You doubted the dog, didn’t you?
Don’t feel bad. We all had reservations.
And then, Luna, the 7-year-old Maltipoo, picked all six winners for the NFL wildcard games in the opening round of USA TODAY Sports’ novel NFL prediction competition.
It’s Man vs. Machine vs. Dog.
The adorable, soothsaying dog has taken the lead over USA TODAY’s Jarrett Bell and Tyler Dragon and the computer-run statistics model created by Kostas Pelechrinis, an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh.
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Pelechrinis, impressed with Luna’s fast start, remarked by email, “Given that she chose randomly every game, the chance of getting all 6 right is about 1.6% (1.5625% to be accurate lol).’’
Of course, the professor assumes Luna is picking random. Assuming she’s not making her picks with football expertise or unerring intuition.
This divisional games could be critical for Luna, who has picked the Commanders to upset the Lions and the Rams to beat the Eagles. The men and machine are picking against her in both games. They have some ground to make up. Luna has 180 points, 60 points more than Dragon (120) and a whopping 90 points ahead of Bell and the computer model, who both have 90 points.
Divisional championship schedule
Our experts’ results, NFL playoff picks
How the ‘machine’ and Luna make their picks
Want more? See these data-driven hot picks
The scoring system
Devised by NFL predictions expert David Glidden, it will work like this:
Each week, the competitors will turn in full brackets with picks for games in every round, including the Super Bowl. A perfect bracket from start to finish would earn 1,000 points, but competitors likely will have to adjust those brackets week to week.
Thirty points will be earned for each team correctly picked to win a wild card game, 35 points for a Divisional round game, 50 points for a Conference championship game and 75 points for the Super Bowl.
Then we’ll have an official winner and the answer to our burning question: Is it Man, Machine or Dog who we can trust most with NFL playoff predictions?
Let the games and predictions begin!
Odds for NFL’s divisional games
BetMGM’s initial betting lines for next weekend’s games are set. A plus before the number signifies the amount a bettor would win on a $100 bet. A minus signifies the amount a bettor must bet to win $100.
Odds for AFC divisional games
Houston Texans (+375) at Kansas City Chiefs (-500) favored by 8 points
Baltimore Ravens (-120) favored by 1 point at Buffalo Bills (+100)
Odds for NFC divisional games
Washington Commanders (+400) at Detroit Lions (-550) favored by 9 points
Los Angeles Rams (+225) at Philadelphia Eagles (-275) favored by 6 points