After a rough week going 6-9, NFL Oracle had somewhat of a rebound, going 8-6 during week 5. As always, nothing is guaranteed in sports, and some of the incorrect predictions by Oracle involved games that were ultimately decided by a handful of points.
The highly anticipated match-up this past week between the (5) Atlanta Falcons and the undefeated (2) Denver Broncos was predicted to potentially go either way, as Oracle was only 56% confident the Broncos would win at home. Atlanta pulled off an impressive win by one touchdown, handing the Broncos their first loss of the season. However, Denver still stands strong, only falling in the power rankings 4 spots.
Including the Broncos loss, all of the other 5 incorrect Oracle predictions were decided by a touchdown or less. While most of these games had an average confidence level of 56-57%, Oracle predicted the (8) Philadelphia Eagles to beat the (29) Detroit Lions with a confidence level approaching 85%. The fact that this prediction was so high made it all the more shocking when the Eagles dropped the ball, losing to the Lions by one point. In pulling off the upset, Detroit advanced 13 spots in the power rankings, while the Eagles stayed relatively steadfast, only dropping 3 spots.
However, even though Oracle (incorrectly) predicted the Eagles to take care of business, Oracle was correct in predicting the (6) New England Patriots to beat the (32) Cleveland Browns – what a surprise. This game garnered even more confidence in the prediction, boasting a mark of approximately 86% in favor of the Patriots. Guess what Cleveland? You’re still in last.
| Rank | Team | Record | Trending |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minnesota Vikings | (5-0) | -- |
| 2 | Atlanta Falcons | (4-1) | ▲ 3 |
| 3 | Pittsburgh Steelers | (4-1) | -- |
| 4 | Dallas Cowboys | (4-1) | ▲ 5 |
| 5 | Oakland Raiders | (4-1) | ▲ 2 |
| 6 | Denver Broncos | (4-1) | ▼ 4 |
| 7 | New England Patriots | (4-1) | ▼ 1 |
| 8 | Buffalo Bills | (3-2) | ▲ 5 |
| 9 | Los Angeles Rams | (3-2) | ▼ 5 |
| 10 | Green Bay Packers | (3-1) | ▲ 8 |
| 11 | Philadelphia Eagles | (3-1) | ▼ 3 |
| 12 | Houston Texans | (3-2) | ▼ 2 |
| 13 | Washington Redskins | (3-2) | ▲ 2 |
| 14 | Baltimore Ravens | (3-2) | ▼ 2 |
| 15 | Seattle Seahawks | (3-1) | ▼ 4 |
| 16 | Detroit Lions | (2-3) | ▲ 13 |
| 17 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | (2-3) | ▲ 3 |
| 18 | New York Giants | (2-3) | ▼ 4 |
| 19 | Arizona Cardinals | (2-3) | ▲ 4 |
| 20 | Tennessee Titans | (2-3) | ▲ 6 |
| 21 | Kansas City Chiefs | (2-2) | ▼ 5 |
| 22 | Cincinnati Bengals | (2-3) | ▼ 5 |
| 23 | Indianapolis Colts | (2-3) | ▲ 1 |
| 24 | New York Jets | (1-4) | ▼ 3 |
| 25 | San Francisco 49ers | (1-4) | ▼ 6 |
| 26 | Chicago Bears | (1-4) | ▲ 2 |
| 27 | Jacksonville Jaguars | (1-3) | ▼ 2 |
| 28 | San Diego Chargers | (1-4) | ▼ 1 |
| 29 | Carolina Panthers | (1-4) | ▼ 7 |
| 30 | New Orleans Saints | (1-3) | -- |
| 31 | Miami Dolphins | (1-4) | -- |
| 32 | Cleveland Browns | (0-5) | -- |
On to next week! Games to watch:
Blowout: (3) Pittsburgh Steelers versus (31) Miami Dolphins – Oracle gives Pittsburgh an 85% chance to win. But hey, you never know.
Nail-biter: (27) Jacksonville Jaguars versus (26) Chicago Bears – look, both teams have under-performed, but Oracle barely gives the edge to Chicago with a 52% confidence level, predicting that the game could go either way.
Other games to keep an eye on include the match-ups between the (11) Philadelphia Eagles versus the (13) Washington Redskins – 71% odds in favor of the Eagles – and the (29) Carolina Panthers versus the (30) New Orleans Saints – 68% odds in favor of the Panthers.
Oh, and let’s not forget the match-up between two top-10 teams in the (4) Dallas Cowboys traveling to Lambeau Field to take on the (10) Green Bay Packers. Oracle gives the revamped Cowboys a 63% chance of winning on the road. How long do you think rookie-led Dallas will be able to keep up this hot start?
| Date | Games | Oracle_Picks | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu Oct 13 2016 | (6) DEN @ (28) SD | (6) DEN | 66.26% |
| Sun Oct 16 2016 | (9) LA @ (16) DET | (9) LA | 57.26% |
| Sun Oct 16 2016 | (29) CAR @ (30) NO | (29) CAR | 67.55% |
| Sun Oct 16 2016 | (27) JAC @ (26) CHI | (26) CHI | 51.90% |
| Sun Oct 16 2016 | (3) PIT @ (31) MIA | (3) PIT | 85.17% |
| Sun Oct 16 2016 | (14) BAL @ (18) NYG | (14) BAL | 58.96% |
| Sun Oct 16 2016 | (25) SF @ (8) BUF | (8) BUF | 63.75% |
| Sun Oct 16 2016 | (32) CLE @ (20) TEN | (20) TEN | 71.75% |
| Sun Oct 16 2016 | (22) CIN @ (7) NE | (7) NE | 72.14% |
| Sun Oct 16 2016 | (11) PHI @ (13) WAS | (11) PHI | 70.98% |
| Sun Oct 16 2016 | (21) KC @ (5) OAK | (21) KC | 55.20% |
| Sun Oct 16 2016 | (4) DAL @ (10) GB | (4) DAL | 63.31% |
| Sun Oct 16 2016 | (2) ATL @ (15) SEA | (2) ATL | 58.26% |
| Sun Oct 16 2016 | (23) IND @ (12) HOU | (12) HOU | 62.59% |
| Mon Oct 17 2016 | (24) NYJ @ (19) ARI | (19) ARI | 69.01% |
Here is a more in-depth look at the week 5 results:
[50.71%]: (23) Arizona Cardinals 33 @ (19) San Francisco 49ers 21
[57.06%]: (28) Chicago Bears 23 @ (24) Indianapolis Colts 29
[76.25%]: (21) New York Jets 13 @ (3) Pittsburgh Steelers 31
[85.75%]: (6) New England Patriots 33 @ (32) Cleveland Browns 13
[84.87%]: (8) Philadelphia Eagles 23 @ (29) Detroit Lions 24
[56.50%]: (26) Tennessee Titans 30 @ (31) Miami Dolphins 17
[56.90%]: (15) Washington Redskins 16 @ (12) Baltimore Ravens 10
[58.96%]: (10) Houston Texans 13 @ (1) Minnesota Vikings 31
[56.62%]: (5) Atlanta Falcons 23 @ (2) Denver Broncos 16
[60.16%]: (17) Cincinnati Bengals 14 @ (9) Dallas Cowboys 28
[57.26%]: (27) San Diego Chargers 31 @ (7) Oakland Raiders 34
[56.83%]: (13) Buffalo Bills 30 @ (4) Los Angeles Rams 19
[50.67%]: (14) New York Giants 16 @ (18) Green Bay Packers 23
[57.90%]: (20) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17 @ (22) Carolina Panthers 14
Written and published by Tyler Caldwell and Hilary Hoffman