Well, the trend continues for the NFL Oracle…for week 9 of this season, NFL Oracle posted a not-so-bright record of 6-7. Now, we’re going to try and justify these results, and explain to you why we think NFL Oracle could have reasonably gone 8-5 this week.
For starters, two of the incorrect picks involved match-ups that were within the 50th percentile: the (22) New Orleans Saints demolished the (31) San Francisco 49ers, much to the surprise of NFL Oracle; the (23) Indianapolis Colts traveled to Lambeau Field and bested the (15) Green Bay Packers, shocking all of Wisconsin. Whereas the prior of these two match-ups was a blowout, the latter game was decided by 5 points, and ultimately came down to the final minutes of play to determine a winner.
Other close games included two 61% match-ups: the (3) Denver Broncos against the (4) Oakland (Las Vegas?) Raiders and the (14) Buffalo Bills against the (9) Seattle Seahawks. The battle of the top-tens went to Oakland, who overcame the impressive Denver defense. In doing so, the Raiders climbed the power rankings chart, moving into the number 1 spot on the list. The Monday night game between the Bills and Seahawks was certainly a hair-pulling game, full of referee mistakes that could have seriously impacted the outcome of the game. The Seahawks went on to win at home, despite the challenge Buffalo’s offense presented.
At this point, we’d like to present some great news. Last week, we told you that Dallas would blowout Cleveland, the Chiefs would take care of the Jaguars, the Broncos and Raiders would be a nail-biter of a game, and that you should keep your eyes on the Saints-49ers, Panthers-Rams, and Bills-Seahawks. So, while NFL Oracle went 6-7 (although this could have been 8-5), we interpreted all of the data correctly.
| Rank | Team | Record | Trending |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oakland Raiders | (7-2-0) | ▲ 3 |
| 2 | New England Patriots | (7-1-0) | ▼ 1 |
| 3 | Atlanta Falcons | (6-3-0) | ▲ 2 |
| 4 | Dallas Cowboys | (7-1-0) | ▼ 2 |
| 5 | Kansas City Chiefs | (6-2-0) | ▲ 3 |
| 6 | Denver Broncos | (6-3-0) | ▼ 3 |
| 7 | New York Giants | (5-3-0) | ▲ 3 |
| 8 | Seattle Seahawks | (5-2-1) | ▲ 1 |
| 9 | Minnesota Vikings | (5-3-0) | ▼ 3 |
| 10 | Detroit Lions | (5-4-0) | ▲ 3 |
| 11 | Houston Texans | (5-3-0) | ▼ 4 |
| 12 | Washington Redskins | (4-3-1) | ▼ 1 |
| 13 | San Diego Chargers | (4-5-0) | ▲ 5 |
| 14 | Pittsburgh Steelers | (4-4-0) | ▼ 2 |
| 15 | Green Bay Packers | (4-4-0) | -- |
| 16 | Buffalo Bills | (4-5-0) | ▼ 2 |
| 17 | Indianapolis Colts | (4-5-0) | ▲ 6 |
| 18 | New Orleans Saints | (4-4-0) | ▲ 4 |
| 19 | Philadelphia Eagles | (4-4-0) | ▼ 3 |
| 20 | Tennessee Titans | (4-5-0) | ▼ 3 |
| 21 | Miami Dolphins | (4-4-0) | ▲ 3 |
| 22 | Baltimore Ravens | (4-4-0) | ▲ 5 |
| 23 | Arizona Cardinals | (3-4-1) | ▼ 4 |
| 24 | Los Angeles Rams | (3-5-0) | ▼ 4 |
| 25 | Cincinnati Bengals | (3-4-1) | ▼ 4 |
| 26 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | (3-5-0) | ▼ 1 |
| 27 | Carolina Panthers | (3-5-0) | ▲ 3 |
| 28 | New York Jets | (3-6-0) | ▼ 2 |
| 29 | Chicago Bears | (2-6-0) | ▼ 1 |
| 30 | Jacksonville Jaguars | (2-6-0) | ▼ 1 |
| 31 | San Francisco 49ers | (1-7-0) | -- |
| 32 | Cleveland Browns | (0-9-0) | -- |
Blowout: The (11) Houston Texans take on divisional rival (30) Jacksonville Jaguars, with Houston expected to get their first road win of the season. NFL Oracle gives them 71% odds. Oh, and, of course, the NFL Oracle gives 74% odds to the (22) Baltimore Ravens to keep the (32) Cleveland Browns winless. Maybe LeBron should switch to football…
Nail-biter: The (3) Atlanta Falcons will head to Pennsylvania to face the (19) Philadelphia Eagles. Despite the disparity in ranking, NFL Oracle only gives the Falcons an ever-so-slight edge over the Eagles at 50.09%.
Other games to watch include the only top-ten match-up this week between the (2) New England Patriots and the (8) Seattle Seahawks, although NFL Oracle strongly favors New England at home. The (4) Dallas Cowboys keep on rolling, but they will be challenged against the (14) Pittsburgh Steelers this week. With Ben Roethlisberger getting healthier, NFL Oracle only gives Dallas 53% odds. Lastly, keep an eye on the once-undefeated (9) Minnesota Vikings on the road against the (12) Washington Redskins. The Vikings have dropped 3 games in a row, but NFL Oracle gives them 59% odds to end that streak.
Our analyses were perfect last week, so we’re crossing our fingers again.
| Date | Games | Oracle_Picks | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu Nov 10 2016 | (32) CLE @ (22) BAL | (22) BAL | 74.81% |
| Sun Nov 13 2016 | (3) ATL @ (19) PHI | (19) PHI | 50.09% |
| Sun Nov 13 2016 | (24) LA @ (28) NYJ | (24) LA | 52.61% |
| Sun Nov 13 2016 | (15) GB @ (20) TEN | (15) GB | 52.83% |
| Sun Nov 13 2016 | (6) DEN @ (18) NO | (6) DEN | 63.51% |
| Sun Nov 13 2016 | (5) KC @ (27) CAR | (5) KC | 63.05% |
| Sun Nov 13 2016 | (11) HOU @ (30) JAC | (11) HOU | 71.26% |
| Sun Nov 13 2016 | (9) MIN @ (12) WAS | (9) MIN | 59.38% |
| Sun Nov 13 2016 | (29) CHI @ (26) TB | (26) TB | 57.78% |
| Sun Nov 13 2016 | (21) MIA @ (13) SD | (13) SD | 54.80% |
| Sun Nov 13 2016 | (31) SF @ (23) ARI | (23) ARI | 66.61% |
| Sun Nov 13 2016 | (4) DAL @ (14) PIT | (4) DAL | 53.08% |
| Sun Nov 13 2016 | (8) SEA @ (2) NE | (2) NE | 63.38% |
| Mon Nov 14 2016 | (25) CIN @ (7) NYG | (7) NYG | 55.93% |
Here is a more in-depth look at the week 9 results:
[59.74%]: (5) Atlanta Falcons 43 @ (25) Tampa Bay Buccaneers 28
[56.77%]: (26) New York Jets 23 @ (24) Miami Dolphins 27
[67.47%]: (16) Philadelphia Eagles 23 @ (10) New York Giants 28
[72.42%]: (12) Pittsburgh Steelers 14 @ (27) Baltimore Ravens 21
[77.93%]: (29) Jacksonville Jaguars 14 @ (8) Kansas City Chiefs 19
[64.13%]: (13) Detroit Lions 22 @ (6) Minnesota Vikings 16
[85.27%]: (2) Dallas Cowboys 35 @ (32) Cleveland Browns 10
[51.93%]: (30) Carolina Panthers 13 @ (20) Los Angeles Rams 10
[52.08%]: (22) New Orleans Saints 41 @ (31) San Francisco 49ers 23
[56.47%]: (23) Indianapolis Colts 31 @ (15) Green Bay Packers 26
[55.32%]: (17) Tennessee Titans 35 @ (18) San Diego Chargers 43
[60.98%]: (3) Denver Broncos 20 @ (4) Oakland Raiders 30
[61.14%]: (14) Buffalo Bills 25 @ (9) Seattle Seahawks 31
Written and published by Tyler Caldwell and Hilary Hoffman