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John Middlekauff#48 of 87 NFL pundits · Sep 18, 2026

Middlekauff declares the Bills will win the AFC East over the Patriots, picks the Steelers, Eagles and 49ers in Week 2 matchups, pegs win totals for the Saints, Texans and Buccaneers, has the Cowboys winning the NFC East, expects Nico Collins to miss the Bengals-Texans game, and says Derrick Henry will climb to a top-five all-time rusher.

Said on air or in an interview · 3 and Out with John Middlekauff (podcast)Hear the original

2 of 3calls landed2 hits · 1 miss · 6 waiting · 1 too vague to check
66.7Average accuracyout of 100, across 3 calls
66.7A naive guessthe same calls, no knowledge
3Games calledeveryone’s picks below
#48John Middlekauff’s rankof 87 ranked NFL pundits

What John Middlekauff said

The Bills are winning the AFC East.
John Middlekauff, the lead quote
Where it was said
3 and Out with John Middlekauff (podcast)
The episode
3 & Out - Bills DOMINATE Lions, NFL Week 2 Predictions, LSU at Ole Miss Preview
The original
Hear the original
Read it wrong?
Tell us and we will look
  1. SaidSep 18
  2. PlayedSep 20
  3. GradedSep 21

Box score, by kind

HitCloseMissWaiting
GroupHitsCloseMissesWaitingToo vagueCalls
Game Outcome Picks20100
Season Win Totals00021
Division Winners00020
Availability Calls00010
Positional Finishes00010
All20161

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

10 claims — 3 game outcome picks, 3 season win totals, 2 division winners, 1 availability call and 1 positional finish — the 9 we can check each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.

It names 11 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

3 of the 9 calls we can check have settled so far, averaging 66.7 out of 100, against 66.7 for a naive guess at the same calls.

The other one was too vague to check, so it is not graded.

Of the 3 unsettled calls enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands above the room on 1 and below it on 2.

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.

Where this call stands in the room

Houston Texans · 2026 season · wins

6 calls from 5 pundits between 1 wins and 11 wins. John Middlekauff said 10 wins. the room's median is 11 wins. not settled yet

John Middlekauff — 10 winsthe room — 6 calls from 5 punditsmedian 11 wins

Every dot is a call somebody published on the same question. Where the dots land says where this take sits, not whether it is right — nothing here is settled yet. Hover a dot for the name and number; click it to read that take.

Game Outcome Picks2 hits · 1 missShow ▸

  1. Philadelphia Eagles to beat Tennessee

    “This is a game where the Eagles should win by like 20 points and just smother them.”

    Philadelphia Eagles

    Eagles 24–20Eagles at Titans
    100Hit

    100 − 0 naive = 100 × 1.94 difficulty = +194 skill

    Closing line (Sep 20): Eagles by 7 · favorite pick, Eagles about 3 in 4 (73%).

    How this was scored
    won:
    PHI
    score:
    24-20
    skill:
    194
    they picked:
    PHI
    season:
    2026
    accuracy:
    100
    baseline:
    0
    the naive pick:
    TEN
    difficulty:
    1.94
    weeks in the season:
    18
    weeks left when called:
    17
    Think this is wrong?

  2. Pittsburgh Steelers to beat New England

    “I'm taking Pittsburgh in this spot. Pittsburgh's defense looked pretty solid.”

    Pittsburgh Steelers

    Patriots 20–3Steelers at Patriots
    0Miss

    0 − 100 naive = −100 × 1.94 difficulty = −194 skill

    Closing line (Sep 20): Patriots by 4.5 · underdog pick, Steelers about 1 in 3 (34%).

    How this was scored
    won:
    NE
    score:
    3-20
    skill:
    −194
    they picked:
    PIT
    season:
    2026
    accuracy:
    0
    baseline:
    100
    the naive pick:
    NE
    difficulty:
    1.94
    weeks in the season:
    18
    weeks left when called:
    17
    Think this is wrong?

  3. San Francisco 49ers to beat Dolphins

    “So the Browns might have something to say about that as well. But Niners should murder them.”

    San Francisco 49ers

    49ers 35–13Dolphins at 49ers
    100Hit

    100 − 100 naive = 0 × 1.94 difficulty = 0 skill

    Closing line (Sep 20): 49ers by 12.5 · favorite pick, 49ers about 6 in 7 (86%).

    How this was scored
    won:
    SF
    score:
    13-35
    skill:
    0
    they picked:
    SF
    season:
    2026
    accuracy:
    100
    baseline:
    100
    the naive pick:
    SF
    difficulty:
    1.94
    weeks in the season:
    18
    weeks left when called:
    17
    Think this is wrong?
Season Win Totals2 waiting · 1 too vague to checkShow ▸

  1. New Orleans Saints to finish with 9 wins

    “I think eight and a half's a lot if you're someone like me and think the Saints are like a nine-win team.”

    New Orleans Saints

    —Waiting

    Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.

    Think this is wrong?

  2. “you beat Tampa, who they're not what they probably were a couple years ago, but they're still probably an eight or nine win team”

    Tampa Bay Buccaneers

    —Too vague to check

    Too vague to check: we could not tell what would count as right, so it stays on the record without a score.

    Think this is wrong?

  3. Houston Texans to finish with 10 wins

    “Even if Houston went 0-2, they're still probably a 10-win team.”

    Houston Texans

    —Waiting

    Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.

    Think this is wrong?
Division Winners2 waitingShow ▸

  1. Dallas Cowboys to win the division

    “And it makes me a little nervous as someone that has the Cowboys winning this division.”

    Dallas Cowboys

    —Waiting

    Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.

    Think this is wrong?

  2. Buffalo Bills to win the division

    “the Patriots, the Bills are winning this division. The Bills are winning this division... They're not winning this. The Bills are winning the AFC East.”

    Buffalo Bills

    —Waiting

    Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.

    Think this is wrong?
Availability Calls1 waitingShow ▸

  1. “you're coming into this game and it looks like Nico Collins is not going to be able to play (Cincinnati at Houston, Week 2)”

    Nico CollinsHouston Texans

    —Waiting

    Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.

    Think this is wrong?
Positional Finishes1 waitingShow ▸

  1. Derrick Henry to finish top 5 at his position, by rushing yards

    “when all the dust settles, assuming he just stays healthy this year, he is going to jolt way up. Like all of a sudden, he's going to be a top five rusher of all time.”

    Derrick HenryBaltimore Ravens

    —Waiting

    Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.

    Think this is wrong?

The games in this take

every pundit’s pick on each

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Others on the same people

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