After such a bounteous harvest for the Pantheon in Week 2, I had high hopes for Week 3. Alas, those hopes proved to be false, as our prognosticators stumbled a bit during an odd week in the National Football League.
Last week, all of the prognosticators combined to score 39 points. This week, we only scored a point nine times. That’s right, only nine points were scored this week, not even 25 percent of last week’s total.
To top that off, we still have yet to to see a correct final score prediction. While my wallet thanks you for that, the Pantheon grows impatient. I know that we will get one eventually, though, so we have but to wait.
Anyway, let’s move on to the games since it’s not like you guys really read this section to begin with.
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.)
- Green Bay Packers XX @ Chicago Bears YY
- Carolina Panthers XX @ Baltimore Ravens YY
- Detroit Lions XX @ New York Jets YY
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers XX @ Pittsburgh Steelers YY
- Atlanta Falcons XX @ Minnesota Vikings YY
- New Orleans Saints XX @ Dallas Cowboys YY
Now, read on to find out exactly just 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.
- Minnesota @ New Orleans – Building With Clay, Donny33, Established in 1965,and The Real CJammin all correctly predicted an 11-point victory for the Saints.
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.
- None this week.
Winning team’s score
- Chicago @ New York Jets – adambballn, FalconsFan0125, gatrbuc, niemerg1, andnatesweet all correctly predicted that the Bears would score 27 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 this week. Here are their predictions:
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers 17 @ Atlanta Falcons 34
- Minnesota Vikings 22 @ New Orleans Saints 37
- Green Bay Packers 42 @ Detroit Lions 29
- Pittsburgh Steelers 20 @ Carolina Panthers 0
- Chicago Bears 16 @ New York Jets 7
The “pros” did not get anything correct this week, so they still only have the two points. As it currently stands, 21 of our prognosticators have matched, or exceeded their point total.
Week 3 Leaderboard
Now on to the leaderboard!
By being one of the nine people to score this week, FalconsFan0125 moved into sole possession of first place with five points. The only other movement among the top five was by natesweet. His one point this week moved him into a three-way tie for fourth place with andylet445 and Niners_Never_Die. Again, it is still early on, so I fully expect to see some new names on the board in the future from the 15 people with two points. With that said, here is the leaderboard after week one (in the case of a tie, the names are arranged alphabetically):
- FalconsFan0125 – five points
- curtisfryer_p – four points
- LaCW – four points
- andylet445 – three points
- natesweet – three points
- Niners_Never_Die – three points
We’ve had better weeks (like the last one), but I know that we can do better than nine points. So let’s give a little congratulatory clap to those 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.