Garrett Podell#78 of 87 NFL pundits · Oct 18, 2026
Podell picks the Packers to beat the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football, predicting Green Bay's passing attack to Watson and Golden will overwhelm a struggling Dallas defense, with a final score of 34-24.
Published in writing · CBS SportsRead the original
What Garrett Podell said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromPick: Packers 34, Cowboys 24
- Where it was published
- CBS Sports
- The piece
- Cowboys vs. Packers prediction: Dak Prescott, Jordan Love set for high-flying showdown on 'SNF'
- The original
- Read the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- SaidOct 17
- PlayedOct 18
- GradedOct 19
- 1Green Bay Packers 34 — Cowboys 24“Pick: Packers 34, Cowboys 24”
- 2Availability Calls“Despite Porter Jr. likely returning to action for Dallas in Week 6, their defense won't be able to stifle Love, Watson and Golden through the air.”
- 3Availability Calls“Parsons won't suit up for Green Bay on Sunday night while he continues to recover from the torn ACL he suffered at the end of last season”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green Bay Packers 34 — Cowboys 241 | Score Predictions | Packers 23–13 | 100 | 76.55 | +40.33 | |
| “Despite Porter Jr. likely returning to action for Dallas in…”2 | Availability Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| “Parsons won't suit up for Green Bay on Sunday night while he…”3 | Availability Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| 3 calls · 1 hit · 2 waiting | 100 | 76.6 | ||||
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 naive3 checkable claims — 2 availability calls and 1 score prediction — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
It names 4 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
1 of 3 have settled so far, averaging 100 out of 100, against 76.6 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.
1Score PredictionsGreen Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers 34 — Cowboys 24
What happenedPackers 23–13called Packers by 10 · won by 10100Hit · naive 76.55100this call−76.55a naive guess=23.45better than naive×1.72difficulty=+40.33skillClosing line (Oct 18): Cowboys by 1.5, total 53.5 · this 34–24 calls a Packers win (by 10; the line gave the Packers 49%) and more points (58).
Think this is wrong?How this was scored
- score:
- 13-23
- skill:
- 40.33
- they picked:
- GB
- season:
- 2026
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 76.55
- difficulty:
- 1.72
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- actual margin:
- 10
- weeks left when called:
- 13
- naive home margin:
- 0.15
- predicted margin:
- 10
2Availability CallsJoey Porter Jr.Dallas Cowboys
“Despite Porter Jr. likely returning to action for Dallas in Week 6, their defense won't be able to stifle Love, Watson and Golden through the air.”
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
3Availability CallsMicah ParsonsGreen Bay Packers
“Parsons won't suit up for Green Bay on Sunday night while he continues to recover from the torn ACL he suffered at the end of last season”
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
The game in this take
every pundit’s pick on eachWho this take is about
Others on the same people
Bryan DeArdo · Trade and Signing Calls · Joey Porter Jr. · Miss 0
The piece predicts Joey Porter Jr. most likely stays with the Steelers through 2026, while listing possible trade destinations if they were moved.Rich Eisen · Trade and Signing Calls · Micah Parsons · Miss 0
Eisen expects Myles Garrett to be traded before the draft and says the Browns will then take Abdul Carter with their early first-round pick; they also predict Buffalo will end up paying James Cook and that Micah Parsons will remain a Cowboy and get their money from Dallas, likely late in the process.Bill Huber · Game Outcome Picks · Green Bay Packers · Hit 100
Huber argues Green Bay has no excuses left and will beat New England in Foxborough, and expects Christian Watson to play despite their rib injury. They also sketch the projected interior offensive line, with John Williams at center and Laken Tomlinson at right guard.Derek Brown · Game Outcome Picks · Green Bay Packers · Hit 100
Brown picked the Bengals to beat the Falcons in Madrid, the Packers to win outright in New England and the Bills to beat the Vikings on Monday night. They were bullish on Jonah Coleman's rest-of-season value, expected Jonathan Taylor to play for the Colts, floated a Breece Hall trade, and did not expect DJ Reed to play in Week 9.Danny Parkins · Game Outcome Picks · Green Bay Packers · Hit 100
Parkins named the seven AFC teams they believe are already set as the playoff field, expects Chicago, Buffalo and Kansas City to win this week, took Green Bay over New England and Atlanta over Cincinnati outright, and kept Bills–Bears as their Super Bowl matchup with the Giants still winning the NFC East.
More availability calls
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Jose Sanchez · Availability Calls · Keenan Allen · Waiting
Sanchez expects Keenan Allen to play in the 49ers' game against Dallas in a limited role on passing downs, and argues an injury is more likely than not given age and injury history, meaning Allen will end up being more of the same at receiver for San Francisco.Ralph Ventre · Availability Calls · Alec Anderson · Waiting
Ventre projects Buffalo's Week 10 offensive line at the Jets to feature Dawkins, Anderson, McGovern and Torrence back in place, with Tylan Grable making a third straight start at right tackle in place of Spencer Brown, who appears headed for the inactive list.Shanna McCarriston · Availability Calls · Drew Lock · Waiting
Previewing three Week 10 games, McCarriston expects the Steelers-Bengals rematch to be a close, exciting contest, with one team's four-game win streak ending. Notes that Deshaun Watson is set to return for Cleveland against Houston, and that Fernando Mendoza will make a first NFL start for the Raiders against Seattle.Ian Rapoport · Availability Calls · Spencer Brown · Waiting
Rapoport expected Spencer Brown to be available for Buffalo on Sunday despite the missed practice time, saw Lamar Jackson returning from thumb surgery around Week 16 or 17 if Baltimore stays alive, said the Chargers have no intention of moving on from Justin Herbert, and expected George Pickens to play for Dallas.