# 2011-12 NFL Playoff Prediction Contest **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [January 3, 2012, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2011-12-nfl-playoff-prediction-contest/608312 "2012-01-03T23:31:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2012, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2011-12-nfl-playoff-prediction-contest/608312/1 "2012-01-03T23:31:33Z")
[Last year’s thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=591603&highlight=playoff) I’m just going to paste from there changing the relevant data for this 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. Take care to watch your seeding - there are certain scenarios that can’t happen (like New England playing Houston in the divisional round) so if you choose those, you’ll be wrong. 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: New England Patriots vs \_\_\_\_\_ Baltimore Ravens vs \_\_\_\_\_\_ NFC: Green Bay Packers vs \_\_\_\_\_ San Francisco 49ers vs \_\_\_\_\_ 1. 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 Cincinatti @ Houston Pittsburgh @ Denver Atlanta @ NYG DET @ NO 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. If you’re confused, [this is what a bracket should look like](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=10640663&postcount=8). And then on subsequent weeks, you would only guess the scores for that week’s games. 2008-09 results: 1st. VarlosZ 2. Furt 3. Ro0sh 4. Borchevsky 5. SenorBeef 6. Hamlet 7. DiggitCamara 8. CatInASuit 9. Fear The Turtle 2009-10 results: 1. Omniscient 2. Garygnu 3. Jahiegel 4. SenorBeef 5. drm 6. Fear The Turtle 7. Taber 8. Gray Ghost 2010-11 results are… not in last year’s thread. Did I post the results in another thread, or forget it entirely? I’ll dig around later for that. Anyway, it would be nice if everyone could grade their own scores like [Garygnu does here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=13390254&postcount=55) to divide up the workload. Just do your math in the thread, like he does, so it’s easy for me to double check for accuracy. I’ll post my bracket later. Again, there’s a link to a properly formed bracket if you want to see an example. We also have the [NFL.com fantasy playoff challenge](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=637187) going if you want to join that too. ---
**Author:** ![Taber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac91a4/32.png) [@Taber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taber)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2011-12-nfl-playoff-prediction-contest/608312/2 "2012-01-04T00:39:27Z")
I apparently did awful last year, but no reason not to get back on the horse Divisional round: AFC: New England Patriots vs Cincinnati Baltimore Ravens vs Pittsburgh NFC: Green Bay Packers vs New York Giants San Francisco 49ers vs New Orleans Championship games AFC New England vs Pittsburgh NFC Green Bay Packers Vs New Orleans Super bowl New England vs Green Bay Winners: Green Bay Packers 1. Games Cincinatti 17 Houston 10 Pittsburgh 24 Denver 6 Detroit 24 New Orleans 34 Atlanta 17 New York Giants 24 ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_the_turtle/32/2926_2.png) [@Fear\_the\_Turtle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_the_Turtle)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2012, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2011-12-nfl-playoff-prediction-contest/608312/3 "2012-01-04T04:02:00Z")
Part 1: Teams 1. Divisional Round AFC: New England Patriots vs Pittsburgh Steelers Baltimore Ravens vs Houston Texans NFC: Green Bay Packers vs Atlanta Falcons San Francisco 49ers vs New Orleans Saints 2. Championship round AFC: Ravens vs Steelers NFC: Saints vs Packers 1. Superbowl Packers vs Ravens 1. Superbowl winner Baltimore Ravens Part 2: Wildcard Weekend Scores AFC Bengals 17, Texans 21 Broncos 6, Steelers 17 NFC Lions 23, Saints 33 Giants 17, Falcons 21 ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2011-12-nfl-playoff-prediction-contest/608312/4 "2012-01-05T05:02:33Z")
Been horrific this year picking games, but still… Part 1: AFC: New England Patriots vs Pittsburgh Steelers Baltimore Ravens vs Cincinnati Bengals NFC: Green Bay Packers vs New York Giants San Francisco 49ers vs New Orleans Saints AFC Champ: Patriots v. Ravens NFC Champ: Niners v. Giants Superbowl: Ravens v. Niners. Ravens win. Part 2: Wildcard Weekend Scores AFC Bengals 20, Texans 16 Broncos 9, Steelers 17 NFC Lions 24, Saints 38 Giants 27, Falcons 24 ---
**Author:** ![Taber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac91a4/32.png) [@Taber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taber)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2011-12-nfl-playoff-prediction-contest/608312/5 "2012-01-05T21:30:47Z")
> [@Gray\_Ghost](#): > > Been horrific this year picking games, but still… > > Part 1: > > AFC: > New England Patriots vs Pittsburgh Steelers > Baltimore Ravens vs Cincinnati Bengals I think your seeding is backwards here. Bengals are seed 6 and Steelers are 5, so if it goes down like that, then the Bengals face the #1 Patriots and Steelers get the #2 Ravens. ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2012, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2011-12-nfl-playoff-prediction-contest/608312/6 "2012-01-05T23:03:25Z")
> [@Taber](#): > > I think your seeding is backwards here. Bengals are seed 6 and Steelers are 5, so if it goes down like that, then the Bengals face the #1 Patriots and Steelers get the #2 Ravens. Damn it, I think you’re right. And I looked over it a few times too. O.K. Beef, if you could switch the games thusly: Bengals v. Pats, Steelers v. Ravens. I’m betting the AFC Championship game will be the same though. ---
**Author:** ![Jules\_Andre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jules_andre/32/9334_2.png) [@Jules\_Andre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jules_Andre)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2011-12-nfl-playoff-prediction-contest/608312/7 "2012-01-06T09:12:39Z")
**Part 1:** AFC: New England Patriots vs. Cincinnati Bengals Baltimore Ravens vs. Pittsburgh Steelers NFC: Green Bay Packers vs. Atlanta Falcons San Francisco 49ers vs. New Orleans Saints **2.** AFC: New England Patriots vs. Baltimore Ravens Green Bay Packers vs. San Francisco 49ers **3.** Baltimore Ravens vs. San Francisco 49ers **4.** Baltimore Ravens **Part 2:** Bengals 20, Houston 17 Steelers 16, Broncos 10 Falcons 31, Giants 26 Lions 34, Saints 48 ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2011-12-nfl-playoff-prediction-contest/608312/8 "2012-01-06T21:06:00Z")
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: New England Patriots vs Pittsburgh Steelers Baltimore Ravens vs Houston Texans NFC: Green Bay Packers vs New York Giants San Francisco 49ers vs New Orleans Saints 1. Predict the championship games (5 points per team) AFC: New England Patriots vs Baltimore Ravens NFC: Green Bay Packers vs San Francisco 49ers 3. Predict the Super Bowl (5 points per team) Baltimore Ravens vs Green Bay Packers 1. Predict the Super Bowl winner (10 points) Green Bay Packers (bleaaargh!) 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 Cincinatti 13 @ Houston 20 Pittsburgh 17 @ Denver 16 Atlanta 27 @ NYG 28 DET 27 @ NO 34 ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2011-12-nfl-playoff-prediction-contest/608312/9 "2012-01-06T21:54:18Z")
Part 1: 1. Divisional Games AFC: 1. Houston at Baltimore 2. Pittsburgh at New England NFC: 1. New Orleans at San Francisco 2. New York Giants at Green Bay Conference Championships: AFC: Pittsburgh @ Baltimore NFC: San Francisco @ Green Bay Super Bowl: Baltimore vs. Green Bay Super Bowl Winner: Baltimore Ravens Part 2: Wildcard Weekend Scores: CIN 10 @ HOU 20 PIT 20 @ DEN 17 ATL 24 @ NYG 27 DET 27 @ NO 34 ---
**Author:** ![mkecane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@mkecane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mkecane)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2011-12-nfl-playoff-prediction-contest/608312/10 "2012-01-06T22:01:44Z")
Part 1: Predict the divisional games (5 points per correct team) AFC: New England Patriots vs Cincinnati Baltimore Ravens vs Pittsburgh NFC: Green Bay Packers vs New York San Francisco 49ers vs New Orleans 1. Predict the championship games (5 points per team) AFC: New England vs Baltimore NFC: San Francisco vs New York 1. Predict the superbowl (5 points per team) Baltimore vs San Francisco 1. Predict the superbowl winner (10 points) San Francisco Part 2: Cincinnati 23 Houston 16 Pittsburgh 21 Denver 0 New York 31 Atlanta 28 New Orleans 49 Detroit 35 ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2011-12-nfl-playoff-prediction-contest/608312/11 "2012-01-06T22:53:22Z")
**Part 1. Complete Playoff Bracket** **1. Division Round** (5 points per correct team) AFC: New England Patriots vs _Pittsburgh Steelers_ Baltimore Ravens vs _Houston Texans_ NFC: Green Bay Packers vs _Atlanta Falcons_ San Francisco 49ers vs _New Orleans Saints_ **2. Championship round** (5 points per correct team) AFC: _New England Patriots_ vs _Baltimore Ravens_ NFC: _Green Bay Packers_ vs _San Francisco 49ers_ **3. Superbowl** (5 points per correct team) _San Francisco 49ers_ vs _New England Patriots_ **4. Superbowl winners** (10 points) _San Francisco 49ers_ **Part 2: Wildcard Weekend Scores** AFC Bengals 13, Texans 20 Pittsburgh 17 @ Denver 5 NFC Falcons 27, Giants 24 Lions 30, Saints 38 ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2012, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2011-12-nfl-playoff-prediction-contest/608312/12 "2012-01-06T22:57:30Z")
Commentary: I’ve been really good a picking games lately, as evidenced by my 2nd place two years ago and utter dominance last year in this contest, and I’m in first in all three 'Dope Pick’Em leagues. Now that my 49ers are in it (and not just a fringe team), my heart is arguing with my brain. My heart won, I just hope my brain can cover by picking scores mostly right, like last year. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2011-12-nfl-playoff-prediction-contest/608312/13 "2012-01-07T07:04:03Z")
**Part 1. Complete Playoff Bracket** **1. Division Round** (5 points per correct team) AFC: New England Patriots vs _Cincinatti Bengals_ Baltimore Ravens vs _Pittsburgh Steelers_ NFC: Green Bay Packers vs _Atlanta Falcons_ San Francisco 49ers vs _New Orleans Saints_ **2. Championship round** (5 points per correct team) AFC: _New England Patriots_ vs _Baltimore Ravens_ NFC: _Green Bay Packers_ vs _New Orleans Saints_ **3. Superbowl** (5 points per correct team) _Green Bay Packers_ vs _Baltimore Ravens_ **4. Superbowl winners** (10 points) _Green Bay Packers_ **Part 2: Wildcard Weekend Scores** AFC Bengals 24, Texans 17 Pittsburgh 17 @ Denver 10 NFC Falcons 33, Giants 24 Saints 42, Lions 33 ---
**Author:** ![Hamlet](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hamlet/32/2818_2.png) [@Hamlet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamlet)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2011-12-nfl-playoff-prediction-contest/608312/14 "2012-01-07T14:22:16Z")
PART 1 1. Division Round (5 points per correct team) AFC: New England Patriots vs Pittsburgh Steelers Baltimore Ravens vs Houston Texans NFC: Green Bay Packers vs Atlanta Falcons San Francisco 49ers vs New Orleans Saints 1. Championship round (5 points per correct team) AFC: New England Patriots vs Baltimore Ravens NFC: Green Bay Packers vs San Francisco 49ers 1. Superbowl (5 points per correct team) Green Bay Packers vs Baltimore Ravens 1. Superbowl winners (10 points) Green Bay Packers Part 2: Wildcard Weekend Scores AFC Bengals 17, Texans 23 Pittsburgh 13 Denver 6 NFC Falcons 31, Giants 21 Saints 41, Lions 28 ---
**Author:** ![Jahiegel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ea924/32.png) [@Jahiegel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jahiegel)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2012, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2011-12-nfl-playoff-prediction-contest/608312/15 "2012-01-07T19:47:39Z")
Part 1: 1. Predict the divisional games (5 points per correct team) AFC: New England Patriots vs Pittsburgh Steelers Baltimore Ravens vs Houston Texans NFC: Green Bay Packers vs New York Giants San Francisco 49ers vs New Orleans Saints 1. Predict the championship games (5 points per correct team) AFC: New England Patriots vs Baltimore Ravens NFC: Green Bay Packers vs New Orleans Saints 1. Predict the Super Bowl (5 points per correct team) New England Patriots vs Green Bay Packers 1. Predict the Super Bowl winner (10 points) Green Bay Packers Part 2: Wild card round: Cincinnati Bengals 17 @ Houston Texans 23 Detroit Lions 28 @ New Orleans Saints 38 Atlanta Falcons 23 @ New York Giants 24 Pittsburgh Steelers 20 @ Denver Broncos 9 ---
**Author:** ![Taber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ac91a4/32.png) [@Taber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taber)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2011-12-nfl-playoff-prediction-contest/608312/16 "2012-01-09T18:19:20Z")
I’m not including my part 1 points in this scoring. Scoring: Cincinatti 17 10 7 Houston 10 31 21 subtotal 28 Pittsburgh 24 23 1 Denver 6 29 23 subtotal 24 Detroit 24 28 4 New Orleans 34 45 11 Right! -10 subtotal 5 Atlanta 17 2 15 New York Giants 24 24 0 Right! -10 subtotal 5 total: 62 ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2011-12-nfl-playoff-prediction-contest/608312/17 "2012-01-09T18:50:31Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > … > **Part 2: Wildcard Weekend Scores** > > AFC > Bengals 13, Texans 20 > Pittsburgh 17 @ Denver 5 > > NFC > Falcons 27, Giants 24 > Lions 30, Saints 38 Bengals-Texans: |13-10|+|20-31|-10= **4** Lions-Saints: |30-28|+|38-45|-10= **-1** Falcons-Giants: |27-2|+|24-24|= **25** Steelers-Broncos: |17-23|+|5-29|= **30** Total: 4-1+25+30= **58** (In case you don’t know or can’t tell, those vertical marks up there are for absolute value. Predicted score is listed first.) ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2011-12-nfl-playoff-prediction-contest/608312/18 "2012-01-09T18:54:14Z")
Yeah, ignore the part 1/overall bracket stuff for now, that will come into play at the end. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2011-12-nfl-playoff-prediction-contest/608312/19 "2012-01-09T19:19:44Z")
> [@omniscient](#): > > cincinatti 13 @ houston 20 > pittsburgh 17 @ denver 16 > atlanta 27 @ nyg 28 > det 27 @ no 34 3 + 11 - 10 = 4 6 + 13 = 19 25 + 4 - 10 = 19 1 + 11 - 10 = 2 4 + 19 + 19 + 2 = **44** ---
**Author:** ![Enginerd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bcef8e/32.png) [@Enginerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enginerd)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2012, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2011-12-nfl-playoff-prediction-contest/608312/20 "2012-01-09T19:37:17Z")
> [@Enginerd](#): > > Part 1: > Part 2: > Wildcard Weekend Scores: > CIN 10 @ HOU 20 > PIT 20 @ DEN 17 > ATL 24 @ NYG 27 > DET 27 @ NO 34 CIN @ HOU: |10 - 10| + |31 - 20| - 10 = 1 PIT @ DEN: |23 - 20| + |29 - 17| = 15 ATL @ NYG: |2 - 24| + |24 - 27| - 10 = 15 DET @ NO: |28 - 27| + |45 - 34| - 10 = 2 **Total WC Weekend Score: 33** [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2011-12-nfl-playoff-prediction-contest/608312.md?page=2)