# Zachary Pereles: Pereles endorsed the idea that Trevor Lawrence is a legitimate dark horse MVP candidate, calling the statement reality rather than an overreaction.

**Claimed:** Sep 28, 2026
**Pundit:** Zachary Pereles — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/zachary-pereles
**Outlet:** CBS Sports — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/cbs-sports
**How it reached us:** published in writing
**Original:** https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-week-3-winners-and-losers-plus-j-j-mccarthy-dealt-to-giants-and-eagles-bears-picks-for-monday-night/

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

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

Nothing to score yet: this grades once the result is in.

> Statement: Trevor Lawrence is a dark horse MVP candidate. Overreaction or reality:  Reality.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Trevor Lawrence to win MVP (dark horse candidate)**
  - Kind: Award Picks · About: Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- Trevor Lawrence — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/trevor-lawrence
- Jacksonville Jaguars — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/jaguars

## What others said about the same people

- AJ Hawk on Jacksonville Jaguars: Hawk picked the Jaguars to beat the Ravens on the road, predicting roughly a 17-point margin. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/0abbd638-5ccf-408e-864d-bd5651044b3d (scored 100)
- Connor "Boston Connor" Campbell on Jacksonville Jaguars: Connor believed Baltimore would keep it close but still said Jacksonville wins the game outright. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/377a2765-5130-479c-8d47-e62f64fff35b (scored 100)
- Nick Wright on Jacksonville Jaguars: Wright expects the 49ers to release Brandon Aiyuk once they report, predicts Jacksonville blows out Baltimore on Thursday night, sees the Jaguars finishing around 13-4 or 14-3, and thinks Seattle's defense carries them past Arizona even with Drew Lock starting. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/ca08b414-c136-4da2-9805-d9bada155854 (scored 100)
- Connor Rogers on Jacksonville Jaguars: Rogers agreed the Bears have the NFL's best offense, picked Minnesota as the league's best total defense, and picked Jacksonville to beat Baltimore on Thursday night. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/f137eeee-71a3-4de4-bfa0-50699d23e147 (scored 100)
- Chris Simms on Jacksonville Jaguars: Simms named the Bears the NFL's best overall offense and best rushing offense, the Bengals the best passing offense, Seattle the best total defense, Minnesota the best pass defense and Tampa Bay the best run defense; they also called Tristan Wirfs the league's best offensive lineman, projected Miami's Malachi Toney as a top-15 pick, and predicted a 30-14 Jaguars win in Baltimore. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c0fd4647-2de8-4a5f-bac2-950fed303ee9 (scored 83.33)
- Mark Morales-Smith on Jacksonville Jaguars: Within a Week 9 fantasy sleeper column, they state that Jacksonville is almost certain to blow out Baltimore, with the Jaguars running the ball through the second half and fourth quarter. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/d03c86f1-c1e9-4280-b6be-5f6fc9de7f6e (scored 100)

## More award picks

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

- Nick Wright on Sam Darnold: Wright picks Seattle to beat New England in the Super Bowl by a 27-17 final score, describing a semi-comfortable win, and names Sam Darnold as their Super Bowl MVP pick. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/8ff42b18-5a45-40e1-b3b6-17612cfca395 (scored 0)
- Eric Mangini on Drake Maye: Mangini picked the Patriots 23-20 with Drake May as Super Bowl MVP, and earlier named Kayshon Boutte ("Kaeshawn Booty") as their dark horse MVP. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/332dce8c-f71c-4f26-a976-8f4615a9f9bd (scored 0)
- Chris Broussard on Drake Maye: Broussard picked New England to beat Seattle 24-21, with Drake May winning Super Bowl MVP, and named Cooper Kupp as their dark horse MVP. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/1247ee30-3338-4940-8fc9-977cc215ff59 (scored 0)
- Willie Colon on Sam Darnold: Colon picked the Seahawks to win 24-14 with Sam Darnold as Super Bowl MVP. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b6655a6f-9a44-46d4-8c76-0d96b7334211 (scored 0)
- Nick Wright on Rashid Shaheed: Nick picked Seattle to win the Super Bowl 27-17, citing Seattle's defense, coaching against young quarterbacks and schedule strength, and named Rasheed Shaheed as their dark horse Super Bowl MVP. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/1fe4abc6-28e3-412b-ab6e-d2f65f25682f (scored 0)
- Danny Parkins on Jaxon Smith-Njigba: Parkins picked Seattle to win 27-16 with Jaxon Smith-Njigba as Super Bowl MVP. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/3667c28e-88b0-4d8e-bebd-6ef088550e4f (scored 0)

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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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