The so-called expert prognosticators of NFL games, using computers, football knowledge and, presumably, a lot of caffeine, usually wind up just a little over .500 for the season in their choices.
Thus, SB Nation Chicago is justifiably proud of the fact that for the three weeks that we have used a random number and list generator to make NFL picks, the record is now over .500 at 21-19 after an 8-6 mark in week 10 (and it would have been 9-5 if not for that batted pass at the end of the Texans/Jaguars game).
We're particularly proud of these four:
Prediction: Jets 31, Browns 30 Actual: Jets 26, Browns 20
Prediction: Bears 23, Vikings 16 Actual: Bears 27, Vikings 13
Prediction: Broncos 37, Chiefs 34 Actual: Broncos 49, Chiefs 29
Prediction: Seahawks 35, Cardinals 33 Actual: Seahawks 36, Cardinals 18
The system has, in fact, picked the Bears game correctly both times (the first week, Week 8, was the Bears' bye week). So you should probably pay close attention to the Bears/Dolphins pick for tomorrow -- which shows the Bears losing big..
A reminder of how this works: I use random.org's list generator and its true random number generator to sort the teams playing in a random order, then generate random numbers to match with each team name as a score prediction. I have adjusted the number range to be 0-49. 44 is the highest number of points scored by anyone this year except for 59 now scored twice; by the Raiders a few weeks ago and the Eagles last week. Putting the range up to 59 would probably result in too many 50+ scores, so I'm limiting it to 49, seven touchdowns.
This week's caveat: I usually have to throw out scores that are uncommon or impossible football scores (1, 2 and 4 are popular choices), but none of them came up this week. The random number generator, for the first time, picked a tie -- 12-12 between the Giants and Eagles -- so I threw that out and picked two more numbers, in order given to each team, which came up with the Giants victory prediction seen below.
Here, then, are the SB Nation Chicago Random Number NFL Picks for Week 11 -- the first week we've had a full slate of 16 games to choose from since we started doing this.
Bears 24
Dolphins 35
Ravens 7
Panthers 10
Texans 13
Jets 6
Redskins 36
Titans 6
Bills 9
Bengals 20
Browns 27
Jaguars 21
Lions 3
Cowboys 13
Raiders 10
Steelers 19
Cardinals 28
Chiefs 40
Packers 28
Vikings 43
Buccaneers 42
49ers 28
Seahawks 21
Saints 9
Falcons 7
Rams 47
Colts 19
Patriots 37
Giants 14
Eagles 12
Broncos 43
Chargers 19
As always, these are just for fun, and we determine the weekly result based simply on the winner or loser, not on any point total or spread. SB Nation Chicago is not responsible for any real money you might lose from any legal wagers on these games.
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