NFL Survivor Pool: Week 6 pick from an NFL expert

No one knows the NFL like Mike Tierney. A national sportswriter whose work appears in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times, he's reported from seven Super Bowls. Tierney excels both against the spread and straight-up. The last two seasons, he's hit on nearly 65 percent of his straight-up Office Pool picks (330-180-2), beating the vast majority of experts on NFLPickWatch.com.

Last week, Tierney went with the Panthers, who used a 63-yard field goal on the game's final play to edge the Giants 33-31. The week before, he gave us the Chargers with a backup option of the Packers for those who have taken L.A. Both were victorious.

Tierney finished a near-perfect 13-2 on his Week 4 straight-up picks. Last week he was 10-5. Part of his success comes from the approach of evaluating each game from the underdog's point of view. That strategy has helped him become the go-to expert for Survivor Pools, which call for picking one team to win each week, but never taking the same team twice.

With Week 6 of the NFL season on the docket, Tierney doesn't just look at the favorite with the biggest spread. He's thinking ahead to future weeks, as well.

For Week 6, we can tell you he's not going with the Rams, sizable road favorites (-7) at the Broncos. Injuries to Los Angeles' receiving corps and Denver's altitude give him pause. Instead, Tierney is revealing a confident pick, and it may surprise you given the team's recent struggles.

What's the optimal Week 6 survivor pool pick? And what surprising team will lead you to victory?... Join SportsLine right now to get Mike Tierney's Week 6 Survivor Pool pick, all from the expert who went 166-88-2 in straight-up office pool picks last season and 23-7 the last two weeks alone!