# Colin Cowherd: Cowherd likes Denver against the Raiders/Gino Smith, says the Colts will win their division, backs the Ravens as favorites at Minnesota, leans Buccaneers over the Patriots, picks the Patriots over the Colts to reach the AFC Championship, and thinks Fernando Mendoza will be the first quarterback taken in the draft. **Claimed:** Nov 6, 2025 **Pundit:** Colin Cowherd — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/colin-cowherd **Outlet:** The Herd with Colin Cowherd (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/the-herd-with-colin-cowherd-podcast **How it reached us:** said on air or in an interview **Original:** https://omny.fm/shows/the-herd-with-colin-cowherd/the-herd-hour-2-caleb-williams-breakout-with-the-bears-cowboys-better-off-without-micah-parsons-greg-cosell 2 checkable claims — 1 division winner and 1 position order call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call. It names 2 players and teams, each linked to their own record. All 2 have settled, averaging 50 out of 100, against 16.5 for a naive guess at the same calls. > He's a pocket quarterback if he plays Take Denver. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Indianapolis Colts to win the division** - Kind: Division Winners · About: Indianapolis Colts - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess - **Fernando Mendoza to be 1st quarterback off the board** - Kind: Position Order Calls · About: Fernando Mendoza - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 33.08 for a naive guess ## Who this take is about - Indianapolis Colts — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/colts - Fernando Mendoza — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/fernando-mendoza ## What others said about the same people - John Middlekauff on Anthony Richardson: Middlekoff's bold predictions, as relayed on the show, have the Patriots and Colts making the playoffs; they also argue the Colts whiffed on Anthony Richardson, comparing them to Trey Lance. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/eaacd99d-867e-4bab-9c40-015de85caa35 (scored 100) - Chris Long on Indianapolis Colts: Previewing the Week 9 slate, Chris Long expects the Saints to beat Cleveland, the Colts to beat Dallas, New England to edge Green Bay, and Baltimore to beat the Chargers on Monday night. They also call the Packers a top-10 defense once Micah Parsons returns, names their top six quarterbacks of the season, and expects Brandon Ayuk to be released, with Will Lee and Trevion Henderson sidelined this week. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/623f8e00-789e-4239-9edc-5e1285346b9d (scored 0) - Jesse Holley on Indianapolis Colts: Jesse predicted the Cowboys finish 10-7 but still win the NFC East with 10 wins, picking Dallas over the Giants, Commanders, Texans, Buccaneers, Colts (loss), and losing to Baltimore, Green Bay, Philadelphia twice, Arizona, Seattle and the Rams. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c8bf64dc-c1b3-42db-86f8-51b862676332 (scored 0) - Danny Parkins on Indianapolis Colts: Parkins predicted the Cowboys will finish 11-6, starting 5-1 with wins over the Giants, Commanders and an upset of the Ravens, splitting with Philadelphia, and beating Green Bay and Jacksonville, while losing to the Texans, 49ers, Eagles, Colts, Seahawks and Rams. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/1a6d06c4-7bb0-43e7-891d-6f8b688d4f12 (scored 0) - Jake Arthur on Johnathan Edwards: Arthur predicted a lopsided Jaguars win over the Colts in Jacksonville, 31-13, continuing the Colts' losing streak there, while offering a 'bold' counter-prediction that Daniel Jones accounts for three touchdowns (two passing, one rushing). — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/6d371d6d-9bb9-4350-a7a8-9c3c49578184 (scored 0) - Drake Wally on Quenton Nelson: Despite the midseason firing of GM Chris Ballard, Wally expects the Colts to avoid a fire sale, predicting that core stars such as DeForest Buckner, Sauce Gardner, Jonathan Taylor, Grover Stewart and Quenton Nelson will not be shopped before the trade deadline. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/285732b4-0f82-4f6e-83fb-552f54f51d37 (scored 0) ## More division winners The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Daniel DiBerardinis on Atlanta Falcons: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/8a8e0b7c-9f1c-4c13-8138-1332d73b9b02 (scored 0) - Danny Parkins on Baltimore Ravens: Parkins lays the points with the Eagles and Cowboys, takes Baltimore to beat Pittsburgh and win the AFC North, picks Carolina over Tampa Bay and Seattle over San Francisco, and says they'd probably pick the Rams to come out of the NFC. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/23bf1e09-f607-4b9a-bdb4-888da7992c89 (scored 0) - Rich Eisen on Jacksonville Jaguars: Eisen forecast the Week 18 results and the entire wild-card field: Buccaneers over Panthers but Carolina still gets in as the 5 seed when Atlanta beats New Orleans, 49ers over Seahawks, Ravens over Steelers, Jaguars beating Tennessee to win the AFC South, and six wild-card matchups (Seahawks-Panthers, Bills-Jaguars, Texans-Ravens, Packers-Bears, Chargers-Patriots, Rams-Eagles), with Houston upsetting Baltimore. They also tabbed Saints rookie Tyler Shough as a possible Offensive Rookie of the Year. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/34345186-876a-4c4b-9567-9c289a6cbace (scored 100) - Rich Eisen on Jacksonville Jaguars: Eisen called the 49ers-as-NFC-favorites take an overreaction, picked the Jaguars to beat the Titans and win their division, leaned Ravens over the Steelers in the Week 18 Sunday night game, expects the Bills to beat the Jets even without Josh Allen, sees the Chargers as the AFC's seventh seed, agreed Tyler Shough could win Offensive Rookie of the Year with a good Saints 2026, said Malik Willis will be a starter somewhere next season, and insisted Detroit goes into 2026 with Goff. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/15192136-24b9-4127-ac9d-69dc69aab3d5 (scored 100) - Cynthia Frelund on Houston Texans: Freeland's model has the Chargers winning straight up in Dallas, the Texans winning big over the Raiders and going on to win the AFC South, the Lions beating the Steelers by six, the Saints beating the Jets, and the Packers beating the Bears; they also see the AFC's Super Bowl representative being either Denver or Houston. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/adb6791d-7a19-4d22-b3da-f9d30b419aa2 (scored 0) - Chris Brockman on Chicago Bears: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/e86c9e4d-7802-432a-a26c-4edefb3b6aee (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=colin-cowherd