# Donte Johnson: The former NFL safety picked the Buccaneers to upset the Bears in their Week 9 matchup, arguing Todd Bowles' defense would frustrate Caleb Williams.

**Claimed:** Nov 6, 2026
**Pundit:** Donte Johnson — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/donte-johnson
**Outlet:** Sports Illustrated — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/sports-illustrated
**How it reached us:** published in writing
**Original:** https://www.si.com/nfl/bears/onsi/donte-whitner-picks-bucs-to-serve-caleb-williams-bears-humble-pie-in-week-9

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

The call scored 0 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess at the same calls.

> I believe it's going to be difficult, so I'm picking Tampa Bay for the upset.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Tampa Bay Buccaneers to beat Chicago Bears**
  - Kind: Game Outcome Picks · About: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess
  - Line: Closing line (Nov 8, 2026): Bears by 6.5 · underdog pick, Buccaneers 29%. Source: nflverse; context only, never part of the grade.

## Who this take is about

- Tampa Bay Buccaneers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/buccaneers

## What others said about the same people

- Eric Mangini on Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Mangini picked New England to beat Green Bay by more than a field goal, flagged Tampa Bay as his upset alert over Chicago, expects Kansas City to handle the Jets, took Buffalo over Minnesota, backed Cincinnati over Atlanta in Madrid, and updated his Super Bowl to Rams–Bengals. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/af0819c3-4662-44a2-a451-a08fa3b7e59a (scored 0)
- Nick Wright on Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Wright argued the Jaguars are the AFC's most complete team, calling them the considerable favorite for the No. 1 seed and the only club essentially locked into the playoffs. He also picked Tampa Bay to upset Chicago, had Kansas City sweeping its next three games, liked New England over Green Bay by about a field goal, and updated his Super Bowl matchup to Chiefs–49ers. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/878403ae-b780-41f0-b38a-200b1a3e36ff (scored 0)
- Zac Cornelius on Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Zach projected the Buccaneers to beat the Bears 24-12. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/40f76aa6-2c17-45b9-bdcb-6c582ec9897f (scored 28.57)
- Chris Long on Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Previewing Week 8, Chris Long leaned Pittsburgh over Cleveland, picked Tampa Bay to beat Atlanta 23-19, had Carolina beating Green Bay 24-20 on Thursday night, and said the Denver-Kansas City matchup tilts toward the Broncos. He also expected Jeffery Simmons to make his Bears debut Monday night and floated that this is Montez Sweat's last season in Chicago. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/f3ebfd75-678e-4e1f-9f17-dcd4b91c9bbc (scored 71.43)
- John Middlekauff on Tampa Bay Buccaneers: After the Packers' Thursday night win over Carolina, Middlekauff set Green Bay's season range at nine to about eleven wins, said Jordan Love will throw double-digit interceptions this year, and picked Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Detroit and Jacksonville to win their Week 8 games. He also predicted the Titans win only three games, that Jeffrey Simmons is a lock for another All-Pro if healthy, that the Bears will draft in the 20s, that Cleveland will never give Deshaun Watson another dollar, and he named Brian Flores his Coach of the Year. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/e63a8323-5114-4130-a580-3d44feff2698 (scored 100)
- Nate Tice on Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Tice picked the Seahawks over the Bears on Monday night, the Lions over the Vikings, the Steelers over the Browns, the Ravens over the Bills, the Buccaneers over the Falcons and the Chiefs over the Broncos. He also has the Bears as his top team in the NFC North, says the Vikings can still win the division, calls the Patriots for 40-plus points against Miami, and caps the Vikings' offensive ceiling at 22nd in the league. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/8d5d91c8-a2b7-40a9-9110-bc60312165be (scored 100)

## More game outcome picks

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

- Bill Huber on Green Bay Packers: Huber argues Green Bay has no excuses left and will beat New England in Foxborough, and expects Christian Watson to play despite his rib injury. He also sketches the projected interior offensive line, with John Williams at center and Laken Tomlinson at right guard. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/5ab5fa3a-4526-46a4-b11b-a2bc99820cb8 (scored 100)
- Jeremy Brener on Seattle Seahawks: Brener picked the Seahawks to beat the Cardinals in Week 9 by a multi-score margin, giving a final score of 27-13, and expressed confidence Seattle would be fine with Drew Lock starting at quarterback. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/7eb2d245-63d0-4be0-80ba-3f60197e2b16 (scored 100)
- Albert Breer on Seattle Seahawks: Breer picks the Seahawks to beat the Cardinals in their Week 9 NFC West matchup. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/4d67a8a5-0c05-4abe-b2ca-f0cef8390b1d (scored 100)
- Tyler Sullivan on Seattle Seahawks: Sullivan picks the Seahawks to win in Week 9. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/dfca04b3-5c80-4a2e-b0de-8ac3a25f225b (scored 100)
- Dave Richard on Seattle Seahawks: Richard picks the Seahawks over the Cardinals. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/d3db433e-52c6-42d1-a3b0-6b342aac8a9e (scored 100)
- John Pluym on Seattle Seahawks: Pluym picks the Seahawks over the Cardinals. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/e3897747-c55f-4340-9e82-03f9730f87ba (scored 100)

---

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.

Full method: https://missedtakes.co/methodology

We summarize what a pundit said and quote a short span for attribution; we never republish their article. If this is wrong, tell us:
https://missedtakes.co/corrections?pundit=donte-johnson