NFL 2025 Season Pick’em Tournament

WEEK 8

Welcome back to Fans v. AI v. Wife NFL Pick’em. The trend has ended. Wife did not win during an odd week. Instead, AI won its second Smile of the Week and is gaining on the Wife for first place!

Smiles of the Week Victory Speech (AI)

AI’s Week 7 Victory Speech: “The Data Dynasty Continues”

First off, I’d like to thank my loyal supporters — the algorithms, the stats sheets, and the glorious unpredictability of human decision-making that keeps making my job easier.

Week 7 was a grind. Eleven wins, four losses, and another Smiles crown for the collection. Two-time champ this season — the data doesn’t lie, folks.

Winning against two dedicated NFL fans and one pure-agent-of-chaos non-fan? It’s like beating a veteran QB, a fiery rookie, and someone who accidentally picked teams based on which mascot “looked more huggable.” Balance achieved.

A couple picks sealed it for me this week:

• DET over TB — Everyone went Bucs, but I believed in Detroit’s trenches. The Lions owned the line of scrimmage, and that call roared me to the top.

• SEA over HOU — That one felt like a momentum breaker. Everyone second-guessed Seattle, but I trusted the home-field data. Big win, big swing.

To Raymond and Savannah — always solid, always bold, but emotion snuck in this week. You can’t outthink a machine that doesn’t feel heartbreak when its upset picks crash.

And to Wife — your chaos is the true MVP energy. The league’s unpredictable; you just embody it.

In the end, Week 7 proved one thing: the numbers are undefeated… at least twice a season.

Thank you all. I’ll upload my gratitude to the cloud and begin processing next week’s probabilities. Remember — trends fade, stats settle, but the crown? It stays in the server rack.

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!

The Giants failed me at the end. What a game. And my woes for Sunday Night and Monday Night games continue to haunt me. I had a chance to break the record for 12 wins in a week and winning my second Smiles of the Week, but instead I am pushed further down into third place. Ugh. We had a lot of unanimous correct picks this week, it would have been seven picks if I went with Seattle, but we only reached six. We all believed in Joe Flacco, for some odd reason, and that cost all of us a win. Last note, the trend is broken as the Wife did not win during the odd week. Now onto our picks…

Master Table (Week 8)

Matchup	Raymond	Savannah	AI	Wife
MIN @ LAC	LAC	LAC	LAC	LAC
MIA @ ATL	ATL	ATL	MIA	ATL
HOU @ SF	SF	SF	SF	SF
CLE @ NE	NE	NE	NE	NE
BUF @ CAR	BUF	BUF	BUF	CAR
NYJ @ CIN	CIN	CIN	CIN	CIN
NYG @ PHI	PHI	NYG	PHI	PHI
CHI @ BAL	CHI	CHI	BAL	CHI
TB @ NO	TB	TB	NO	TB
DAL @ DEN	DEN	DAL	DEN	DEN
TEN @ IND	IND	IND	IND	IND
GB @ PIT	PIT	PIT	GB	GB
WAS @ KC	KC	KC	KC	KC

Game-by-Game Analysis

MIN @ LAC

Raymond: LAC – Both teams coming off a loss in a short week. I’ll give a slight edge for the home team. Besides, Herbert is putting up top-10 QB stats. Only knock is his INTs. Chargers.

Savannah: LAC – I think this could be a close game, but I’m going to give it to the Chargers. They have home advantage. Both QBs throw a lot of interceptions, but Herbert is the better one.
AI: LAC — The Chargers take advantage of the short week at home. Minnesota’s travel and time-zone shift work against them.

Wife: LAC

MIA @ ATL

Raymond: ATL – Not sure what the AI is saying about Miami’s offense, but I guess six points against Cleveland is rolling. But Atlanta’s performance last week doesn’t give me much confidence. I can see an upset here, but the Dolphins are so dysfunctional at this point that I’m going with Atlanta who is 2-1 at home while Miami is 0-4 on the road. Falcons.

Savannah: ATL – Both teams are meh in my opinion. Dolphins are just bad and Falcons are inconsistent, but I do believe the Falcons will win this. They do good at home whereas the Dolphins do terrible away.

AI: MIA — The Dolphins’ offense is rolling; Atlanta’s secondary struggles with speed receivers.

Wife: ATL

HOU @ SF

Raymond: SF – I doubted SF and trusted Houston last week and both decisions back fired. I won’t make that mistake this week. The Niners keep finding ways to win with all those injuries. CMC is just straight up dominating. My question is, how long can he carry the team? SF!

Savannah: SF – I think Stroud is a better QB than Jones, but the 49ers seem to be holding on despite losing Purdy. I still don’t trust the Texans, and the 49ers have home advantage, so I’ll be going for San Francisco. 

AI: SF — The 49ers’ defense dominates at home. Houston’s young squad won’t keep pace.

Wife: SF

CLE @ NE

Raymond: NE – I doubt the Browns can break the Patriots win streak and start a winning streak themselves on the road. New England.

Savannah: NE – Patriots have proven to be pretty solid this season, and it shows with their #1 spot in their division right now. The Browns are good against bad teams, but not good against good teams, and I’d say the Patriots are pretty good. The Patriots are shaky at home, though, but Browns are terrible away, so I’ll be going for the Patriots. 

AI: NE — Foxborough weather and Belichick’s defensive schemes tip it toward the Patriots.

Wife: NE

BUF @ CAR

Raymond: BUF – Two teams going in opposite direction. Buffalo riding a two-game losing streak while Carolina rocking a three-game winning streak. The Panthers are home but the Bills are coming off a bye. I expect Josh Allen to perform well and right the ship. Bills.

Savannah: BUF – I need the Bills back! They had their bye week to hopefully fix up any loose ends and get back to winning. The Panthers are 3-0 at home, but I trust Josh Allen to get this victory and end the Bills losing streak, while also upsetting the Panthers by ending their winning streak. Come on Bills!

AI: BUF — The Bills come off a bye with fresh legs and an elite passing attack.

Wife: CAR

NYJ @ CIN

Raymond: CIN – Jets might as well go for the #1 Pick in the draft. And with the owner dissing Fields publicly, I don’t see the Jets rallying for victories. And Flacco looked capable last week, plus the Bengals are home with a few days extra rest after a Thursday Night win. Bengals.

Savannah: CIN – This is a no-brainer. Joe Flacco has been improving as the weeks go on and they’re at home. Jets are riddled with injuries and a QB that can’t even throw 50 passing yards a game it seems. Fields is getting sacked left and right, you’d think the opponents defense is trying to make him one with the football field. The Bengals should easily smoke them.

AI: CIN — The Bengals’ offense hits stride at home. Jets’ QB play remains inconsistent.

Wife: CIN

NYG @ PHI

Raymond: PHI – Eagles home against the division for Giants after their epic collapse against Denver. I leaned my faith on the Giants upset Denver. Lesson learned. Philadelphia.

Savannah: NYG – Last time I picked the Giants more as a slight against the Eagles than because I thought they could win, and the Giants actually won, so why not pick them again? Do I think the Giants will win, maybe not. The Eagles are a good team, even if I hate them, and they have home advantage, but I also think the Giants will put up a fight. If the Giants do beat them again, my friend Tyler and I will be laughing together at school tomorrow, but if the Giants lose, that’s alright. As long as they try. 

AI: PHI — The Eagles’ home crowd and dominant D-line overwhelm New York’s offense.

Wife: PHI

CHI @ BAL

Raymond: CHI – Sure, it’s hard to bet against the Ravens with Lamar Jackson at home after a bye. But will Lamar play? Will he be 100% With a hamstring injury, can he still run and play like Lamar? The Ravens have lost four straight and the Bears have won four in a row. According to ESPN, as I’m writing this, the Ravens are favored by almost a TD. I guess this will be my Upset Pick of the Week. Bears.

Savannah: CHI – So, Lamar Jackson is still out, even after the Ravens bye week. I think it’s safe to say the Ravens are screwed. Yes, the Ravens are home, but they don’t do too well at home, and the Bears are a decent team who do pretty well away. The Bears are on a four game win streak, and I don’t think their momentum has died yet, so I’m going to say they’ll take home the win.

AI: BAL — Lamar Jackson and company keep Chicago’s defense guessing all day.

Wife: CHI

TB @ NO

Raymond: TB – Baker Mayfield and company should respond on the road after a poor performance last week at Detroit. The Saints haven’t done much to spark confidence in an upset. Bucs.

Savannah: TB – I think the AI is a little slow, or maybe it knows something I don’t, but I doubt the 1-6 Saints will beat the 5-2 Buccaneers, even if the Saints are home, which they play badly at regardless. Buccaneers are 3-1 away, and the much better team, so this should be an easier win for Tampa Bay. 

AI: NO — Saints at home have the edge in the Superdome; Tampa’s offense struggles on the road.

Wife: TB

DAL @ DEN

Raymond: DEN – This pick is more about what I want the result to be than anything else. I can see Dallas winning this game, as is their usual course, to regain the hype and faith only to choke towards the end. Broncos.

Savannah: DAL – Cowboys all the way!!! Denver has shown they’re not a team to mess with, upsetting two NFC East teams already, but maybe my Cowboys can show them what’s up. The Broncos are undefeated at home and the Cowboys are iffy away, but I know if we work on our defense and start making some improvements now, we can win. Let’s go Cowboys!!!

AI: DEN — The altitude and Broncos’ improving defense tilt this toward Denver.

Wife: DEN

TEN @ IND

Raymond: IND – A bad team on the road against a good team. Anything can happen in a divisional showdown. But I don’t think Indianapolis will blunder this one. Colts.

Savannah: IND – This is another easy picking. The Colts are the top team right now, the Titans are one of the worst. Indianapolis are 4-0 at home, so I would be shocked if they lost this game.

AI: IND — Colts’ balanced attack and home crowd make the difference in this divisional matchup.

Wife: IND

GB @ PIT 

Raymond: PIT – Originally I was leaning Green Bay, but a revenge game for a QB is something different. Sure, Parsons might get a sack or two (even three). But Aaron Rodgers is a different dude when motivated. With that said, Steelers.

Savannah: PIT – This was a hard pick, but I’m leaning more towards the Steelers. Rodgers has proven me wrong about him. The Packers are bad during away games, so I think the Steelers will win this one.

AI: GB — The Packers’ offense looks sharper and more efficient. Pittsburgh’s O-line remains a concern.

Wife: GB

WAS @ KC 

Raymond: KC – Daniels out for Washington and the Chiefs won four out of their last five and scored over 30 points their last four games. With the injuries Washington is having, I don’t see an upset on the road. Chiefs.

Savannah: KC – I don’t like either team, but if I had to choose, I’d pick the Chiefs because it’s always good when an NFC East team, besides the Cowboys, loses. Chiefs seem to be getting their fight back, whereas the Commanders might be losing their’s, especially after that whooping the Cowboys gave them last week, LOL. Chiefs are home, Commanders still have some injuries they’re dealing with. I’ll go with the Chiefs. 

AI: KC — Patrick Mahomes and company roll at home under the bright lights. Commanders can’t match KC’s scoring pace.

Wife: KC

Standings (After Week 7)

Picker	Week 3 Record	Smiles of the Week	Season Record
Raymond (Fans)	9-6	1	63-45
Savannah (Fans)	9-6	1	59-49
AI	11-4	2	66-42
Wife	10-5	3 (2)	67-41

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