The computer models that pick NFL games have made their picks for Week 14

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The computer models that pick NFL games have made their picks for Week 14

Russell Wilson

Quinn Harris/Getty Images

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  • Elo and Cortana have made their picks for Week 14.
  • Cortana leads the overall race, correctly picking 67% of the games this season.


Week 14 of the NFL season is here, and Cortana is back to make picks in a head-to-head showdown with Elo.

We looked at two popular systems used to pick NFL games: Cortana, Microsoft's digital assistant, and Elo, the modeling system used by Nate Silver's data-journalism site, FiveThirtyEight.

In both cases, the computers are picking outright winners and not against the spread. Each gives a likelihood that a team will win, however, which in theory could help measure the strength of certain lines.

Cortana is off to a strong start this season, correctly picking 67% of the games, including a 10-6 record in Week 13. Elo has nailed 62% overall.

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Here are the picks for Week 14, with each team's percent chance of winning in parentheses. Point spreads are for reference, via Vegas Insider as of Thursday morning.

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"Thursday Night Football"

"Thursday Night Football"
  • Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans (-5) — TITANS (Elo 66%, Cortana 63%)

Sunday-afternoon games — early window

Sunday-afternoon games — early window
  • New York Jets at Buffalo Bills (-3.5) — BILLS (Elo 70%, Cortana 58%)
  • Carolina Panthers (-1.5) at Cleveland Browns — PANTHERS (Elo 62%, Cortana 55%)
  • Atlanta Falcons at Green Bay Packers (-5) — PACKERS (Elo 53%, Cortana 66%)
  • Baltimore Ravens at Kansas City Chiefs (-6.5) — CHIEFS (Elo 71%, Cortana 72%)
  • New England Patriots (-7.5) at Miami Dolphins — PATRIOTS (Elo 72%, Cortana 72%)
  • New Orleans Saints (-8) at Tampa Bay Buccaneers — SAINTS (Elo 74%, Cortana 73%)
  • New York Giants (-3.5) at Washington Redskins — REDSKINS (Elo 69%, Cortana 53%)
  • Indianapolis Colts at Houston Texans (-4.5) — TEXANS (Elo 68%, Cortana 63%)
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Sunday-afternoon games — late window

Sunday-afternoon games — late window
  • Cincinnati Bengals at Los Angeles Chargers (-14) — CHARGERS (Elo 84%, Cortana 80%)
  • Denver Broncos (-4) at San Francisco 49ers — BRONCOS (Elo 63%, Cortana 72%)
  • Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys (-3.5) — COWBOYS (Elo 59%, Cortana 63%)
  • Pittsburgh Steelers (-10.5) at Oakland Raiders — STEELERS (Elo 78%, Cortana 75%)
  • Detroit Lions (-3) at Arizona Cardinals — CARDINALS (Elo 51%); LIONS (Cortana 55%)

"Sunday Night Football"

"Sunday Night Football"
  • Los Angeles Rams (-3) at Chicago Bears — RAMS (Elo 56%); BEARS (Cortana 51%)
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"Monday Night Football"

"Monday Night Football"
  • Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks (-3) — SEAHAWKS (Elo 62%, Cortana 57%)

Now check out this week's power rankings.

Now check out this week's power rankings.
NFL POWER RANKINGS: Where all 32 teams stand going into Week 14
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