The computers have correctly predicted 58% of NFL games — here are their picks for Week 7

pulse

October 19, 2017 7:02 PM

Two models predict who will win the games in Week 7 of the NFL.

The NFL season is now in Week 7, and the computers are picking their winners for every game.

We took a look at two popular systems used to pick NFL games: Cortana, Microsoft's digital assistant, and Elo, the modeling system used by Nate Silver's FiveThirtyEight.

In both cases, the computers are picking outright winners and not against the spread. However, each gives a likelihood of a team's winning, which, in theory, could help measure the strength of certain lines.

The two models have struggled in recent weeks with a lot of underdogs winning outright in the NFL. ELO went just 6-8 in Week 6 and has the overall lead at 55-36 (60%). Cortana was even worse at 5-9 and is now four games back at 51-40 (56%) overall.

Here are the picks for Week 7, with each model's percent chance of winning in parentheses. Games in bold are where the two models disagree on who has the best chance to win. Point spreads are just for reference, via Vegas Insider as of Thursday morning.

Thursday

Kansas City Chiefs (-3) at Oakland Raiders

Sunday

Tennessee Titans (-6) at Cleveland Browns
Jacksonville Jaguars (-3) at Indianapolis Colts — COLTS (Elo 55%), JAGUARS (Cortana 64%)
Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers (-5.5)
Baltimore Ravens at Minnesota Vikings (-5.5)
New York Jets at Miami Dolphins (-3)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Buffalo Bills (-3)
Carolina Panthers (-3) at Chicago Bears
New Orleans Saints (-4.5) at Green Bay Packers — PACKERS (Elo 63%), SAINTS (Cortana 67%)
Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams (-3)
Dallas Cowboys (-6) at San Francisco 49ers
Seattle Seahawks (-5.5) at New York Giants
Denver Broncos at Los Angeles Chargers (-1) — BRONCOS (Elo 55%), CHARGERS (Cortana 55%)
Atlanta Falcons at New England Patriots (-3.5) — PATRIOTS (Elo 68%, Cortana 58%)