NFL Elimination: 4-2 Teams Not Much of an Option

We're not even halfway through the season, and it seems like our two NFL Elimination finalists have been deadlocked for quite some time now. And there's no end in sight.

Last week Chelsea Snyder opted for the Falcons at the Saints, and with the help of a last-second penalty, the Falcons kicked the winning field goal, winning 31-28. Joel Hammond chose the Chargers at home against the struggling Raiders, who let San Diego superback LaDainian Tomlinson run, catch and — yes — throw a touchdown in a 27-14 rout of the silver and gold ... er ... black.

Chelsea and Joel each have a 5-win team left in their tank, as Chelsea has the Bengals available, but they play dangerous division rival Pittsburgh so she still has it available. Joel has the Broncos in his reserve, but they go on the road against a 3-2 Giants team scoring more points than anyone this year.

There are now some 4-2 teams neither team has picked yet: the Jaguars, Cowboys and Seahawks. You'd also think the Patriots would have been tagged by either of these finalists by now, but the struggling Pats are still an open option. But none of these teams will be picked, as the Cowboys and Seahawks play each other, and the Jags and Pats play no one.

And that Colts-Texans game? Sorry, Indy has been used up by both. (Plenty of time left to pick the Texans, though. Come on, you know you wanna!)

Chelsea can't pick the 4-2 Panthers, and Joel already has. Joel could pick the 4-2 Falcons on Monday night, but Chelsea used them last week.

So a 4-win team is virtually out of the question. A 3-3 or 3-2 team is pretty much the best they can hope for.

So Joel is going with 3-2 Washington at home against Alex Smith and the young 1-4 San Francisco 49ers.

Chelsea digs deeper and chooses 2-3 Detroit, a 2-point underdog, on the road against the also 2-3 Browns. Update below

Picks used up so far:
Both have used the Bucs (5-1) and the Colts (6-0).
Chelsea has used the Eagles (3-2), the Ravens (2-3), the Broncos (5-1) and the Falcons (4-2).
Joel has used the Steelers (3-2), the Bengals (5-1), the Panthers (4-2) and the Chargers (3-3).

Week 7 schedule (ESPN.com)

UPDATE: Chelsea, being as how Detroit is an underdog without a starting quarterback, switched her pick as of Thursday night to the 2-4 Rams at home against the 2-4 Saints.

Article Author: Matthew T. Sussman

Sussman is the sports editor of BC Magazine and the executive editor of Technorati. He also writes for Deadspin and Toledo Free Press. He and Tuffy can be heard hosting the Treehouse Fort, Sundays at 12 noon ET. Plus, he Twitters. …

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