# Rich Eisen: Rich named his top five sleeper teams for 2025 — Saints, Patriots, Panthers, Raiders and, at No. 1, the 49ers — suggested Carolina could be a seven seed and the Raiders could make the playoffs, and reiterated a 15-2 Chiefs prediction with losses at Buffalo and at home to Denver while picking Kansas City to return to the Super Bowl. **Claimed:** Jun 26, 2025 **Pundit:** Rich Eisen — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/rich-eisen **Outlet:** The Rich Eisen Show (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/the-rich-eisen-show-podcast **How it reached us:** said on air, transcribed by us **Original:** https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.megaphone.fm/WWO5613798005.mp3?updated=1750966159 12 checkable claims — 5 surprise team calls, 3 game outcome picks, 2 playoff picks, 1 conference champion and 1 season win total — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet. It names 8 players and teams, each linked to their own record. 7 of 12 have settled so far, averaging 42.9 out of 100, against 42.9 for a naive guess at the same calls. > Number one on the list, the sleeper team of 2025 are the San Francisco forty niners. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Denver Broncos to beat Chiefs** - Kind: Game Outcome Picks · About: Denver Broncos - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess - **Kansas City Chiefs to reach the Super Bowl** - Kind: Conference Champions · About: Kansas City Chiefs - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess - **New Orleans Saints to beat Arizona Cardinals** - Kind: Game Outcome Picks · About: New Orleans Saints - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess - **Las Vegas Raiders to make the playoffs** - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Las Vegas Raiders - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess - **Carolina Panthers to make the playoffs** - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Carolina Panthers - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess - **Buffalo Bills to beat Chiefs** - Kind: Game Outcome Picks · About: Buffalo Bills - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess - **Kansas City Chiefs to finish with 15 wins** - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: Kansas City Chiefs - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess - **New Orleans Saints to beat expectations** - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: New Orleans Saints - Verdict: not settled yet - **Las Vegas Raiders to beat expectations** - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: Las Vegas Raiders - Verdict: not settled yet - **Carolina Panthers to beat expectations** - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: Carolina Panthers - Verdict: not settled yet - **New England Patriots to beat expectations** - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: New England Patriots - Verdict: not settled yet - **San Francisco 49ers to beat expectations** - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: San Francisco 49ers - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Denver Broncos — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/broncos - Kansas City Chiefs — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/chiefs - New Orleans Saints — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/saints - Las Vegas Raiders — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/raiders - Carolina Panthers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/panthers - Buffalo Bills — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bills - New England Patriots — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/patriots - San Francisco 49ers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/49ers ## 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 Kansas City Chiefs: 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 Buffalo Bills: 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 100) - Steven Ruiz on Las Vegas Raiders: 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) - Jake Arthur on Kansas City Chiefs: Arthur expects a close Chiefs win on Sunday Night Football at Arrowhead, predicting a final score of 27-23 for Kansas City. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/ca7ab74e-ab34-4ed6-a77f-2c7e9f8c8c4d (scored 97.62) ## More surprise team calls The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Steven Ruiz on Houston Texans: Ruiz expects the Texans to repeat last year's turnaround, saying their defense and schedule will let them pile up wins and stay in the playoff race all season. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/84c05549-aa98-4b8f-bd94-27488a1c96c5 (not settled) - Eric Williams on Los Angeles Chargers: Williams picks the Chargers as the 0-2 team to rebound, comparing it to the 2017 team that started 0-4 and finished 9-7, and suggests they will rise up on the road against Buffalo rather than collapse. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/57fe59dc-bfbb-44cb-8e4c-191db478fce2 (not settled) - Ben Arthur on Houston Texans: Arthur also lands on the Texans, arguing their defense will return to elite form and a soft upcoming stretch will get Houston's season back on track. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/8131936c-517d-4816-b2be-3e5d5963c6e5 (not settled) - Henry McKenna on Houston Texans: McKenna picks the Texans as the 0-2 team most likely to recover, favoring them over the Buccaneers because he believes the AFC South is weaker than the NFC South. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/7c64a8d3-6136-424d-96b2-bab3dc7d0345 (not settled) - Greg Auman on Houston Texans: Auman names the Texans as the 0-2 team best positioned to turn their season around and get back into the playoff race, citing their history of slow starts and an elite defense. He also references his preseason pick of the Chargers to win the Super Bowl. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2750172c-b4c1-453e-be5a-b9fae156aa5b (not settled) - Ralph Vacchiano on Indianapolis Colts: Vacchiano picks the Colts over the Texans as the 0-2 team most likely to rebound, trusting their offense with Daniel Jones and Jonathan Taylor to keep them in the playoff race. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b89c2f84-25e6-4916-b297-fcb0e14c9ba7 (not settled) --- 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=rich-eisen