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Rich Eisen#38 of 87 NFL pundits · Dec 19, 2025

Eisen picked the Seahawks to claim the NFC's No. 1 seed and the Broncos to win the AFC's top seed, and made several week 16 picks: Packers over Bears, Texans over Raiders, Lions over Steelers, a comfortable Eagles win, and the Chargers winning their game.

Said on air, transcribed by us · The Rich Eisen Show (podcast)Hear the original

3 of 5calls landed3 hits · 2 misses · all settled
60Average accuracyout of 100, across 5 calls
40A naive guessthe same calls, no knowledge
5 of 5Settlednone still waiting
#38Rich Eisen’s rankof 87 ranked NFL pundits

What Rich Eisen said

our reading, beside the words we read it from
But I think the Seahawks are gonna take the one seed though.
Rich Eisen, the lead quote · each call’s own words are below
The episode
Hour 2: ‘What’s More Likely,’ Rich’s Top 5, plus Texans Head Coach DeMeco Ryans
The original
Hear the original
  1. SaidDec 19, 2025
  2. GradedAug 13–17, 2026
  1. 1Seattle Seahawks to take the top seed“But I think the Seahawks are gonna take the one seed though. I do believe.”
  2. 2Denver Broncos to take the top seed“I think the Broncos will win the one seed, and they're gonna get they're gonna have to play fewer games.”
  3. 3Green Bay Packers to beat Bears“I think the Packers win this game. You do. Wow. ... Packers fans think I'm right. Bears fans think I'm wrong.”
  4. 4Houston Texans to beat Raiders“I don't think the Raiders upset the Texans at all. They are they are in for it.”
  5. 5Detroit Lions to beat Steelers“I think the lions is their last home game, and, I'm I'm I like the lions in this game a lot. A lot.”

Box score

HitCloseMissWaiting
VerdictCallKindWhat happenedScoreNaiveSkill
Seattle Seahawks to take the top seed1Seeding, Byes and Home Field—1000+117
Denver Broncos to take the top seed2Seeding, Byes and Home Field—1000+117
Green Bay Packers to beat Bears3Game Outcome Picks—0100−117
Houston Texans to beat Raiders4Game Outcome Picks—1001000
Detroit Lions to beat Steelers5Game Outcome Picks—000
5 calls · 3 hits · 2 misses · all settled6040

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.

How each call scored

a naive guessbetter than naiveworse than naive

5 checkable claims — 3 game outcome picks and 2 seeding, byes and home field — 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.

All 5 have settled, averaging 60 out of 100, against 40 for a naive guess at the same calls.

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.

  1. 1Seeding, Byes and Home FieldSeattle Seahawks

    Seattle Seahawks to take the top seed

    VerdictHit
    100Hit · naive 0
    100this call0a naive guess100better than naive1.17difficulty+117skill
    How this was scored
    skill:
    117
    they picked:
    SEA
    season:
    2025
    accuracy:
    100
    baseline:
    0
    checked as:
    the number one seed is the bye, which the bracket names exactly
    actual tier:
    bye
    difficulty:
    1.17
    the naive guess:
    where they finished last season (missed the playoffs)
    weeks in the season:
    18
    claimed seed:
    1
    claimed tier:
    bye
    weeks left when called:
    3
    Think this is wrong?
  2. 2Seeding, Byes and Home FieldDenver Broncos

    Denver Broncos to take the top seed

    VerdictHit
    100Hit · naive 0
    100this call0a naive guess100better than naive1.17difficulty+117skill
    How this was scored
    skill:
    117
    they picked:
    DEN
    season:
    2025
    accuracy:
    100
    baseline:
    0
    checked as:
    the number one seed is the bye, which the bracket names exactly
    actual tier:
    bye
    difficulty:
    1.17
    the naive guess:
    where they finished last season (visitor)
    weeks in the season:
    18
    claimed seed:
    1
    claimed tier:
    bye
    weeks left when called:
    3
    Think this is wrong?
  3. 3Game Outcome PicksGreen Bay Packers

    Green Bay Packers to beat Bears

    VerdictMiss
    0Miss · naive 100
    0this call100a naive guess−100worse than naive1.17difficulty−117skill

    Closing line (Dec 20): Bears by 1.5 · a toss-up, Packers 48%, Bears 52%.

    How this was scored
    won:
    CHI
    score:
    16-22
    skill:
    −117
    they picked:
    GB
    season:
    2025
    accuracy:
    0
    baseline:
    100
    the naive pick:
    CHI
    difficulty:
    1.17
    weeks in the season:
    18
    weeks left when called:
    3
    Think this is wrong?
  4. 4Game Outcome PicksHouston Texans

    Houston Texans to beat Raiders

    VerdictHit
    100Hit · naive 100
    100this call100a naive guess0better than naive1.17difficulty0skill

    Closing line (Dec 21): Texans by 14.5 · favorite pick, Texans about 9 in 10 (90%).

    How this was scored
    won:
    HOU
    score:
    21-23
    skill:
    0
    they picked:
    HOU
    season:
    2025
    accuracy:
    100
    baseline:
    100
    the naive pick:
    HOU
    difficulty:
    1.17
    weeks in the season:
    18
    weeks left when called:
    3
    Think this is wrong?
  5. 5Game Outcome PicksDetroit Lions

    Detroit Lions to beat Steelers

    VerdictMiss
    0Miss · naive 0
    0this call0a naive guess0better than naive1.17difficulty0skill

    Closing line (Dec 21): Lions by 7.5 · favorite pick, Lions 78%.

    How this was scored
    won:
    PIT
    score:
    29-24
    skill:
    0
    they picked:
    DET
    season:
    2025
    accuracy:
    0
    baseline:
    0
    the naive pick:
    DET
    difficulty:
    1.17
    weeks in the season:
    18
    weeks left when called:
    3
    Think this is wrong?
  6. All

    The take as a whole

    the average of 5 settled calls, each counted once

    60naive 40

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