Pick'em Mode
Week 3Optimized Hybrid
Uses XGBoost model predictions for close games, Vegas favorites for lopsided matchups. Backtested 2018-2024: 73.8% of max points.
55
Points Earned
136
Points Possible
40.4%
Percentage
8-8
Record
0
Pending
16
pts
WAS
CIN *
WAS -7.5
Clear favorite
Wrong
+0 pts
38 - 33
15
pts
NE
NYJ *
NE -6.5
Moderate favorite
Correct
+15 pts
3 - 24
14
pts
NYG
CLE *
NYG -6.5
Moderate favorite
Wrong
+0 pts
21 - 15
13
pts
DEN
TB *
DEN -6.0
Moderate favorite
Wrong
+0 pts
26 - 7
12
pts
SF *
LA
LA -6.0
Moderate favorite
Wrong
+0 pts
24 - 27
11
pts
CAR
LV *
CAR -5.5
Moderate favorite
Wrong
+0 pts
36 - 22
10
pts
MIA
SEA *
MIA -4.0
Moderate favorite
Correct
+10 pts
3 - 24
9
pts
JAX
BUF *
JAX -4.0
Moderate favorite
Correct
+9 pts
10 - 47
8
pts
GB
TEN *
GB -3.0
Slight favorite
Wrong
+0 pts
30 - 14
7
pts
KC *
ATL
ATL -3.0
Slight favorite
Correct
+7 pts
22 - 17
6
pts
LAC
PIT *
LAC -3.0
Slight favorite
Correct
+6 pts
10 - 20
5
pts
DET *
ARI
ARI -3.0
Slight favorite
Correct
+5 pts
20 - 13
4
pts
PHI
NO *
PHI -2.5
Slight favorite
Wrong
+0 pts
15 - 12
3
pts
BAL
DAL *
DAL -1.5
Toss-up
Wrong
+0 pts
28 - 25
2
pts
CHI
IND *
CHI -1.5
Toss-up
Correct
+2 pts
16 - 21
1
pts
HOU
MIN *
MIN -2.0
Toss-up
Correct
+1 pts
7 - 34
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.