A computer model that picks NFL games is on fire - here are the picks for Week 8

Cork GainesOct 25, 2018, 23:13 IST

Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Week 8 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. However, each gives a likelihood that a team will win - which, in theory, could help measure the strength of certain lines.

Cortana is off to a strong start this season, correctly picking 73% of the games over the last four weeks and 68% overall. Elo has also nailed 68% over the last four weeks and is not far behind overall at 60%. Cortana went 11-3 in Week 7 and Elo was 8-6.

Here are the picks for Week 8, with each model's percent chance of winning in parentheses. Point spreads are just for reference, via Vegas Insider as of Thursday morning.

See A computer model that picks NFL games is on fire - here are the picks for Week 8 >>

"Thursday Night Football"

Miami Dolphins at Houston Texans (-7.5) — TEXANS (Elo 60%; Cortana 75%)

Sunday morning game in London

Philadelphia Eagles (-3) vs. Jacksonville Jaguars — EAGLES (Elo 67%; Cortana 58%)

Sunday afternoon games — early window

New York Jets at Chicago Bears (-7.5) — BEARS (Elo 65%; Cortana 72%)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Cincinnati Bengals (-4) — BENGALS (Elo 62%; Cortana 69%)
Seattle Seahawks at Detroit Lions (-3) — LIONS (Elo 57%; Cortana 53%)
Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs (-10) — CHIEFS (Elo 82%; Cortana 74%)
Washington Redskins at New York Giants (pick'em) — REDSKINS (Elo 61%; Cortana 53%)
Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers (-8) — STEELERS (Elo 88%; Cortana 77%)
Baltimore Ravens (-2) at Carolina Panthers — PANTHERS (Elo 57%); RAVENS (Cortana 53%)

Sunday afternoon games — late window

Indianapolis Colts (-3) at Oakland Raiders — RAIDERS (Elo 56%); COLTS (Cortana 55%)
Green Bay Packers at Los Angeles Rams (-9.5) — RAMS (Elo 79%; Cortana 75%)
San Francisco 49ers (-1) at Arizona Cardinals — CARDINALS (Elo 58%; Cortana 67%)

"Sunday Night Football"

New Orleans Saints at Minnesota Vikings (-1) — VIKINGS (Elo 55%; Cortana 60%)

"Monday Night Football"

New England Patriots (-14) at Buffalo Bills — PATRIOTS (Elo 71%; Cortana 73%)

Now check out this week's power rankings.

NFL POWER RANKINGS: Where all 32 teams stand going into Week 8

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