# Ralph Vacchiano: Vacchiano argues the 1-2 Patriots' Super Bowl run looks like a fluke and their 2026 season is effectively lost, that the Texans' window has shut with C.J. Stroud not good enough to win a title, that the 3-0 Vikings are a quarterback away from contending with Kevin O'Connell an early Coach of the Year front-runner, and that the Chargers' 0-3 season is over though Harbaugh and Herbert will stay put.

**Claimed:** Sep 28, 2026
**Pundit:** Ralph Vacchiano — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/ralph-vacchiano
**Outlet:** Fox Sports — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/fox-sports
**How it reached us:** published in writing
**Original:** https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/nfl-fallout-week-3-patriots-battling-more-than-super-bowl-hangover

2 checkable claims — 1 coach award pick and 1 trade and signing call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.

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

None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in.

> But don’t count out O’Connell, who might be the early front-runner for NFL Coach of the Year and has gotten the most out of middling QBs in the past.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Justin Herbert to stay with Los Angeles Chargers**
  - Kind: Trade and Signing Calls · About: Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Kevin O'Connell to win NFL Coach of the Year**
  - Kind: Coach Award Picks
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- Justin Herbert — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/justin-herbert
- Los Angeles Chargers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/chargers

## What others said about the same people

- Nate Gosney on Daiyan Henley: After the Broncos rescinded the trade, Gosney expects Daiyan Henley to remain with the Chargers for the rest of the 2026 season, but believes the awkward fallout has effectively killed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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/60272861-4ad0-4749-b36a-dcdf09b9213f (scored 0)
- Tyler Sullivan on Los Angeles Chargers: Sullivan flags five Week 9 underdogs they expect to pull upsets: the Packers at New England, the Vikings over Buffalo, the winless Chargers over Houston, the Panthers over Denver, and the Falcons over Cincinnati in Madrid. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b01bc807-6ff9-460f-8ab3-c7506b54effb (scored 0)
- Kevin Wildes on Los Angeles Chargers: Wildes used their upset alert on the winless Chargers to beat the Rams. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/4a6e4641-36d3-4a34-9929-9d1fdab93cbb (scored 0)
- Greg Auman on Los Angeles Chargers: Auman predicts an all-Los Angeles Super Bowl with the Chargers beating the Rams 24-21. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b529264d-fbdd-4b2c-88aa-4c15848659a6 (scored 21.43)
- Nick Wright on Los Angeles Chargers: Nick Wright ran through their projected 2025 records for all 16 AFC teams, calling Baltimore a 13-win regular-season juggernaut, Houston a 12-win team with the league's best defense, and going under on the Jets, Bengals, Steelers and Chargers; they also picked the Chiefs' game-by-game schedule to 12-5 and said Buffalo wins the AFC East. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/d726dad7-b84e-421c-8274-380142c4ff2e (scored 0)
- Eric Mangini on Los Angeles Chargers: Mangini took the Titans to upset the Texans, and in the chips segment backed the Chargers to upset Denver, the Patriots over the Raiders, and the Rams over the Bills. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/af6364dd-ba73-40cb-95fa-a9fa3ddf962b (scored 0)

## More coach award picks

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

- Matt Hasselbeck: Hasselbeck agreed on the Bills and Ravens as AFC division winners, picked the Colts (with Daniel Jones) to win the AFC South, the Broncos to win the AFC West, the Seahawks to win the NFC West, and tabbed Brian Flores for a Coach of the Year-type honor. They also said the Patriots would make a big jump and potentially reach the playoffs, and named Minnesota, Las Vegas, New England and Chicago as offseason winners. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/757877f8-ca0d-4888-b062-a4a6dd71d0e6 (scored 0)
- Richard Sherman: Sherman picked the Eagles, Vikings, Ravens and Bills in their wild-card games, named Lamar Jackson MVP, Patrick Surtain DPOY, Kevin O'Connell Coach of the Year, put Jared Verse in the top three of Defensive Rookie of the Year voting, and gave a Week 18 power ranking with Kansas City first. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2d7cf80e-1b0e-4129-92f3-225d97061cbe (scored 100)
- Chris Brockman: Brockman argued that Kyle Shanahan deserves Coach of the Year after the 49ers' road win in Philadelphia, a take Rich Eisen partly called an overreaction since it's a regular-season award. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/4da2fac2-7a9e-4cf2-a606-9dc6c7fd548d (scored 0)
- Pat Gustavson: Gustafson picked the Bears, Eagles, Rams, Patriots, Jaguars and Texans in the wild card round, the Rams and Bears in the NFC, the Broncos and Patriots in the AFC, and the Patriots to beat the Bears in the Super Bowl. Their awards slate included Stafford for MVP, Puka for OPOY and Liam Cohen for Coach of the Year. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/671b9c4f-1f25-4f11-ad26-16a1126ea3b8 (scored 0)
- Brandon Carney: Carney made a full playoff bracket, picking the Bears, Niners, Rams, Patriots, Jaguars and Texans in the wild card round, then Seahawks and Rams in the NFC divisional, Broncos and Patriots in the AFC, with the Rams beating the Patriots in the Super Bowl. They also gave award picks including Stafford for MVP and Vrabel for Coach of the Year. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/88101820-7344-4240-93f1-caa15fe95de9 (scored 100)
- Rich Eisen: Eisen gave their Week 13 power rankings, with the Rams first, Patriots second and the Cowboys entering at No. 10, and also named New England and Philadelphia as the first teams to clinch playoff spots, picked Seattle to beat Minnesota, and tabbed Drake Maye as an MVP finalist and Mike Vrabel as Coach of the Year. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/960141f1-11b7-4c57-9ef8-0f7b8b41bc99 (scored 100)

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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.

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