# Mike Renner: 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. **Claimed:** May 20, 2026 **Pundit:** Mike Renner — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/mike-renner **Outlet:** Pushing the Pile (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/pushing-the-pile-podcast **How it reached us:** said on air, transcribed by us **Original:** https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/serve.castfire.com/audio/8174614/8174614_2026-04-12-052114.192.mp3?rssID=6037 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. > I think the Cowboys are a real live team in the NFC this year at plus 1,300. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Los Angeles Rams to beat forty niners** - Kind: Game Outcome Picks · About: Los Angeles Rams - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess - **Atlanta Falcons to win the division** - Kind: Division Winners · About: Atlanta Falcons - Verdict: not settled yet - **Houston Texans to finish with 9.5 wins** - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: Houston Texans - Verdict: not settled yet - **Cincinnati Bengals to reach the Super Bowl** - Kind: Conference Champions · About: Cincinnati Bengals - Verdict: not settled yet - **Cleveland Browns to finish with 6.5 wins** - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: Cleveland Browns - Verdict: not settled yet - **Dallas Cowboys to win the Super Bowl** - Kind: Super Bowl Picks · About: Dallas Cowboys - Verdict: not settled yet - **Jeremiyah Love to win Offensive Rookie of the Year** - Kind: Award Picks · About: Jeremiyah Love - Verdict: not settled yet - **Dallas Cowboys to reach the Super Bowl** - Kind: Conference Champions · About: Dallas Cowboys - Verdict: not settled yet - **Cleveland Browns to beat expectations** - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: Cleveland Browns - Verdict: not settled yet - **Rueben Bain to win Defensive Rookie of the Year** - Kind: Award Picks · About: Rueben Bain, Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Verdict: not settled yet - **Joe Burrow to win MVP** - Kind: Award Picks · About: Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Los Angeles Rams — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/rams - Atlanta Falcons — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/falcons - Houston Texans — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/texans - Cincinnati Bengals — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bengals - Cleveland Browns — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/browns - Dallas Cowboys — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/cowboys - Jeremiyah Love — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/jeremiyah-love - Rueben Bain — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/rueben-bain - Tampa Bay Buccaneers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/buccaneers - Joe Burrow — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/joe-burrow ## What others said about the same people - Chris Simms on Cincinnati Bengals: 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 40.48) - 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) - Matt Harmon on Los Angeles Rams: Harmon 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/21a71025-ab65-4716-ac2c-e77ad5ce3348 (scored 100) - Nate Tice on Cincinnati Bengals: Tice 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b6211c80-3d1c-46b8-8a0c-151fc0ba92de (scored 73.81) - Marcus Ray on Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Marcus 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/aa09b337-f1fa-49b0-bc4b-5e2bbaddb5df (scored 19.05) ## More award picks The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Jourdan Rodrigue on Penei Sewell: Rodrigue 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/f3ba94ea-a935-4534-88e4-bb6027bf87ad (scored 0) - Brandon Sneide on Drake Maye: Snyder 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/1cf83e90-e59f-4c8f-941f-c732efcb4c03 (scored 0) - Nick Wright on Rashid Shaheed: Nick 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/1fe4abc6-28e3-412b-ab6e-d2f65f25682f (scored 0) - Chris Broussard on Cooper Kupp: Broussard picked New England to beat Seattle 24-21, with Drake May winning Super Bowl MVP, and named Cooper Kupp as his dark horse MVP. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/1247ee30-3338-4940-8fc9-977cc215ff59 (scored 0) - Eric Mangini on Drake Maye: Mangini picked the Patriots 23-20 with Drake May as Super Bowl MVP, and earlier named Kayshon Boutte ("Kaeshawn Booty") as his dark horse MVP. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/332dce8c-f71c-4f26-a976-8f4615a9f9bd (scored 0) - Danny Parkins on Jaxon Smith-Njigba: Parkins picked Seattle to win 27-16 with Jaxon Smith-Njigba as Super Bowl MVP. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/3667c28e-88b0-4d8e-bebd-6ef088550e4f (scored 0) --- 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=mike-renner