PiRate Ratings NFL Divisional Playoff Round–January 21-22, 2023

Margins

Home	Visitor	PiRate	Mean	Bias
Kansas City	Jacksonville	11.1	9.7	9.3
Philadelphia	N.Y. Giants	10.1	8.5	8.1
Buffalo	Cincinnati	5.5	4.9	4.1
San Francisco	Dallas	2.2	2.8	3.1

Totals

Home	Visitor	Total
Kansas City	Jacksonville	51
Philadelphia	N.Y. Giants	45
Buffalo	Cincinnati	49.5
San Francisco	Dallas	47.5

PiRate Ratings NFL For Week 18–January 7-8, 2023

Margins

Home	Visitor	PiRate	Mean	Bias
Atlanta	Tampa Bay	-3.5	-2.5	-2.6
Buffalo	New England	8.5	8.3	8.0
Chicago	Minnesota	-6.1	-5.8	-6.3
Cincinnati	Baltimore	5.4	6.1	6.8
Green Bay	Detroit	7.3	6.2	6.3
Indianapolis	Houston	4.6	3.3	3.7
Jacksonville	Tennessee	9.8	10.9	11.3
Miami	N.Y. Jets	4.6	4.2	4.3
New Orleans	Carolina	6.6	5.4	5.8
Philadelphia	N.Y. Giants	9.8	8.1	7.8
Pittsburgh	Cleveland	1.9	2.7	2.8
Washington	Dallas	-8.5	-8.8	-9.1
Denver	LA Chargers	-2.0	-2.2	-3.2
Las Vegas	Kansas City	-7.5	-7.0	-6.7
San Francisco	Arizona	11.3	11.8	12.5
Seattle	LA Rams	3.1	3.6	4.5

Totals

Home	Visitor	Total
Atlanta	Tampa Bay	44.5
Buffalo	New England	42.5
Chicago	Minnesota	49
Cincinnati	Baltimore	42.5
Green Bay	Detroit	49.5
Indianapolis	Houston	39.5
Jacksonville	Tennessee	41.5
Miami	N.Y. Jets	41
New Orleans	Carolina	41
Philadelphia	N.Y. Giants	46
Pittsburgh	Cleveland	39.5
Washington	Dallas	44.5
Denver	LA Chargers	41
Las Vegas	Kansas City	55
San Francisco	Arizona	44
Seattle	LA Rams	42.5

Week 18 PiRate Ratings

A F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Buffalo	108.8	108.5	108.3	108.5	23	12-3
New England	103.3	103.1	103.3	103.2	19.5	8-8
Miami	100.3	100.3	99.9	100.2	23.5	8-8
N.Y. Jets	98.7	99.1	98.7	98.8	17.5	7-9
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Cincinnati	105.9	106.1	106.6	106.2	25.5	11-4
Baltimore	102.6	102.0	101.8	102.1	17	10-6
Cleveland	100.2	99.7	100.0	100.0	21	7-9
Pittsburgh	99.6	99.9	100.3	99.9	18.5	8-8
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Jacksonville	101.9	103.0	103.1	102.7	23	8-8
Tennessee	95.1	95.1	94.8	95.0	18.5	7-9
Indianapolis	92.7	92.5	92.3	92.5	20	4-11-1
Houston	89.6	90.7	90.2	90.1	19.5	2-13-1
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Kansas City	109.0	108.5	108.0	108.5	29	13-3
LA Chargers	101.3	102.1	102.0	101.8	24.5	10-6
Las Vegas	99.5	99.5	99.3	99.4	26	6-10
Denver	97.3	97.9	96.8	97.3	16.5	4-12
N F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Dallas	106.9	106.7	107.1	106.9	26.5	12-4
Philadelphia	106.1	105.4	105.4	105.6	25.5	13-3
N.Y. Giants	97.4	98.3	98.6	98.1	20.5	9-6-1
Washington	95.9	95.3	95.5	95.6	18	7-8-1
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Green Bay	103.6	103.1	103.6	103.4	23	8-8
Detroit	99.3	100.0	100.3	99.9	26.5	8-8
Minnesota	99.3	99.1	99.3	99.2	27.5	12-4
Chicago	91.1	91.3	90.9	91.1	21.5	3-13
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
New Orleans	101.9	101.0	101.5	101.5	18.5	7-9
Tampa Bay	100.2	99.5	99.5	99.7	21.5	8-8
Carolina	97.3	97.6	97.7	97.5	22.5	6-10
Atlanta	95.2	95.5	95.4	95.3	23	6-10
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
San Francisco	104.7	105.0	105.5	105.0	20.5	12-4
Seattle	99.3	99.4	100.0	99.6	22	8-8
LA Rams	99.3	98.8	98.5	98.9	20.5	5-11
Arizona	96.4	96.2	95.9	96.2	23.5	4-12

Playoff Projections

AFC Seeding
1	Kansas City
2	Cincinnati
3	Buffalo
4	Jacksonville
5	LA Chargers
6	Baltimore
7	New England
NFC Seeding
1	San Francisco
2	Dallas
3	Minnesota
4	Tampa Bay
5	Philadelphia
6	New York Giants
7	Green Bay

Wildcard Round
New England over Cincinnati
Baltimore over Buffalo
Jacksonville over LA Chargers
Green Bay over Dallas
N.Y. Giants over Minnesota
Tampa Bay over Philadelphia
Divisional Round
Kansas City over New England
Jacksonville over Baltimore
San Francisco over Green Bay
Tampa Bay over N.Y. Giants
Conference Championship
Kansas City over Jacksonville
San Francisco over Tampa Bay
Super Bowl 57 (Glendale, AZ)
Kansas City over San Francisco

PiRate Ratings College Basketball–Tuesday, December 27, 2022

Home	Visitor	Spread
Texas A&M	Northwestern State	15.9
Notre Dame	Jacksonville	6.4
Texas	Texas A&M-Commerce	27.6
Marquette	Seton Hall	6.9
Texas Tech	South Carolina State	28.2

PiRate Ratings NFL Football Week 17–Dec. 29-Jan. 2

This Week’s Spreads

Home	Visitor	PiRate	Mean	Bias
Tennessee	Dallas	-8.7	-8.3	-8.9
Atlanta	Arizona	1.8	2.5	2.6
Baltimore	Pittsburgh	7.8	7.1	6.5
Detroit	Chicago	7.1	7.4	8.0
Houston	Jacksonville	-6.2	-6.1	-6.4
Kansas City	Denver	16.1	15.0	16.0
New England	Miami	6.4	6.3	6.8
N.Y. Giants	Indianapolis	3.8	5.0	5.3
Philadelphia	New Orleans	10.8	11.2	10.9
Tampa Bay	Carolina	5.4	4.2	3.9
Washington	Cleveland	0.6	0.7	0.9
Las Vegas	San Francisco	-2.7	-3.0	-3.7
Seattle	N.Y. Jets	0.9	0.3	1.3
Green Bay	Minnesota	3.2	2.7	2.9
LA Chargers	LA Rams	-1.8	-0.5	-0.5
Cincinnati	Buffalo	-1.8	-1.4	-0.7

This Week’s Totals

Home	Visitor	Total
Tennessee	Dallas	45
Atlanta	Arizona	47.5
Baltimore	Pittsburgh	36.5
Detroit	Chicago	48
Houston	Jacksonville	43.5
Kansas City	Denver	44.5
New England	Miami	43
N.Y. Giants	Indianapolis	39.5
Philadelphia	New Orleans	46
Tampa Bay	Carolina	42
Washington	Cleveland	40
Las Vegas	San Francisco	43.5
Seattle	N.Y. Jets	41.5
Green Bay	Minnesota	49.5
LA Chargers	LA Rams	45
Cincinnati	Buffalo	48.5

This Week’s PiRate Ratings

A F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Buffalo	111.3	111.0	110.8	111.0	23	12-3
New England	103.4	103.2	103.4	103.3	19.5	7-8
N.Y. Jets	100.0	100.5	100.1	100.2	18.5	7-8
Miami	100.0	100.0	99.6	99.9	23.5	8-7
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Cincinnati	106.4	106.6	107.1	106.7	25.5	11-4
Baltimore	103.4	102.9	102.7	103.0	17.5	10-5
Pittsburgh	98.6	98.8	99.2	98.9	19	7-8
Cleveland	98.9	98.3	98.5	98.6	21.5	6-9
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Jacksonville	100.0	101.0	101.0	100.7	23.5	7-8
Tennessee	95.3	95.4	95.2	95.3	18.5	7-8
Indianapolis	94.5	94.3	94.2	94.3	19.5	4-10-1
Houston	91.3	92.5	92.1	91.9	20	2-12-1
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Kansas City	109.6	109.1	108.8	109.2	28.5	12-3
LA Chargers	99.3	100.1	99.9	99.8	24.5	9-6
Las Vegas	99.4	99.4	99.2	99.3	24.5	6-9
Denver	96.5	97.1	95.8	96.5	16	4-11
N F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Philadelphia	107.8	107.2	107.3	107.4	26.5	13-2
Dallas	106.5	106.2	106.5	106.4	26.5	11-4
Washington	97.0	96.5	96.8	96.8	18.5	7-7-1
N.Y. Giants	95.4	96.3	96.5	96.1	20	8-6-1
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Green Bay	101.7	101.1	101.5	101.4	22.5	7-8
Minnesota	101.0	100.9	101.2	101.0	27	12-3
Detroit	97.4	98.0	98.3	97.9	26.5	7-8
Chicago	92.8	93.1	92.7	92.9	21.5	3-12
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Tampa Bay	100.1	99.3	99.2	99.5	20.5	7-8
New Orleans	100.0	99.0	99.4	99.5	19.5	6-9
Carolina	97.2	97.6	97.8	97.5	21.5	6-9
Atlanta	95.1	95.5	95.4	95.3	23.5	5-10
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
San Francisco	104.6	104.9	105.4	104.9	19	11-4
LA Rams	101.1	100.6	100.4	100.7	20.5	5-10
Seattle	97.8	97.8	98.4	98.0	23	7-8
Arizona	96.3	96.0	95.7	96.0	24	4-11

This Week’s Playoff Projections

AFC Seeding
1	Kansas City
2	Cincinnati
3	Buffalo
4	Jacksonville
5	Baltimore
6	LA Chargers
7	New England
NFC Seeding
1	Philadelphia
2	Minnesota
3	San Francisco
4	Tampa Bay
5	Dallas
6	New York Giants
7	Washington

Wildcard Round
Cincinnati over New England
Buffalo over LA Chargers
Jacksonville over Baltimore
Minnesota over Washington
San Francisco over N.Y. Giants
Dallas over Tampa Bay
Divisional Round
Kansas City over Jacksonville
Cincinnati over Buffalo
Philadelphia over Dallas
San Francisco over Minnesota
Conference Championship
Cincinnati over Kansas City
San Francisco over Philadelphia
Super Bowl 57 (Glendale, AZ)
Cincinnati over San Francisco

PiRate Ratings NFL for Week 16: December 24-26, 2022

This Week’s PiRate Ratings Spreads

Home	Visitor	PiRate	Mean	Bias
N.Y. Jets	Jacksonville	5.1	4.6	4.4
Baltimore	Atlanta	11.0	10.2	10.0
Carolina	Detroit	0.5	0.1	-0.4
Chicago	Buffalo	-15.3	-14.8	-14.8
Cleveland	New Orleans	3.3	4.0	3.9
Kansas City	Seattle	14.8	14.3	13.4
Minnesota	N.Y. Giants	9.0	8.0	8.2
New England	Cincinnati	-0.4	-0.5	-0.8
Tennessee	Houston	8.7	7.6	8.0
San Francisco	Washington	9.3	10.2	10.2
Dallas	Philadelphia	1.3	1.4	1.4
Pittsburgh	Las Vegas	2.2	2.4	3.0
Miami	Green Bay	2.1	3.1	2.3
LA Rams	Denver	2.0	1.1	2.0
Arizona	Tampa Bay	-0.6	0.3	0.4
Indianapolis	LA Chargers	1.0	0.0	0.5

This Week’s PiRate Ratings Totals

Home	Visitor	Total
N.Y. Jets	Jacksonville	43.5
Baltimore	Atlanta	42.5
Carolina	Detroit	47
Chicago	Buffalo	44.5
Cleveland	New Orleans	42.5
Kansas City	Seattle	53
Minnesota	N.Y. Giants	47
New England	Cincinnati	45
Tennessee	Houston	38.5
San Francisco	Washington	36
Dallas	Philadelphia	51
Pittsburgh	Las Vegas	45.5
Miami	Green Bay	46
LA Rams	Denver	34
Arizona	Tampa Bay	45.5
Indianapolis	LA Chargers	46.5

This Week’s PiRate Ratings

A F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Buffalo	111.0	110.7	110.4	110.7	23	11-3
New England	103.5	103.4	103.6	103.5	19.5	7-7
N.Y. Jets	101.3	101.8	101.5	101.5	19.5	7-7
Miami	100.4	100.6	100.2	100.4	23.5	8-6
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Cincinnati	106.3	106.4	106.9	106.5	25.5	10-4
Baltimore	103.5	103.0	102.8	103.1	18.5	9-5
Cleveland	99.6	99.1	99.4	99.4	22.5	6-8
Pittsburgh	98.6	98.8	99.2	98.9	20	6-8
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Jacksonville	98.7	99.7	99.6	99.3	24	6-8
Tennessee	96.4	96.5	96.4	96.4	18.5	7-7
Indianapolis	95.9	95.7	95.8	95.8	21	4-9-1
Houston	90.2	91.4	90.9	90.8	20	1-12-1
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Kansas City	109.6	109.1	108.8	109.2	29	11-3
Las Vegas	99.4	99.4	99.2	99.3	25.5	6-8
Denver	99.0	99.6	98.5	99.0	15	4-10
LA Chargers	97.9	98.7	98.3	98.3	25.5	8-6
N F C
East	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Philadelphia	108.0	107.5	107.7	107.7	25.5	13-1
Dallas	106.3	105.9	106.1	106.1	25.5	10-4
Washington	97.6	97.1	97.5	97.4	18	7-6-1
N.Y. Giants	95.2	96.1	96.2	95.8	20	8-5-1
North	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Minnesota	101.2	101.1	101.5	101.2	27	11-3
Green Bay	101.3	100.5	100.9	100.9	22.5	6-8
Detroit	98.3	99.0	99.5	98.9	26	7-7
Chicago	93.1	93.4	93.1	93.2	21.5	3-11
South	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
Tampa Bay	100.0	99.0	98.8	99.3	21	6-8
New Orleans	99.3	98.2	98.5	98.7	20	5-9
Carolina	96.3	96.6	96.6	96.5	21	5-9
Atlanta	95.0	95.4	95.3	95.2	24	5-9
West	PiRate	Mean	Bias	Avg	Totals	W-L
San Francisco	104.0	104.3	104.7	104.3	18	10-4
LA Rams	98.6	98.1	97.9	98.2	19	4-10
Seattle	97.8	97.8	98.4	98.0	24	7-7
Arizona	96.4	96.3	96.1	96.3	24.5	4-10

This Week’s Playoff Projections

AFC Seeding
1	Buffalo
2	Kansas City
3	Cincinnati
4	Jacksonville
5	Baltimore
6	Miami
7	LA Chargers
NFC Seeding
1	Philadelphia
2	Minnesota
3	San Francisco
4	Tampa Bay
5	Dallas
6	New York Giants
7	Detroit

Wildcard Round
Kansas City over LA Chargers
Cincinnati over Miami
Jacksonville over Baltimore
Detroit over Minnesota
San Francisco over N.Y. Giants
Dallas over Tampa Bay
Divisional Round
Buffalo over Jacksonville
Cincinnati over Kansas City
Philadelphia over Detroit
San Francisco over Dallas
Conference Championship
Cincinnati over Buffalo
Philadelphia over San Francisco
Super Bowl 57 (Glendale, AZ)
Philadelphia over Cincinnati

PiRate Picks–October 16-17, 2021

If you are like us here on the aging PiRate ship, you probably grew up in the 1950’s, 1960’s, or 1970’s watching Wile E. Coyote chase the Roadrunner every Saturday morning. He always had a great plan, and of course, he was Acme Products’ best customer. Every plan came “this close” to working. But, in the end, he fell hundreds of feet to the canyon floor and made a splat.

That’s how last week’s episode of the PiRate Picks turned out to be. We chose the best games we saw at Acme Handicapping. We came “this close” to having an incredibly successful week. Two of the long shot parlays won and returned big payouts. With less than five minutes to go in three other selections, we were on the winning side. Alas, at the last second the Roadrunners of the gridiron made their Beep Beep sounds and ran off to safety, leaving our three selections to make a splat at the bottom of the canyon.

Ah, but here’s the rub. Just like Wile E. Coyote, who has endless funds to continue obtaining more great Acme products, our imaginary bank account is just as endless with funds. Just like Wile E., we can go splat on the canyon floor and get right back up and go at it again, because any financial losses are just as fake as the images drawn on a cartoon.

Thus, we have six more Money Line picks this week after suffering a minute net loss last week. For the year, our return on imaginary investment is -1%. It’s not a big negative, but comically, this feature usually returns a small profit every year. However, we would never play these picks, because we prefer to sleep at night. We encourage you to follow our lead. Read it for a laugh, just like you make when you see Wile E. falling off the cliff yet again.

Date:	October 14-18
Odds:	+309.14
Must Win	Opponent
South Alabama	Georgia Southern
Northern Illinois	Bowling Green
Utah	Arizona St.
Odds:	+218.93
Must Win	Opponent
Utah St.	UNLV
Boston College	North Carolina St.
Odds:	+185
Must Win	Opponent
Virginia Tech	Pittsburgh
Odds:	+248
Must Win	Opponent
Kent St.	Western Michigan
Odds:	+187
Must Win	Opponent
Central Michigan	Toledo
Odds:	+152.44
Must Win	Opponent
Miami	Jacksonville
Denver	Las Vegas

PiRate Picks For September 16-20, 2021

After a swing and a miss on opening week of the football season, last week we went two for two with big wins. Not only did we win both of our Money Line Parlays, we mentioned a first week NFL system that has worked well over the course of a couple of decades. We told you that even though we are only issuing Money Line Parlays this year, that playing the NFL underdogs of 1/2 to 3 points in Week 1 was a winning proposition. There were seven such underdogs last week, and playing them and the points went 5-2.

For the year, our pretend bank account has wagered pretend money on four games, $400 at $100 per wager, and we have received $604.56 in return from the pretend book. That’s a return on investment of 51.14%.

Now, the pressure is on to keep that profit and not give it back to the imaginary book. We begin including NFL games this week, and we have chosen four different parlays, each with more than +120 odds. Additionally, we are doing something we have only done three or four times in the last decade–combine a college game and NFL game into a parlay. We are number’s enthusiasts here on the PiRate ship, so sometimes we are left with orphan numbers needing to go to a matchmaking service. Combining college and pro football games into a hopeful match is rare for us, but there is no real reason not to do it. We just like to know at 1 AM on Sundays whether we won or not.

Enjoy these four parlays, but remember that these are for entertainment purposes only. We strongly urge you not to wager real money on these picks unless you have done your own research, and this feature merely verifies your own findings.

This Week’s Money Line Parlays

Date:	Sept 16-20
Odds:	+182
Must Win	Opponent
Kansas St.	Nevada
Troy	Southern Miss.
Odds:	+126.42
Must Win	Opponent
Mississippi St.	Memphis
Denver	Jacksonville
Odds:	+140.08
Must Win	Opponent
LA Rams	Indianapolis
Kansas City	Baltimore
Odds:	+127.91
Must Win	Opponent
Arizona	Minnesota
Seattle	Tennessee

PiRate Ratings NFL Forecast For Conference Championship Games: January 21, 2018

All times given are Eastern Standard

Sunday, January 21, 2018

3:05 PM on CBS

Jacksonville Jaguars (11-6-0) at New England Patriots (14-3-0)

PiRate: New England by 7.6

Mean: New England by 8.0

Bias: New England by 7.4

Total: 44

Estimated Realistic Score: New England 27  Jacksonville 17 

 

6:40 PM on Fox

Minnesota Vikings (14-3-0) at Philadelphia Eagles (14-3-0)

PiRate: Minnesota by 2.0

Mean: Minnesota by 1.2

Bias:  Minnesota by 2.1

Total: 37

Estimated Realistic Score: Minnesota 20  Philadelphia 17

PiRate Ratings NFL Forecast For Divisional Playoff Round: January 13-14, 2018

All times given are Eastern Standard

Saturday, January 13, 2018

4:35 PM on NBC

Atlanta Falcons (11-6-0) at Philadelphia Eagles (13-3-0)

PiRate: Philadelphia by 5.2

Mean: Philadelphia by 5.6

Bias: Philadelphia by 5.1

Total: 46

Estimated Realistic Score: Philadelphia 26  Atlanta 20

 

8:15 PM on CBS

Tennessee Titans (10-7-0) at New England Patriots (13-3-0)

PiRate: New England by 11.5

Mean: New England by  11.5

Bias: New England by 11.7

Total: 44

Estimated Realistic Score: New England 28  Tennessee 16

 

Sunday, January 14, 2018

1:05 PM on CBS

Jacksonville Jaguars (11-6-0) at Pittsburgh Steelers (13-3-0)

PiRate: Pittsburgh by 6.1

Mean: Pittsburgh by 6.4

Bias: Pittsburgh by 5.9

Total: 43

Estimated Realistic Score: Pittsburgh 24 Jacksonville 17

 

4:40 PM on Fox Sports

New Orleans Saints (12-5-0) at Minnesota Vikings (13-3-0)

PiRate: Minnesota by 4.7

Mean: Minnesota by 4.8

Bias: Minnesota by 4.8

Total: 46

Estimated Realistic Score: Minnesota 24  New Orleans 20

PiRate Ratings NFL Forecast For Wildcard Playoff Round: January 6-7, 2018

All times given are Eastern Standard Time

Saturday, January 6, 2018

4:20 PM on ESPN

Tennessee Titans (9-7-0) at Kansas City Chiefs (10-6-0)

PiRate: Kansas City by 8.1

Mean: Kansas City by 8.0

Bias: Kansas City by 8.7

Total: 45

Estimated Realistic Score: Kansas City 27  Tennessee 17

 

8:15 PM on NBC

Atlanta Falcons (10-6-0) at Los Angeles Rams (11-5-0)

PiRate: Los Angeles by 5.4

Mean: Los Angeles by 5.0

Bias: Los Angeles by 5.7

Total: 48

Estimated Realistic Score: Los Angeles 27  Atlanta 21

 

Sunday, January 7, 2018

1:05 PM on CBS

Buffalo Bills (9-7-0) at Jacksonville Jaguars (10-6-0)

PiRate: Jacksonville by 9.4

Mean: Jacksonville by 8.9

Bias: Jacksonville by 9.5

Total: 42

Estimated Realistic Score: Jacksonville 26  Buffalo 16

 

4:40 PM on Fox

Carolina Panthers (11-5-0) at New Orleans Saints (11-5-0)

PiRate: New Orleans by 5.8

Mean: New Orleans by 5.9

Bias: New Orleans by 6.0

Total: 53

Estimated Realistic Score: New Orleans 28  Carolina 24