# Rich Eisen: Eisen agreed the Giants would be in the playoff hunt all season, endorsed Brockman's 49ers/Brock Purdy call as not an overreaction, and said the Broncos should make the playoffs while rejecting the idea that four 2024-class quarterbacks all reach the postseason.

**Claimed:** Sep 1, 2025
**Pundit:** Rich Eisen — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/rich-eisen
**Outlet:** Overreaction Monday (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/overreaction-monday-podcast
**How it reached us:** said on air, transcribed by us
**Original:** https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.megaphone.fm/ESP1746094379.mp3?updated=1756754410

4 checkable claims — 2 playoff picks, 1 award pick and 1 surprise team call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.

It names 4 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

3 of 4 have settled so far, averaging 66.7 out of 100, against 33.3 for a naive guess at the same calls.

> The Giants are gonna be sniffing the playoffs the whole season.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Denver Broncos to make the playoffs**
  - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Denver Broncos
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess
- **San Francisco 49ers to make the playoffs**
  - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: San Francisco 49ers
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **Brock Purdy to win MVP finalist**
  - Kind: Award Picks · About: Brock Purdy, San Francisco 49ers
  - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **New York Giants to beat expectations**
  - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: New York Giants
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- Denver Broncos — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/broncos
- San Francisco 49ers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/49ers
- Brock Purdy — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/brock-purdy
- New York Giants — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/giants

## What others said about the same people

- Chris Simms on San Francisco 49ers: Simms went through the entire Week 3 slate with straight-up winners and predicted final scores, taking Jacksonville, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Detroit, Houston, Carolina, Kansas City, Seattle, the Giants, Baltimore, New Orleans, Minnesota, San Francisco, Denver and Philadelphia. He also expected Zay Flowers and Puka Nacua to sit, Kyler Murray to play, and said Marvin Harrison Jr. projects as no better than a good No. 2 or high-end No. 3 receiver. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/662b7ba3-1bf6-4ad0-9f93-9f2ab83143fd (scored 88.1)
- Connor Rogers on New York Giants: Rogers picked Detroit, Houston, Carolina, Kansas City, Seattle and the Giants to win their Week 3 games, saying the Chiefs win by two touchdowns and the Giants by a field goal. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/83d1e88b-95a0-45ba-83d3-f86297170c6c (scored 100)
- Steven Ruiz on Denver Broncos: Previewing Week 3, Ruiz picked the Ravens to beat the Cowboys in Brazil, Jacksonville over New England in a low-scoring game, an upset by the Broncos over the Rams, the Raiders over the Saints, the Eagles over the Bears, the Lions over the Jets, and his Hail Mary that Houston beats Indianapolis by two touchdowns. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a30ff469-4972-4c48-855b-ba984e4de9d0 (scored 100)
- Nate Tice on Denver Broncos: Tice matched his guest on every Week 3 game, picking the Ravens over the Cowboys, the Jaguars over the Patriots in a close game, the Broncos to upset the Rams, the Raiders over the Saints, the Eagles over the Bears and the Lions over the Jets. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b8378e16-ea5c-4107-a883-28aaf0e71134 (scored 100)
- Richie Bradshaw on San Francisco 49ers: Bradshaw picks the 49ers to beat the Cardinals in their Week 3 matchup, predicting a final score of 27-14 in San Francisco's favor. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/56e0c2a3-ddff-46f8-8359-2a546546a29c (scored 83.33)
- Tracy Sandler on Denver Broncos: Sandler predicted Caleb Williams would miss two to three weeks with his hamstring injury, and in the picks segment took the Broncos, Ravens, Vikings, Bills and Bears (switching off an earlier Tampa pick). — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/74f12600-9587-488a-af00-2e8c11643531 (scored 100)

## More playoff picks

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

- Dan "Buzz" Wilson on Philadelphia Eagles: Wilson argued the Eagles' offseason approach of prioritizing 2026 and beyond doesn't mean a bad 2025 — he expects them to remain among the NFC's best teams and to make a deep playoff run rather than fall off to eight or nine wins. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/afce079c-b986-476b-a872-09905017fc6f (scored 100)
- Craig Stout on Kansas City Chiefs: Craig believes better execution from a Patrick Mahomes-led Chiefs team will be enough to return them to the playoffs in the coming season, and he expects Tyler Algeier to land with Denver as a complement to RJ Harvey. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/4ad5b565-6220-4c30-9371-e55be75a35f0 (scored 0)
- Ross Jackson on New Orleans Saints: Jackson projects a big sophomore jump for Saints QB Tyler Shuck, laying out a Drake May-style stat line (17 starts, 72% completions, ~4,601 passing yards, 24 TDs, 9 INTs) or a Bo Nix-style consistency line (over 4,000 yards, over 20 TDs, ~10 INTs), and says either path means a playoff season for New Orleans in 2026. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/4dc05898-73fd-4fcb-92c4-a940d7e395ba (scored 0)
- Chris Brockman on Pittsburgh Steelers: Brockman argued the road to the Super Bowl in the AFC goes through Foxborough, meaning the Patriots will finish as the No. 1 seed, and called his shot that the Chargers beat Denver in Week 18. He also declared the Bears a team of destiny who will win the NFC, said the Steelers will end their playoff win drought, and that Trevor Lawrence is playing like a top-five quarterback. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/7792215a-c787-44bd-b294-5ff028851d30 (scored 100)
- Chris Brockman on Buffalo Bills: Brockman argued the Texans will reach the AFC Championship Game, declared the Chiefs dynasty over, said the road to the Super Bowl in the NFC goes through Lambeau Field, that Josh Allen is still the most dangerous QB and the Bills will win a playoff game (with the AFC East runner-up as the 5 seed winning in Pittsburgh or Baltimore), that Carolina will win the NFC South, that Baltimore finishes under .500 with Lamar no longer a top-five QB, that the Colts should trade for Mac Jones, and that Marcus Freeman will be in the NFL next year. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c06d1a3a-78d8-4aec-8574-159821b42aab (scored 100)
- Chris Brockman on Houston Texans: Brockman predicted the AFC South will send at least two teams to the playoffs and called the Texans real contenders. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/5ef52592-198f-4ed5-8c7c-0678136a365b (scored 100)

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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

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