# John Middlekauff: Middlekauff also picks Seattle to repeat as Super Bowl champion, likes Denver to win the AFC West and the AFC with a Bengals-Broncos AFC Championship, and picks Seattle to beat New England in Week 1. He also predicts the Falcons will be terrible and doubts Bill Belichick survives at North Carolina. **Claimed:** Sep 8, 2026 **Pundit:** John Middlekauff — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/john-middlekauff **Outlet:** The Colin Cowherd Podcast (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/the-colin-cowherd-podcast-podcast **How it reached us:** said on air or in an interview **Original:** https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/arttrk.com/p/D5CA5/pscrb.fm/rss/p/prfx.byspotify.com/e/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/4013d28e-5f67-4885-bff1-ae3300346830/4cf7d267-9579-4d95-ab6f-b4bf0016e850/audio.mp3?in_playlist=e829cf60-fc06-4d61-8691-ae330034683e 5 checkable claims — 1 conference champion, 1 division winner, 1 game outcome pick, 1 super bowl pick and 1 surprise team call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet. It names 3 players and teams, each linked to their own record. 1 of 5 have settled so far, averaging 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess at the same calls. > So I think Seattle goes back to back. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Seattle Seahawks to beat New England** - Kind: Game Outcome Picks · About: Seattle Seahawks - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess - **Los Angeles Chargers to beat expectations** - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: Los Angeles Chargers - Verdict: not settled yet - **Denver Broncos to win the division** - Kind: Division Winners · About: Denver Broncos - Verdict: not settled yet - **Denver Broncos to reach the Super Bowl** - Kind: Conference Champions · About: Denver Broncos - Verdict: not settled yet - **Seattle Seahawks to win the Super Bowl** - Kind: Super Bowl Picks · About: Seattle Seahawks - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Seattle Seahawks — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/seahawks - Los Angeles Chargers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/chargers - Denver Broncos — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/broncos ## What others said about the same people - Chris Simms on Denver Broncos: Simms went through the entire Week 3 slate with straight-up winners and predicted final scores, taking Jacksonville, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Detroit, Houston, Carolina, Kansas City, Seattle, the Giants, Baltimore, New Orleans, Minnesota, San Francisco, Denver and Philadelphia. He also expected Zay Flowers and Puka Nacua to sit, Kyler Murray to play, and said Marvin Harrison Jr. projects as no better than a good No. 2 or high-end No. 3 receiver. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/662b7ba3-1bf6-4ad0-9f93-9f2ab83143fd (scored 97.62) - Connor Rogers on Seattle Seahawks: Rogers picked Detroit, Houston, Carolina, Kansas City, Seattle and the Giants to win their Week 3 games, saying the Chiefs win by two touchdowns and the Giants by a field goal. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/83d1e88b-95a0-45ba-83d3-f86297170c6c (scored 0) - Steven Ruiz on Denver Broncos: Previewing Week 3, Ruiz picked the Ravens to beat the Cowboys in Brazil, Jacksonville over New England in a low-scoring game, an upset by the Broncos over the Rams, the Raiders over the Saints, the Eagles over the Bears, the Lions over the Jets, and his Hail Mary that Houston beats Indianapolis by two touchdowns. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a30ff469-4972-4c48-855b-ba984e4de9d0 (scored 100) - Nate Tice on Denver Broncos: Tice matched his guest on every Week 3 game, picking the Ravens over the Cowboys, the Jaguars over the Patriots in a close game, the Broncos to upset the Rams, the Raiders over the Saints, the Eagles over the Bears and the Lions over the Jets. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b8378e16-ea5c-4107-a883-28aaf0e71134 (scored 100) - Sam Monson on Seattle Seahawks: Monson picked the Chargers to beat the Bills outright (jokingly crediting Buffalo's gray 'Nickel City' jerseys), took the Vikings to win outright in Tampa, and said Seattle would destroy Washington. He also reiterated his Super Bowl pick of Denver over the Rams, called the Dolphins destined for the No. 1 overall pick, and said the Saints are a worst-to-first candidate in the NFC South. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/0b810ffd-fd93-4ea2-a208-b1353dea5fb0 (scored 0) - David Droegemeier on Mekhi Becton: Drogemeier says the Chargers cutting Mekhi Becton is a foregone conclusion, freeing nearly $9 million in cap space, and only a matter of when. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c5f92029-fa26-4c4f-9c27-ab127b7301a8 (scored 100) ## More conference champions The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Nick Wright on New England Patriots: The host picks the Rams to beat the Seahawks in the NFC Championship game and believes the winner of that game wins the Super Bowl, i.e. that this is the Rams' year; he also picks New England to win in Denver despite taking the Broncos with the points, and says Stafford is winning MVP. He calls Sean McVay the second-best coach in the NFL. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/5d16f975-ba4e-46f4-8717-8962b81c5bdf (scored 100) - AJ Hawk on Los Angeles Rams: Hawk picked the Patriots to win in Denver despite liking Stidham and the Broncos defense, and in the NFC he stuck with the Rams, saying Stafford gets to the Super Bowl. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/70ca2972-53a1-4559-bd03-94c5fede2f4e (scored 50) - Connor "Boston Connor" Campbell on New England Patriots: Connor expects a tight first half in Denver before New England pulls away in the second half and advances to the Super Bowl. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c31dff9f-7c0a-422d-9df1-e7423b9edcc8 (scored 100) - Gregg Rosenthal on New England Patriots: Rosenthal picks the Patriots to beat the Broncos in a close, low-scoring AFC Championship in Denver (while liking Denver to cover the 4.5 points), takes the Seahawks over the Rams in a defensive NFC Championship he pegs around 23-19, and forecasts a Patriots-Seahawks Super Bowl. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/830a8ed3-b98f-4161-a71c-4c7beb80f350 (scored 100) - Richard Sherman on New England Patriots: Sherman picks the Seahawks to beat the Rams comfortably at home, 27-17, with a defensive score, and says the winner of that NFC Championship game will win the Super Bowl. He also picks the Patriots to win comfortably in Denver, 21-15, and assumes Matthew Stafford will be named league MVP. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/4711f09c-65e6-4c33-8374-9601a907fa43 (scored 100) - Mitchell Eisenstein on New England Patriots: Mitchell picks Seattle to beat the Rams by a touchdown, 27-20, and advance to the Super Bowl, picks New England to beat Denver and reach the Super Bowl, and calls Kenneth Walker as Super Bowl MVP. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/fd716584-0e06-4a91-abb9-56f7d9e79b5d (scored 100) --- 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=john-middlekauff