Zachary PerelesOct 6, 2026
Grading every AFC team after four games, Pereles says Buffalo again looks like a playoff team, touts Browns coach Todd Monken as an early Coach of the Year frontrunner, and expects Pittsburgh to land around.500 as usual.
Published in writing · CBS SportsRead the original
What Zachary Pereles said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromThis looks like a playoff team once again, but unless the same old issues get fixed, it won't be a Super Bowl team.
- Where it was published
- CBS Sports
- The piece
- AFC team grades: Chiefs among four teams in 'A' range, three teams receive 'F' after four games played
- The original
- Read the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- 1Todd Monken to win Coach of the Year“GM Andrew Berry and early Coach of the Year frontrunner Todd Monken should be very excited.”
- 2Buffalo Bills to make the playoffs“This looks like a playoff team once again, but unless the same old issues get fixed, it won't be a Super Bowl team.”
- 3Pittsburgh Steelers to finish with 8–9 wins“The Steelers are on pace to do the sort of thing they always do of late: go about .500 with a low-ceiling offense and a playmaking defense and either miss the playoffs or sputter out of it in the first round.”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Todd Monken to win Coach of the Year1 | Coach Award Picks | — | — | — | — | |
| Buffalo Bills to make the playoffs2 | Playoff Picks | — | — | — | — | |
| Pittsburgh Steelers to finish with 8–9 wins3 | Season Win Totals | — | — | — | — | |
| 3 calls · 3 waiting | — | — | ||||
How each call scored
3 checkable claims — 1 coach award pick, 1 playoff pick and 1 season win total — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
It names 2 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in.
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.
Todd Monken to win Coach of the Year
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Buffalo Bills to make the playoffs
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
3Season Win TotalsPittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers to finish with 8–9 wins
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
Pete Prisco · Score Predictions · Buffalo Bills · Close 76
Prisco picked the Bills to win 21-14 at Minnesota.John Breech · Score Predictions · Buffalo Bills · Close 76
Breech picked the Bills to beat the Vikings on Monday night by a score of 24-17.Jordan Dajani · Score Predictions · Buffalo Bills · Close 62
Dajani picked the Bills to edge the Vikings 24-23.Jared Dubin · Score Predictions · Buffalo Bills · Close 74
Dubin picked Buffalo to win a low-scoring Monday night game in Minnesota, 20-14.Tyler Sullivan · Score Predictions · Buffalo Bills · Close 76
Sullivan picked the Bills to beat the Vikings 24-17.Bryan DeArdo · Trade and Signing Calls · Joey Porter Jr. · Miss 0
The piece predicts Joey Porter Jr. most likely stays with the Steelers through 2026, while listing possible trade destinations if they were moved.
More coach award picks
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Matt Hasselbeck · Coach Award Picks · Miss 0
Hasselbeck agreed on the Bills and Ravens as AFC division winners, picked the Colts (with Daniel Jones) to win the AFC South, the Broncos to win the AFC West, the Seahawks to win the NFC West, and tabbed Brian Flores for a Coach of the Year-type honor. They also said the Patriots would make a big jump and potentially reach the playoffs, and named Minnesota, Las Vegas, New England and Chicago as offseason winners.Richard Sherman · Coach Award Picks · Hit 100
Sherman picked the Eagles, Vikings, Ravens and Bills in their wild-card games, named Lamar Jackson MVP, Patrick Surtain DPOY, Kevin O'Connell Coach of the Year, put Jared Verse in the top three of Defensive Rookie of the Year voting, and gave a Week 18 power ranking with Kansas City first.Pat Gustavson · Coach Award Picks · Miss 0
Gustafson picked the Bears, Eagles, Rams, Patriots, Jaguars and Texans in the wild card round, the Rams and Bears in the NFC, the Broncos and Patriots in the AFC, and the Patriots to beat the Bears in the Super Bowl. Their awards slate included Stafford for MVP, Puka for OPOY and Liam Cohen for Coach of the Year.Brandon Carney · Coach Award Picks · Hit 100
Carney made a full playoff bracket, picking the Bears, Niners, Rams, Patriots, Jaguars and Texans in the wild card round, then Seahawks and Rams in the NFC divisional, Broncos and Patriots in the AFC, with the Rams beating the Patriots in the Super Bowl. They also gave award picks including Stafford for MVP and Vrabel for Coach of the Year.Rich Eisen · Coach Award Picks · Hit 100
Eisen gave their Week 13 power rankings, with the Rams first, Patriots second and the Cowboys entering at No. 10, and also named New England and Philadelphia as the first teams to clinch playoff spots, picked Seattle to beat Minnesota, and tabbed Drake Maye as an MVP finalist and Mike Vrabel as Coach of the Year.