Rich Eisen#38 of 87 NFL pundits · Sep 21, 2026
Eisen gave their top three in their power rankings after two weeks (Bills, Seahawks, 49ers), picked the Bengals to win the AFC North, expected Tyson Bagent to start for Chicago and Marcus Mariota to start for Washington, assumed Sam Darnold would return for Seattle's upcoming stretch, and insisted the Chargers will not trade Justin Herbert.
Said on air, transcribed by us · Overreaction Monday (podcast)Hear the original
What Rich Eisen said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromBills are top of my power rankings, and you got Seattle just out of respect.
- Where it was said
- Overreaction Monday (podcast)
- The episode
- NFL Week 2
- The original
- Hear the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- 1Cincinnati Bengals to win the division“I did choose them to win the AFC North.”
- 2Power Rankings“the the the niners were top my power rankings, after, two weeks... You have him third? ... So still top Bills are top of my power rankings, and you got Seattle just out of respect.”
- 3Availability Calls“their first game at Seattle, which is a massive week five game. And we assume Sam Donald is going to be back for all of that.”
- 4Justin Herbert to stay with Los Angeles Chargers“Not gonna happen. Jim loves this guy more than life itself. It ain't gonna happen”
- 5Tyson Bagent to be 1st on the depth chart“now you're gonna be taking on a Chicago Bears team on a Monday night where, they're gonna be starting Tyson Pageant. I would assume.”
- 6Marcus Mariota to be 1st on the depth chart“Seattle's next game is at Washington where it very well could be Marcus Mariota... It's going to be.”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Bengals to win the division1 | Division Winners | — | — | — | — | |
| “the the the niners were top my power rankings, after, two…”2 | Power Rankings | — | — | — | — | |
| “their first game at Seattle, which is a massive week five game.…”3 | Availability Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| Justin Herbert to stay with Los Angeles Chargers4 | Trade and Signing Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| Tyson Bagent to be 1st on the depth chart5 | Depth Chart Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| Marcus Mariota to be 1st on the depth chart6 | Depth Chart Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| 6 calls · 6 waiting | — | — | ||||
How each call scored
6 checkable claims — 2 depth chart calls, 1 availability call, 1 division winner, 1 power ranking and 1 trade and signing 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 below the rest of the room on every one.
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.
Where this call stands in the room
Tyson Bagent · 2026 season29 calls from 18 pundits between 1 and 3. Rich Eisen said 1. the room's median is 1. 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.
1Division WinnersCincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals to win the division
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
“the the the niners were top my power rankings, after, two weeks... You have him third? ... So still top Bills are top of my power rankings, and you got Seattle just out of respect.”
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
3Availability CallsSam DarnoldSeattle Seahawks
“their first game at Seattle, which is a massive week five game. And we assume Sam Donald is going to be back for all of that.”
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
4Trade and Signing CallsJustin HerbertLos Angeles Chargers
Justin Herbert to stay with Los Angeles Chargers
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
5Depth Chart CallsTyson BagentChicago Bears
Tyson Bagent to be 1st on the depth chart
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
6Depth Chart CallsMarcus MariotaWashington Commanders
Marcus Mariota to be 1st on the depth chart
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
Nate Gosney · Trade and Signing Calls · Daiyan Henley · Miss 0
After the Broncos rescinded the trade, Gosney expects Daiyan Henley to remain with the Chargers for the rest of the 2026 season, but believes the awkward fallout has effectively killed any chance of them signing a new contract with Los Angeles after the season.Jordan Dajani · Score Predictions · Washington Commanders · Hit 95
Dajani picks the Commanders to edge the Giants 21-20 on Thursday and the Chiefs to beat the Falcons 26-20 in Week 10.Tyler Sullivan · Score Predictions · Washington Commanders · Hit 100
Sullivan takes the Commanders 24-21 over the Giants on Thursday night and calls for a Steelers upset of the Bengals, 27-24, in Week 10.John Breech · Score Predictions · Washington Commanders · Hit 90
Breech picks the Commanders to upset the Giants on Thursday night, 24-17, and takes the Texans to beat the Browns 24-16 in Week 10 behind a pass rush that should batter Deshaun Watson.Jordan Dajani · Score Predictions · Washington Commanders · Hit 95
Dajani picked seven Week 10 games with final scores, including a Commanders upset of the Giants, Lions over the Patriots in Munich, Chiefs over the Falcons, Packers edging the Vikings, 49ers over the Cowboys, Bengals over the Steelers and Ravens over the Chargers. They also suggested Joe Burrow could win MVP this season.Eva Geitheim · Game Outcome Picks · Washington Commanders · Hit 100
Geitheim picked the Commanders, Lions, Chiefs, Texans, Vikings, Jaguars, Colts, Panthers, Bills, Seahawks, Rams, 49ers, Bengals and Ravens in Week 10.
More depth chart calls
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Michael Moore · Depth Chart Calls · Shedeur Sanders · Hit 100
In a Week 9 injury roundup, Moore forecast which banged-up fantasy contributors would play or sit: Deshaun Watson, Garrett Wilson, David Montgomery, Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel, TreVeyon Henderson and Terrance Ferguson are expected out, while Travis Kelce, Saquon Barkley, Michael Wilson, Christian Watson and Emeka Egbuka should play. They also expect Shedeur Sanders and Drew Lock to start at quarterback.Nic Bodiford · Depth Chart Calls · Joe Fagnano · Hit 100
Previewing Week 9 running game matchups, Bodiford expects Jacksonville to win lopsidedly over a depleted Baltimore team, with Bhayshul Tuten sitting out and Chris Rodriguez taking over as lead back, while Joe Fagnano starts at quarterback for the Ravens. They also view Broncos rookie Jonah Coleman as an RB2 going forward.Jacob Herlin · Depth Chart Calls · J.J. McCarthy · Hit 100
Herlin published Week 7 fantasy D/ST rankings with projections for 28 team defenses, led by Houston, Minnesota and Cleveland. They also expect Cleveland to post a fourth straight top-10 fantasy defense result, and predicts Jalon Daniels starts another week for Tampa Bay while J.J. McCarthy takes over as the Giants' starter.