# 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 their 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 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. > 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 - **Cleveland Browns to beat expectations** - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: Cleveland Browns - Verdict: not settled yet - **Dallas Cowboys to reach the Super Bowl** - Kind: Conference Champions · About: Dallas Cowboys - Verdict: not settled yet - **Joe Burrow to win MVP** - Kind: Award Picks · About: Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals - Verdict: not settled yet - **Dallas Cowboys to win the Super Bowl** - Kind: Super Bowl Picks · About: Dallas Cowboys - Verdict: not settled yet - **Houston Texans to finish with 9.5 wins** - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: Houston Texans - Verdict: not settled yet - **Cleveland Browns to finish with 6.5 wins** - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: Cleveland Browns - Verdict: not settled yet - **Jeremiyah Love to win Offensive Rookie of the Year** - Kind: Award Picks · About: Jeremiyah Love - Verdict: not settled yet - **Cincinnati Bengals to reach the Super Bowl** - Kind: Conference Champions · About: Cincinnati Bengals - Verdict: not settled yet - **Atlanta Falcons to win the division** - Kind: Division Winners · About: Atlanta Falcons - 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 ## Who this take is about - Cleveland Browns — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/browns - Dallas Cowboys — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/cowboys - Joe Burrow — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/joe-burrow - Cincinnati Bengals — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bengals - Houston Texans — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/texans - Jeremiyah Love — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/jeremiyah-love - Atlanta Falcons — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/falcons - Rueben Bain — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/rueben-bain - Tampa Bay Buccaneers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/buccaneers ## What others said about the same people - Alex Curry on Kirk Cousins: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2c6097f9-30ad-42dc-863f-e507225b7edc (scored 100) - Alex Curry on Kirk Cousins: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/1c269ea1-7c35-4039-827d-ec1130aa0e04 (scored 100) - JP Acosta on Kirk Cousins: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/17ab1ec5-a2f1-41c6-a6df-a0e6d949351b (scored 100) - Gregg Rosenthal on Kirk Cousins: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/d3a0da31-6e2f-4298-b5a5-b887333d3fd6 (scored 100) - Brandon Carney on Mike Evans: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c228a7e7-4915-4bc7-bacc-8c9b3298c2c1 (scored 0) - Bobby Skinner on Stefon Diggs: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/6bc51663-60f7-4897-b5dc-40e284f869a2 (scored 0) ## More award picks The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Nick Wright on Sam Darnold: Wright picks Seattle to beat New England in the Super Bowl by a 27-17 final score, describing a semi-comfortable win, and names Sam Darnold as their Super Bowl MVP pick. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/8ff42b18-5a45-40e1-b3b6-17612cfca395 (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 their dark horse MVP. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/332dce8c-f71c-4f26-a976-8f4615a9f9bd (scored 0) - Chris Broussard on Drake Maye: Broussard picked New England to beat Seattle 24-21, with Drake May winning Super Bowl MVP, and named Cooper Kupp as their dark horse MVP. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/1247ee30-3338-4940-8fc9-977cc215ff59 (scored 0) - Willie Colon on Sam Darnold: Colon picked the Seahawks to win 24-14 with Sam Darnold as Super Bowl MVP. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b6655a6f-9a44-46d4-8c76-0d96b7334211 (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 their dark horse Super Bowl MVP. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/1fe4abc6-28e3-412b-ab6e-d2f65f25682f (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