Week 9 had one clear patient on the table. Green Bay walked into New England and won 45-27, and a lot of experts had signed off on the opposite result. Monday Night Football (Bills at Vikings) hadn’t kicked off when this was written, and the Bears-Buccaneers final wasn’t confirmed by two sources, so neither is graded here.

Exhibit A: Sports Illustrated’s Patriots Problem

Six of the ten panelists in SI’s straight-up Week 9 picks took the Patriots over the Packers. The Packers won 45-27 at New England. Over at CBS, Jordan Dajani and Jared Dubin both took Green Bay in their Week 9 picks, and so did Pete Prisco in his. Same game, same injuries, opposite diagnoses.

Exhibit B: Bleacher Report Backs the Jets

Five of seven Bleacher Report panelists took the Jets against the spread, with Kansas City favored by 9.5. The Chiefs won 35-12 at Arrowhead. That is a 23-point margin against a 9.5-point line.

Exhibit C: Dajani Flies to Madrid and Picks Atlanta

CBS’s Jordan Dajani had the Falcons beating the Bengals 27-23 in Madrid. Cincinnati won 34-17 at the Santiago Bernabéu. Dubin and Prisco, in the CBS pieces linked above, both had the Bengals. Bleacher Report’s panel also leaned Atlanta against the spread, 4-3.

Clean Bill of Health

Prisco picked the winner in all 13 finished games I could confirm with two score sources. His Jaguars, Cowboys, Chiefs, Packers and Bengals calls all held. SI’s panel was unanimous on three games: Jaguars over Ravens (33-10), Cowboys over Colts (27-23), and Chiefs over Jets (35-12). All three unanimous picks won, per the Week 9 scoreboard.

This Week’s Trend

Unanimous panels did fine on winners this week. The damage came in split rooms and against the spread. All seven Bleacher Report panelists took Dallas as a 5.5-point favorite at Indianapolis, and the Cowboys won by four. The experts who got burned mostly trusted a home team or a point spread over what the better team was doing on the field.