John Shipley· Oct 19, 2026
Shipley says the Texans' next four games are all winnable and expects Houston to beat the Giants, Chargers, Browns and Colts as it chases Jacksonville in the AFC South.
“The Texans' next four games are winnable as well, though, with four expected wins against the Giants, Los Angeles Chargers, Cleveland Browns, and then the Colts.”
published in writing · Sports Illustrated · read the original →
4 checkable claims — 4 game outcome picks — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
2 of 4 have settled so far, averaging 50 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess at the same calls.
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Who this take is about
The games in this take
- Giants at Texans 13 calls
- Texans at Chargers 22 calls
- Texans at Browns 4 calls
- Colts at Texans 3 calls
4 checkable claims in this take
Each one is scored on its own against the published methodology. A pundit naming several outcomes is graded on each, not on all-or-nothing. 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 PicksHouston TexansOct 19, 2026
Houston Texans to beat Los Angeles Chargers
“four expected wins against the Giants, Los Angeles Chargers, Cleveland Browns, and then the Colts”
Hit · 100Scored 100a naive guess scored 0+172 skillHow this was scored
- won:
- HOU
- score:
- 44-22
- skill:
- 172
- they picked:
- HOU
- season:
- 2026
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 0
- the naive pick:
- LAC
- difficulty:
- 1.72
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 13
- Game Outcome PicksHouston TexansOct 19, 2026
Houston Texans to beat Giants
“The Texans' next four games are winnable as well, though, with four expected wins against the Giants, Los Angeles Chargers, Cleveland Browns, and then the Colts.”
Miss · 0Scored 0a naive guess scored 0+0 skillHow this was scored
- won:
- NYG
- score:
- 27-21
- skill:
- 0
- they picked:
- HOU
- season:
- 2026
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- the naive pick:
- HOU
- difficulty:
- 1.72
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 13
Closing line (Oct 25): Texans by 10 · favorite pick, Texans about 4 in 5 (80%).
- Game Outcome PicksHouston TexansOct 19, 2026
Houston Texans to beat Cleveland Browns
“four expected wins against the Giants, Los Angeles Chargers, Cleveland Browns, and then the Colts”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- Game Outcome PicksHouston TexansOct 19, 2026
Houston Texans to beat Colts
“four expected wins against the Giants, Los Angeles Chargers, Cleveland Browns, and then the Colts”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
What others said about the same people
- Pete PriscoScore Predictions · Houston TexansClose · 55Prisco 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.
- Jared KochGame Outcome Picks · Houston TexansHit · 100Koch predicts the Texans will beat the winless Chargers on the road in Week 9 by at least 10 points, with Houston's defense forcing a couple of turnovers to set up a multiple-score win.
- Chris SimmsScore Predictions · Houston TexansHit · 81Simms gave a predicted final score for every Week 9 game, picking the Bengals, Chiefs, Broncos, Lions, Giants, Rams, Cowboys, Saints, 49ers, Patriots, Seahawks, Texans, Bears and Bills, and also said he wouldn't be shocked to see Jacksonville reach the AFC Championship Game.
- Connor RogersGame Outcome Picks · Houston TexansHit · 100Rogers picked straight-up winners in every Week 9 game, agreeing with Simms on all of them, and gave a 24-20 Bills score over the Vikings on Monday night.
- Nick WrightScore Predictions · Houston TexansHit · 83Wright made several outright game calls for Week 9 alongside his spread picks: Kansas City beating the Jets 31-20, Detroit winning at Miami, New England edging Green Bay by a field goal or so, Carolina winning outright over Denver, and Houston blowing out the Chargers 27-12.
- Steve PalazzoloGame Outcome Picks · Houston TexansHit · 100Palazzolo expects Kansas City to beat the Jets, Cardinals and Falcons in a three-week stretch and sit at 8-2 before Thanksgiving, says Houston's winning streak begins against the Chargers and that the Texans will be 8-5 by their December 20 meeting with Jacksonville, and pegs the Raiders for seven to eight wins.
More game outcome picks
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
- Bill HuberGame Outcome Picks · Green Bay PackersHit · 100Huber 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.
- Jeremy BrenerGame Outcome Picks · Seattle SeahawksHit · 100Brener picked the Seahawks to beat the Cardinals in Week 9 by a multi-score margin, giving a final score of 27-13, and expressed confidence Seattle would be fine with Drew Lock starting at quarterback.
- Albert BreerGame Outcome Picks · Seattle SeahawksHit · 100Breer picks the Seahawks to beat the Cardinals in their Week 9 NFC West matchup.
- Tyler SullivanGame Outcome Picks · Seattle SeahawksHit · 100Sullivan picks the Seahawks to win in Week 9.
- Dave RichardGame Outcome Picks · Seattle SeahawksHit · 100Richard picks the Seahawks over the Cardinals.
- John PluymGame Outcome Picks · Seattle SeahawksHit · 100Pluym picks the Seahawks over the Cardinals.