# John Breech: 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.

**Claimed:** Sep 21, 2026
**Pundit:** John Breech — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/john-breech
**Outlet:** CBS Sports — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/cbs-sports
**How it reached us:** published in writing
**Original:** https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-week-2-winners-losers-plus-caleb-williams-injury-details-rams-giants-picks/

3 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.

> John Breech's pick:  Rams 27-24 over Giants

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Los Angeles Rams 27 — Giants 24**
  - Kind: Score Predictions · About: Los Angeles Rams
  - Verdict: scored 54.76 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess
  - Line: Closing line (Sep 21, 2026): Rams by 6.5, total 47.5 · this 27–24 calls a closer game (Rams by 3) and more points (51). Source: nflverse; context only, never part of the grade.
- **New Orleans Saints to beat expectations**
  - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: New Orleans Saints
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- “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.”
  - Kind: Availability Calls · About: Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- Los Angeles Rams — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/rams
- New Orleans Saints — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/saints
- Caleb Williams — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/caleb-williams
- Chicago Bears — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bears

## What others said about the same people

- John Middlekauff on Caleb Williams: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/deaaf3f6-e53e-4080-a0ca-d5f872b54c6a (scored 0)
- Colin Cowherd on Matthew Stafford: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/005e6ad1-bc95-49da-9db2-3a9da2d5041d (scored 100)
- Colin Cowherd on Matthew Stafford: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2c1faeb3-7adb-456d-bd42-275be95269e8 (scored 100)
- Pete Prisco on Chicago Bears: 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 100)
- 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)
- Danny Parkins on Chicago Bears: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/272d1f8a-06f7-4b8b-8480-94d370ae5e6f (scored 100)

## More score predictions

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

- Jordan Dajani on Washington Commanders: Dajani picks the Commanders to edge the Giants 21-20 on Thursday and the Chiefs to beat the Falcons 26-20 in Week 10. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/46f7646f-2c64-4827-a522-67975af79fb6 (scored 95.24)
- Tyler Sullivan on Washington Commanders: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/1bb32676-c3b3-4b8e-8a03-b58396cf98bf (scored 100)
- Pete Prisco on New York Giants: Prisco picks the Giants to beat the Commanders 23-14 on Thursday night and the Lions to beat the Patriots 30-24 in Munich. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/e142b910-0967-4de9-9429-c342bc079205 (scored 35.71)
- Jared Dubin on New York Giants: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/04562aeb-eccf-4266-be8e-32a3aacfd6fc (scored 42.86)
- Jared Dubin on New York Giants: Dubin picks the Giants to beat the Commanders at home on Thursday night, projecting a 20-14 final score. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b6c19276-74df-4775-8a6e-f67c6d94b773 (scored 42.86)
- Pete Prisco on New York Giants: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/07b5aad4-57ad-4195-bc69-66b1abec33a0 (scored 35.71)

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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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