# Matt Cassel: Matt Castle said the Raiders' 3-0 start is legitimate, arguing their offseason additions, Kirk Cousins' competence and Brock Bowers' return make them a genuinely good team that exceeds preseason expectations.

**Claimed:** Sep 30, 2026
**Pundit:** Matt Cassel — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/matt-cassel
**Outlet:** Good Morning Football (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/good-morning-football-podcast
**How it reached us:** said on air or in an interview
**Original:** https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/a4cc911c-a6fc-493b-ad40-b23e0151da38/fa55b8ac-cd4e-4332-aedc-b4d401428f50/audio.mp3?in_playlist=30912f7a-374b-4a82-8cbc-ae270033f8d7

One checkable claim, graded on its own against what actually happened.

Nothing to score yet: this grades once the result is in.

> It's real. I think that, you know, there was low expectations.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Las Vegas Raiders to beat expectations**
  - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: Las Vegas Raiders
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- Las Vegas Raiders — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/raiders

## What others said about the same people

- Chris Broussard on Las Vegas Raiders: Broussard picked the Ravens to beat the Bills in a shootout, 38-34, took the Raiders to upset the Jets, and said Detroit would beat the Vikings. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/69de6faa-8bec-4a79-9d86-5dbc5bae0573 (scored 100)
- Connor Rogers on Las Vegas Raiders: Rogers picked straight-up winners across the Week 8 slate, siding with the Bills over the Ravens, the Lions, Steelers, Jaguars, Bengals, Falcons, Raiders, Broncos, Rams, Patriots, Commanders and the Bears in Seattle. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/14b3a81b-ba4d-4270-b122-8cfe7fc959b0 (scored 100)
- John Breech on Las Vegas Raiders: Breech's Week 8 score predictions include Bengals over Titans, Raiders over Jets, Rams over Chargers and Patriots over Dolphins. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a57cb0eb-708d-41aa-9bb8-dbc16f7d3ded (scored 95.24)
- Tyler Sullivan on Las Vegas Raiders: Sullivan's Week 8 upset alert column flags five favorites they expect to lose: they pick the Falcons over the Buccaneers, the Raiders over the Jets, the undefeated Vikings over the Lions, the Ravens (with Lamar Jackson returning) over the Bills, and the Browns over the Steelers. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/1ca06895-a1db-4f4e-b814-270f5ecea69c (scored 100)
- Ezekiel Trezevant on Las Vegas Raiders: Trezevant argues that if the Raiders are as improved as they appeared at 3-0, they should beat the Jets in Week 8 on the road and end their four-game losing streak. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/132fd631-95ef-4af2-8836-d5281f3f9fc8 (scored 100)
- Richard Sherman on Las Vegas Raiders: Sherman kept their top five unchanged in concept but shuffled it to 49ers, Bills, Vikings, Chiefs, Bears, and made Week 8 picks across the slate, including Seattle over Chicago 27-17 and a begrudging Lions pick over Minnesota. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/ab6b4f5f-1083-43b1-a29c-b30795ddf69f (scored 100)

## More surprise team calls

The same kind of call, about other players and teams.

- Dan Orlovsky on Houston Texans: Named Houston and Detroit as the underrated teams in each conference, said the Texans could reach 11-6 and the playoffs, and predicted CJ Stroud's next contract will start with a seven annually, with Caleb Williams getting even more afterward. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/01e49745-6d62-434d-a884-17a1fa4a0cca (not settled)
- Bill Simmons on Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Simmons named the Houston Texans as the AFC's second-half surge team and, reluctantly, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as the NFC's, arguing both clubs sitting at or below.500 will make a run down the stretch. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a2fe7493-43ef-4157-b6c3-82a3e9c0f906 (not settled)
- Danny Kelly on Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Kelly argued the Buccaneers are the one NFC South club capable of a second-half surge, citing a soft remaining schedule and the league's top defensive EPA. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/13d3230a-fd04-4c32-86f7-7faaa5718bb8 (not settled)
- Logan Lazarczyk on Houston Texans: Lazarczyk argues the Raiders can still contend for the AFC's final wild-card spot, naming the Bills, Broncos, Jaguars, Steelers, Chiefs and Bengals as locks for the top six seeds, calling Houston a sleeper, and predicting Las Vegas can beat the Chargers, Titans and Cardinals down the stretch. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/5f5d533e-b292-487f-b387-5d154ce687b8 (not settled)
- Jordan Dajani on Pittsburgh Steelers: Halfway through the season, Dajani sorts the playoff field into contenders and pretenders: they suggest Joe Burrow could win MVP this year, and while they dismiss Pittsburgh as a true Super Bowl threat, they expect the Steelers to be a playoff team and a possible sleeper. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/3cf5c7f7-905d-4de9-ba67-9ff97a7f6a34 (not settled)
- Rich Eisen on Houston Texans: Eisen ran a "top five teams that are not dead yet" list, naming the Cardinals, Raiders, Rams, Saints and Texans — plus a bonus Cowboys mention — as clubs still alive and capable of making a run in the second half of the season. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c599f558-148d-46ae-b958-06e4231eabca (not settled)

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Accuracy is 0-100 against what actually happened. The naive guess is what a strategy requiring no knowledge would have scored on the same call — the difference is the skill, and it is what the MissedTakes Score averages.

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