# Benjamin Solak: Solak ranked the AFC's top five teams (Chiefs, Jaguars, Ravens, Bills, Texans) and the NFC's top five (49ers, Seahawks, Rams, Vikings, Cowboys) through four weeks, gave his quarter-season MVP to Lamar Jackson and Defensive Player of the Year to Will Anderson Jr., and said he wouldn't be surprised if the Chargers beat Denver at home in Week 5. **Claimed:** Oct 6, 2026 **Pundit:** Benjamin Solak — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/benjamin-solak **Outlet:** Football 301 with Nate Tice (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/football-301-with-nate-tice-podcast **How it reached us:** said on air, transcribed by us **Original:** https://injector.simplecastaudio.com/0781c6b2-a56c-4448-9b62-fe6d25b9523b/episodes/b368c89c-424b-4b3e-ab6d-843236f2ce9d/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=0781c6b2-a56c-4448-9b62-fe6d25b9523b&awEpisodeId=b368c89c-424b-4b3e-ab6d-843236f2ce9d&feed=Nvy5cWFT 5 checkable claims — 2 award picks, 2 power rankings and 1 game outcome pick — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call. It names 5 players and teams, each linked to their own record. 1 of 5 have settled so far, averaging 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess at the same calls. > I had Chiefs one. I had Jaguars two. I had Ravens three. I had the Buffalo Bills four. I had the Houston Texans five. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Los Angeles Chargers to beat Broncos** - Kind: Game Outcome Picks · About: Los Angeles Chargers - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess - Line: Closing line (Oct 11, 2026): Broncos by 3.5 · underdog pick, Chargers 37%. Source: nflverse; context only, never part of the grade. - **NFC, I had San Francisco one, Seattle two, Los Angeles Rams three... I have the Minnesota Vikings four, and then I have the Dallas Cowboys five.** - Kind: Power Rankings - Verdict: not settled yet - **So I had Chiefs one. I had Jaguars two. I had Ravens three. I had the Buffalo Bills four. Okay. I had the Houston Texans five.** - Kind: Power Rankings - Verdict: not settled yet - **Will Anderson Jr. to win Defensive Player of the Year** - Kind: Award Picks · About: Will Anderson Jr., Houston Texans - Verdict: not settled yet - **Lamar Jackson to win MVP** - Kind: Award Picks · About: Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Los Angeles Chargers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/chargers - Will Anderson Jr. — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/will-anderson-jr - Houston Texans — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/texans - Lamar Jackson — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/lamar-jackson - Baltimore Ravens — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/ravens ## What others said about the same people - Seth Walder on Baltimore Ravens: Walder gave final score picks for all 14 Week 5 games, including a Jaguars blowout of the Eagles, upset calls on the Saints over the undefeated Vikings and the Jets over the Browns, plus the 49ers winning in Seattle and the Commanders beating the Giants. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/793c66fa-732d-41fb-9cc3-411c105ee081 (scored 97.62) - Eric Mangini on Los Angeles Chargers: Mangini took the Titans to upset the Texans, and in the chips segment backed the Chargers to upset Denver, the Patriots over the Raiders, and the Rams over the Bills. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/af6364dd-ba73-40cb-95fa-a9fa3ddf962b (scored 0) - Nick Wright on Los Angeles Chargers: Amid a Week 5 betting-picks show, Wright made a few straight outcome calls: a Houston blowout of Tennessee by a 27-7 score, a Seattle home win over San Francisco by a touchdown, an outright Raiders win at New England, and the winless Chargers finally beating Denver. He also said he does not believe Lamar Jackson will play against Atlanta. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/d6364709-7117-4210-a1db-951d1d566d8c (scored 0) - Mike Kadlick on Los Angeles Chargers: Previewing Week 5 of the 2026 season, Kadlick picks the Bengals to blow out the Dolphins, the Cowboys to beat the Buccaneers comfortably, and the Chargers to finally win at home against the Broncos. He also expects Jayden Daniels back for Washington, Michael Pittman Jr. possibly out for Pittsburgh, and names the Week 5 starting quarterbacks for Tampa Bay, Chicago and New York. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/844b4070-91ae-4d59-acda-dd3bcef13c1c (scored 0) - Pete Prisco on Los Angeles Chargers: Prisco picks every Week 5 game with a final score, including a Cowboys blowout of Tampa Bay on Thursday night, a Packers upset of the Bears, a Jaguars win over a banged-up Eagles team in London, and a Rams shootout win over Buffalo on Monday night. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/9fb2da58-31c1-43f3-bf5e-fe858bdb877d (scored 50) - Leonard Fournette on Baltimore Ravens: Co-host (identified in the transcript only as "Leonard") went week-by-week on Atlanta's schedule, ranked the NFC North, predicted Odell Beckham Jr. over 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns, picked the Bears, Bengals and Texans in their divisions, and took the Bengals over the 49ers in the Super Bowl. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/cd544302-f3b5-4585-bea4-8502dbea77a7 (scored 100) ## 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 his 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 his 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 his 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 his 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=benjamin-solak