Pick'em Mode
Week 2Optimized Hybrid
Uses XGBoost model predictions for close games, Vegas favorites for lopsided matchups. Backtested 2018-2024: 73.8% of max points.
58
Points Earned
136
Points Possible
42.6%
Percentage
8-8
Record
0
Pending
16
pts
LV
BAL *
LV -9.0
Clear favorite
Wrong
+0 pts
26 - 23
15
pts
TB
DET *
TB -7.5
Clear favorite
Wrong
+0 pts
20 - 16
14
pts
NO
DAL *
NO -6.5
Moderate favorite
Wrong
+0 pts
44 - 19
13
pts
CIN
KC *
CIN -6.5
Moderate favorite
Correct
+13 pts
25 - 26
12
pts
CHI
HOU *
CHI -6.0
Moderate favorite
Correct
+12 pts
13 - 19
11
pts
ATL
PHI *
ATL -5.5
Moderate favorite
Wrong
+0 pts
22 - 21
10
pts
LAC *
CAR
CAR -5.0
Moderate favorite
Correct
+10 pts
26 - 3
9
pts
SF *
MIN
MIN -4.5
Moderate favorite
Wrong
+0 pts
17 - 23
8
pts
NYJ *
TEN
TEN -3.5
Slight favorite
Correct
+8 pts
24 - 17
7
pts
SEA *
NE
NE -3.5
Slight favorite
Correct
+7 pts
23 - 20
6
pts
CLE
JAX *
CLE -3.0
Slight favorite
Wrong
+0 pts
18 - 13
5
pts
PIT *
DEN
DEN -3.0
Slight favorite
Correct
+5 pts
13 - 6
4
pts
IND *
GB
GB -3.0
Slight favorite
Wrong
+0 pts
10 - 16
3
pts
BUF
MIA *
BUF -2.5
Slight favorite
Wrong
+0 pts
31 - 10
2
pts
LA
ARI *
ARI -1.0
Toss-up
Correct
+2 pts
10 - 41
1
pts
NYG
WAS *
NYG -1.5
Toss-up
Correct
+1 pts
18 - 21
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.