Garrett Podell#78 of 87 NFL pundits · Sep 11, 2026
In its weekly bold predictions column, CBS Sports picks the Falcons to upset the Steelers in Pittsburgh behind Tua Tagovailoa outplaying Aaron Rodgers, and forecasts big individual games for Trey Hendrickson, Quinshon Judkins and De'Von Achane in Week 1.
Published in writing · CBS SportsRead the original
What Garrett Podell said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromAchane will take advantage of that in a big way to kick off the 2026 season with at least 150 yards rushing.
- Where it was published
- CBS Sports
- The piece
- Week 1 2026 bold predictions: Can Tua Tagovailoa best Aaron Rodgers in Pittsburgh?
- The original
- Read the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- SaidSep 11
- PlayedSep 13
- GradedSep 15
- 1Atlanta Falcons to beat Steelers“Tagovailoa will return to Pittsburgh on Sunday, and if he's able to play after suffering an oblique injury in practice on Thursday , he'll outplay Rodgers to shock the Steelers en route to a Falcons victory.”
- 2Trey Hendrickson to record 2 sacks“Trey Hendrickson goes off for multiple sacks in Ravens debut ... Hendrickson finds his footing faster and sacks Jones twice.”
- 3De'Von Achane to record 150 rushing yards“Achane will take advantage of that in a big way to kick off the 2026 season with at least 150 yards rushing.”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta Falcons to beat Steelers1 | Game Outcome Picks | Steelers 20–13 | 0 | 100 | −200 | |
| Trey Hendrickson to record 2 sacks2 | Player Season Numbers | — | — | — | — | |
| De'Von Achane to record 150 rushing yards3 | Player Season Numbers | — | — | — | — | |
| 3 calls · 1 miss · 2 waiting | 0 | 100 | ||||
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 naiveworse than naive3 checkable claims — 2 player season numbers and 1 game outcome pick — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
It names 5 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
1 of 3 have settled so far, averaging 0 out of 100, against 100 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.
1Game Outcome PicksAtlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons to beat Steelers
What happenedSteelers 20–13Falcons at Steelers0Miss · naive 1000this call−100a naive guess=−100worse than naive×2difficulty=−200skillClosing line (Sep 13): Steelers by 6.5 · underdog pick, Falcons 28%.
Think this is wrong?How this was scored
- won:
- PIT
- score:
- 13-20
- skill:
- −200
- they picked:
- ATL
- season:
- 2026
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 100
- the naive pick:
- PIT
- difficulty:
- 2
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 18
2Player Season NumbersTrey HendricksonBaltimore Ravens
Trey Hendrickson to record 2 sacks
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
3Player Season NumbersDe'Von AchaneMiami Dolphins
De'Von Achane to record 150 rushing yards
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
Alex Curry · Trade and Signing Calls · Kirk Cousins · Hit 100
Curry expects Fernando Mendoza to be taken No. 1 overall by the Raiders and to be thrown into the starting lineup immediately, and they say Kirk Cousins will be released by Atlanta within weeks.Alex Curry · Trade and Signing Calls · Kirk Cousins · Hit 100
Curry expects Fernando Mendoza to be the No. 1 overall pick and land with the Raiders, and they say Kirk Cousins will be released by Atlanta.JP Acosta · Trade and Signing Calls · Kirk Cousins · Hit 100
Acosta expects John Harbaugh's Giants to jump to roughly seven wins in year one, and forecast several offseason moves: Aaron Rodgers returning to Pittsburgh, Daniel Jones returning to the Colts, Kirk Cousins being released by Atlanta, and Brandon Aiyuk leaving San Francisco.Gregg Rosenthal · Trade and Signing Calls · Kirk Cousins · Hit 100
Rosenthal gave their award ballot: Drake May atop their MVP list (though they expect Matthew Stafford to actually win), Myles Garrett for Defensive Player of the Year, Bijan Robinson for Offensive Player of the Year, Tetairoa McMillan for Offensive Rookie of the Year, Carson Schwesinger for Defensive Rookie of the Year, Mike Macdonald for Coach of the Year and Broncos O-line coach Zach Strief for Assistant Coach of the Year. They also expect Kirk Cousins to be cut by Atlanta.Dan Graziano · Trade and Signing Calls · Trey Hendrickson · Hit 100
Graziano expects Kyler Murray to be released by the Cardinals by the third day of the league year if no trade materializes, believes the Colts will keep Daniel Jones (via a tag if necessary), thinks Aaron Rodgers returning to Pittsburgh is a strong possibility, and expects Cincinnati and Trey Hendrickson to part ways.
More player season numbers
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Andrew Erickson · Player Season Numbers · James Cook · Close 67
Erickson is targeting Chase Brown, Javonte Williams, Trey Benson, Ray Davis, MarShawn Lloyd, Will Shipley, Braelon Allen and Rishard Smith while fading Tyrone Tracy, Tank Bigsby and Kyren Williams, and they expect James Cook's touchdown total to settle in the eight-to-ten range.Ross Jackson · Player Season Numbers · Tyler Shough · Miss 4
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.Chris Broussard · Player Season Numbers · Myles Garrett · Hit 92
Broussard expects Lamar Jackson to play well but not vintage — two touchdown passes and no picks — while Derrick Henry carries the load with over 100 rushing yards. They also take the Browns to upset the Bengals and believes Myles Garrett gets at least two sacks to break the single-season record.Nick Wright · Player Season Numbers · Myles Garrett · Hit 100
Wright picks the Steelers to beat the Ravens outright in Pittsburgh, takes Seattle over San Francisco, and thinks the Browns lose to Cincinnati even as Myles Garrett gets the sack record.Nick Wright · Player Season Numbers · Myles Garrett · Hit 84
Nick Wright says Myles Garrett is playing at an all-time level and might reach 25 sacks this season, and among their weekly picks they expect the Bears to beat the Steelers in an ugly low-margin home win and Seattle to win comfortably at Tennessee.Rich Eisen · Player Season Numbers · Micah Parsons · Close 56
Eisen made a series of picks: Micah Parsons will out-sack any two Cowboys combined (after initially leaning the other way), the NFC North is more likely to produce a Super Bowl team than the NFC East, Eagles wins will outnumber Cowboys losses, Bo Nix/Courtland Sutton will out-touchdown Cam Ward/Calvin Ridley, and Marvin Harrison Jr./James Conner will beat Kamara/Olave in yards and TDs. They also picked the AFC West order and said Deion Sanders is more likely than Bill Belichick to have a winning record.