The Pantheon had a better week this week. Perhaps lamenting the fact that we have only scored 11 points or fewer so many times inspired our prognosticators. Or perhaps we just got lucky that we scored 19 points this week. I still would like to believe that we are bouncing back from a dismal display thus far, and that we will continue to score even more than 19 in these last two weeks of the regular season.
For the playoffs? I don’t know, with so few games it’s hard to predict (HA!) how many points will be scored by our prognosticators.
As for this week, I really don’t have much else to say other than fans of the Packers might appreciate one of the correct winning scores this week. I’m looking forward to seeing the reaction of all parties involved.
Jimmies will probably be rustled. Anyway, let us now focus on the games for this week.
The Games
As always, here is the slate for next week’s games. Simply copy and paste it to the comments, and add your predicted scores after the team names. (Substitute scores for the XX and YY.)
- Detroit Lions XX @ Chicago Bears YY
- Minnesota Vikings XX @ Miami Dolphins YY
- Cleveland Browns XX @ Carolina Panthers YY
- Atlanta Falcons XX @ New Orleans Saints YY
- Green Bay Packers XX @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers YY
Now, read on to find out exactly who Nailed It!
Final score
These are the people who have (somehow) correctly predicted the final outcome of a game. The only shot that was called that could be considered more famous than these belongs to Babe Ruth. Bow down before their wisdom! (And make sure you ask them for next week’s lotto numbers.)
- None this week.
Scoring differential
These are the ones who correctly predicted the margin by which the victors would best their competition. These are also the ones to consult if you want to bet the spread.
- Pittsburgh @ Atlanta – natradamus and niemerg1 both correctly predicted that the Steelers would win by seven points.
- Minnesota @ Detroit – MIBearFan correctly predicted that the Lions would win by two points.
Total combined score
These are those who somehow managed to pick the correct total score but did not have any clue in how the teams would actually get there. Still, if you want to bet an over/under, you could do worse than consulting with them.
- Pittsburgh @ Atlanta – Maized and Confused correctly predicted that the teams would combine to score 47 points.
- Tampa Bay @ Carolina – bp and natradamus both correctly predicted that the teams would combine to score 36 points.
- Minnesota @ Detroit – smtate correctly predicted that the teams would combine to score 30 points.
- New Orleans @ Chicago – Gabes22 correctly predicted that the teams would combine to score 46 points.
Winning team’s score
- Pittsburgh @ Atlanta – Donny33, Gabes22, jmac3444, and MKE all correctly predicted that the Steelers would score 27 points in a victory.
- Green Bay @ Buffalo – LKP correctly predicted that the Bills would score 21 points in a victory.
- New Orleans @ Chicago – jmac3444, LaCW, Maized and Confused, MIBearFan, reggie, and smtate all correctly predicted that the Saints would score 31 points in a victory.
Against the grain
Oftentimes, our picks will be unanimous. However, there are those who will sometimes walk their own path.
- None this week.
ESPN The Magazine
In their NFL preview issue, the writers at ESPN The Magazine predicted the score for every single NFL game to be played in the regular season. Let’s see how they did these past weeks. Here are their predictions:
- Pittsburgh Steelers 10 @ Atlanta Falcons 22
- Green Bay Packers 38 @ Buffalo Bills 10
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23 @ Carolina Panthers 31
- Minnesota Vikings 17 @ Detroit Lions 24
- New Orleans Saints 31 @ Chicago Bears 20
By correctly predicting that the Saints would score 31 points in a win over the Bears, the “pros” added one more point to their season total. That brings them to 8 points for the year. Only the seven prognosticators listed below have matched, or exceeded their point total.
Week 15 Leaderboard
Now on to the leaderboard!
Believe in the power of the ‘stache! By scoring another two points this week, Maized and Confused continues the roll that he has been on, and extended his lead over second place. I’m telling all of you, get yourselves an omniscient fake mustache if you want to catch him.
Also, just one week after being knocked from the top five, smtate jumped right back in. He scored two points this week, moving him from just off the board into a tie for second place with MKE who scored one point of his own.
One other thing of note is that LaCW ha moved into a four-way tie for fourth place on the leaderboard, by virtue of his one point this week. scored another point this week, and extended his lead to three over second place.
Time may be running short, but there is still a chance to appear on the leaderboard over the next few weeks (both regular and postseason). So to those five of you sitting there with seven points, keep doing what you’re doing, and your name just might show up on the leaderboard.
With that said, here is the leaderboard after Week 15 (in the case of a tie, the names are arranged alphabetically):
- Maized and Confused – 14 points
- MKE – 10 points
- smtate – 10 points
- curtisfryer_p – nine points
- FalconsFan0125 – nine points
- LaCW – nine points
- natesweet – nine points
Let’s give a little congratulatory clap to all the people who are listed in this article. Or not. Your choice.
If you would like to have your name forever enshrined in the vast expanse that is the internet, simply call your shot in the comment section below for the games of the NFC North and the NFC South. I will be reviewing the comments and keeping track as the season goes on. And who knows? Maybe you’ll even see your name in the leaderboard!
If you cannot call your shots on Thursday, as is custom, it is still possible to participate. As long as your called shots are posted to the comments of this article before the games start, I will include them.