Mike Renner· 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 his sleeper, and goes Burrow for MVP, Jeremiah Love for OROY and Ruben Bain Jr. for DROY.
“I think the Cowboys are a real live team in the NFC this year at plus 1,300.”
said on air, transcribed by us · Pushing the Pile (podcast) · read the original →
11 checkable claims — 3 award picks, 2 conference champions, 2 season win totals, 1 division winner, 1 game outcome pick, 1 super bowl pick and 1 surprise team call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.
It names 10 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
1 of 11 have settled so far, averaging 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess at the same calls.
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.
Where this call stands in the room
Houston Texans · 2026 season · wins15 calls from 9 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.
Where do you stand? Pick this and every open claim on Picks →
Who this take is about
The game in this take
- 49ers at Rams 37 calls
11 checkable claims in this take
Each one is scored on its own against the published methodology. A pundit naming several outcomes is graded on each, not on all-or-nothing.
- Game Outcome PicksLos Angeles RamsMay 20, 2026
Los Angeles Rams to beat forty niners
“I think the Rams minus two and a half against the forty niners is one where I just think they are so much better of a team this year heading into 2026 than the forty niners are... For all those reasons, I love the Rams in this one.”
Miss · 0Scored 0a naive guess scored 0+0 skillHow this was scored
- won:
- SF
- score:
- 27-7
- skill:
- 0
- they picked:
- LAR
- season:
- 2026
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- the naive pick:
- LAR
- difficulty:
- 2
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 18
- Division WinnersAtlanta FalconsMay 20, 2026
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”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- Season Win TotalsHouston TexansMay 20, 2026
Houston Texans to finish with 9.5 wins
“I didn't include them, but I love them over a nine and a half wins.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- Conference ChampionsCincinnati BengalsMay 20, 2026
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.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- Season Win TotalsCleveland BrownsMay 20, 2026
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.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- Super Bowl PicksDallas CowboysMay 20, 2026
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.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- Award PicksJeremiyah LoveMay 20, 2026
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.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- Conference ChampionsDallas CowboysMay 20, 2026
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.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- Surprise Team CallsCleveland BrownsMay 20, 2026
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.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- Award PicksRueben BainTampa Bay BuccaneersMay 20, 2026
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”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- Award PicksJoe BurrowCincinnati BengalsMay 20, 2026
Joe Burrow to win MVP
“is gets the Cincinnati Bengals and Joe Burrow. He's my pick at plus 1,000”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
What others said about the same people
- Chris SimmsScore Predictions · Cincinnati BengalsClose · 40Simms 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.
- Chris LongGame Outcome Picks · Cincinnati BengalsMiss · 0Long 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.
- Steven RuizGame Outcome Picks · Houston TexansMiss · 0Previewing 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.
- Matt HarmonGame Outcome Picks · Los Angeles RamsHit · 100Harmon picked the Bengals to beat the Texans in Week 2, expecting Nico Collins to miss the game with a hamstring injury, and also predicted the Titans would be shut out by the Eagles. He took the Rams over the Giants, the Bears over the Vikings, and the Jaguars at Denver.
- Nate TiceScore Predictions · Cincinnati BengalsClose · 74Tice picked the Bengals over the Texans in a low-scoring game, the Jaguars at Denver, the Bears over the Vikings, the Patriots over the Steelers and the Rams to edge the Giants, and his Hail Mary was the Cowboys scoring 40 on Washington. He also floated Abdul Carter as a possible All-Pro.
- Marcus RayScore Predictions · Tampa Bay BuccaneersMiss · 19Marcus predicted a 30-13 Buccaneers win over Cleveland with three touchdowns and three field goals, and picked the Raiders to beat a Jim Harbaugh team to start 2-0.
More award picks
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
- Jourdan RodrigueAward Picks · Penei SewellMiss · 0Rodrigue picked Patrick Mahomes for MVP, Jared Verse for Defensive Player of the Year, Ja'Marr Chase for Offensive Player of the Year, Mike Vrabel for Coach of the Year, TreVeyon Henderson for Offensive Rookie of the Year and Abdul Carter for Defensive Rookie of the Year, with Jesse Minter for Assistant Coach of the Year and Penei Sewell for Protector of the Year.
- Brandon SneideAward Picks · Drake MayeMiss · 0Snyder picks the Seahawks to beat the Patriots 31-23 in Super Bowl 60, believing Seattle pulls away late, and says Drake Maye will finish second in MVP voting behind Matthew Stafford.
- Nick WrightAward Picks · Rashid ShaheedMiss · 0Nick picked Seattle to win the Super Bowl 27-17, citing Seattle's defense, coaching against young quarterbacks and schedule strength, and named Rasheed Shaheed as his dark horse Super Bowl MVP.
- Chris BroussardAward Picks · Cooper KuppMiss · 0Broussard picked New England to beat Seattle 24-21, with Drake May winning Super Bowl MVP, and named Cooper Kupp as his dark horse MVP.
- Eric ManginiAward Picks · Drake MayeMiss · 0Mangini picked the Patriots 23-20 with Drake May as Super Bowl MVP, and earlier named Kayshon Boutte ("Kaeshawn Booty") as his dark horse MVP.
- Danny ParkinsAward Picks · Jaxon Smith-NjigbaMiss · 0Parkins picked Seattle to win 27-16 with Jaxon Smith-Njigba as Super Bowl MVP.