John Breech#34 of 87 NFL pundits · Sep 21, 2026
Breech expects Caleb Williams to return quickly from their hamstring injury, at the latest by Week 4 against the Jets or Week 5 against the Packers, and they picked the Rams to beat the Giants on Monday night. They also floated the Saints as a potential surprise team this season.
Published in writing · CBS SportsRead the original
What John Breech said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromJohn Breech's pick: Rams 27-24 over Giants
- Where it was published
- CBS Sports
- The piece
- NFL Week 2 winners and losers, plus Caleb Williams injury details and Rams-Giants predictions for Monday night
- The original
- Read the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- SaidSep 21
- PlayedSep 21
- GradedSep 22
- 1Los Angeles Rams 27 — Giants 24“John Breech's pick: Rams 27-24 over Giants”
- 2New Orleans Saints to beat expectations“The Saints feel like they could be a surprise team this season. Grade: A”
- 3Availability Calls“If Williams isn't quite ready to go this week, it sounds like he'll be back on the field by either Week 4 (Jets) or Week 5 (Packers) at the latest.”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Rams 27 — Giants 241 | Score Predictions | Rams 28–6 | 54.76 | 50 | +9.24 | |
| New Orleans Saints to beat expectations2 | Surprise Team Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| “If Williams isn't quite ready to go this week, it sounds like…”3 | Availability Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| 3 calls · 1 close call · 2 waiting | 54.8 | 50 | ||||
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.
How each call scored
a naive guessbetter than naive3 checkable claims — 1 availability call, 1 score prediction and 1 surprise team call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
It names 4 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
1 of 3 have settled so far, averaging 54.8 out of 100, against 50 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.
1Score PredictionsLos Angeles Rams
Los Angeles Rams 27 — Giants 24
What happenedRams 28–6called Rams by 3 · won by 2254.76Close · naive 5054.76this call−50a naive guess=4.76better than naive×1.94difficulty=+9.24skillClosing line (Sep 21): Rams by 6.5, total 47.5 · this 27–24 calls a closer game (Rams by 3) and more points (51).
Think this is wrong?How this was scored
- score:
- 6-28
- skill:
- 9.24
- they picked:
- LAR
- season:
- 2026
- accuracy:
- 54.76
- baseline:
- 50
- difficulty:
- 1.94
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- actual margin:
- 22
- weeks left when called:
- 17
- naive home margin:
- 0.19
- predicted margin:
- 3
2Surprise Team CallsNew Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints to beat expectations
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
3Availability CallsCaleb WilliamsChicago Bears
“If Williams isn't quite ready to go this week, it sounds like he'll be back on the field by either Week 4 (Jets) or Week 5 (Packers) at the latest.”
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
The game in this take
every pundit’s pick on eachWho this take is about
Others on the same people
John Middlekauff · Draft Bust Calls · Caleb Williams · Miss 0
Middlekauff expects either Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson to win this year's MVP, calling them the two best players in the league. They are pessimistic on the Bears, forecasting six or seven wins and saying they'd bet Caleb Williams doesn't work out as a franchise quarterback. They also see Oklahoma's John Mattier as a first-round pick who'll be in the Heisman mix.Colin Cowherd · Trade and Signing Calls · Matthew Stafford · Hit 100
Cowherd predicts Matt Stafford stays with the Rams rather than moving on, and says Travis Hunter may underachieve because they're being asked to play both ways — Cowherd doubts they're a No. 1 receiver and would slot them as a No. 2 receiver while being a No. 1 corner.Colin Cowherd · Trade and Signing Calls · Matthew Stafford · Hit 100
Cowherd believes Matt Stafford's public negotiation posturing means he ultimately stays in Los Angeles, and he flags Travis Hunter as a high draft pick who could underachieve because trying to play both cornerback and receiver full-time will hurt him.Bryan DeArdo · Score Predictions · Chicago Bears · Hit 98
DeArdo picks the Bears to beat the Buccaneers on Sunday night in a defensive game, predicting a 20-16 final score.Danny Parkins · Game Outcome Picks · Chicago Bears · Hit 100
Parkins named the seven AFC teams they believe 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 their Super Bowl matchup with the Giants still winning the NFC East.
More score predictions
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Jordan Dajani · Score Predictions · Washington Commanders · Hit 95
Dajani picks the Commanders to edge the Giants 21-20 on Thursday and the Chiefs to beat the Falcons 26-20 in Week 10.Tyler Sullivan · Score Predictions · Washington Commanders · Hit 100
Sullivan takes the Commanders 24-21 over the Giants on Thursday night and calls for a Steelers upset of the Bengals, 27-24, in Week 10.Pete Prisco · Score Predictions · New York Giants · Miss 36
Prisco picks the Giants to beat the Commanders 23-14 on Thursday night and the Lions to beat the Patriots 30-24 in Munich.Jared Dubin · Score Predictions · New York Giants · Close 43
Dubin picks the Giants to beat the Commanders 20-14 on Thursday night and takes the Packers over the Vikings 17-14 in a low-scoring Week 10 game.Jared Dubin · Score Predictions · New York Giants · Close 43
Dubin picks the Giants to beat the Commanders at home on Thursday night, projecting a 20-14 final score.Pete Prisco · Score Predictions · New York Giants · Miss 36
Prisco picked the Giants to beat the Commanders at home in the Thursday night Week 10 game, 23-14, citing New York's dominant front seven containing Jayden Daniels.