Pick'em Mode
Week 8Optimized Hybrid
Uses XGBoost model predictions for close games, Vegas favorites for lopsided matchups. Backtested 2018-2024: 73.8% of max points.
96
Points Earned
136
Points Possible
70.6%
Percentage
10-6
Record
0
Pending
16
pts
CAR
DEN *
CAR -13.0
Strong favorite
Correct
+16 pts
14 - 28
15
pts
TEN
DET *
TEN -12.5
Strong favorite
Correct
+15 pts
14 - 52
14
pts
KC *
LV
LV -9.0
Clear favorite
Correct
+14 pts
27 - 20
13
pts
BAL *
CLE
CLE -7.5
Clear favorite
Wrong
+0 pts
24 - 29
12
pts
NO
LAC *
NO -7.0
Clear favorite
Correct
+12 pts
8 - 26
11
pts
NYJ *
NE
NE -7.0
Clear favorite
Wrong
+0 pts
22 - 25
10
pts
NYG
PIT *
NYG -6.0
Moderate favorite
Correct
+10 pts
18 - 26
9
pts
DAL
SF *
DAL -5.5
Moderate favorite
Correct
+9 pts
24 - 30
8
pts
IND
HOU *
IND -5.0
Moderate favorite
Correct
+8 pts
20 - 23
7
pts
ARI
MIA *
ARI -4.0
Moderate favorite
Wrong
+0 pts
28 - 27
6
pts
GB *
JAX
JAX -3.5
Slight favorite
Correct
+6 pts
30 - 27
5
pts
BUF *
SEA
SEA -3.0
Slight favorite
Correct
+5 pts
31 - 10
4
pts
MIN *
LA
LA -3.0
Slight favorite
Wrong
+0 pts
20 - 30
3
pts
PHI
CIN *
PHI -2.5
Slight favorite
Wrong
+0 pts
37 - 17
2
pts
ATL
TB *
TB -1.5
Toss-up
Wrong
+0 pts
31 - 26
1
pts
CHI
WAS *
CHI -1.5
Toss-up
Correct
+1 pts
15 - 18
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.