Colin Cowherd#54 of 87 NFL pundits · Sep 9, 2026
Cowherd gave their full divisional and playoff predictions for the NFL season, picking Bills, Ravens, Texans, Chargers as AFC division winners with Patriots, Bengals, Broncos as wild cards, and Eagles, Lions, Saints, Rams as NFC division winners with Seahawks, Bears, Giants as wild cards. They also have the Bills reaching the Super Bowl, worries a first-time OC could derail Seattle, and expects the Patriots to be a better team with a worse record.
Said on air or in an interview · The Herd with Colin Cowherd (podcast)Hear the original
What Colin Cowherd said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromSo my playoff picture, Bills, Ravens, Texans, Chargers, Patriots, Bengals, Broncos.
- Where it was said
- The Herd with Colin Cowherd (podcast)
- The episode
- BEST OF THE HERD – Seahawks Major Flaw | Final NFL Predictions | Watch Out For Steelers & Cowboys
- The original
- Hear the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- 1Position Group Rankings“I know the Texans defense will be the best in the league.”
- 2Power Rankings“Washington, old, lost their left tackle... They'll finish fourth.”
- 3Philadelphia Eagles to win the division“Philadelphia's roster, I'm going to take them... but I'll take them to win it.”
- 4Los Angeles Rams to win the division“And in the NFC West, I flipped it. I went Seattle second, Rams first.”
- 5Los Angeles Chargers to win the division“AFC West, I made a change. Denver second, Kansas City third... I think it's a pretty magical year for the Chargers.”
- 6Detroit Lions to win the division“All right, NFC North, best division in football. I'm going to take Detroit.”
- 7Baltimore Ravens to win the division“So my playoff picture, Bills, Ravens, Texans, Chargers, Patriots, Bengals, Broncos”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| “I know the Texans defense will be the best in the league.”1 | Position Group Rankings | — | — | — | — | |
| “Washington, old, lost their left tackle... They'll finish…”2 | Power Rankings | — | — | — | — | |
| Philadelphia Eagles to win the division3 | Division Winners | — | — | — | — | |
| Los Angeles Rams to win the division4 | Division Winners | — | — | — | — | |
| Los Angeles Chargers to win the division5 | Division Winners | — | — | — | — | |
| Detroit Lions to win the division6 | Division Winners | — | — | — | — | |
| Baltimore Ravens to win the division7 | Division Winners | — | — | — | — | |
| 7 calls · 7 waiting | — | — | ||||
How each call scored
7 checkable claims — 5 division winners, 1 position group ranking and 1 power ranking — 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.
None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in.
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.
“I know the Texans defense will be the best in the league.”
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
“Washington, old, lost their left tackle... They'll finish fourth.”
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
3Division WinnersPhiladelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles to win the division
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
4Division WinnersLos Angeles Rams
Los Angeles Rams to win the division
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
5Division WinnersLos Angeles Chargers
Los Angeles Chargers to win the division
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
6Division WinnersDetroit Lions
Detroit Lions to win the division
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
7Division WinnersBaltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens to win the division
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.Christian Booher · Roster Spot Calls · Anthony Lucas · Miss 0
Booher previews the Lions' Week 9 trip to Miami, predicting Derrick Barnes takes over as the green-dot linebacker in Jack Campbell's absence, Juice Scruggs starts at center, and boldly forecasting Detroit's first defensive touchdown of the season on an Aidan Hutchinson strip-sack recovered and returned by Barnes.Evan “Foxy” Fox · Score Predictions · Detroit Lions · Close 67
Foxy predicted a blowout Lions win over the Dolphins by a score of 45-21.Chris Simms · Score Predictions · Los Angeles Rams · Hit 93
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.
More division winners
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Daniel DiBerardinis · Division Winners · Atlanta Falcons · Miss 0
Danny D predicts Sonny Styles goes in the top ten (maybe top five), doesn't think Ty Simpson goes before late first round, says Kenyon Sadiq lands with the Rams at 13, and picks the Falcons to win the NFC South while naming the Bengals an AFC bounce-back team. They also give a Final Four of Michigan, Florida, Purdue and Arizona with Michigan winning.Rich Eisen · Division Winners · Jacksonville Jaguars · Hit 100
Eisen forecast the Week 18 results and the entire wild-card field: Buccaneers over Panthers but Carolina still gets in as the 5 seed when Atlanta beats New Orleans, 49ers over Seahawks, Ravens over Steelers, Jaguars beating Tennessee to win the AFC South, and six wild-card matchups (Seahawks-Panthers, Bills-Jaguars, Texans-Ravens, Packers-Bears, Chargers-Patriots, Rams-Eagles), with Houston upsetting Baltimore. They also tabbed Saints rookie Tyler Shough as a possible Offensive Rookie of the Year.Rich Eisen · Division Winners · Jacksonville Jaguars · Hit 100
Eisen called the 49ers-as-NFC-favorites take an overreaction, picked the Jaguars to beat the Titans and win their division, leaned Ravens over the Steelers in the Week 18 Sunday night game, expects the Bills to beat the Jets even without Josh Allen, sees the Chargers as the AFC's seventh seed, agreed Tyler Shough could win Offensive Rookie of the Year with a good Saints 2026, said Malik Willis will be a starter somewhere next season, and insisted Detroit goes into 2026 with Goff.Cynthia Frelund · Division Winners · Houston Texans · Miss 0
Freeland's model has the Chargers winning straight up in Dallas, the Texans winning big over the Raiders and going on to win the AFC South, the Lions beating the Steelers by six, the Saints beating the Jets, and the Packers beating the Bears; they also see the AFC's Super Bowl representative being either Denver or Houston.Chris Brockman · Division Winners · Chicago Bears · Hit 100
Brockman called the Broncos-Packers game the best of the day, said Denver looks poised to lock up the AFC's No. 1 seed and reach the AFC Championship Game, predicted the Bears win the NFC North and the Eagles win their division (though they think they lose to a five seed from the NFC West), and said Philip Rivers will be in the NFL in 2026.Rich Eisen · Division Winners · New England Patriots · Hit 100
Eisen said the Patriots are still likely to win the AFC East and won't be one-and-done, that the Chargers will end Dallas' season next week, that TreVeyon Henderson should out-snap Rhamondre Stevenson, that the NFC East race is over in Philadelphia's favor, and that the winner of the NFC West will be the NFC's No. 1 seed.