Dave | Danny | Dawn | Jamie | Jim | Michael | OCC | rabble | Tom | Consensus | |
| 2014 Record |
169-87 | - - | 168-88 | 55-25 | - - | - - | 172-84 | 158-98 | 169-87 | 174-82 |
| 2014 Percentage | .660 | - - | .656 | .688 | - - | - - | .672 | .617 | .660 | .680 |
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| PIT @ NE (-7) |  |
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| GB (-7) @ CHI |  |
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| KC @ HOU (-1) |  |
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| CLE @ NYJ (-3) |  |
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| IND (-2.5) @ BUF |  |
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| MIA (-3.5) @ WAS |  |
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| CAR (-3) @ JAC |  |
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| SEA (-4) @ STL |  |
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| NO @ ARI (-2.5) |  |
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| DET @ SD (-3) |  |
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| TEN @ TB (-3) |  |
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| CIN (-3.5) @ OAK |  |
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| BAL @ DEN (-4.5) |  |
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| NYG @ DAL (-6) |  |
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| PHI (-3) @ ATL |  |
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| MIN (-2.5) @ SF |  |
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Get your picks in for the BTB Pick 256 Challenge!
Pick 256 is a season-long contest in which BTB members and readers get to pick the straight-up winners for all games each week.
Because we were a little late with the kickoff post this week, you have until kickoff on Sunday at 1 pm EST to submit your picks (and you'll get a freebie for tonight's Steelers/Patriots game). But why wait until the last minute? If you haven't yet submitted your picks, now would be a good time. If you don't know which teams to pick, you can always use the picks above as orientation. Here's the link to the entry form.
If the link above doesn't work for whatever reason, use the following alternative, which does not autopopulate your BTB user name into the entry form.
Alternative Pick 256 Entry Form
Good luck.