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
What John Middlekauff said
So 49ers to win the game.
- Where it was said
- 3 and Out with John Middlekauff (podcast)
- The episode
- 3 & Out - Patriots-Seahawks Reaction, 49ers-Rams Predictions, MIddlekauff Mailbag
- The original
- Hear the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- SaidSep 10
- PlayedSep 10
- GradedSep 12
How the call scored
a naive guessbetter than naiveOne 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.
Game Outcome PicksSan Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers to beat Rams
What happened49ers 27–749ers at Rams100Hit · naive 0100this call−0a naive guess=100better than naive×2difficulty=+200skillClosing line (Sep 10): Rams by 3.5 · underdog pick, 49ers about 1 in 3 (34%).
Think this is wrong?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
The game in this take
every pundit’s pick on eachWho this take is about
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