# Akbar Gbaja-Biamila: Akbar ranked the AFC wild card teams Chargers, Steelers, Broncos and the NFC trio Vikings, Packers, Commanders, while predicting Washington beats Tampa Bay in the wild card round and that the Lions reach the Super Bowl.

**Claimed:** Jan 7, 2025
**Pundit:** Akbar Gbaja-Biamila — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/akbar-gbaja-biamila
**Outlet:** Move the Sticks (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/move-the-sticks-podcast
**How it reached us:** said on air or in an interview
**Original:** https://omny.fm/shows/nfl-good-morning-football/gmfb-tuesday-hour-1-playoff-underdogs-reviewing-pr

4 checkable claims — 2 power rankings, 1 conference champion and 1 game outcome pick — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.

It names 2 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

All 4 have settled, averaging 62.5 out of 100, against 31.3 for a naive guess at the same calls.

> I still believe in the Vikings... They win and they go far. I see Vikings.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Detroit Lions to reach the Super Bowl**
  - Kind: Conference Champions · About: Detroit Lions
  - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess
- **Washington Commanders to beat Buccaneers**
  - Kind: Game Outcome Picks · About: Washington Commanders
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **at the number three spot, I've got Washington... Number two, the Green Bay Packers... We're talking about the Minnesota Vikings... I see Vikings.**
  - Kind: Power Rankings
  - Verdict: scored 75 out of 100, against 25 for a naive guess
- **But I've got Broncos, Steelers and Chargers... I like the Chargers to go really far and compete with the Kansas City Chiefs.**
  - Kind: Power Rankings
  - Verdict: scored 75 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess

## Who this take is about

- Detroit Lions — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/lions
- Washington Commanders — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/commanders

## What others said about the same people

- Connor Rogers on Detroit Lions: 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 100)
- Chris Long on Detroit Lions: Long liked the Rams over the Broncos on Sunday night even without Puka Nacua, and expected the Bills to beat the winless Chargers in Buffalo. He also backed the Bengals over the Steelers, expected an angry Detroit team to handle the Jets, and still thought both the Lions and Vikings could win the NFC North. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/3df9ea25-e57f-4fd7-b20c-c910a1c3633a (scored 100)
- Nate Tice on Detroit Lions: 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)
- Steven Ruiz on Detroit Lions: 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)
- Richard Sherman on Detroit Lions: Sherman picked winners and several exact scores across the Week 3 slate, favoring Seattle, San Francisco, Cincinnati, Detroit, Green Bay, Carolina, New Orleans, Baltimore, the Rams, Philadelphia, Buffalo, Kansas City, Minnesota, the Giants, Jacksonville and Houston, and named Kenneth Walker his MVP. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c2102f61-711d-4041-af08-065e95ccaf03 (scored 90.48)
- Colin Cowherd on Detroit Lions: The co-host (identified only as "Mitchell") made his own Week 3 picks, including blowout wins for Seattle and San Francisco, Cincinnati 27-17, Detroit 37-13, Denver 24-21 over the Rams, and predicted Jonah Coleman takes over the Broncos' running back role. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/4ccbceaa-54ca-4a2e-ad90-006f1ded0ad2 (scored 59.52)

## More power rankings

The same kind of call, about other players and teams.

- Rich Eisen: Eisen power ranked the 10 teams with new head coaches by their chances of a Mike Vrabel-style turnaround, with Baltimore first and Arizona last. He also predicted Kirk Cousins would be Atlanta's Week 1 starter, expected Deshaun Watson to start in Cleveland, and named the Titans as a team he likes. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/9280b9c3-3115-4f39-96f8-9cb20da4d82d (scored 85.45)
- Rich Eisen: Eisen delivered his final NFL power rankings of the season, a top 10 with the Super Bowl champion Seahawks first, the Rams second and the Patriots third, ahead of the Bears, Broncos, 49ers, Bills, Packers, Texans and Jaguars. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/4dc10d0a-5768-4152-9afc-f78c5bed8965 (scored 73.33)
- Anthony Gargano: Gargano also took Indiana over Miami as a mismatch, but split from Schwartz on wild card weekend by picking the Bears over the Packers and the Bills over the Jaguars, while liking the Patriots and Texans and ranking the Rams, Eagles and Bills as the top remaining contenders. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/dfced042-234b-430c-b75f-0ba86fa26db1 (scored 75)
- Rich Eisen: Rich Eisen delivered his final traditional power rankings of the season, counting down the top 10 teams in reverse order and putting the Seahawks first, with the rest of the top four ordered by playoff seeding. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/3821530b-5b98-4254-a5a6-3ec1205b50c3 (scored 92.73)
- Rich Eisen: Rich Eisen delivered his Week 16 NFL power rankings, keeping the Rams at No. 1 with the Broncos second and the Bears holding at 10, and also predicted James Cook wins the rushing title while expecting the Bears and Rams to win their upcoming home games. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a1a974f3-f302-4ddc-8c1a-8ff633a39c59 (scored 83.03)
- Rich Eisen: Rich Eisen gave his Week 15 top-10 power rankings, installing the Rams at No. 1 as the best team in football, adding the Jaguars and keeping the Bears despite their loss, while dropping the Cowboys and Eagles off the list. He also projected 10-win seasons for both Chicago and Jacksonville and said the Jaguars would handle the Jets at home. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a3c3755f-fe00-4096-a948-18cb17e42e14 (scored 76.36)

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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

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