Zachary PerelesNov 12, 2026
A midseason poll of the network's NFL staff produced consensus award picks — Joe Burrow for MVP, Jaxon Smith-Njigba for Offensive Player of the Year, Will Anderson Jr. for Defensive Player of the Year, John Harbaugh for Coach of the Year — along with division winners, wild cards and a Jaguars Super Bowl title over the Bears.
Published in writing · CBS SportsRead the original
What Zachary Pereles said
1. Bengals QB Joe Burrow (11 votes)
- Where it was published
- CBS Sports
- The piece
- 2026 NFL midseason awards: Expert picks for Super Bowl winner, MVP, Coach of the Year, OPOY and more
- The original
- Read the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
Box score, by kind
HitCloseMissWaiting| Group | Hits | Close | Misses | Waiting | Calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division Winners | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| Coach Award Picks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Award Picks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| Playoff Picks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| Super Bowl Picks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Conference Champions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| All | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 |
How each call scored
26 checkable claims — 8 award picks, 8 division winners, 6 playoff picks, 2 coach award picks, 1 conference champion and 1 super bowl pick — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
It names 25 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in.
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.
Division Winners8 waitingShow ▸Hide ▾
- —Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- —Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- —Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- —Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Chicago Bears to win the division
“NFC North: Bears (9 votes), Packers (3), Lions (2), Vikings (1)”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- —Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- —Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win the division
“NFC South: Buccaneers (12 votes), Falcons (2), Panthers (1)”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Coach Award Picks2 waitingShow ▸Hide ▾
Brian Flores to win Assistant Coach of the Year
“Assistant Coach of the Year 1. Vikings DC Brian Flores (11 votes)”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
John Harbaugh to win Coach of the Year
“Coach of the Year 1. Giants coach John Harbaugh (7 votes)”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Award Picks8 waitingShow ▸Hide ▾
Arvell Reese to win Defensive Rookie of the Year
“Defensive Rookie of the Year 1. Giants LB Arvell Reese (9 votes)”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Patrick Mahomes to win Comeback Player of the Year
“Comeback Player of the Year 1. Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes (9 votes)”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Will Anderson Jr. to win Defensive Player of the Year
“Defensive Player of the Year 1. Texans EDGE Will Anderson Jr. (6 votes)”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Penei Sewell to win Protector of the Year
“Protector of the Year 1. Lions T Penei Sewell (12 votes)”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Luther Burden III to win Most Improved Player
“Most Improved Player 1. Bears WR Luther Burden III (2 votes)”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Denzel Boston to win Offensive Rookie of the Year
“Offensive Rookie of the Year 1. Browns WR Denzel Boston (7 votes)”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba to win Offensive Player of the Year
“Offensive Player of the Year 1. Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba (6 votes)”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- —Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Playoff Picks6 waitingShow ▸Hide ▾
Kansas City Chiefs to make the playoffs
“AFC wild cards: Steelers (15 votes), Patriots (11), Chiefs (8)”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
New England Patriots to make the playoffs
“AFC wild cards: Steelers (15 votes), Patriots (11), Chiefs (8)”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Pittsburgh Steelers to make the playoffs
“AFC wild cards: Steelers (15 votes), Patriots (11), Chiefs (8), Broncos (6), Texans (5)”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Minnesota Vikings to make the playoffs
“NFC wild cards: Lions (11 votes), Packers (11), Vikings (8)”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Detroit Lions to make the playoffs
“NFC wild cards: Lions (11 votes), Packers (11), Vikings (8), Seahawks (7), Bears (6), Rams (2)”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Green Bay Packers to make the playoffs
“NFC wild cards: Lions (11 votes), Packers (11), Vikings (8)”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Super Bowl Picks1 waitingShow ▸Hide ▾
Jacksonville Jaguars to win the Super Bowl
“Super Bowl picks Winner 1. Jaguars (4 votes)”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Conference Champions1 waitingShow ▸Hide ▾
- —Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Who this take is about
New York Giants, Jacksonville Jaguars, Arvell Reese, Kansas City Chiefs, Denver Broncos, Patrick Mahomes, Will Anderson Jr., Houston Texans, Penei Sewell, Detroit Lions, Cincinnati Bengals, Chicago Bears, San Francisco 49ers, Luther Burden III, New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings, Denzel Boston, Cleveland Browns, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Seattle Seahawks, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Joe Burrow, Green Bay Packers
Others on the same people
Sam Monson · Game Outcome Picks · New York Giants · Miss 0
Monson picked every Week 10 game, taking the Giants, Lions, Packers, Panthers, Colts, Texans, Bills, Chiefs, Jaguars, Seahawks, Rams, Cowboys, Bengals and Ravens, and also suggested the Chargers' only likely wins the rest of the way come against the Jets and Dolphins.Pete Prisco · Score Predictions · New York Giants · Miss 36
Prisco picks the Giants to beat the Commanders 23-14 on Thursday night and the Lions to beat the Patriots 30-24 in Munich.Jared Dubin · Score Predictions · New York Giants · Close 43
Dubin picks the Giants to beat the Commanders 20-14 on Thursday night and takes the Packers over the Vikings 17-14 in a low-scoring Week 10 game.Jared Dubin · Score Predictions · New York Giants · Close 43
Dubin picks the Giants to beat the Commanders at home on Thursday night, projecting a 20-14 final score.Pete Prisco · Score Predictions · New York Giants · Miss 36
Prisco picked the Giants to beat the Commanders at home in the Thursday night Week 10 game, 23-14, citing New York's dominant front seven containing Jayden Daniels.
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.Colin Cowherd · Division Winners · Los Angeles Chargers · Miss 0
Cowherd unveiled their top 10 NFL teams entering next season, with Seattle first, the Rams second and the Chiefs tenth, and separately picked the Chargers to win the AFC West.Colin Cowherd · Division Winners · Baltimore Ravens · Miss 0
Cowherd likes Jacksonville, Chicago and Pittsburgh (with DK Metcalf back) in the wild-card round, ranks the league's head coaches with McVay first and Ben Johnson seventh, and predicts Lamar Jackson has about two strong years left. They also name the Rams as a possible team to draft a receiver and floats next year's draft having seven first-round quarterbacks.Chris Brockman · Division Winners · Philadelphia Eagles · 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 · Philadelphia Eagles · 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.