Colin Cowherd#54 of 87 NFL pundits · Nov 14, 2025

Cowherd's Blazing Five picks: Bills over Buccaneers 30-23, Seahawks over Rams 28-27, 49ers over Cardinals 28-23, Browns keeping it close (Ravens win 24-20 but Browns cover), and Eagles over Lions 28-24. They also predict Steelers beat Bengals, and picks Georgia, Alabama and USC in college games.

Said on air or in an interview · The Herd with Colin Cowherd (podcast)Hear the original

4 of 6calls landed4 hits · 2 close calls · all settled

81.4Average accuracyout of 100, across 6 calls

68.7A naive guessthe same calls, no knowledge

6 of 6Settlednone still waiting

#54Colin Cowherd’s rankof 87 ranked NFL pundits

What Colin Cowherd said

our reading, beside the words we read it from

I like the Bills to win an ugly weather thirty to twenty three.

Colin Cowherd, the lead quote · each call’s own words are below

Where it was said: The Herd with Colin Cowherd (podcast)
The episode: THE HERD - Hour 2 - The Blazing 5 picks for the weekend, Dave Wannstedt
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.

SaidNov 14, 2025
GradedAug 7–17, 2026

1San Francisco 49ers 28 — Cardinals 23“Niners win and they cover twenty eight to twenty three.”
2Pittsburgh Steelers to beat Bengals“I think PITTSBURGH wins i don't trust, their OFFENSE but i think they win. Semi. Comfortably”
3Baltimore Ravens 24 — Browns 20“I think Baltimore wins eight and a half way way too many points. Ugly, low scoring game... twenty four to twenty take the points.”
4Seattle Seahawks 28 — Rams 27“I like Seattle getting a field goal... Twenty eight twenty seven. Seattle wins outright.”
5Philadelphia Eagles 28 — Lions 24“I think they're going to win this game and cover twenty eight to twenty four.”
6Buffalo Bills 30 — Buccaneers 23“I like the Bills to win an ugly weather thirty to twenty three.”

Box score

HitCloseMissWaiting

Call	Kind	What happened	Score	Naive	Skill
San Francisco 49ers 28 — Cardinals 23¹	Score Predictions	—	66.67	9.59	+82.19
Pittsburgh Steelers to beat Bengals²	Game Outcome Picks	—	100	100	0
Baltimore Ravens 24 — Browns 20³	Score Predictions	—	92.86	38.16	+78.76
Seattle Seahawks 28 — Rams 27⁴	Score Predictions	—	47.62	99.93	−75.33
Philadelphia Eagles 28 — Lions 24⁵	Score Predictions	—	92.86	88.16	+6.76
Buffalo Bills 30 — Buccaneers 23⁶	Score Predictions	—	88.1	76.26	+17.05
6 calls · 4 hits · 2 close calls · all settled			81.4	68.7

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 naiveworse than naive

6 checkable claims — 5 score predictions and 1 game outcome pick — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.

It names 6 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

All 6 have settled, averaging 81.4 out of 100, against 68.7 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 Predictions San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers 28 — Cardinals 23
VerdictClose
66.67Close · naive 9.59
66.67this call9.59a naive guess57.08better than naive1.44difficulty+82.19skill
Closing line (Nov 16): 49ers by 3.5, total 48.5 · this 28–23 calls a bigger 49ers win (by 5) and more points (51). Graded on the margin called, not on the spread.
How this was scored
score:
41-22
skill:
82.19
they picked:
SF
season:
2025
accuracy:
66.67
baseline:
9.59
difficulty:
1.44
weeks in the season:
18
actual margin:
19
weeks left when called:
8
naive home margin:
2.03
predicted margin:
5
Think this is wrong?
2Game Outcome Picks Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers to beat Bengals
VerdictHit
100Hit · naive 100
100this call100a naive guess0better than naive1.44difficulty0skill
Closing line (Nov 16): Steelers by 5.5 · favorite pick, Steelers about 2 in 3 (69%).
How this was scored
won:
PIT
score:
12-34
skill:
0
they picked:
PIT
season:
2025
accuracy:
100
baseline:
100
the naive pick:
PIT
difficulty:
1.44
weeks in the season:
18
weeks left when called:
8
Think this is wrong?
3Score Predictions Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens 24 — Browns 20
VerdictHit
92.86Hit · naive 38.16
92.86this call38.16a naive guess54.7better than naive1.44difficulty+78.76skill
Closing line (Nov 16): Ravens by 7.5, total 37.5 · this 24–20 calls a closer game (Ravens by 4) and more points (44). Graded on the margin called, not on the spread.
How this was scored
score:
23-16
skill:
78.76
they picked:
BAL
season:
2025
accuracy:
92.86
baseline:
38.16
difficulty:
1.44
weeks in the season:
18
actual margin:
7
weeks left when called:
8
naive home margin:
2.03
predicted margin:
4
Think this is wrong?
4Score Predictions Seattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks 28 — Rams 27
VerdictClose
47.62Close · naive 99.93
47.62this call99.93a naive guess−52.31worse than naive1.44difficulty−75.33skill
Closing line (Nov 16): Rams by 3, total 49.5 · this 28–27 calls a Seahawks win (by 1; the line gave the Seahawks 39%) and more points (55).
How this was scored
score:
19-21
skill:
−75.33
they picked:
SEA
season:
2025
accuracy:
47.62
baseline:
99.93
difficulty:
1.44
weeks in the season:
18
actual margin:
2
weeks left when called:
8
naive home margin:
2.03
predicted margin:
1
Think this is wrong?
5Score Predictions Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles 28 — Lions 24
VerdictHit
92.86Hit · naive 88.16
92.86this call88.16a naive guess4.7better than naive1.44difficulty+6.76skill
Closing line (Nov 16): Eagles by 2.5, total 46.5 · this 28–24 calls a bigger Eagles win (by 4) and more points (52). Graded on the margin called, not on the spread.
How this was scored
score:
9-16
skill:
6.76
they picked:
PHI
season:
2025
accuracy:
92.86
baseline:
88.16
difficulty:
1.44
weeks in the season:
18
actual margin:
7
weeks left when called:
8
naive home margin:
2.03
predicted margin:
4
Think this is wrong?
6Score Predictions Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills 30 — Buccaneers 23
VerdictHit
88.1Hit · naive 76.26
88.1this call76.26a naive guess11.84better than naive1.44difficulty+17.05skill
Closing line (Nov 16): Bills by 6, total 46.5 · this 30–23 calls a bigger Bills win (by 7) and more points (53).
How this was scored
score:
32-44
skill:
17.05
they picked:
BUF
season:
2025
accuracy:
88.1
baseline:
76.26
difficulty:
1.44
weeks in the season:
18
actual margin:
12
weeks left when called:
8
naive home margin:
2.03
predicted margin:
7
Think this is wrong?
All
The take as a whole
the average of 6 settled calls, each counted once
81.4naive 68.7