# Zachary Pereles: The CBS Sports NFL staff's aggregated votes project the Cowboys, Lions, Buccaneers, Rams, Bills, Bengals, Texans and Broncos as division winners, with the Seahawks, Eagles and Bears as NFC wild cards and the Ravens, Chiefs and Chargers as AFC wild cards. The staff majority picks the Rams to win the NFC and the Super Bowl, with the Broncos leading AFC champion votes. **Claimed:** Sep 9, 2026 **Pundit:** Zachary Pereles — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/zachary-pereles **Outlet:** CBS Sports — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/cbs-sports **How it reached us:** published in writing **Original:** https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/2026-nfl-season-predictions-super-bowl-playoff-division-champion-picks/ 17 checkable claims — 8 division winners, 6 playoff picks, 2 conference champions and 1 super bowl pick — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet. It names 14 players and teams, each linked to their own record. None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in. > Here is how the CBS Sports NFL staff -- writers, editors, analysts and researchers -- envision this season playing out. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Los Angeles Chargers to make the playoffs** - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Los Angeles Chargers - Verdict: not settled yet - **Los Angeles Rams to reach the Super Bowl** - Kind: Conference Champions · About: Los Angeles Rams - Verdict: not settled yet - **Houston Texans to win the division** - Kind: Division Winners · About: Houston Texans - Verdict: not settled yet - **Kansas City Chiefs to make the playoffs** - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Kansas City Chiefs - Verdict: not settled yet - **Denver Broncos to reach the Super Bowl** - Kind: Conference Champions · About: Denver Broncos - Verdict: not settled yet - **Philadelphia Eagles to make the playoffs** - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Philadelphia Eagles - Verdict: not settled yet - **Baltimore Ravens to make the playoffs** - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Baltimore Ravens - Verdict: not settled yet - **Los Angeles Rams to win the Super Bowl** - Kind: Super Bowl Picks · About: Los Angeles Rams - Verdict: not settled yet - **Detroit Lions to win the division** - Kind: Division Winners · About: Detroit Lions - Verdict: not settled yet - **Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win the division** - Kind: Division Winners · About: Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Verdict: not settled yet - **Buffalo Bills to win the division** - Kind: Division Winners · About: Buffalo Bills - Verdict: not settled yet - **Denver Broncos to win the division** - Kind: Division Winners · About: Denver Broncos - Verdict: not settled yet - **Seattle Seahawks to make the playoffs** - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Seattle Seahawks - Verdict: not settled yet - **Chicago Bears to make the playoffs** - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Chicago Bears - Verdict: not settled yet - **Dallas Cowboys to win the division** - Kind: Division Winners · About: Dallas Cowboys - Verdict: not settled yet - **Los Angeles Rams to win the division** - Kind: Division Winners · About: Los Angeles Rams - Verdict: not settled yet - **Cincinnati Bengals to win the division** - Kind: Division Winners · About: Cincinnati Bengals - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Los Angeles Chargers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/chargers - Los Angeles Rams — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/rams - Houston Texans — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/texans - Kansas City Chiefs — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/chiefs - Denver Broncos — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/broncos - Philadelphia Eagles — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/eagles - Baltimore Ravens — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/ravens - Detroit Lions — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/lions - Tampa Bay Buccaneers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/buccaneers - Buffalo Bills — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bills - Seattle Seahawks — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/seahawks - Chicago Bears — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bears - Dallas Cowboys — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/cowboys - Cincinnati Bengals — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bengals ## What others said about the same people - Chris Simms on Kansas City Chiefs: 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 100) - Connor Rogers on Detroit Lions: 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) - Chris Long on Cincinnati Bengals: Long liked the Rams over the Broncos on Sunday night even without Puka Nacua, and expected the Bills to beat the winless Chargers in Buffalo. He also backed the Bengals over the Steelers, expected an angry Detroit team to handle the Jets, and still thought both the Lions and Vikings could win the NFC North. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/3df9ea25-e57f-4fd7-b20c-c910a1c3633a (scored 0) - Steven Ruiz on Houston Texans: 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 0) - Nate Tice on Baltimore Ravens: 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) - Sam Monson on Seattle Seahawks: Monson picked the Chargers to beat the Bills outright (jokingly crediting Buffalo's gray 'Nickel City' jerseys), took the Vikings to win outright in Tampa, and said Seattle would destroy Washington. He also reiterated his Super Bowl pick of Denver over the Rams, called the Dolphins destined for the No. 1 overall pick, and said the Saints are a worst-to-first candidate in the NFC South. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/0b810ffd-fd93-4ea2-a208-b1353dea5fb0 (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. He also gives a Final Four of Michigan, Florida, Purdue and Arizona with Michigan winning. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/8a8e0b7c-9f1c-4c13-8138-1332d73b9b02 (scored 0) - Colin Cowherd on New York Giants: Cowherd projects the NFC East with the Giants winning the division ahead of Philadelphia, Washington and Dallas, pegging the Cowboys as a six- or seven-win team. He also expects Malik Willis to land a big free-agent deal, Kayvon Thibodeaux to be moved, and Baltimore to lose Isaiah Likely, and he floats the Rams reaching on Ty Simpson late in round one. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/cd243624-9451-4824-a8a4-7b468d681c8f (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. He 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) - Rich Eisen on New England Patriots: Eisen said the Patriots are still likely to win the AFC East and won't be one-and-done, that the Chargers will end Dallas' season next week, that TreVeyon Henderson should out-snap Rhamondre Stevenson, that the NFC East race is over in Philadelphia's favor, and that the winner of the NFC West will be the NFC's No. 1 seed. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/ae722f6b-44e2-42bb-a847-4435f539db5b (scored 100) - Rich Eisen on New England Patriots: Eisen previewed week 15 games, predicting Joe Burrow would play well in his first home start back against Baltimore, and speculated on a possible Colts-Steelers wild card matchup. He also asserted the Chiefs will not win their division for a tenth straight year, keeping the Patriots' record of 11 straight division titles safe. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/4827e895-e783-4573-87fd-03226474d6c7 (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=zachary-pereles