Rich Eisen#38 of 87 NFL pundits · May 30, 2025
Rich Eisen ranks the five toughest divisions in football (NFC North first, AFC West second, NFC East third, AFC North fourth, NFC West fifth, plus AFC East as a bonus), predicts Dak Prescott will eventually win a Super Bowl for Dallas, calls the Chiefs division favorites with about 12 wins, sees the Broncos defense as top-five, and says Bucky Irving should break out.
Said on air, transcribed by us · The Rich Eisen Show (podcast)Hear the original
What Rich Eisen said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromThe NFC North isn't just the toughest division in football right now, but maybe the toughest the NFC North has ever been.
- Where it was said
- The Rich Eisen Show (podcast)
- The episode
- Top 5 Toughest NFL Divisions
- The original
- Hear the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- SaidMay 30, 2025
- GradedAug 13–17, 2026
- 1Kansas City Chiefs to win the division“They're still, I think, the favorites to win this division.”
- 2Dallas Cowboys to win the Super Bowl“I do think I do think Dax gonna win you that suit.”
- 3Kansas City Chiefs to finish with 12 wins“I don't know about 15 wins is good this year, but 12. Right?”
- 4Las Vegas Raiders to beat expectations“And then you know how I feel about how Pete's gonna plus up the Raiders. ... They are going to be an improved team.”
- 5Position Group Rankings“their defense is top five potential”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kansas City Chiefs to win the division1 | Division Winners | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Dallas Cowboys to win the Super Bowl2 | Super Bowl Picks | SEA won it | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Kansas City Chiefs to finish with 12 wins3 | Season Win Totals | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Las Vegas Raiders to beat expectations4 | Surprise Team Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| “their defense is top five potential”5 | Position Group Rankings | — | — | — | — | |
| 5 calls · 3 misses · 2 waiting | 0 | 0 | ||||
How each call scored
a naive guessbetter than naive5 checkable claims — 1 division winner, 1 position group ranking, 1 season win total, 1 super bowl pick and 1 surprise team call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
It names 3 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
3 of 5 have settled so far, averaging 0 out of 100, against 0 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.
1Division WinnersKansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs to win the division
VerdictMiss0Miss · naive 00this call−0a naive guess=0better than naive×2difficulty=0skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- skill:
- 0
- method:
- division winners read off the bracket: the bye teams and the wild-card hosts
- they picked:
- KC
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- the naive pick:
- KC
- difficulty:
- 2
- the naive guess:
- last season's winner of the same division
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 18
- won the division:
- no
2Super Bowl PicksDallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys to win the Super Bowl
What happenedSEA won itpicked DAL0Miss · naive 00this call−0a naive guess=0better than naive×2difficulty=0skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- skill:
- 0
- they picked:
- DAL
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- champion:
- SEA
- runner up:
- NE
- the naive pick:
- PHI
- difficulty:
- 2
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 18
3Season Win TotalsKansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs to finish with 12 wins
What happened6called 120Miss · naive 00this call−0a naive guess=0better than naive×2difficulty=0skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- team:
- KC
- naive:
- 11.75
- skill:
- 0
- what happened:
- 6
- season:
- 2025
- zero credit this far off:
- 5
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- they said:
- 12
- difficulty:
- 2
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 18
4Surprise Team CallsLas Vegas Raiders
Las Vegas Raiders to beat expectations
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
“their defense is top five potential”
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- All
The take as a whole
the average of 3 settled calls, each counted once
0naive 0
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
Chris Clark · Trade and Signing Calls · Nikko Remigio · Miss 0
Clark expects the Chiefs to bring back exclusive-rights receiver Nico (Remigio) and long snapper James Winchester, to re-sign JuJu Smith-Schuster as a cheap veteran fifth receiver, and not to bring back Hollywood Brown, Josh Dobbs-type depth, Gardner Minshew, Janarius Robinson or Mike Caliendo; they also say the Chiefs will not use a franchise tag and believes Bryan Cook won't return.Gilberto Manzano · Trade and Signing Calls · Josh Downs · Hit 100
Previewing the trade deadline, he expects Justin Herbert to stay in Los Angeles despite the Chargers' 0–7 start, thinks the Jets will keep Garrett Wilson and pair him with their young weapons, expects a receiver-hungry Kansas City to be aggressive with Josh Downs the likeliest target, and suggests expiring Eagles contracts Moro Ojomo and Riq Woolen could be dealt for mid-round picks.Joshua Poniatowski · Trade and Signing Calls · Josh Downs · Hit 100
Poniatowski names several trade targets, predicting Malik Willis underperforms this week against New England, that Omarion Hampton could become a viable RB2 if Adam Gase takes over play-calling, that Josh Downs gets traded (ideally to Kansas City, where they'd be a top-24 WR), that Brian Thomas Jr. could be dealt to the Rams or 49ers, and that Travis Kelce remains a consistent weekly TE.Jordan Dajani · Trade and Signing Calls · Josh Downs · Hit 100
After reporting that Colts receiver Josh Downs requested a trade, they identify five clubs as plausible landing spots for them: the Rams, Patriots, Falcons, Chiefs and Raiders, and suggests Las Vegas could also give them a long-term extension.Mike Kadlick · Trade and Signing Calls · Josh Downs · Hit 100
Kadlick names the Chiefs, Patriots and 49ers as the three best trade landing spots for Colts wide receiver Josh Downs ahead of the Nov. 10 deadline.
More division winners
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Daniel DiBerardinis · Division Winners · Atlanta Falcons · Miss 0
Danny D predicts Sonny Styles goes in the top ten (maybe top five), doesn't think Ty Simpson goes before late first round, says Kenyon Sadiq lands with the Rams at 13, and picks the Falcons to win the NFC South while naming the Bengals an AFC bounce-back team. They also give a Final Four of Michigan, Florida, Purdue and Arizona with Michigan winning.Colin Cowherd · Division Winners · New York Giants · Miss 0
Cowherd projects the NFC East with the Giants winning the division ahead of Philadelphia, Washington and Dallas, pegging the Cowboys as a six- or seven-win team. They also expect Malik Willis to land a big free-agent deal, Kayvon Thibodeaux to be moved, and Baltimore to lose Isaiah Likely, and they float the Rams reaching on Ty Simpson late in round one.Colin Cowherd · Division Winners · Los Angeles Chargers · Miss 0
Cowherd unveiled their top 10 NFL teams entering next season, with Seattle first, the Rams second and the Chiefs tenth, and separately picked the Chargers to win the AFC West.Colin Cowherd · Division Winners · Baltimore Ravens · Miss 0
Cowherd likes Jacksonville, Chicago and Pittsburgh (with DK Metcalf back) in the wild-card round, ranks the league's head coaches with McVay first and Ben Johnson seventh, and predicts Lamar Jackson has about two strong years left. They also name the Rams as a possible team to draft a receiver and floats next year's draft having seven first-round quarterbacks.Cynthia Frelund · Division Winners · Houston Texans · Miss 0
Freeland's model has the Chargers winning straight up in Dallas, the Texans winning big over the Raiders and going on to win the AFC South, the Lions beating the Steelers by six, the Saints beating the Jets, and the Packers beating the Bears; they also see the AFC's Super Bowl representative being either Denver or Houston.