Mike Renner#28 of 87 NFL pundits · May 20, 2026
Renner likes the Rams over the 49ers in the Australia opener, is bullish on Houston and Cleveland win totals, picks the Falcons to win the NFC South, Cowboys as NFC champs, Bengals as AFC champs, Cowboys as a longshot Super Bowl winner with Cleveland as their sleeper, and goes Burrow for MVP, Jeremiah Love for OROY and Ruben Bain Jr. for DROY.
Said on air, transcribed by us · Pushing the Pile (podcast)Hear the original
What Mike Renner said
I think the Cowboys are a real live team in the NFC this year at plus 1,300.
- Where it was said
- Pushing the Pile (podcast)
- The episode
- EARLY NFL WAGERS: Win Totals | Division Picks | Player Awards | Super Bowl LXI 🏈
- The original
- Hear the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
Box score, by kind
HitCloseMissWaiting| Group | Hits | Close | Misses | Waiting | Calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surprise Team Calls | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Conference Champions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Award Picks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| Super Bowl Picks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Season Win Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Division Winners | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| All | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
How each call scored
10 checkable claims — 3 award picks, 2 conference champions, 2 season win totals, 1 division winner, 1 super bowl pick and 1 surprise team call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
It names 9 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in.
Of the 2 unsettled calls enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands above the room on 1 and below it on 1.
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.
Where this call stands in the room
Houston Texans · 2026 season · wins16 calls from 11 pundits between 1 wins and 13 wins. Mike Renner said 9.5 wins. the room's median is 11 wins. not settled yet
Every dot is a call somebody published on the same question. Where the dots land says where this take sits, not whether it is right — nothing here is settled yet. Hover a dot for the name and number; click it to read that take.
Surprise Team Calls1 waitingShow ▸Hide ▾
Cleveland Browns to beat expectations
“That's why my sleeper going back to the Browns... I think the Browns are my favorite sleeper just because they have the fourth longest odds of anyone in the NFL this year.”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Conference Champions2 waitingShow ▸Hide ▾
Dallas Cowboys to reach the Super Bowl
“It's Dallas Cowboys, and they're plus 1,300... I think the Cowboys are a real live team in the NFC this year at plus 1,300.”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Cincinnati Bengals to reach the Super Bowl
“I think the Bengals for the pretty much the exact same argument I can make for the Cowboys... I think the Bengals could be back to their Super Bowl forms.”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Award Picks3 waitingShow ▸Hide ▾
Joe Burrow to win MVP
“is gets the Cincinnati Bengals and Joe Burrow. He's my pick at plus 1,000”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Jeremiyah Love to win Offensive Rookie of the Year
“I'm going Jeremiah Love... I think he's just gonna get such a voluminous workload that Jeremiah Levin's talent becomes your rookie of the year.”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Rueben Bain to win Defensive Rookie of the Year
“I'm going Ruben Bayne junior, the Bucks defensive end, just because I thought he was like the best guy last year in college football”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Super Bowl Picks1 waitingShow ▸Hide ▾
Dallas Cowboys to win the Super Bowl
“But if I had to go with some long shots, I like the Cowboys a plus two, twenty five hundred.”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Season Win Totals2 waitingShow ▸Hide ▾
Houston Texans to finish with 9.5 wins
“I didn't include them, but I love them over a nine and a half wins.”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Cleveland Browns to finish with 6.5 wins
“But the Cleveland Browns, I think, have a very good chance of going over six and a half wins this season.”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Division Winners1 waitingShow ▸Hide ▾
Atlanta Falcons to win the division
“it's the Falcons plus four fifty because the NFC South right now is a complete crapshoot... I think this is a team that has a very good shot of winning the South”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
Alex Curry · Trade and Signing Calls · Kirk Cousins · Hit 100
Curry expects Fernando Mendoza to be taken No. 1 overall by the Raiders and to be thrown into the starting lineup immediately, and they say Kirk Cousins will be released by Atlanta within weeks.Alex Curry · Trade and Signing Calls · Kirk Cousins · Hit 100
Curry expects Fernando Mendoza to be the No. 1 overall pick and land with the Raiders, and they say Kirk Cousins will be released by Atlanta.JP Acosta · Trade and Signing Calls · Kirk Cousins · Hit 100
Acosta expects John Harbaugh's Giants to jump to roughly seven wins in year one, and forecast several offseason moves: Aaron Rodgers returning to Pittsburgh, Daniel Jones returning to the Colts, Kirk Cousins being released by Atlanta, and Brandon Aiyuk leaving San Francisco.Gregg Rosenthal · Trade and Signing Calls · Kirk Cousins · Hit 100
Rosenthal gave their award ballot: Drake May atop their MVP list (though they expect Matthew Stafford to actually win), Myles Garrett for Defensive Player of the Year, Bijan Robinson for Offensive Player of the Year, Tetairoa McMillan for Offensive Rookie of the Year, Carson Schwesinger for Defensive Rookie of the Year, Mike Macdonald for Coach of the Year and Broncos O-line coach Zach Strief for Assistant Coach of the Year. They also expect Kirk Cousins to be cut by Atlanta.Brandon Carney · Trade and Signing Calls · Mike Evans · Miss 0
Carney predicts Geno Smith signs with the Vikings and starts for them, that at least four of the fringe veteran quarterbacks (Tua, Kyler, Cousins, Fields, Geno) will be starters next season, and that Mike Evans stays with Tampa Bay. They also rank their top fantasy wide receivers and comments on running back landing spots and trade values.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.
More award picks
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Willie Colon · Award Picks · Sam Darnold · Miss 0
Colon picked the Seahawks to win 24-14 with Sam Darnold as Super Bowl MVP.Danny Parkins · Award Picks · Jaxon Smith-Njigba · Miss 0
Parkins picked Seattle to win 27-16 with Jaxon Smith-Njigba as Super Bowl MVP.