Garrett Podell#78 of 87 NFL pundits · Sep 9, 2026
Picks the Rams to beat the Texans in the Super Bowl, with Stafford and Aaron Donald becoming two-time champions.
Published in writing · CBS SportsRead the original
What Garrett Podell said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromMatthew Stafford and Aaron Donald ride off into the sunset at SoFi Stadium as two-time Super Bowl champions.
- Where it was published
- CBS Sports
- The piece
- 2026 NFL season predictions: CBS Sports experts make Super Bowl, playoff, division champion picks
- The original
- Read the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- 1Los Angeles Rams to win the Super Bowl“"Matthew Stafford and Aaron Donald ride off into the sunset at SoFi Stadium as two-time Super Bowl champions."”
- 2Houston Texans to reach the Super Bowl“"Both the Los Angeles Rams and the Houston Texans have fantastic defensive lines and secondaries, but the gap between the two teams' respective offenses is as wide as the Grand Canyon."”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Rams to win the Super Bowl1 | Super Bowl Picks | — | — | — | — | |
| Houston Texans to reach the Super Bowl2 | Conference Champions | — | — | — | — | |
| 2 calls · 2 waiting | — | — | ||||
How each call scored
2 checkable claims — 1 conference champion and 1 super bowl pick — 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.
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.
Their call against the record
Their call against what actually happened last time. Not yet settled.
1Super Bowl PicksLos Angeles Rams
Los Angeles Rams to win the Super Bowl
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
2Conference ChampionsHouston Texans
Houston Texans to reach the Super Bowl
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
Bobby Skinner · Trade and Signing Calls · Stefon Diggs · Miss 0
Skinner predicted Daniel Jones signs with and wins the starting job in Indianapolis, Milton Williams to New England, Lavonte David back to Tampa, Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams to the Giants, DJ Reid to Arizona, Hassan Reddick to Washington and Justin Fields staying in Pittsburgh, plus alternates they had listed.Colin Cowherd · Trade and Signing Calls · Matthew Stafford · Hit 100
Cowherd predicts Matt Stafford stays with the Rams rather than moving on, and says Travis Hunter may underachieve because they're being asked to play both ways — Cowherd doubts they're a No. 1 receiver and would slot them as a No. 2 receiver while being a No. 1 corner.Colin Cowherd · Trade and Signing Calls · Matthew Stafford · Hit 100
Cowherd believes Matt Stafford's public negotiation posturing means he ultimately stays in Los Angeles, and he flags Travis Hunter as a high draft pick who could underachieve because trying to play both cornerback and receiver full-time will hurt him.Chris Simms · Score Predictions · Houston Texans · Hit 81
Simms gave a predicted final score for every Week 9 game, picking the Bengals, Chiefs, Broncos, Lions, Giants, Rams, Cowboys, Saints, 49ers, Patriots, Seahawks, Texans, Bears and Bills, and also said they wouldn't be shocked to see Jacksonville reach the AFC Championship Game.
More conference champions
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Damonza Byrd · Conference Champions · Seattle Seahawks · Hit 100
The co-host picks the Seahawks to beat the Rams in the NFC Championship game, and says they believe New England will win in Denver even though they are taking the Broncos with the points.Nick Wright · Conference Champions · New England Patriots · Hit 100
The host picks the Rams to beat the Seahawks in the NFC Championship game and believes the winner of that game wins the Super Bowl, i.e. that this is the Rams' year; they also pick New England to win in Denver despite taking the Broncos with the points, and says Stafford is winning MVP. They call Sean McVay the second-best coach in the NFL.Nick Wright · Conference Champions · Denver Broncos · Close 50
Wright picked the Broncos to beat the Patriots in a low-scoring AFC Championship game (17-16), said Sean Payton would coach Denver to the Super Bowl, picked the Rams to win outright in Seattle 31-20, believes the winner of the NFC game wins the Super Bowl with the Rams the better team, and expects Matt Stafford to be named league MVP.Derek Murphy · Conference Champions · Seattle Seahawks · Hit 100
Bone said after watching film that Seattle will handle the Rams in the NFC Championship Game, and that the Seahawks are going to the Super Bowl.Connor "Boston Connor" Campbell · Conference Champions · New England Patriots · Hit 100
Connor expects a tight first half in Denver before New England pulls away in the second half and advances to the Super Bowl.