Pick'em Mode
Week 17Optimized Hybrid
Uses XGBoost model predictions for close games, Vegas favorites for lopsided matchups. Backtested 2018-2024: 73.8% of max points.
119
Points Earned
136
Points Possible
87.5%
Percentage
14-2
Record
0
Pending
16
pts
NYJ
BUF *
NYJ -10.0
Strong favorite
Correct
+16 pts
14 - 40
15
pts
CAR
TB *
CAR -9.5
Clear favorite
Correct
+15 pts
14 - 48
14
pts
IND *
NYG
NYG -7.5
Clear favorite
Wrong
+0 pts
33 - 45
13
pts
DAL
PHI *
DAL -7.5
Clear favorite
Correct
+13 pts
7 - 41
12
pts
ARI
LA *
ARI -6.5
Moderate favorite
Correct
+12 pts
9 - 13
11
pts
LAC *
NE
NE -6.0
Moderate favorite
Correct
+11 pts
40 - 7
10
pts
BAL *
HOU
HOU -5.5
Moderate favorite
Correct
+10 pts
31 - 2
9
pts
DET *
SF
SF -4.0
Moderate favorite
Correct
+9 pts
40 - 34
8
pts
ATL
WAS *
ATL -3.5
Slight favorite
Correct
+8 pts
24 - 30
7
pts
DEN
CIN *
DEN -3.5
Slight favorite
Correct
+7 pts
24 - 30
6
pts
SEA *
CHI
CHI -3.5
Slight favorite
Correct
+6 pts
6 - 3
5
pts
MIA *
CLE
CLE -3.0
Slight favorite
Correct
+5 pts
20 - 3
4
pts
KC *
PIT
PIT -3.0
Slight favorite
Correct
+4 pts
29 - 10
3
pts
LV
NO *
NO -2.0
Toss-up
Wrong
+0 pts
25 - 10
2
pts
TEN
JAX *
JAX -1.0
Toss-up
Correct
+2 pts
13 - 20
1
pts
GB
MIN *
MIN -1.0
Toss-up
Correct
+1 pts
25 - 27
How Pick'em Scoring Works
- Pick the Winner: For each game, pick which team will win straight-up (no spread).
- Rank by Confidence: Assign confidence rankings 1-16 to each pick.
1= least confident,16= most confident. - Earn Points: If your pick is correct, you earn points equal to your confidence ranking.
- Strategy: This page uses the Optimized Hybrid strategy:
- Close games (spread < 3 pts): Trust the XGBoost model predictions
- Lopsided games (spread ≥ 3 pts): Trust the Vegas favorite
- Backtest Result: This hybrid strategy scores ~73.8% of maximum possible points over 7 years (2018-2024), outperforming "always favorite" by +1.3 percentage points.