Yes, you read that title correctly. There were two prognosticators that correctly called the final score of a game this week! I knew that it was only a matter of time before the Pantheon would be able to add another name to its illustrious halls. Each of these fine gentlemen will receive three points for that prediction on the leaderboard, and will also be given a $25 gift card to NFLshop.com. I will be contacting them by email this week to set that up for them.
On top of those two predictions, there were another 17 points scored by our prognosticators this week, for a grand total of 23. While it is still not up to the bar set in week two, 23 is still a very solid week made even better by the two final score predictions.
One other thing of note (at least for me) this week, was that there was a correct against the grain prediction. Usually when that happens, it is from three to four prognosticators, but this week it was only one person. That’s right, only one person out of 37 total prognosticators thought that an underdog would overcome all the odds and win their game.
Now, I know you want me to tell you who correctly called the final scores up here, but I’m not going too. You’re just going to have to scroll down (NOT YET!) and read for yourself. For now, let’s move on to 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.)
- Minnesota Vikings XX @ Green Bay Packers YY
- Chicago Bears XX @ Carolina Panthers YY
- Atlanta Falcons XX @ New York Giants YY
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers XX @ New Orleans Saints YY
- Buffalo Bills XX @ Detroit Lions YY
I would just like to remind everyone that the match-up between the Packers and Vikings is on Thursday night, so please be sure to get your predictions for that game in on time. Any predictions for this game that are not posted before it starts, will not be included.
Are you giddy with anticipation to find out who called it? Did you already read ahead? You did, didn’t you? Cheater. Oh well, for those that didn’t cheat, 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.)
- Detroit @ New York Jets – jmac3444 and Maized and Confused both correctly predicted that the Lions would defeat the Jets by a score of 24-17!
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.
- Detroit @ New York Jets – Donny33 and gatrbuc both correctly predicted that the Lions would win by seven points.
- Atlanta @ Minnesota – Childerz correctly predicted a 13-point victory for the Vikings.
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.
- Green Bay @ Chicago – andylet445 and natesweet both correctly predicted that the teams would combined to score 55 points.
- Detroit @ New York Jets – Buhlitz, Staffords_Glove, and TheHairy1 all correctly predicted that the teams would combine to score 41 points.
- New Orleans @ Dallas – natesweet and smtate both correctly predicted that the teams would combine to score 55 points.
Winning team’s score
- Detroit @ New York Jets – andylet445, BearsSaveLives, Cam of Steel, and Established in 1965 all correctly predicted that the Lions would score 24 points in a victory.
- New Orleans @ Dallas – Cam of Steel and Fiddy both correctly predicted that the Cowboys would score 38 points in a victory.
Against the grain
Oftentimes, our picks will be unanimous. However, there are those who will sometimes walk their own path.
- Tampa Bay @ Pittsburgh – Donny33 was the only one (out of 37!) who predicted that the Bucs would beat the Steelers.
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:
- Green Bay Packers 20 @ Chicago Bears 34
- Carolina Panthers 10 @ Baltimore Ravens 26
- Detroit Lions 13 @ New York Jets 24
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers 13 @ Pittsburgh Steelers 19
- Atlanta Falcons 29 @ Minnesota Vikings 34
- New Orleans Saints 10 @ Dallas Cowboys 19
Again, the “pros” did not get anything correct this week, so they still only have the two points. As it currently stands, we now have 29 of our prognosticators that have matched, or exceeded their point total.
Week 4 Leaderboard
Now on to the leaderboard!
The biggest story on the leaderboard this week was the fact that Maized and Confused propelled himself into a tie for first place with the three points he received for his correct final score prediction. Joining him and FalconsFan0125 in the four-way tie at the top are andylet445 and natesweet who both scored two points this week. The only other movement on the board was from Donny33. The two points he received this week gave him four for the season, and moved him up into a tie for fifth place. We’ve only reached the quarter mark for the season, so there is still plenty of time for names to appear or disappear from the leaderboard. I fully expect to see some different names on the board in the future from the six people with three points. With that said, here is the leaderboard after week four (in the case of a tie, the names are arranged alphabetically):
- andylet445 – five points
- FalconsFan0125 – five points
- Maized and Confused – five points
- natesweet – five points
- curtisfryer_p – four points
- Donny33 – four points
- LaCW – four points
This was a much better week than last, but I don’t know if we can expect two correct final score predictions every week going forward. Anyway, I just wanted to give one last big shoutout to both jmac3444 and Maized and Confused for their correct final score predictions! While this is the first (of many?) for Maized, this is the fourth correct prediction (most among all prognosticators) over the last two seasons for jmac3444. Amazing!
Now that we’ve properly congratulated those two, let’s give a little congratulatory clap to all the others 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.