Eric Mangini#86 of 87 NFL pundits · Feb 6, 2026
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.
Said on air, transcribed by us · First Things First (podcast)Hear the original
What Eric Mangini said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromI'm going 23 to 20, and I don't have that strong conviction on the MVP. So I'm just gonna lean into the quarterback and go Drake May
- Where it was said
- First Things First (podcast)
- The episode
- Super Bowl LX preview, Matthew Stafford wins MVP, 2026 HOF Class, Upset Alert & Nick’s Picks
- The original
- Hear the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- SaidFeb 6
- GradedAug 14–Oct 9
- 1Drake Maye to win Super Bowl MVP“So I'm just gonna lean into the quarterback and go Drake May because I think at the end of the day, that's typically how people vote anyways.”
- 2Kayshon Boutte to win Super Bowl MVP“Yeah. I went with Kaeshawn Booty. ... I think he gets hot, you know, gets few catches early, catches fire, and then maybe has one big game changing play.”
- 3New England Patriots 23 — Seahawks 20“I'm going in the new I know you're shocked. The New England Patriots. I'm going 23 to 20”
- 4New England Patriots to win the Super Bowl“I'm going in the new I know you're shocked. The New England Patriots.”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drake Maye to win Super Bowl MVP1 | Award Picks | Kenneth Walker III won | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kayshon Boutte to win Super Bowl MVP2 | Award Picks | Kenneth Walker III won | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| New England Patriots 23 — Seahawks 203 | Score Predictions | — | 19.05 | 16.73 | +2.31 | |
| New England Patriots to win the Super Bowl4 | Super Bowl Picks | SEA won it | 50 | 0 | +50 | |
| 4 calls · 1 close call · 3 misses · all settled | 17.3 | 4.2 | ||||
Game calls show that game’s closing betting line under their grade: a dated fact from nflverse, for context and never part of a grade. MissedTakes takes no bets and earns nothing from any sportsbook.
How each call scored
a naive guessbetter than naive4 checkable claims — 2 award picks, 1 score prediction and 1 super bowl pick — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
It names 3 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
All 4 have settled, averaging 17.3 out of 100, against 4.2 for a naive guess at the same calls.
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.
1Award PicksDrake MayeNew England Patriots
Drake Maye to win Super Bowl MVP
What happenedKenneth Walker III woncalled Drake Maye0Miss · naive 00this call−0a naive guess=0better than naive×1difficulty=0skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- award:
- super_bowl_mvp
- naive:
- the naive pick was Jalen Hurts, who won it the year before
- skill:
- 0
- player:
- Drake Maye
- season:
- 2025
- who won:
- Kenneth Walker III
- correct:
- no
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 0
2Award PicksKayshon BoutteNew England Patriots
Kayshon Boutte to win Super Bowl MVP
What happenedKenneth Walker III woncalled Kayshon Boutte0Miss · naive 00this call−0a naive guess=0better than naive×1difficulty=0skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- award:
- super_bowl_mvp
- naive:
- the naive pick was Jalen Hurts, who won it the year before
- skill:
- 0
- player:
- Kayshon Boutte
- season:
- 2025
- who won:
- Kenneth Walker III
- correct:
- no
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 0
3Score PredictionsNew England Patriots
New England Patriots 23 — Seahawks 20
VerdictMiss19.05Miss · naive 16.7319.05this call−16.73a naive guess=2.32better than naive×1difficulty=+2.31skillClosing line (Feb 8): Seahawks by 4.5, total 45.5 · this 23–20 calls a Patriots win (by 3; the line gave the Patriots about 1 in 3 (32%)) and fewer points (43).
Think this is wrong?How this was scored
- score:
- 29-13
- skill:
- 2.31
- they picked:
- NE
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 19.05
- baseline:
- 16.73
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- actual margin:
- 16
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- naive home margin:
- 2.03
- predicted margin:
- 3
4Super Bowl PicksNew England Patriots
New England Patriots to win the Super Bowl
What happenedSEA won itpicked NE50Close · naive 050this call−0a naive guess=50better than naive×1difficulty=+50skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- skill:
- 50
- they picked:
- NE
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 50
- baseline:
- 0
- champion:
- SEA
- runner up:
- NE
- the naive pick:
- PHI
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- All
The take as a whole
the average of 4 settled calls, each counted once
17.3naive 4.2
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
Pat Fitzmaurice · Score Predictions · New England Patriots · Miss 14
Fitzmaurice predicted a 24-21 Patriots win over the Packers, said they would not be surprised if Jonathan Taylor were inactive amid trade talk, pegged Jonah Coleman as an RB22 rest-of-season value, expected Evan Hull to be Arizona's backup back, and saw Kerby Joseph returning in Week 10 or 11.Kevin Wildes · Game Outcome Picks · New England Patriots · Miss 0
Wildes took Minnesota over Buffalo, predicted a comfortable roughly 10-point New England win over Green Bay, and switched their Super Bowl matchup to Jaguars–Bears.Nick Wright · Game Outcome Picks · New England Patriots · Miss 0
Wright argued the Jaguars are the AFC's most complete team, calling them the considerable favorite for the No. 1 seed and the only club essentially locked into the playoffs. They also picked Tampa Bay to upset Chicago, had Kansas City sweeping its next three games, liked New England over Green Bay by about a field goal, and updated their Super Bowl matchup to Chiefs–49ers.Connor Rogers · Game Outcome Picks · New England Patriots · Miss 0
Rogers picked straight-up winners in every Week 9 game, agreeing with Simms on all of them, and gave a 24-20 Bills score over the Vikings on Monday night.Chris Simms · Score Predictions · New England Patriots · Miss 31
Simms gave a predicted final score for every Week 9 game, picking the Bengals, Chiefs, Broncos, Lions, Giants, Rams, Cowboys, Saints, 49ers, Patriots, Seahawks, Texans, Bears and Bills, and also said they wouldn't be shocked to see Jacksonville reach the AFC Championship Game.Nick Wright · Game Outcome Picks · New England Patriots · Miss 0
Wright made several outright game calls for Week 9 alongside their spread picks: Kansas City beating the Jets 31-20, Detroit winning at Miami, New England edging Green Bay by a field goal or so, Carolina winning outright over Denver, and Houston blowing out the Chargers 27-12.
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.