Pick'em Mode
Week 1Always-favourite (baseline)
Uses XGBoost model predictions for close games, Vegas favorites for lopsided matchups. Benchmark: always picking the Vegas favorite scores 72.4% of maximum confidence points (66.4% straight up) across 2018-2025.
92
Points Earned
136
Points Possible
67.6%
Percentage
12-4
Record
0
Pending
| Pts | Matchup | Spread | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 |
 TEN
@
 DEN
|
TEN -8.5
Clear favorite
|
Correct
+16 pts
12 - 20
|
| 15 |
 MIA
@
 IND
|
MIA -6.5
Moderate favorite
|
Correct
+15 pts
8 - 33
|
| 14 |
 ARI
@
 NO
|
ARI -5.5
Moderate favorite
|
Wrong
+0 pts
20 - 13
|
| 13 |
 CIN
@
 CLE
|
CLE -4.5
Moderate favorite
|
Correct
+13 pts
17 - 16
|
| 12 |
 CAR
@
 JAX
|
CAR -4.5
Moderate favorite
|
Correct
+12 pts
10 - 26
|
| 11 |
 LV
@
 NE
|
LV -3.5
Slight favorite
|
Wrong
+0 pts
20 - 13
|
| 10 |
 SF
@
 SEA
|
SF -3.5
Slight favorite
|
Wrong
+0 pts
17 - 13
|
| 9 |
 MIN
@
 CHI
|
MIN -3.5
Slight favorite
|
Wrong
+0 pts
27 - 24
|
| 8 |
 DAL
@
 PHI
|
DAL -3.0
Slight favorite
|
Correct
+8 pts
20 - 24
|
| 7 |
 PIT
@
 NYJ
|
NYJ -3.0
Slight favorite
|
Correct
+7 pts
34 - 32
|
| 6 |
 NYG
@
 WAS
|
NYG -2.5
Slight favorite
|
Correct
+6 pts
6 - 21
|
| 5 |
 DET
@
 GB
|
DET -2.5
Slight favorite
|
Correct
+5 pts
13 - 27
|
| 4 |
 HOU
@
 LA
|
HOU -2.5
Slight favorite
|
Correct
+4 pts
9 - 14
|
| 3 |
 BAL
@
 BUF
|
BAL -2.5
Slight favorite
|
Correct
+3 pts
40 - 41
|
| 2 |
 KC
@
 LAC
|
KC -1.5
Toss-up
|
Correct
+2 pts
21 - 27
|
| 1 |
 TB
@
 ATL
|
ATL -1.5
Toss-up
|
Correct
+1 pts
23 - 20
|
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.