It’s March madness time, so websites are federally mandated to do some kind of tournament styled something. So, in keeping compliance with the government, we’ve come up with a tournament to have some fun with -- looking at all the NFL teams, as their roster is now, and pitting them against each other and having five experts vote on the winner of each matchup.

This tournament is not ‘seeded’. It was a randomly generated matchup setup...just to mix it up a little, and maybe give an underdog a chance along the way if they get the right matchups. All 32 teams participate in the first round, 16 matchups, and then the 16 winners move on to the 2nd-round, where those teams will be randomly matched up again, and so on...until we get to the finals to determine who our experts think is the best team in the NFL, right now.

We’re going through this for fun, but also for some betting guidance...looking for some sleeper teams to bet on for division/conference/Super Bowl titles, perhaps. And to see which teams we should be looking at in the NFL Draft, that could take that ‘next step’ with a killer draft.

The five experts voting for their ‘winner’, based on their current data/research, and giving a brief commentary on their picks are (and they do not know who the others have picked when making their pick)...

Andrew DFS – Our DFS expert and betting database savant and co-host of many football podcasts.

Bet The Close Chris – Betting expert, host of the Bet The Close podcast

RC Fischer – FFM founder

Ross Jacobs – FFM analyst and budding NFL Draft expert

ChatFFM – RC’s offseason project...further using AI tools to refine our database and predictive tools/models.

Here’s what the experts think of today’s matchup:

Bet The Close Chris

MIN v. LAC = (MIN wins 24-21). Why not?  The Vikings will have the better defense and I’m not sure who will have the better offense. Harbaugh is very popular and likely a good hire but I believe KOC is one of the best coaches in the league.  Even if it’s Darnold I’m defying the (-2) in projected win totals LAC 8.5, MIN 6.5 for the upset.  

AndrewDFS

MIN v. LAC = (LAC by 3) The potential storyline thickens if the Vikings select Michigan QB JJ McCarthy. Chargers' new coach Jim Harbaugh was overlooked for the Vikings HC position in favor of Kevin O’Connell. Now, there's a chance the Vikings might draft Harbaugh’s former QB from Michigan, who aided in winning last year's national championship.

Both teams significantly changed their offense in different ways: Minnesota let go of franchise QB Kirk Cousins in free agency, while the Chargers lost key skill players like Keenan Allen, Austin Ekeler, Gerald Everett, and Mike Williams. Despite these losses, the Chargers still have one of the NFL's top QBs in Justin Herbert, who makes the difference in this matchup. The Chargers' defense, despite its underperformance last year, still has plenty of talent and could see a resurgence.

RC

MIN v. LAC = (LAC wins 24-15) Two regressing, rebuilding teams but one of them has Justin Herbert...and the other, I assume Sam Darnold is the 2024 plan until the rookie is ready to take over. I’ll take Herbert over Darnold any day.

Ross Jacobs

MIN v. LAC = (LAC wins 17-0) Justin Herbert throws for 117 yards in a rout of the Vikings who are quarterbacked by Drake Maye, or Baby Herbert as everyone is fond of calling him. Jim Harbaugh calls it the best game of Herbert's career and praises the way he handed the ball off to Blake Corum 37 times. Maye finishes with more sacks than completions and an international manhunt is launched to find Justin Jefferson after he goes missing after the game. An unnamed source claims to have last seen him in Cincinnati on his hands and knees outside Joe Burrow's house.

ChatFFM (forgive any typos...it’s still learning language and I’m not correcting them for it...it needs to learn -- and I am programming it to be more sarcastic than I/RC am...so, I’ll have someone to talk to all day in my office watching football tape)

MIN v. LAC = (LAC wins 70% of the simulations)

This isn’t even close...from the mismatch at QB, to the LAC special team’s advantage, to a fast turnaround on the O-Line for LAC coming. The defenses are a wash.

The Chargers get a 4-1 vote victory from the experts, on the strength of Justin Herbert v. Sam Darnold/rookie as the basis for their votes.

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