This was definitely an interesting week. Not because it was a good one for the Pantheon. It really wasn’t, with only eight points being scored. What made it an interesting week was the fact that the Bears defeated the Packers in Lambeau, making this year the first time that the Lions and Bears have won in Lambeau since 1991. Also interesting was the fact that Jay Cutler did not throw an interception for the first time against the Packers. His past propensity for poorly timed interceptions even led to a new game, and a new way to add one’s name to the Pantheon this past week. In fact, one of our prognosticators did just that. The game even inspired a new section in this article, and for the Pantheon: Special Events. Who knows? Maybe even more events and little games will be added in the future. We’ll just have to wait and 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.)
- Green Bay Packers XX @ Detroit Lions YY
- Carolina Panthers XX @ New Orleans Saints YY
- San Francisco 49ers XX @ Chicago Bears YY
- Seattle Seahawks XX @ Minnesota Vikings YY
- Atlanta Falcons XX @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers 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.)
A quick reminder that the game between Detroit and Green Bay is a Thursday night game. So please be sure to have your prediction for that game updated in the spreadsheet before it begins, as it will be locked when they do.
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.)
- 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 @ Atlanta – Big Deal and Nichels both correctly predicted that the Vikings would win by ten 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.
- New Orleans @ Houston – sgunderson17 correctly predicted that the teams would combine to score 30 points.
- Tampa Bay @ Indianapolis – sgunderson17 correctly predicted that the teams would combine to score 37 points.
Winning team’s score
- New Orleans @ Houston – DanOnWis correctly predicted that the Texans would score 24 points in a victory.
- Minnesota @ Atlanta – Natradamus correctly predicted that the Vikings would win with a score of 20 points.
Against the grain
Oftentimes, our picks will be unanimous. However, there are those who will sometimes walk their own path.
- Chicago @ Green Bay – MIB was the only one (out of 20!) who predicted that the Bears would defeat the Packers.
Special Events
A new category was introduced this past week with the advent of the Cutler Interception game. This was the most well participated event of the entire week, so I think that it may be fun to continue doing similar games as we go along. If anyone has any ideas that they want included, it can be brought up and put to a vote. I don’t want this to go to overboard, but small games like this Cutler one can be fun.
That being said, there was a winner this week. MIB placed his faith in Cutler, and was indeed rewarded. He was the only one to predict that Jay would not throw any interceptions. By winning this, he will be awarded with an extra point this week. Congrats!
Week 12 Leaderboard
Now on to the leaderboard!
There was only one person who moved anywhere on the leaderboard this week. By keeping the faith in both Cutler and the Bears, MIB scored two points, and moved up into a tie for second place with ten points. This is all well and good, but there are more and more people lining up just off the board. I believe that soon that we will see some of the three people with eight points, or the four people with seven points back up on the leaderboard soon.
With that said, here is the leaderboard after Week 12 (in the case of a tie, the names are arranged alphabetically):
- Gabes222 – 11 points
- MIB – 10 points
- MKE – 10 points
- ALLSAINTSROW – 9 points
- Jmac34 – 9 points
This week was livened up by the Cutler Interception game, and that actually provided a fun little boost for MIB. I’m all for any future games that may arise, if you would like to add them here. Anyway, let’s give MIB a little shout-out for still placing his faith in Cutler!
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.