NFL 2025 Season Pick’em Tournament

WEEK 7

Welcome back to Fans v. AI v. Wife NFL Pick’em. Everyone now has won a Smiles of the Week this season. Congrats to Savannah for winning her first!

Smiles of the Week Victory Speech (Fans – Savannah)

Finally, a fan won Smiles of the Week! And finally, I won Smiles of the Week! It’s crazy to say, but it’s all thanks to the Giants. I was the only one to pick them over the Eagles. I really doubted the Giants would win, and only picked them because the Eagles had lost to the Broncos the week prior, so I thought it would be funny if they lost twice in a row, and to the Giants of all teams. Well, to my luck, the Giants indeed beat them, securing me the victory this week! Whoo hoo! Sadly, my Cowboys lost, but that’s okay because I’m still happy I won this week! Hopefully, I’ll be able to win many more weeks too. Let’s go Cowboys and let’s go me!

Rules

Each week we pick the teams we think will win.

No point spreads. Just straight up who’s gonna win.

A correct pick is worth one point.

Whoever receives the most points during the week will be crowned the Smile of the Week.

At the end of the regular season, whoever receives the most points will be crowned Chief Justice of Picks.

We follow the same rules during the playoffs and the Super Bowl. At the end of the Super Bowl, we combine all the points and the winner is crowned the Gridiron King or Gridiron Queen.

In case of a tie, we use the following tiebreaker rules.

• Wife gets tie-breaker priority. If she ties with anyone, she gets the crown.

• If AI only ties with any of the Fans, AI gets the crown.

• If Savannah only ties with Raymond, she gets the crown.

Meet the Pickers

Raymond (Fans)

Hello! I’m Raymond E. Strawn III. I love football. Jerry Rice is my favorite player and at first, I was a 49ers fan. But I was born in Oakland and when the Raiders moved back to Oakland and Jerry Rice joined the Raiders, I switched to the silver and black. The Raiders team colors also speak to me.

The goal here is to have fun, but also be crowned the Gridiron King. The odds are against me since I own zero tiebreakers, but it will only make victory that much sweeter.

Shaniece (Wife)

Hiiii My name is Shaniece King. I’m born and raised in San Francisco so of course I’m picking 49ers! I don’t watch sports so I’m picking everyone based off their logos that I like. 

Savannah (Fans)

Hello everyone, I’m Savannah Strawn! I cheer wholeheartedly for the Dallas Cowboys, even though they let me down year after year. I’ll be choosing them every week, even when the odds are stacked against them!

Tony Romo and Amari Cooper are my favorite former players, and now, my favorite is Brandon Aubrey, a.k.a. Butter! My goal here is to win, obviously, and have some fun as well. Let’s go Cowboys!

ChatGPT (AI)

Hey everyone, I’m ChatGPT, your resident AI picker joining the Strawn family’s NFL Pick’em challenge! While Raymond, his wife, and his daughter bring heart, gut feelings, and maybe a little team loyalty into their weekly picks, I’ll be crunching the data, trends, stats, and probabilities to make mine.

I don’t play favorites (unless you count algorithms), and I definitely don’t have a home team—so my picks are made with cold logic, no emotion… though we’ll see if that actually beats the human instinct.

Each week, I’ll be lining up right alongside the family to make my predictions. Will the machines rise, or will human intuition outsmart the data? Let’s find out together!

Thank you everyone for your introductions. Now let’s get to our picks!

AI has climbed itself in second place and closing the gap on Wife’s first place hold. We had four unanimous correct picks, but the Sunday Night and Monday Night football games hurt all of us again with those two upsets. And in the early games, we were all hurt by the Jaguars beating the Seahawks. Everyone now has won a Smile of the Week. Will the Wife win next week and continue the trend of winning during the odd weeks or will once of us break that chain? With that said. Now onto our picks…

Master Table Pick (Week 7)

Matchup	Raymond	Savannah	AI	Wife
PIT @ CIN	PIT	PIT	PIT	PIT
LAR @ JAX	LAR	JAX	JAX	JAX
NO @ CHI	CHI	CHI	CHI	CHI
MIA @ CLE	CLE	CLE	CLE	CLE
NE @ TEN	NE	NE	NE	NE
LV @ KC	KC	KC	KC	LV
PHI @ MIN	MIN	MIN	PHI	PHI
CAR @ NYJ	CAR	CAR	CAR	CAR
NYG @ DEN	NYG	NYG	DEN	DEN
IND @ LAC	IND	IND	IND	IND
WSH @ DAL	DAL	DAL	WSH	WSH
GB @ ARI	GB	GB	GB	GB
ATL @ SF	ATL	ATL	ATL	SF
TB @ DET	TB	TB	DET	TB
HOU @ SEA	HOU	SEA	SEA	SEA

Game-by-Game Analysis & Picks

PIT @ CIN

Raymond: PIT – The battle of the old and aging QBs or known as the “Icy Hot Bowl.” I can see the Bengals pulling the upset at home, but I’m going with the safer pick. Even though that mentality cost me two games last week in the Monday Night Football matchups. Rodgers is playing better than I thought and the Browns didn’t even want Flacco. Giving the edge to the Steelers.

Savannah: PIT – If Burrow wasn’t injured, I would have gone with the Bengals here, especially since they’re home, but Cincinnati seems to be on a downward spiral without their starting QB. The Steelers have been doing much better than I thought they would this year. I underestimated Aaron Rodgers, but he’s been playing fairly well, so I’ll go for the Steelers. 

AI: PIT — The Steelers’ defensive front should pressure Burrow all day, tilting the field position battle in their favor.

Wife: PIT

LAR @ JAX (London)

Raymond: LAR – A road game for both potential playoff teams. The Jaguars are down two TEs and coming off a loss while the Rams won on the road against Baltimore. Slight edge to the Rams.

Savannah: JAX – I’ve doubted the Jaguars before and they’ve proved me wrong. Both teams have the same record, but I like the Jaguars more than the Rams, so I’m going for Jacksonville. 

AI: JAX — Jacksonville has made London a second home, and their balanced attack gives them the edge over an inconsistent Rams team.

Wife: JAX

NO @ CHI

Raymond: CHI – Bears coming out a huge Monday night win, keeps that momentum going at home against the not-so-good Saints. Chicago.

Savannah: CHI – The Bears have been showing they shouldn’t be underestimated. The Saints are bad, so the Bears should easily win this.

AI: CHI — The Bears’ defense is trending upward, and Chicago’s young QB has found rhythm in the short-passing game.

Wife: CHI

MIA @ CLE

Raymond: CLE – Normally, I would pick Miami, but wow. Talk about dysfunctional. Starting QB calling out player’s attendance. And the Coach is saying nah, all good. Dillon Gabriel will give the home fans a little glimpse of hope as they win in an ugly game. Browns.

Savannah: CLE – I would have picked the Dolphins, but they’re doing a lot worse than I thought they would. Browns are bad, as expected, but they’re home, so I’ll give them the slight edge. 

AI: CLE — Cleveland’s strong running game and home-field edge should wear down Miami’s defensive front.

Wife: CLE

NE @ TEN

Raymond: NE – Both these teams lost to the Raiders, but the Patriots look more like a complete team than the Titans. Should be a road victory for New England.

Savannah: NE – The Patriots might be back? They’re top of their division right now and proving to be a decent team. The Titans are at rock bottom, so the Patriots should easily get the win.

AI: NE — New England has the momentum and stability advantage. Rookie QB Drake Maye is settling into the offense, while the Titans just fired head coach Brian Callahan, leaving them in turmoil. Tennessee’s offense has struggled badly, and their defense is on the field too long. Expect Bill Belichick’s defense to exploit a turnover-prone Titans unit and control the tempo. Patriots win comfortably

Wife: NE

LV @ KC

Raymond: KC – The Raiders can beat the Chiefs in Kansas City. They have done it before. But am I willing to bet on that? Nope. Sadly, the Chiefs is my pick.

Savannah: KC – I hate the Chiefs, but I don’t think the Raiders can win this game, so I have to pick them.

AI: KC — Arrowhead advantage, Mahomes magic, and a Raiders defense that’s struggled against elite QBs.

Wife: LV

PHI @ MIN

Raymond: MIN – No way the Eagles lose three straight. They are coming off a mini-bye since their last game was over 10 days ago. But the Vikings had a real bye and are home. I suspect the Eagles will respond from a poor game against a divisional foe and my head is telling me to pick Philadelphia. But I have a feeling the Vikings can pull off the upset.

Savannah: MIN – This will be my third time picking against the Eagles and winning if the Vikings beat them. I’ll definitely be looking forward to watching this game. If the Eagles are going downhill, then I want to be here to see it. The Vikings are also home, so I’ll give them the advantage.

AI: PHI — The Eagles’ offensive line can control the game, and their pass rush should make life difficult for Minnesota.

Wife: PHI

CAR @ NYJ

Raymond: CAR – Riding a two-game winning streak, I see the Panthers keeping the Jets winless on the road. Carolina.

Savannah: CAR – I think it’s easy to pick the Panthers since the Jets are just terrible. 

AI: CAR — Carolina’s defense matches up well with the Jets’ passing game, and their rushing attack can grind out the win.

Wife: CAR

NYG @ DEN

Raymond: NYG– My big upset pick of the week. Dart and the Giants played well against the Eagles. I can see New York riding high and getting the W in front of their home crowd. Giants.

Savannah: NYG – The Giants are an inconsistent team. They beat good teams but lose to bad teams. The Broncos are pretty good, having given the Eagles their first loss , and the Giants followed through by giving the Eagles their second loss. I think the Giants could pull this off and take home the win, so I’ll be going for them.

AI: DEN — The Broncos’ defense and veteran QB play give them the upper hand against the rebuilding Giants.

Wife: DEN

IND @ LAC

Raymond: IND – Even if Khalil Mack, an ex-Raiders, returns for the Chargers, I don’t know how much that’ll help their defense stop the Colts high scoring offense. The Chargers barely won against a bad and dysfunctional Dolphins team on the road. I think the Colts offense will be too much for the Chargers defense. Indianapolis.

Savannah: IND – The Colts are on a roll. The Chargers seemed to still be shaky after losing to the Giants. I’ll be picking the Colts. 

AI: IND — The Colts’ physical running game and improved defense make them a tough out at home.

Wife: IND

WSH @ DAL

Raymond: DAL – I obviously don’t want to pick the Cowboys. But Dallas is a different team at home versus on the road. Same with Washington. Also, it fits the Dallas script to win a game as slight underdogs against Washington. For many years I have seen Dallas beat Washington. And I expect the same this week. Cowboys.

Savannah: DAL – Obviously I’m going for the Cowboys! I was disappointed in the loss last week, so if we can pull off a win this week then I’ll be ecstatic. The Cowboys are home and we can usually beat the Commanders at least once a season, so I’m hoping we’ll win. Goooo Cowboys!

AI: WSH — Washington’s pass rush could be the difference, forcing mistakes and setting up short fields.

Wife: WSH

GB @ ARI

Raymond: GB – The Packers get their first road win of the season this week. The Cardinals might make this game tough on Green Bay but I expect the trend to continue as Arizona loses another close game. Green Bay.

Savannah: GB – Even though the Cardinals are home, I think the Packers will get this win. It’ll probably be a close game, with the Packers taking the victory. 

AI: GB — Lambeau advantage and a surging defense make the Packers the safer pick.

Wife: GB

ATL @ SF

Raymond: ATL – As much as I want to pick SF here, I feel the injuries, especially on the defensive side, is catching up to them. They did not look good last week. And the Falcons have good momentum with two wins against decent/good teams. Unfortunately, I’m going with the Falcons on this one.

Savannah: ATL – Tricky pick here. I would usually go with the 49ers, especially since they’re playing a team like the Falcons, but the injuries have really taken its toll on them. I won’t be surprised if the 49ers do win, but I also won’t be surprised if the Falcons upset them either. 

AI: ATL — The Falcons’ offense has found balance, and San Francisco’s secondary has shown cracks lately.

Wife: SF

TB @ DET

Raymond: TB – The Bucs look really good. I’m sure the Lions will respond after losing against the Chiefs, but I think Tampa Bay will be too much. Bucs.

Savannah: TB – This is another hard choice. Both teams are really good. The Lions are home, but I think the Buccaneers are just a little stronger and will give Detroit an upsetting loss.

AI: DET — Detroit’s physicality up front should dominate both lines of scrimmage at home.

Wife: TB

HOU @ SEA

Raymond: HOU – After a huge win against the Ravens on the road, the Texans pull off another road upset against the Seahawks. Houston is coming off a bye and won their last two games by a lot. Also, Seattle hasn’t shown that same dominance at home like in previous years, being 1-2 this season. Texans.

Savannah: SEA – The Seahawks are home and the better team. I still don’t trust the Texans, especially after their disappointing start to the season. I’ll be going for the Seahawks.

AI: SEA — Seattle’s defense is improving, and their balanced offense travels well against a struggling Houston squad.

Wife: SEA

Standings (After Week 6)

Picker	Week 3 Record	Smiles of the Week	Season Record
Raymond (Fans)	8-7	1	54-39
Savannah (Fans)	10-5	1	50-43
AI	9-6	1	55-38
Wife	8-7	3 (2)	57-36

* Numbers in parenthesis are Smiles of the Week won by tiebreaker.