The regular season has come to a close, and it ended on a pretty good note for the Pantheon. After scoring only four points total over the last two weeks, there was a nice boost this week. There were ten total points scored, and also there was yet another correct final score prediction! That is the eleventh on the season, which is an incredible feat! So, with the three points from that prediction, that means that there were seven more scored by the others. While it isn’t great, it is a step in the right direction, so let’s keep that momentum. Bring on the playoffs!
One note, I decided to add an extra game to the slate this week, as I feel it is a worthy one. We will see if our prognosticators’ prowess extends to pigskin play at a level other than professional as they will try to predict the outcome of the NCAA National Championship game between Alabama and Clemson. With the college game being much more volatile when it comes to scoring than the pros, this will be exciting to see.
Anyway, enough of my rambling, bring on the games!
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.)
- Kansas City Chiefs XX @ Houston Texans YY
- Pittsburgh Steelers XX @ Cincinnati Bengals YY
- Seattle Seahawks XX @ Minnesota Vikings YY
- Green Bay Packers XX @ Washington Redskins YY
- Alabama Crimson Tide XX @ Clemson Tigers YY
Once you have called your shots down below, please update the spreadsheet. Here is the link. (Only update the cells in your own column.)
With all of that out of the way, read on to find 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.)
- Detroit @ Chicago – SDL correctly predicted that the Lions would defeat the Bears with a score of 24-20!
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.
- New Orleans @ Atlanta – Jmac34 correctly predicted that the Saints would win by three points.
- Minnesota @ Green Bay – DanOnWis correctly predicted that the Vikings would win by seven 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.
- Tampa Bay @ Carolina – BP and Gabes222 both correctly predicted that the teams would combine to score 48 points.
- Detroit @ Chicago – FF0125 correctly predicted that the teams would combine to score 44 points.
Winning team’s score
- Detroit @ Chicago – Big Deal correctly predicted that the Lions would win with a score of 24.
- Minnesota @ Green Bay – MIB correctly predicted that the Vikings would score 20 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.
Special Events
There was no Special Event Category contest this week.
Week 17 Leaderboard
Now on to the leaderboard!
After seeing a little bit of separation last week, the leaderboard is back to being a very close one. Gabes222 scored one point this week to extend his lead just a bit, but the others are still right on his heels. By scoring one point each this week, BP and MIB both moved up one position on the board. MIB moved into a tie for second place with 13 points, while BP moved into a tie for fourth place with 12 points.people to appear on the leaderboard. With only four more weeks of playoff games left, the chase is on! Will any of these people currently on the leaderboard be able to catch Gabes222? Or will someone else come from the outside? All it would take is one good week from the one person with 11 points, or the two people with ten, and they could see their names up here.
With that said, here is the leaderboard after Week 17 (in the case of a tie, the names are arranged alphabetically):
- Gabes222 – 16 points
- MIB – 13 points
- Natesweet – 13 points
- BP – 12 points
- MKE – 12 points
I would like to give a big shoutout to SDL for his correct final score prediction! That brings the season total to 11! Amazing! I hope that we can see another one or two in the playoffs, which would be incredible. I don’t think we have ever had a correct final score prediction in the playoffs, so that would really be something. Let’s make it happen!
Now that that’s out of the way, 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 NFC South. Once you have done that, please update the spreadsheet using the link provided. I will be reviewing the spreadsheet 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 spreadsheet before it gets locked at the start of the games, I will include them.