6th Annual BGO Crystal Ball Contest

[Canadian Hog]

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, and children of all ages...

We are pleased to introduce to you the 6th Annual BGO "Crystal Ball" Pool! A season ago, SkinsGuru hoisted the Crystal Ball trophy - can you dethrone him in the upcoming season? Do you think you got what it takes to predict what 14 teams will make the playoffs, and who will advance through the playoffs and hoist the Lombardi? If so, this very challenging contest is just the one for you! By joining this BGO contest, as well as our other great games (BGO Ballers Fantasy Football, BGO Pick'Em) you have a chance to become our grand slam champion and earn the ULTIMATE bragging rights!

"Crystal Ball" Pool Rules:

1. Make your predictions for which 7 teams will advance to the NFL Playoffs from each conference (NFC and AFC).
2. Identify your four division winners (East, North, South, West) and three Wild Card teams from each conference.
3. Rank the playoff teams from each conference in the order you think they will finish (#1 through to #7).
4. Set up your playoff bracket accordingly and pick the winners for the Wild Card Weekend games, Divisional Round games, Conference Championships, and Super Bowl.
5. Be sure to fill out your tiebreakers in the event of a tie at the end of the contest between multiple participants.
6. Due date for entries into the pool will be September 9th, 2026 (the first day of the NFL regular season).

BGO "Crystal Ball" Pool Scoring System:

Points will be awarded in a variety of ways throughout the pool. Here is the breakdown for earning points:

a. Earn 2 points for every team you correctly identify to make the playoffs from each conference.
b. Earn 3 points for every division winner and wild card team you correctly identify from each conference.
c. Earn 4 points for every team that you slot into the correct seed from each conference.
d. Earn 5 points for every Super Wild Card Weekend winner you identify from each conference.
e. Earn 8 points for every Divisional Playoff Game winner you identify from each conference.
f. Earn 10 points for each Conference Championship winner you identify.
g. Earn 20 points for correctly identifying the Super Bowl winner.

PLEASE NOTE/IMPORTANT: We will keep track of each participant's picks in this running thread. You will simply need to post all your picks in a reply to this thread by September 9th, 2026. I am kindly asking that you copy the empty template I have placed below and fill it out accordingly when making your "Crystal Ball" picks and replying to the thread. It will make point tracking a heck of a lot easier for me come the end of the season! 🤪 It will also ensure everything is easy to read and follow (hopefully) if we want to compare picks down the road as the season plays out.

Good luck to all participants!

BGO "CRYSTAL BALL" PICK TEMPLATE

AFC PREDICTED PLAYOFF TEAMS: (2 points each)

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.

AFC DIVISION WINNERS/WILD CARD TEAM PREDICTIONS: (3 points each)

AFC East Division Winner:
AFC North Division Winner:
AFC South Division Winner:
AFC West Division Winner:
AFC Wild Card Team:
AFC Wild Card Team:
AFC Wild Card Team:

AFC PREDICTED PLAYOFF SEEDINGS: (4 points each)

#1 Seed (1st Round Bye):
#2 Seed (division winner):
#3 Seed (division winner):
#4 Seed (division winner):
#5 Seed (wild card team):
#6 Seed (wild card team):
#7 Seed (wild card team):

AFC PREDICTED PLAYOFF MATCHUPS AND WINNERS:

AFC Super Wild Card Weekend: (5 points for each correctly predicted winner)

#2 -
VS.
#7 -
PREDICTED WINNER:

#3 -
VS.
#6 -
PREDICTED WINNER:

#4 -
VS.
#5 -
PREDICTED WINNER:

AFC Divisional Playoff Round: (6 points for each correctly predicted winner)

#1 -
VS.
Your Lowest Remaining AFC Seed:
PREDICTED WINNER:

2nd Highest Remaining AFC Seed:
VS.
3rd Highest Remaining AFC Seed:
PREDICTED WINNER:

AFC Conference Championship: (7 points for correctly predicted winner)

Team A:
VS.
Team B:
PREDICTED AFC CONFERENCE CHAMPION:


NFC PREDICTED PLAYOFF TEAMS: (2 points each)

a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.

NFC DIVISION WINNERS/WILD CARD TEAM PREDICTIONS: (3 points each)

NFC East Division Winner:
NFC North Division Winner:
NFC South Division Winner:
NFC West Division Winner:
NFC Wild Card Team:
NFC Wild Card Team:
NFC Wild Card Team:

NFC PREDICTED PLAYOFF SEEDINGS: (4 points each)

#1 Seed (1st Round Bye):
#2 Seed (division winner):
#3 Seed (division winner):
#4 Seed (division winner):
#5 Seed (wild card team):
#6 Seed (wild card team):
#7 Seed (wild card team):

NFC PREDICTED PLAYOFF MATCHUPS AND WINNERS:

NFC Super Wild Card Weekend: (5 points for each correctly predicted winner)

#2 -
VS.
#7 -
PREDICTED WINNER:

#3 -
VS.
#6 -
PREDICTED WINNER:

#4 -
VS.
#5 -
PREDICTED WINNER:

NFC Divisional Playoff Round:
(6 points for each correctly predicted winner)

#1 -
VS.
Your Lowest Remaining NFC Seed:
PREDICTED WINNER:

2nd Highest Remaining NFC Seed:
VS.
3rd Highest Remaining NFC Seed:
PREDICTED WINNER:

NFC Conference Championship:
(7 points for correctly predicted winner)

Team A:
VS.
Team B:
PREDICTED NFC CONFERENCE CHAMPION:

Super Bowl:
(10 points for correctly predicted winner)

AFC Conference Champion:
VS.
NFC Conference Champion:
PREDICTED SUPER BOWL WINNER:

Tiebreaker:
What will be the combined total score in the Super Bowl?

 

[SkinsOrlando]

Here is the spreadsheet format I used last year that some utilized.

You can also import it to sheets.

 

[Canadian Hog]

Here is the spreadsheet format I used last year that some utilized.

Thank you, SO!

This is brilliant. Yes, all can feel free to use that method to record their picks.

 

[SkinsOrlando]

It's early, and yes I will most likely update this a few days before the season,

	AFC Playoff Teams			NFC Playoff Teams
a.	Chiefs		a.	Philly
b.	Bengals		b.	Dallas
c.	Baltimore		c.	Rams
d.	Buffalo		d.	Seattle
e.	Denver		e.	Detroit
f.	Houston		f.	49'ers
g.	Chargers		g.	Bucs
	AFC Div Winners			NFC Div Winners
East	Buffalo		East	Philly
North	Bengals		North	Detroit
South	Houston		South	Bucs
West	Chargers		West	Rams
Wild	Baltimore		Wild	Seattle
Wild	Chiefs		Wild	Dallas
Wild	Denver		Wild	49'ers
	Seeds			Seeds
1	Buffalo		1	Detroit
2	Bengals		2	Philly
3	Chargers		3	Rams
4	Houston		4	Bucs
5	Chiefs		5	Seattle
6	Denver		6	Dallas
7	Baltimore		7	49'ers
	Wild Card			Wild Card
2 Vs. 7	Bengals		2 Vs. 7	49'ers
3 vs 6	Denver		3 vs 6	Rams
4 vs 5	Chiefs		4 vs 5	Seattle
	Divisional Rd			Divisional Rd
1 Vs lowest	Buffalo		1 Vs lowest	Detroit
Remain	Denver		Remain	Rams
	Conf Champ			Conf Champ
	Buffalo			Detroit
		SB W
		Buffalo
		Score
		34-24

 

[Busch1724]

This league makes no sense year to year, so here it goes:

	AFC Playoff Teams			NFC Playoff Teams
a	Bills	a	East	Cowboys
b	Bengals	b	North	Packers
c	Colts	c	South	Saints
d	Chiefs	d	West	Rams
e	Texans	e	Wild	Seahawks
f	Ravens	f	Wild	Commanders
g	Chargers	g	Wild	Lions

	AFC Div Winners			NFC Div Winners
East	Bills		East	Cowboys
North	Bengals		North	Packers
South	Colts		South	Saints
West	Chiefs		West	Rams
Wild	Texans		Wild	Seahawks
Wild	Ravens		Wild	Commanders
Wild	Chargers		Wild	Lions
	Seeds			Seeds
1	Bengals		1	Packers
2	Bills		2	Rams
3	Chiefs		3	Cowboys
4	Colts		4	Saints
5	Texans		5	Seahawks
6	Ravens		6	Commanders
7	Chargers		7	Lions
	Wild Card			Wild Card
2 Vs. 7	Bills		2 Vs. 7	Lions
3 vs 6	Chiefs		3 vs 6	Commanders
4 vs 5	Texans		4 vs 5	Seahawks
	Divisional Rd			Divisional Rd
1 Vs lowest	Bengals		1 Vs lowest	Lions
Remain	Bills		Remain	Rams
	Conf Champ			Conf Champ
	Bengals			Lions
		SB W
		Bengals
		Score
		34-27

 

[Donpablo12]

I doubt I'll be making any changes, but let's see how I do.

	AFC Playoff Teams			NFC Playoff Teams
a.	Buffalo Bills		a.	LA Rams
b.	Denver Broncos		b.	Dallas Cowboys
c.	Houston Texans		c.	Detroit Lions
d.	Cincinnati Bengals		d.	Tampa Bay Bucs
e.	Baltimore Ravens		e.	Washington Commanders
f.	Kansas City Chiefs		f.	Seattle Seahawks
g.	Jacksonville Jaguars		g.	Eagles
	AFC Div Winners			NFC Div Winners
East	Buffalo Bills		East	Dallas Cowboys
North	Cincinnati Bengals		North	Detroit Lions
South	Houston Texans		South	Tampa Bay Bucs
West	Denver Broncos		West	LA Rams
Wild	Baltimore Ravens		Wild	Washington Commanders
Wild	Jacksonville Jaguars		Wild	Seattle Seahawks
Wild	Kansas City Chiefs		Wild	Eagles
	Seeds			Seeds
1	Buffalo Bills		1	LA Rams
2	Denver Broncos		2	Dallas Cowboys
3	Houston Texans		3	Detroit Lions
4	Cincinnati Bengals		4	Tampa Bay Bucs
5	Baltimore Ravens		5	Washington Commanders
6	Kansas City Chiefs		6	Seattle Seahawks
7	Jacksonville Jaguars		7	Eagles
	Wild Card			Wild Card
2 Vs. 7	Denver Broncos		2 Vs. 7	Dallas Cowboys
3 vs 6	Kansas City Chiefs		3 vs 6	Detroit Lions
4 vs 5	Cincinnati Bengals		4 vs 5	Washington Commanders
	Divisional Rd			Divisional Rd
1 Vs lowest	Buffalo Bills		1 Vs lowest	LA Rams
Remain	Denver Broncos		Remain	Dallas Cowboys
	Conf Champ			Conf Champ
	Buffalo Bills			LA Rams
		SB W
		LA Rams
		Score
		35-20

 

[SkinsOrlando]

Busch1724 you need to do the first part of seven for both leagues before the league division champs etc. Otherwise you're giving up points. Thanks for playing !

 

[BabelRich]

Honestly who the heck knows, the Tunsil injury has made me regrettably drop Washington from the Wild Card race so lets try this load of nonsense.

​	​	​	​	​
​	AFC Playoff Teams​	​	​	NFC Playoff Teams ​
a.​	Buffalo Bills​	​	a.​	Dallas Cowboys​
b.​	Cincinnati Bengals​	​	b.​	Detroit Lions​
c.​	Houston Texans​	​	c.​	New Orleans Saints​
d.​	Denver Broncos​	​	d.​	LA Rams​
e.​	Jacksonville Jaguars​	​	e.​	Seattle Seahawks​
f.​	Baltimore Ravens​	​	f.​	Philadelphia Eagles​
g.​	New England Patriots​	​	g.​	Green Bay Packers​
​	​	​	​	​
​	AFC Div Winners​	​	​	NFC Div Winners​
East​	Buffalo Bills​	​	East​	Dallas Cowboys​
North​	Cincinnati Bengals​	​	North​	Detroit Lions​
South​	Houston Texans​	​	South​	New Orleans Saints​
West​	Denver Broncos​	​	West​	LA Rams​
Wild​	Jacksonville Jaguars​	​	Wild​	Seattle Seahawks​
Wild​	Baltimore Ravens​	​	Wild​	Philadelphia Eagles​
Wild​	New England Patriots​	​	Wild​	Green Bay Packers​
​	​	​	​	​
​	Seeds​	​	​	Seeds​
1​	Cincinnati Bengals​	​	1​	LA Rams​
2​	Houston Texans​	​	2​	Dallas Cowboys​
3​	Buffalo Bills​	​	3​	Detroit Lions​
4​	Denver Broncos​	​	4​	New Orleans Saints​
5​	Jacksonville Jaguars​	​	5​	Seattle Seahawks​
6​	Baltimore Ravens​	​	6​	Philadelphia Eagles​
7​	New England Patriots​	​	7​	Green Bay Packers​
​	​	​	​	​
​	Wild Card​	​	​	Wild Card​
2 Vs. 7​	Houston Texans​	​	2 Vs. 7​	Dallas Cowboys​
3 vs 6​	Buffalo Bills​	​	3 vs 6​	Detroit Lions​
4 vs 5​	Jacksonville Jaguars​	​	4 vs 5​	Seattle Seahawks​
​	​	​	​	​
​	Divisional Rd​	​	​	Divisional Rd​
1 Vs lowest​	Cincinnati Bengals​	​	1 Vs lowest​	LA Rams​
Remain​	Buffalo Bills​	​	Remain​	Dallas Cowboys​
​	​	​	​	​
​	Conf Champ ​	​	​	Conf Champ​
​	Buffalo Bills​	​	​	LA Rams​
​	​	​	​	​
​	​	SB W​	​	​
​	​	LA Rams​	​	​
​	​	Score​	​	​
​	​	28-24​	​	​

 

[CanadianChief]

AFC PREDICTED PLAYOFF TEAMS: (2 points each)

a. Chiefs
b. Bengals
c. Bills
d. Jaguars
e. Patriots
f. Chargers
g. Broncos

AFC DIVISION WINNERS/WILD CARD TEAM PREDICTIONS: (3 points each)

AFC East Division Winner: Patriots
AFC North Division Winner: Bengals
AFC South Division Winner: Jaguars
AFC West Division Winner: Chargers
AFC Wild Card Team: Chiefs
AFC Wild Card Team: Broncos
AFC Wild Card Team: Bills

AFC PREDICTED PLAYOFF SEEDINGS: (4 points each)

#1 Seed (1st Round Bye): Patriots
#2 Seed (division winner): Bengals
#3 Seed (division winner): Chargers
#4 Seed (division winner): Jaguars
#5 Seed (wild card team): Chiefs
#6 Seed (wild card team): Bills
#7 Seed (wild card team): Broncos

AFC PREDICTED PLAYOFF MATCHUPS AND WINNERS:

AFC Super Wild Card Weekend: (5 points for each correctly predicted winner)

#2 - Bengals
VS.
#7 - Broncos
PREDICTED WINNER: Bengals

#3 - Chargers
VS.
#6 - Bills
PREDICTED WINNER: Bills

#4 - Jaguars
VS.
#5 - Chiefs
PREDICTED WINNER: Chiefs

AFC Divisional Playoff Round: (6 points for each correctly predicted winner)

#1 - Patriots
VS.
Your Lowest Remaining AFC Seed: Bills
PREDICTED WINNER: Patriots

2nd Highest Remaining AFC Seed: Bengals
VS.
3rd Highest Remaining AFC Seed: Chiefs
PREDICTED WINNER: Chiefs

AFC Conference Championship: (7 points for correctly predicted winner)

Team A: Chiefs
VS.
Team B: Bengals
PREDICTED AFC CONFERENCE CHAMPION: Chiefs


NFC PREDICTED PLAYOFF TEAMS: (2 points each)

a. Saints
b. Seahawks
c. 49ers
d. Rams
e. Bears
f. Cowboys
g. Vikings

NFC DIVISION WINNERS/WILD CARD TEAM PREDICTIONS: (3 points each)

NFC East Division Winner: Cowboys
NFC North Division Winner: Bears
NFC South Division Winner: Saints
NFC West Division Winner: Rams
NFC Wild Card Team: Vikings
NFC Wild Card Team: 49ers
NFC Wild Card Team: Seahawks

NFC PREDICTED PLAYOFF SEEDINGS: (4 points each)

#1 Seed (1st Round Bye): Rams
#2 Seed (division winner): Cowboys
#3 Seed (division winner): Bears
#4 Seed (division winner): Saints
#5 Seed (wild card team): Seahawks
#6 Seed (wild card team): 49ers
#7 Seed (wild card team): Vikings

NFC PREDICTED PLAYOFF MATCHUPS AND WINNERS:

NFC Super Wild Card Weekend: (5 points for each correctly predicted winner)

#2 - Cowboys
VS.
#7 - Vikings
PREDICTED WINNER: Cowboys

#3 - Bears
VS.
#6 - 49ers
PREDICTED WINNER: 49ers

#4 - Saints
VS.
#5 - Seahawks
PREDICTED WINNER: Seahawks

NFC Divisional Playoff Round:
(6 points for each correctly predicted winner)

#1 - Rams
VS.
Your Lowest Remaining NFC Seed: 49ers
PREDICTED WINNER:

2nd Highest Remaining NFC Seed: Cowboys
VS.
3rd Highest Remaining NFC Seed: Seahawks
PREDICTED WINNER: Cowboys

NFC Conference Championship:
(7 points for correctly predicted winner)

Team A: Cowboys
VS.
Team B: Rams
PREDICTED NFC CONFERENCE CHAMPION: Rams

Super Bowl:
(10 points for correctly predicted winner)

AFC Conference Champion: Chiefs
VS.
NFC Conference Champion: Rams
PREDICTED SUPER BOWL WINNER: Chiefs

Tiebreaker:
What will be the combined total score in the Super Bowl?

44 points

 

[Boone]

	AFC Playoff Teams			NFC Playoff Teams
a.	Patriots		a.	Cowboys
b.	Steelers		b.	Packers
c.	Texans		c.	Bucs
d.	Broncos		d.	Rams
e.	Chiefs		e.	Seahawks
f.	Jaguars		f.	Lions
g.	Bengals		g.	49ers
	AFC Div Winners			NFC Div Winners
East	Patriots		East	Cowboys
North	Steelers		North	Packers
South	Texans		South	Bucs
West	Broncos		West	Rams
Wild	Chiefs		Wild	Seahawks
Wild	Jaguars		Wild	Lions
Wild	Bengals		Wild	49ers
	Seeds			Seeds
1	Broncos		1	Rams
2	Patriots		2	Packers
3	Steelers		3	Bucs
4	Texans		4	Cowboys
5	Bengals		5	Seahawks
6	Jaguars		6	49ers
7	Chiefs		7	Lions
	Wild Card			Wild Card
2 Vs. 7	Patriots		2 Vs. 7	Packers
3 vs 6	Jaguars		3 vs 6	Bucs
4 vs 5	Texans		4 vs 5	Cowboys
	Divisional Rd			Divisional Rd
1 Vs lowest	Broncos vs Jaguars (Broncos win)		1 Vs lowest	Rams vs Cowboys (Rams win)
2nd Vs 3rd	Patritots vs. Texans (Patriots win)		2nd Vs 3rd	Packers vs Bucs (Packers win)
	Conf Champ			Conf Champ
	Broncos			Rams
		SB W	Rams
		Score	42-17

 

[Canadian Hog]

	AFC Playoff Teams			NFC Playoff Teams
a.	Patriots		a.	Cowboys
b.	Steelers		b.	Packers
c.	Texans		c.	Bucs
d.	Broncos		d.	Rams
e.	Chiefs		e.	Seahawks
f.	Jaguars		f.	Lions
g.	Bengals		g.	49ers
	AFC Div Winners			NFC Div Winners
East	Patriots		East	Cowboys
North	Steelers		North	Packers
South	Texans		South	Bucs
West	Broncos		West	Rams
Wild	Chiefs		Wild	Seahawks
Wild	Jaguars		Wild	Lions
Wild	Bengals		Wild	49ers
	Seeds			Seeds
1	Broncos		1	Rams
2	Patriots		2	Packers
3	Steelers		3	Bucs
4	Texans		4	Cowboys
5	Bengals		5	Seahawks
6	Jaguars		6	49ers
7	Chiefs		7	Lions
	Wild Card			Wild Card
2 Vs. 7	Patriots		2 Vs. 7	Packers
3 vs 6	Jaguars		3 vs 6	Bucs
4 vs 5	Chiefs		4 vs 5	Cowboys
	Divisional Rd			Divisional Rd
1 Vs lowest	Broncos		1 Vs lowest	Rams
Remain	Chiefs		Remain	Cowboys
	Conf Champ			Conf Champ
	Broncos			Rams
		SB W	Rams
		Score	42-17

John,

Doublecheck your AFC bracket. You have the Chiefs losing in the 2 vs 7 matchup, but also have them advancing to the AFC Championship.

Also, check your NFC side. You have the Rams defeating Dallas in the Divisional, but also have those same two teams facing each other in the NFC Championship.

 

[Boone]

Must not have had my coffee.. thanks I will fix it

 

[Boone]

Hey SkinsOrlando, can I make a suggestion on tweaking your template for next year? You do not show both games in each divisional round matchup - it should say 1 vs. lowest and 2 vs. 3. I find it very confusing when I get to that part of the template without listing out both games and the results. I have tweaked my entry to show that. Not a huge deal, I may be the only one it confuses, but I don't see a downside to listing out the participants in all 4 games in that round and the winners. Just a suggestion.