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Jerry MalloryOct 4, 2026

Expects a tight Lions win, 27-24.

Published in writingRead the original

43Close · out of 100
Panthers 32–26What happenedcalled Lions by 3 · lost by 6
88.1A naive guessthe same call, no knowledge
42.86This callout of 100
−82.79Skillafter difficulty

What Jerry Mallory said

Jerry Mallory (2-1): Lions 27-24
Our reading: Detroit Lions 27 — Panthers 24
The piece
NFL Week 4 expert picks, score predictions: Lions at Panthers
The original
Read the original
  1. SaidOct 4
  2. PlayedOct 4
  3. GradedOct 5

How the call scored

a naive guessbetter than naiveworse than naive

One checkable claim, graded on its own against what actually happened.

The call scored 42.9 out of 100, against 88.1 for a naive guess at the same calls.

The 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 call; the gap, weighted by how hard the call was, is the skill.

Game calls show that game’s closing betting line under their grade: a dated fact from nflverse, for context and never part of a grade. MissedTakes takes no bets and earns nothing from any sportsbook.

  1. Score PredictionsDetroit Lions

    Detroit Lions 27 — Panthers 24

    What happenedPanthers 32–26called Lions by 3 · lost by 6
    42.86Close · naive 88.1
    42.86this call88.1a naive guess−45.24worse than naive1.83difficulty−82.79skill

    Closing line (Oct 4): Lions by 4.5, total 52.5 · this 27–24 calls a closer game (Lions by 3) and fewer points (51).

    How this was scored
    score:
    26-32
    skill:
    −82.79
    they picked:
    DET
    season:
    2026
    accuracy:
    42.86
    baseline:
    88.1
    difficulty:
    1.83
    weeks in the season:
    18
    actual margin:
    6
    weeks left when called:
    15
    naive home margin:
    1
    predicted margin:
    3
    Think this is wrong?

The game in this take

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