Science

Who Will Win Washington vs. Los Angeles Rams? A.I. Predicts

Could the Rams be the NFL's big surprise?

Getty Images / Sean M. Haffey

The Los Angeles Rams notched the biggest win of the NFL’s opening week with a 46-9 rout of the Indianapolis Colts. They figure to face at least a somewhat stiffer test Sunday when Washington comes to play, but a hive mind of 40 NFL fans predict the Rams will win Sunday.

Rams coach Sean McVay gets a chance to defeat his old team Sunday, as he was previously the offensive coordinator for Washington. The youngest coach in NFL history, he had one hell of a debut last Sunday, and another big win here would put the Rams squarely in the running for the NFL’s biggest early surprise. Washington, for its part, is looking to regroup after a season-opening loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

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Washington beat St. Louis 24-10 in 2015.

Getty Images / Matt Hazlett

To predict the result of this and other games, Unanimous A.I. used what’s known as swarm intelligence to forecast the week’s slate. More than 40 NFL fans worked together as a hive mind to make picks. As you can see in the animation below, each participant controlled a little golden magnet and used it to drag the puck toward the answer they thought was the most likely outcome. As the users saw the puck move toward a particular outcome, it triggers a psychological response. They readjust their decision-making, building toward a consensus.

Unanimous A.I. has made some scarily accurate predictions in the past using swarm intelligence, as our previous article explains.

The swarm is feeling pretty confident the Rams will come away with the win here, albeit only after some initial hesitation. After a miserable 2016 in Los Angeles, it’s fair enough that not everyone is quite ready to get behind the Rams.

Unanimous A.I.

The hive mind also like the Rams to cover the spread here, expecting them to win by at least a field goal. They could win by a tenth of last week’s margin against the Colts and still pull that off, just for the record.

The game kicks off Sunday at 4:25 p.m. Eastern on Fox.

If you liked this article, check out this video of Bob Ross (and his “happy little trees”) as seen through Google’s DeepDream A.I. program.

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