# John Middlekauff: Middlekauff declared the AFC South over and the Jaguars the division champs, while listing several clubs he expects in the playoffs and pegging the Jets for a top-five draft slot. He also leaned Packers and Bears in Week 9 games, predicted roughly five or six wins for Washington, said Brandon Aiyuk is not coming back, and called Tyson Bagent's current deal the biggest he'll ever sign.

**Claimed:** Nov 6, 2026
**Pundit:** John Middlekauff — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/john-middlekauff
**Outlet:** 3 and Out with John Middlekauff (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/3-and-out-with-john-middlekauff-podcast
**How it reached us:** said on air or in an interview
**Original:** https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/arttrk.com/p/D5CA5/pscrb.fm/rss/p/clrtpod.com/m/prfx.byspotify.com/e/claritaspod.com/measure/mgln.ai/e/808/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/44c6e42b-f663-4492-888d-ae330034680f/0b4e6a71-b757-4df8-93e5-b4fa00a6c557/audio.mp3?in_playlist=40b7ab93-19e3-455f-8fd2-ae3300346819

10 checkable claims — 4 playoff picks, 2 game outcome picks, 1 division winner, 1 season win total, 1 team draft slot call and 1 trade and signing call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.

It names 10 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

2 of 10 have settled so far, averaging 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess at the same calls.

> I mean, this division's already over. They're the division champs.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Green Bay Packers to beat Patriots**
  - Kind: Game Outcome Picks · About: Green Bay Packers
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
  - Line: Closing line (Nov 8, 2026): Patriots by 3 · underdog pick, Packers 38%. Source: nflverse; context only, never part of the grade.
- **Chicago Bears to beat Tampa**
  - Kind: Game Outcome Picks · About: Chicago Bears
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess
  - Line: Closing line (Nov 8, 2026): Bears by 6.5 · favorite pick, Bears 71%. Source: nflverse; context only, never part of the grade.
- **Brandon Aiyuk to move — “not coming back”**
  - Kind: Trade and Signing Calls · About: Brandon Aiyuk
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Kansas City Chiefs to make the playoffs**
  - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Kansas City Chiefs
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Detroit Lions to make the playoffs**
  - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Detroit Lions
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Denver Broncos to make the playoffs**
  - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Denver Broncos
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Jacksonville Jaguars to win the division**
  - Kind: Division Winners · About: Jacksonville Jaguars
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Los Angeles Rams to make the playoffs**
  - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Los Angeles Rams
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Washington Commanders to finish with 5–6 wins**
  - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: Washington Commanders
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **New York Jets to pick “top five” (picks 1–5)**
  - Kind: Team Draft Slot Calls · About: New York Jets
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- Green Bay Packers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/packers
- Chicago Bears — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bears
- Brandon Aiyuk — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/brandon-aiyuk
- Kansas City Chiefs — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/chiefs
- Detroit Lions — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/lions
- Denver Broncos — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/broncos
- Jacksonville Jaguars — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/jaguars
- Los Angeles Rams — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/rams
- Washington Commanders — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/commanders
- New York Jets — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/jets

## What others said about the same people

- Bill Huber on Green Bay Packers: Huber argues Green Bay has no excuses left and will beat New England in Foxborough, and expects Christian Watson to play despite his rib injury. He also sketches the projected interior offensive line, with John Williams at center and Laken Tomlinson at right guard. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/5ab5fa3a-4526-46a4-b11b-a2bc99820cb8 (scored 100)
- Pete Prisco on Green Bay Packers: Prisco gives score predictions for every Week 9 NFL game, picking the Bengals to rout the Falcons in Madrid, the Cowboys to rebound at Indianapolis, and the Jaguars to win in Baltimore without Lamar Jackson. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/dc43909b-bc7f-47aa-b208-5cf7c95844bc (scored 64.29)
- Bryan DeArdo on Chicago Bears: DeArdo picks the Bears to beat the Buccaneers on Sunday night in a defensive game, predicting a 20-16 final score. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/7b882443-b481-48fb-b19b-e7f989d85e46 (scored 97.62)
- Christian Booher on Anthony Lucas: Booher previews the Lions' Week 9 trip to Miami, predicting Derrick Barnes takes over as the green-dot linebacker in Jack Campbell's absence, Juice Scruggs starts at center, and boldly forecasting Detroit's first defensive touchdown of the season on an Aidan Hutchinson strip-sack recovered and returned by Barnes. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/228a7c0e-608b-4043-a8fa-eb3f8b2c4ce8 (scored 0)
- Derek Brown on Green Bay Packers: Brown picked the Bengals to beat the Falcons in Madrid, the Packers to win outright in New England and the Bills to beat the Vikings on Monday night. He was bullish on Jonah Coleman's rest-of-season value, expected Jonathan Taylor to play for the Colts, floated a Breece Hall trade, and did not expect DJ Reed to play in Week 9. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b4014405-6764-427e-9708-679baf6b06de (scored 100)
- Danny Parkins on Green Bay Packers: Parkins named the seven AFC teams he believes are already set as the playoff field, expects Chicago, Buffalo and Kansas City to win this week, took Green Bay over New England and Atlanta over Cincinnati outright, and kept Bills–Bears as his Super Bowl matchup with the Giants still winning the NFC East. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/272d1f8a-06f7-4b8b-8480-94d370ae5e6f (scored 100)

## More playoff picks

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

- Dan "Buzz" Wilson on Philadelphia Eagles: Wilson argued the Eagles' offseason approach of prioritizing 2026 and beyond doesn't mean a bad 2025 — he expects them to remain among the NFC's best teams and to make a deep playoff run rather than fall off to eight or nine wins. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/afce079c-b986-476b-a872-09905017fc6f (scored 100)
- Ross Jackson on New Orleans Saints: Jackson projects a big sophomore jump for Saints QB Tyler Shuck, laying out a Drake May-style stat line (17 starts, 72% completions, ~4,601 passing yards, 24 TDs, 9 INTs) or a Bo Nix-style consistency line (over 4,000 yards, over 20 TDs, ~10 INTs), and says either path means a playoff season for New Orleans in 2026. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/4dc05898-73fd-4fcb-92c4-a940d7e395ba (scored 0)
- Rich Eisen on Minnesota Vikings: Eisen argues Ohio State will produce multiple top-10 picks — Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese and Caleb Downs — becoming the first school with three defensive players in the top 10, and that Styles will not be available at No. 12 to the Cowboys. He also thinks Fernando Mendoza is worthy of the No. 1 overall pick and expects the Raiders to draft him, and picks Trey Lance over Anthony Richardson to start a game first, Micah Parsons to fetch a bigger trade return than Maxx Crosby, Kirk Cousins as the released QB most likely to reach the playoffs, and J.J. McCarthy as the Vikings' Week 1 starter. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/29ea2738-79a2-4be9-aa45-e794cd3848fb (scored 0)
- Dwaine Board on San Francisco 49ers: Board argues the 49ers can still make the playoffs even if Trent Williams leaves, expects Williams to be brought back, and favors drafting a wide receiver at No. 27 over an offensive tackle. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/07beb6d4-aadc-4b2d-b131-b889c85204a3 (scored 100)
- Rich Eisen on Carolina Panthers: Eisen forecast the Week 18 results and the entire wild-card field: Buccaneers over Panthers but Carolina still gets in as the 5 seed when Atlanta beats New Orleans, 49ers over Seahawks, Ravens over Steelers, Jaguars beating Tennessee to win the AFC South, and six wild-card matchups (Seahawks-Panthers, Bills-Jaguars, Texans-Ravens, Packers-Bears, Chargers-Patriots, Rams-Eagles), with Houston upsetting Baltimore. He also tabbed Saints rookie Tyler Shough as a possible Offensive Rookie of the Year. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/34345186-876a-4c4b-9567-9c289a6cbace (scored 100)
- Chris Brockman on Pittsburgh Steelers: Brockman argued the road to the Super Bowl in the AFC goes through Foxborough, meaning the Patriots will finish as the No. 1 seed, and called his shot that the Chargers beat Denver in Week 18. He also declared the Bears a team of destiny who will win the NFC, said the Steelers will end their playoff win drought, and that Trevor Lawrence is playing like a top-five quarterback. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/7792215a-c787-44bd-b294-5ff028851d30 (scored 100)

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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.

Full method: https://missedtakes.co/methodology

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