NFL Playoff Prediction Contest

We did this contest last year.

This contest has two components. In one component, we make our playoff bracket with who we expect to win each round and eventually win the superbowl. This prediction is made before week 1 of the playoffs - you aren’t penalized for wrong answers, it’s just bonus points if you make get it right.

The second part of the contest is predicting the actual score of each game. This will be done once per week once we know for sure what the next batch of matchups is. Your score for that week will be the difference between your predicted score and the actual score. This will be calculated by taking how many points you were off of each team’s individual predicted score (not the difference from the combined score).

So for example, if you predict the game as Team A 27 Team B 17, and the actual score is Team A 35 Team B 20, then your score for that game will be 11. You were off on team A’s score by 8, and off of team B’s score by 3, hence 8+3=11.

There will also be a 10 point bonus to correctly predicting the winning team. It was 5 points last year, but after how it played out I think it should have a little more weight. So in that case your actual score would be 11, minus the 10 point bonus, for a total of 1. Lower scores are better.

So at the end of the year, the bonus score from the first part of the contest (with the entire bracket prediction) will be subtracted from the amount of points you have in part 2 to combine for a total score.

I’m probably making this sound a bit more complex than it is - if you look over last year’s thread it should be clear how it works.

So if you want to play, first you must submit a playoff bracket. We already know who the wildcard weekend teams will be, and we also know who will host the divsion weekend playoff games, so the only blanks you need to fill out are the unknowns. Again, you aren’t punished for wrong answers in this section, just a bonus for correct ones.

Part 1:
This is where you make a complete playoff bracket. This is only done once, at the beginning of the contest.

Predict the divisional games (5 points per correct team)

AFC:
Indianapolis Colts vs _____
San Diego Chargers vs ______

NFC:
New Orleans Saints vs _____
Minnesota Vikings vs _____

Predict the championship games (5 points per team)

AFC:
______ vs _______

NFC:

______ vs _______

  1. Predict the superbowl (5 points per team)

______ vs _______

  1. Predict the superbowl winner (10 points)
    Part 2:

This is where every week you will submit a predicted score from the matchups that weekend. A new submission is required every week.

The games this week are
New York Jets vs Cincinatti Bengals
Baltimore Ravens vs New England Patriots
Green Bay Packers vs Arizona Cardinals
Philadelphia Eagles vs Dallas Cowboys

A proper entry into this contest will look like this, although obviously with this year’s playoff teams instead of last year’s.

If you miss any weeks during the contest, you will be disqualified, although you (and new people to the contest) can make predictions on any given week to see how you fared against that week’s competition. You just won’t be eligible for the overall contest.

Last year’s results:

1st. VarlosZ
2. Furt
3. Ro0sh
4. Borchevsky
5. SenorBeef
6. Hamlet
7. DiggitCamara
8. CatInASuit
9. Fear The Turtle

I will submit my own entry later in the week.

To make things a little easier for me and everyone else, here are the seeds:

AFC: IND, SD, NE, CIN, NYJ, BAL
NFC: NO, MIN, DAL, AZ, GB, PHL

Predict the divisional games (5 points per correct team)

AFC:
Indianapolis Colts vs NYJ
San Diego Chargers vs NE

NFC:
New Orleans Saints vs GB
Minnesota Vikings vs PHL

Predict the championship games (5 points per team)

AFC:
IND vs SD

NFC:

NO vs PHL

  1. Predict the superbowl (5 points per team)

SD vs NO

  1. Predict the superbowl winner (10 points)

San Diego Chargers

New York Jets 34vs Cincinatti Bengals 13
Baltimore Ravens 10vs New England Patriots 17
Green Bay Packers 37vs Arizona Cardinals 27
Philadelphia Eagles 33vs Dallas Cowboys 28

Predict the divisional games (5 points per correct team)

AFC:
Indianapolis Colts vs NYJ
San Diego Chargers vs NE

NFC:
New Orleans Saints vs GB
Minnesota Vikings vs DAL

Predict the championship games (5 points per team)

AFC:
IND vs NE

NFC:

GB vs MIN

  1. Predict the superbowl (5 points per team)

NE vs MIN

  1. Predict the superbowl winner (10 points)

Indianapolis Colts

New York Jets 24vs Cincinatti Bengals 10
Baltimore Ravens 24vs New England Patriots 31
Green Bay Packers 35vs Arizona Cardinals 17
Philadelphia Eagles 17vs Dallas Cowboys 20
Uncle Nito, you have Phil and GB winning first round in the nfc. If that happens, wouldn’t Phil play NO, and GB play Min? Which brings up the question, if I have GB and Dal winning round 1, and it ends up being GB and Phil, do I still get 5 points for GB, even though I have them playing NO when they really play against NO?

Yeah, I screwed up. Make it:

NFC:
New Orleans Saints vs PHL
Minnesota Vikings vs GB

Predict the championship games (5 points per team)

NFC:

What the hell, I’ll be a homer:

NO vs GB

All other picks stay the same (including NO over GB in the NFC championship).

SB, does that make sense or do I have to rewrite my whole bracket?

It seems fine, I’ll just overwrite your earlier picks with the later adjustments. And yeah, you’ll have to mind your seeding on your own, certain combinations on division weekend aren’t possible.

Predict the divisional games (5 points per correct team)

AFC:
Indianapolis Colts vs Ravens
San Diego Chargers vs Bengals

NFC:
New Orleans Saints vs Eagles
Minnesota Vikings vs Packers

Predict the championship games (5 points per team)

AFC:
IND vs Chargers

NFC:

GB vs MIN

  1. Predict the superbowl (5 points per team)

Colts v. Packers

  1. Predict the superbowl winner (10 points)

Indianapolis Colts

New York Jets 13vs Cincinatti Bengals 20
Baltimore Ravens 24vs New England Patriots 15
Green Bay Packers 33vs Arizona Cardinals 13
Philadelphia Eagles 38vs Dallas Cowboys 20

One… Two … Three … HOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMEEERRRRR!!!

I guess this could make strategic sense, but did you mean to pick a team you don’t have advancing to the Superbowl as your winner?

Part 1:
This is where you make a complete playoff bracket. This is only done once, at the beginning of the contest.

Predict the divisional games (5 points per correct team)

AFC:
Indianapolis Colts vs Ravens
San Diego Chargers vs Bengals

NFC:
New Orleans Saints vs Packers
Minnesota Vikings vs Cowboys

Predict the championship games (5 points per team)

AFC:
**Colts **vs Bengals

NFC:
**Packers **vs Vikings

  1. Predict the superbowl (5 points per team)
    **Colts **vs Packers

  2. Predict the superbowl winner (10 points)
    Green Bay Packers

Part 2:
New York Jets **21 **vs Cincinatti Bengals 24
Baltimore Ravens **31 **vs New England Patriots 10
Green Bay Packers **24 **vs Arizona Cardinals 21
Philadelphia Eagles **10 **vs Dallas Cowboys 13

Whoops! I changed my mind several times while posting, and I guess I missed a spot. I’ll probably change that.

I’d like to change this to New England Patriots if it isn’t too much trouble.

AFC: IND, SD, NE, CIN, NYJ, BAL
NFC: NO, MIN, DAL, AZ, GB, PHL

Predict the divisional games (5 points per correct team)

AFC:
Indianapolis Colts vs NYJ
San Diego Chargers vs NE

NFC:
New Orleans Saints vs GB
Minnesota Vikings vs PHL

Predict the championship games (5 points per team)

AFC:
IND vs SD

NFC:

NO vs MN

  1. Predict the superbowl (5 points per team)

SD vs MN

  1. Predict the superbowl winner (10 points)

Vikings

New York Jets 24 vs Cincinatti Bengals 17
Baltimore Ravens 9 vs New England Patriots 21
Green Bay Packers 21 vs Arizona Cardinals 10
Philadelphia Eagles 31 vs Dallas Cowboys 28

Predict the divisional games (5 points per correct team)

AFC:
Indianapolis Colts vs** Baltimore**
San Diego Chargers vs New York Jets

NFC:
New Orleans Saints vs Philadelphia
Minnesota Vikings vs Green Bay

Predict the championship games (5 points per team)

AFC:
Indianapolis vs San Diego

NFC:

New Orleans vs Green Bay

  1. Predict the superbowl (5 points per team)

San Diego vs Green Bay

  1. Predict the superbowl winner (10 points)

Green Bay

Part 2:

This is where every week you will submit a predicted score from the matchups that weekend. A new submission is required every week.

The games this week are
New York Jets 24 vs Cincinatti Bengals 14
Baltimore Ravens 20 vs New England Patriots 17
Green Bay Packers 31 vs Arizona Cardinals 20
Philadelphia Eagles 27 vs Dallas Cowboys 14

Part 1:
This is where you make a complete playoff bracket. This is only done once, at the beginning of the contest.

Predict the divisional games (5 points per correct team)

AFC:
Indianapolis Colts vs Cincinnati
San Diego Chargers vs New England

NFC:
New Orleans Saints vs Green Bay
Minnesota Vikings vs Dallas

Predict the championship games (5 points per team)

AFC:
Indianapolis vs New England

NFC:

New Orleans vs Dallas

  1. Predict the superbowl (5 points per team)

Indianapolis vs New Orleans

  1. Predict the superbowl winner (10 points)

Indianapolis
Part 2:

This is where every week you will submit a predicted score from the matchups that weekend. A new submission is required every week.

The games this week are
New York Jets 14 vs Cincinatti Bengals 17
Baltimore Ravens 17 vs New England Patriots 31
Green Bay Packers 30 vs Arizona Cardinals 21
Philadelphia Eagles 14 vs Dallas Cowboys 16

Thanks for the reminder how much I suck at this :smiley:
But since I’m a glutton for punishment (and humiliation):
Divisional
AFC:
Indy vs Bal
SD vs Cin

NFC:
NO vs GB
Min vs Dal

Championship
Indy VS SD
NO vs Dal

Superbowl
Indy vs Dal

SB Winner
Dal

This weeks games:
New York Jets 17 vs Cincinatti Bengals 20
Baltimore Ravens 17 vs New England Patriots 14
Green Bay Packers 27 vs Arizona Cardinals 21
Philadelphia Eagles 13 vs Dallas Cowboys 24

AFC:
Indianapolis Colts vs Ravens
San Diego Chargers vs Jets

NFC:
New Orleans Saints vs Packers
Minnesota Vikings vs Cowboys

AFC:
Chargers vs Colts

NFC:
Vikings vs Packers

  1. Colts vs Packers

  2. Indianapolis

Part 2

New York Jets 24 vs Cincinatti Bengals 17
Baltimore Ravens 20 vs New England Patriots 10
Green Bay Packers 31 vs Arizona Cardinals 28
Philadelphia Eagles 21 vs Dallas Cowboys 31

**Part 1:

  1. Predict the divisional games** (5 points per correct team)

AFC:
Indianapolis Colts vs New York Jets
San Diego Chargers vs Baltimore Ravens

NFC:
New Orleans Saints vs Green Bay Packers
Minnesota Vikings vs Dallas Cowboys

2. Predict the championship games (5 points per team)

AFC:
San Diego Chargers vs Indianapolis Colts

NFC:
New Orleans Saints vs Minnesota Vikings

3. Predict the superbowl (5 points per team)

San Diego Chargers vs Minnesota Vikings

4. Predict the superbowl winner (10 points)

San Diego Chargers

Part 2:

The games this week are
New York Jets 20 vs Cincinnati Bengals 9
Baltimore Ravens 27 vs New England Patriots 23
Green Bay Packers 34 vs Arizona Cardinals 23
Philadelphia Eagles 16 vs Dallas Cowboys 20

I don’t feel too confident, actually. It seems like there are a lot of very good teams this year. I wouldn’t be at all shocked if any of the following teams won the Super Bowl: New England, Indy, Baltimore, San Diego, Philly, Dallas, New Orleans, Green Bay, and Minnesota. And I’d only be a little shocked if Arizona won. (That leaves the Jets and Bengals as pure fodder, if you’re counting.)

So, our guiding principles are as follows: Norv Turner and Wade Phillips are terrible coaches who will never have substantial playoff success. Brett Favre just isn’t going to win another Super Bowl, because that would be too weird. The winner of Jets/Bengals will give a free ride to their divisional round opponent.

After that, I’m pretty much just flipping coins.
Part 1.

Divisional Round:
Cincinatti @ Indy
New England @ San Diego

GB @ Minnesota
Philly @ NO
Conference Championships:
New England @ Indy
GB @ New Orleans

Super Bowl:
New Orleans vs. Indy

SB Champion:
New Orleans
Part 2.
New York 13, Cincinnati 21
Baltimore 17, New England 28

Philadelphia 24, Dallas 21
Green Bay 31, Arizona 21

Part 1. Teams

  1. Division Round

AFC:
Indianapolis Colts vs Baltimore Ravens
San Diego Chargers vs New York Jets

NFC:
New Orleans Saints vs Arizona Cardinals
Minnesota Vikings vs Dallas Cowboys

  1. Championship round

AFC: Colts vs Jets
NFC: Saints vs Vikings

  1. Superbowl

Colts vs Vikings

  1. Superbowl winners

Indianapolis Colts
Part 2: Wildcard Weekend Scores
AFC
Bengals 16, Jets 17
Patriots 14, Ravens 20

NFC
Cowboys 30, Eagles 28
Cardinals 27, Packers 24

Sounds fun, here we go!

Part 1:
AFC:
Indianapolis Colts vs. Bal****timore
San Diego Chargers vs. Cincinnati

NFC:
New Orleans Saints vs. Green Bay
Minnesota Vikings vs. Dallas

Conference Championships:
AFC:
**San Diego @ **Indianapolis
NFC:
**Green Bay @ **Minnesota

Super Bowl:
**Minnesota @ **San Diego

Super Bowl Champion:
**San Diego

**Part 2:New York 13 Cincinnati 20
Baltimore **24 **New England **20

**Green Bay **31 **Arizona **17
**Philadelphia **19 **Dallas 23

Part 1:
This is where you make a complete playoff bracket. This is only done once, at the beginning of the contest.

Predict the divisional games (5 points per correct team)

AFC:
Indianapolis Colts vs Baltimore Ravens
San Diego Chargers vs Cincinatti Bengals
NFC:
New Orleans Saints vs Green Bay Packers
Minnesota Vikings vs Dallas Cowboys

Predict the championship games (5 points per team)

AFC:
Indianapolis Colts vs San Diego Chargers

NFC:

New Orleans Saints vs Dallas Cowboys

  1. Predict the superbowl (5 points per team)

Indianapolis Colts vs Dallas Cowboys

  1. Predict the superbowl winner (10 points)

Dallas Cowboys
Part 2:

This is where every week you will submit a predicted score from the matchups that weekend. A new submission is required every week.

The games this week are
New York Jets 6 vs Cincinatti Bengals 28
Baltimore Ravens 31 vs New England Patriots 13
Green Bay Packers 17 vs Arizona Cardinals 10
Philadelphia Eagles 27 vs Dallas Cowboys 31

I haven’t been paying much attention this year so don’t laugh when I fail badly.