I can’t believe that the first week of the NFL season is already in the books. It seems like only yesterday we were laughing at the Seahawks decision to pass, and then checking to see if all of our own balls were properly inflated.
Now that is all behind us. The season is here, and what a way to ring it in! We had a correct final score prediction this week! Beyond that, there were another 17 points scored! (For a refresher on the point system, click here)
I am always impressed at the number of participants that we have, and this week was no different. Thirty-two of you decided to call your shot. I hope that this level of participation will continue as the season goes on. And we had a very good opening week by scoring 20 points. With 32 people, that is a good benchmark to try and top moving forward.
Can you tell I’m excited? I am! And you should be too! FOOTBALL IS BACK, BABY!
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.)
- Houston Texans XX @ Carolina Panthers YY
- Arizona Cardinals XX @ Chicago Bears YY
- Detroit Lions XX @ Minnesota Vikings YY
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers XX @ New Orleans Saints YY
- Atlanta Falcons XX @ New York Giants YY
- Seattle Seahawks XX @ Green Bay Packers 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.)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/11aazv-Gkdbt684ST3ZvP5U2SHjFqoYGLLq0atXSg8b4/edit?usp=sharing
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.)
- Green Bay @ Chicago – MKE correctly predicted that the Packers would defeat the Bears by a score of 31-23!
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.
- Carolina @ Jacksonville – ALLSAINTSROW, BearsSaveLives, Cami, and Jmac34 all correctly predicted that the Panthers would win by 11 points.
- Green Bay @ Chicago – Natesweet correctly predicted that the Packers would win by eight 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.
- Carolina @ Jacksonville – Natradamus correctly predicted that the teams would combine to score 29 points.
- Green Bay @ Chicago – Jmac34 correctly predicted that the teams would combine to score 54 points.
- Philadelphia @ Atlanta – BP correctly predicted that the teams would combine to score 50 points.
Winning team’s score
- Carolina @ Jacksonville – C-Jammin and DanOnWis both correctly predicted that the Panthers would win with a score of 20 points.
- Green Bay @ Chicago – ALLSAINTSROW, BWC, Cami, C-Jammin, Gabes222, and LSU all correctly predicted that the Packers would win with a score of 31 points.
- Minnesota @ San Francisco – Jmac34 correctly predicted that the 49ers 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.
Week 1 Leaderboard
Now on to the leaderboard!
What a wonderful way to begin the year! Miraculous, even! With a correct final score prediction this week, MKE sits ties atop the leaderboard with three points. Joining him there is Jmac34 who had a very good week of his own. After the top two, ALLSAINTSROW, Cami, and C-Jammin all sit tied for third place with two points each. I hope they all enjoy their time in the sun, but this is just the first week. I expect to see many different names on here throughout the season.
With that said, here is the leaderboard after Week 1 (in the case of a tie, the names are arranged alphabetically):
- Jmac34 – 3 points
- MKE – 3 points
- ALLSAINTSROW – 2 points
- Cami – 2 points
- C-Jammin – 2 points
Again, I just wanted to give one last big shoutout to MKE for his correct final score prediction! He is the first correct final score for the season, and as such will be awarded the $25 Gift Certificate to NFLShop.com. Amazing! And, as always, it is great to see a name added to the vaunted halls of the Pantheon. Congratulations!.
Now that we’ve congratulated him, 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.