Skip to main content

John Middlekauff#48 of 87 NFL pundits · Sep 10, 2026

Previewing the NFL's Australia game in Week 1, Middlekauff picks the underdog 49ers to beat the Rams, arguing San Francisco's long acclimation trip and Kyle Shanahan's edge over Sean McVay make them a live dog.

Said on air or in an interview · 3 and Out with John Middlekauff (podcast)Hear the original

100Hit · out of 100
49ers 27–7What happened49ers at Rams
0A naive guessthe same call, no knowledge
100This callout of 100
#48John Middlekauff’s rankof 87 ranked NFL pundits

What John Middlekauff said

So 49ers to win the game.
Our reading: San Francisco 49ers to beat Rams
The episode
3 & Out - Patriots-Seahawks Reaction, 49ers-Rams Predictions, MIddlekauff Mailbag
The original
Hear the original
  1. SaidSep 10
  2. PlayedSep 10
  3. GradedSep 12

How the call scored

a naive guessbetter than naive

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

The call scored 100 out of 100, against 0 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. Game Outcome PicksSan Francisco 49ers

    San Francisco 49ers to beat Rams

    What happened49ers 27–749ers at Rams
    100Hit · naive 0
    100this call0a naive guess100better than naive2difficulty+200skill

    Closing line (Sep 10): Rams by 3.5 · underdog pick, 49ers about 1 in 3 (34%).

    How this was scored
    won:
    SF
    score:
    27-7
    skill:
    200
    they picked:
    SF
    season:
    2026
    accuracy:
    100
    baseline:
    0
    the naive pick:
    LAR
    difficulty:
    2
    weeks in the season:
    18
    weeks left when called:
    18
    Think this is wrong?

The game in this take

every pundit’s pick on each

Others on the same people

More game outcome picks

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