Pick'em Mode
Week 1Optimized Hybrid
Uses XGBoost model predictions for close games, Vegas favorites for lopsided matchups. Backtested 2018-2024: 73.8% of max points.
102
Points Earned
136
Points Possible
75.0%
Percentage
10-6
Record
0
Pending
16
pts
TEN
DEN *
TEN -8.5
Clear favorite
Correct
+16 pts
12 - 20
15
pts
DAL
PHI *
DAL -8.5
Clear favorite
Correct
+15 pts
20 - 24
14
pts
NYG
WAS *
NYG -6.0
Moderate favorite
Correct
+14 pts
6 - 21
13
pts
ARI *
NO
NO -6.0
Moderate favorite
Correct
+13 pts
20 - 13
12
pts
CIN *
CLE
CLE -5.5
Moderate favorite
Correct
+12 pts
17 - 16
11
pts
CAR
JAX *
CAR -4.5
Moderate favorite
Correct
+11 pts
10 - 26
10
pts
HOU
LA *
HOU -3.5
Slight favorite
Correct
+10 pts
9 - 14
9
pts
KC *
LAC
LAC -3.0
Slight favorite
Wrong
+0 pts
21 - 27
8
pts
PIT *
NYJ
NYJ -3.0
Slight favorite
Correct
+8 pts
34 - 32
7
pts
LV
NE *
LV -2.5
Slight favorite
Wrong
+0 pts
20 - 13
6
pts
MIN
CHI *
CHI -1.5
Toss-up
Wrong
+0 pts
27 - 24
5
pts
SF
SEA *
SEA -2.5
Slight favorite
Wrong
+0 pts
17 - 13
4
pts
TB
ATL *
ATL -1.5
Toss-up
Wrong
+0 pts
23 - 20
3
pts
MIA *
IND
MIA -1.5
Toss-up
Wrong
+0 pts
8 - 33
2
pts
DET
GB *
DET -1.5
Toss-up
Correct
+2 pts
13 - 27
1
pts
BAL
BUF *
BUF -1.5
Toss-up
Correct
+1 pts
40 - 41
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.