Colin Cowherd#54 of 87 NFL pundits · Sep 16, 2025
Cowherd predicted Buffalo would blow out Miami on Thursday night, unveiled their 12-team "Herd Hierarchy" with Green Bay first and Kansas City left out of the top 10, and named the Colts, Ravens and Bills as division winners while saying the Chiefs will still make the playoffs. They also took Utah at home over Texas Tech.
Said on air or in an interview · The Herd with Colin Cowherd (podcast)Hear the original
What Colin Cowherd said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromSo I think green Bay is by far and away right now the best team in the league.
- Where it was said
- The Herd with Colin Cowherd (podcast)
- The episode
- THE HERD - Hour 2 - Nick Wright Debates if the Chiefs Should Be in Colin's Top-10
- The original
- Hear the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
The page this came from has changed since we captured it on Aug 5, 2026. The quote and evidence here are from our capture, not from what the page says today.
- SaidSep 16, 2025
- GradedAug 5–17, 2026
- 1Baltimore Ravens to win the division“You can just pencil them in to win their division.”
- 2Buffalo Bills to beat Miami“Thursday Night, Buffalo is gonna hammer Miami.”
- 3Indianapolis Colts to win the division“Jones plays at this B to B plus level. They're gonna win this division.”
- 4Buffalo Bills to win the division“like Brady in this division. They're going to win it as long as Josh Allen's in his prime.”
- 5Power Rankings“the top ten NFL teams according to Colin... Colts at ten... Washington at nine... Niners at eight... Number seven, Tampa Bay... I'd put the Chargers [six]... Number five The Ravens... Number four the Bills... I have the Rams at three, number two Philadelphia... number one... green Bay... I have Kansas City at eleven. I have Denver troubling. They've been sloppy at twelve”
- 6Kansas City Chiefs to make the playoffs“Take the Chiefs out, They'll make the playoffs. They're going to be fine.”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Ravens to win the division1 | Division Winners | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Buffalo Bills to beat Miami2 | Game Outcome Picks | — | 100 | 100 | 0 | |
| Indianapolis Colts to win the division3 | Division Winners | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Buffalo Bills to win the division4 | Division Winners | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| “the top ten NFL teams according to Colin... Colts at ten...…”5 | Power Rankings | — | 64.09 | 35 | +54.98 | |
| Kansas City Chiefs to make the playoffs6 | Playoff Picks | Missed the playoffs | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 calls · 1 hit · 1 close call · 4 misses · all settled | 27.3 | 22.5 | ||||
Game calls show that game’s closing betting line under their grade: a dated fact from nflverse, for context and never part of a grade. MissedTakes takes no bets and earns nothing from any sportsbook.
How each call scored
a naive guessbetter than naive6 checkable claims — 3 division winners, 1 game outcome pick, 1 playoff pick and 1 power ranking — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
It names 5 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
All 6 have settled, averaging 27.3 out of 100, against 22.5 for a naive guess at the same calls.
Each call is scored 0 to 100 against what happened, on its own, by the published methodology. The naive guess is what knowing nothing would have scored on the same calls; the gap, weighted by how hard the call was, is the skill.
1Division WinnersBaltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens to win the division
VerdictMiss0Miss · naive 00this call−0a naive guess=0better than naive×1.89difficulty=0skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- skill:
- 0
- method:
- division winners read off the bracket: the bye teams and the wild-card hosts
- they picked:
- BAL
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- the naive pick:
- BAL
- difficulty:
- 1.89
- the naive guess:
- last season's winner of the same division
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 16
- won the division:
- no
2Game Outcome PicksBuffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills to beat Miami
VerdictHit100Hit · naive 100100this call−100a naive guess=0better than naive×1.89difficulty=0skillClosing line (Sep 18): Bills by 12.5 · favorite pick, Bills about 6 in 7 (85%).
Think this is wrong?How this was scored
- won:
- BUF
- score:
- 21-31
- skill:
- 0
- they picked:
- BUF
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 100
- the naive pick:
- BUF
- difficulty:
- 1.89
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 16
3Division WinnersIndianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts to win the division
VerdictMiss0Miss · naive 00this call−0a naive guess=0better than naive×1.89difficulty=0skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- skill:
- 0
- method:
- division winners read off the bracket: the bye teams and the wild-card hosts
- they picked:
- IND
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- the naive pick:
- HOU
- difficulty:
- 1.89
- the naive guess:
- last season's winner of the same division
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 16
- won the division:
- no
4Division WinnersBuffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills to win the division
VerdictMiss0Miss · naive 00this call−0a naive guess=0better than naive×1.89difficulty=0skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- skill:
- 0
- method:
- division winners read off the bracket: the bye teams and the wild-card hosts
- they picked:
- BUF
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- the naive pick:
- BUF
- difficulty:
- 1.89
- the naive guess:
- last season's winner of the same division
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 16
- won the division:
- no
5Power RankingsSan Francisco 49ers
“the top ten NFL teams according to Colin... Colts at ten... Washington at nine... Niners at eight... Number seven, Tampa Bay... I'd put the Chargers [six]... Number five The Ravens... Number four the Bills... I have the Rams at three, number two Philadelphia... number one... green Bay... I have Kansas City at eleven. I have Denver troubling. They've been sloppy at twelve”
VerdictClose64.09Close · naive 3564.09this call−35a naive guess=29.09better than naive×1.89difficulty=+54.98skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- skill:
- 54.98
- method:
- spearman
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 64.09
- baseline:
- 35
- difficulty:
- 1.89
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- teams ranked:
- 11
- weeks left when called:
- 16
6Playoff PicksKansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs to make the playoffs
What happenedMissed the playoffs0Miss · naive 00this call−0a naive guess=0better than naive×1.89difficulty=0skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- team:
- KC
- skill:
- 0
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- the naive guess said:
- yes
- difficulty:
- 1.89
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- made the playoffs:
- no
- weeks left when called:
- 16
- All
The take as a whole
the average of 6 settled calls, each counted once
27.3naive 22.5
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
Chris Clark · Trade and Signing Calls · Nikko Remigio · Miss 0
Clark expects the Chiefs to bring back exclusive-rights receiver Nico (Remigio) and long snapper James Winchester, to re-sign JuJu Smith-Schuster as a cheap veteran fifth receiver, and not to bring back Hollywood Brown, Josh Dobbs-type depth, Gardner Minshew, Janarius Robinson or Mike Caliendo; they also say the Chiefs will not use a franchise tag and believes Bryan Cook won't return.Gilberto Manzano · Trade and Signing Calls · Josh Downs · Hit 100
Previewing the trade deadline, he expects Justin Herbert to stay in Los Angeles despite the Chargers' 0–7 start, thinks the Jets will keep Garrett Wilson and pair him with their young weapons, expects a receiver-hungry Kansas City to be aggressive with Josh Downs the likeliest target, and suggests expiring Eagles contracts Moro Ojomo and Riq Woolen could be dealt for mid-round picks.Joshua Poniatowski · Trade and Signing Calls · Josh Downs · Hit 100
Poniatowski names several trade targets, predicting Malik Willis underperforms this week against New England, that Omarion Hampton could become a viable RB2 if Adam Gase takes over play-calling, that Josh Downs gets traded (ideally to Kansas City, where they'd be a top-24 WR), that Brian Thomas Jr. could be dealt to the Rams or 49ers, and that Travis Kelce remains a consistent weekly TE.Jordan Dajani · Trade and Signing Calls · Josh Downs · Hit 100
After reporting that Colts receiver Josh Downs requested a trade, they identify five clubs as plausible landing spots for them: the Rams, Patriots, Falcons, Chiefs and Raiders, and suggests Las Vegas could also give them a long-term extension.
More division winners
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Daniel DiBerardinis · Division Winners · Atlanta Falcons · Miss 0
Danny D predicts Sonny Styles goes in the top ten (maybe top five), doesn't think Ty Simpson goes before late first round, says Kenyon Sadiq lands with the Rams at 13, and picks the Falcons to win the NFC South while naming the Bengals an AFC bounce-back team. They also give a Final Four of Michigan, Florida, Purdue and Arizona with Michigan winning.Rich Eisen · Division Winners · Jacksonville Jaguars · Hit 100
Eisen forecast the Week 18 results and the entire wild-card field: Buccaneers over Panthers but Carolina still gets in as the 5 seed when Atlanta beats New Orleans, 49ers over Seahawks, Ravens over Steelers, Jaguars beating Tennessee to win the AFC South, and six wild-card matchups (Seahawks-Panthers, Bills-Jaguars, Texans-Ravens, Packers-Bears, Chargers-Patriots, Rams-Eagles), with Houston upsetting Baltimore. They also tabbed Saints rookie Tyler Shough as a possible Offensive Rookie of the Year.Rich Eisen · Division Winners · Jacksonville Jaguars · Hit 100
Eisen called the 49ers-as-NFC-favorites take an overreaction, picked the Jaguars to beat the Titans and win their division, leaned Ravens over the Steelers in the Week 18 Sunday night game, expects the Bills to beat the Jets even without Josh Allen, sees the Chargers as the AFC's seventh seed, agreed Tyler Shough could win Offensive Rookie of the Year with a good Saints 2026, said Malik Willis will be a starter somewhere next season, and insisted Detroit goes into 2026 with Goff.Cynthia Frelund · Division Winners · Houston Texans · Miss 0
Freeland's model has the Chargers winning straight up in Dallas, the Texans winning big over the Raiders and going on to win the AFC South, the Lions beating the Steelers by six, the Saints beating the Jets, and the Packers beating the Bears; they also see the AFC's Super Bowl representative being either Denver or Houston.Chris Brockman · Division Winners · Chicago Bears · Hit 100
Brockman called the Broncos-Packers game the best of the day, said Denver looks poised to lock up the AFC's No. 1 seed and reach the AFC Championship Game, predicted the Bears win the NFC North and the Eagles win their division (though they think they lose to a five seed from the NFC West), and said Philip Rivers will be in the NFL in 2026.Rich Eisen · Division Winners · New England Patriots · Hit 100
Eisen said the Patriots are still likely to win the AFC East and won't be one-and-done, that the Chargers will end Dallas' season next week, that TreVeyon Henderson should out-snap Rhamondre Stevenson, that the NFC East race is over in Philadelphia's favor, and that the winner of the NFC West will be the NFC's No. 1 seed.