John Middlekauff· Sep 20, 2026
In a Week 2 preview, Middlekauff argued Matt LaFleur is under enormous pressure in Green Bay, predicted blowout wins for the 49ers over Miami and the Eagles over Tennessee, and offered season win-total views on the Saints, Buccaneers, Texans and Jaguars while backing Dallas to win the NFC East.
“This is a game where the Eagles should win by like 20 points and just smother them.”
said on air or in an interview · The Herd with Colin Cowherd (podcast) · read the original →
8 checkable claims — 4 season win totals, 2 game outcome picks, 1 availability call and 1 division winner — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.
It names 9 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
2 of 8 have settled so far, averaging 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess at the same calls.
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.
Where this call stands in the room
Houston Texans · 2026 season · wins13 calls from 8 pundits between 1 wins and 13 wins. John Middlekauff said 10 wins. the room's median is 11 wins. not settled yet
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.
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Who this take is about
The games in this take
- Eagles at Titans 35 calls
- Dolphins at 49ers 14 calls
8 checkable claims in this take
Each one is scored on its own against the published methodology. A pundit naming several outcomes is graded on each, not on all-or-nothing.
- Game Outcome PicksPhiladelphia EaglesSep 20, 2026
Philadelphia Eagles to beat Tennessee
“This is a game where the Eagles should win by like 20 points and just smother them. And definitely defensively with Fangio, this could get really, really ugly for Cam Ward.”
Hit · 100Scored 100a naive guess scored 0+194 skillHow 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
- Game Outcome PicksSan Francisco 49ersSep 20, 2026
San Francisco 49ers to beat Dolphins
“The Niners play the Dolphins... But Niners should murder them.”
Hit · 100Scored 100a naive guess scored 100+0 skillHow 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
- Season Win TotalsHouston TexansSep 20, 2026
Houston Texans to finish with 10 wins
“I think we would all agree more than likely, even if Houston went 0-2, they're still probably a 10 win team.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- Availability CallsMicah ParsonsGreen Bay PackersSep 20, 2026
“Mike is not coming back. Mike is not returning this week. He's not returning the following week, and he's not returning the following week after that.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- Season Win TotalsTampa Bay BuccaneersSep 20, 2026
Tampa Bay Buccaneers to finish with 8–9 wins
“okay, you beat Tampa, who– They're not what they probably were a couple years ago, but they're still probably an 8 or 9 win team.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- Season Win TotalsJacksonville JaguarsSep 20, 2026
Jacksonville Jaguars to finish with 13 wins
“And the Jags are good... if you told me they won 13 games, would not discount it.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- Season Win TotalsNew Orleans SaintsSep 20, 2026
New Orleans Saints to finish with 9 wins
“I think eight and a half is a lot if you're someone like me and think the Saints are like a nine-win team.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- Division WinnersDallas CowboysSep 20, 2026
Dallas Cowboys to win the division
“And it makes me a little nervous as someone that has the Cowboys winning this division.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
What others said about the same people
- Chris SimmsScore Predictions · New Orleans SaintsClose · 48Simms went through the entire Week 3 slate with straight-up winners and predicted final scores, taking Jacksonville, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Detroit, Houston, Carolina, Kansas City, Seattle, the Giants, Baltimore, New Orleans, Minnesota, San Francisco, Denver and Philadelphia. He also expected Zay Flowers and Puka Nacua to sit, Kyler Murray to play, and said Marvin Harrison Jr. projects as no better than a good No. 2 or high-end No. 3 receiver.
- Steven RuizGame Outcome Picks · Houston TexansMiss · 0Previewing Week 3, Ruiz picked the Ravens to beat the Cowboys in Brazil, Jacksonville over New England in a low-scoring game, an upset by the Broncos over the Rams, the Raiders over the Saints, the Eagles over the Bears, the Lions over the Jets, and his Hail Mary that Houston beats Indianapolis by two touchdowns.
- Nate TiceGame Outcome Picks · Philadelphia EaglesMiss · 0Tice matched his guest on every Week 3 game, picking the Ravens over the Cowboys, the Jaguars over the Patriots in a close game, the Broncos to upset the Rams, the Raiders over the Saints, the Eagles over the Bears and the Lions over the Jets.
- Chris SimmsScore Predictions · Green Bay PackersMiss · 10Simms picked the Packers to beat the Falcons in the Thursday night game by a low score, expecting a defensive struggle.
- Matt HarmonGame Outcome Picks · Jacksonville JaguarsMiss · 0Harmon picked the Bengals to beat the Texans in Week 2, expecting Nico Collins to miss the game with a hamstring injury, and also predicted the Titans would be shut out by the Eagles. He took the Rams over the Giants, the Bears over the Vikings, and the Jaguars at Denver.
- Nate TiceGame Outcome Picks · Jacksonville JaguarsMiss · 0Tice picked the Bengals over the Texans in a low-scoring game, the Jaguars at Denver, the Bears over the Vikings, the Patriots over the Steelers and the Rams to edge the Giants, and his Hail Mary was the Cowboys scoring 40 on Washington. He also floated Abdul Carter as a possible All-Pro.
More season win totals
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
- Richard ShermanSeason Win Totals · Washington CommandersMiss · 20Sherman previewed every division: he picked Seattle to win the NFC West on a tiebreaker over San Francisco (both 11-11 wins), the Lions over the Packers in the North, the Eagles to run away with the East, Tampa Bay in the South, and Kansas City, Buffalo and the Ravens' division rivals in the AFC. He picked an Eagles–Chiefs Super Bowl with Philadelphia repeating, Joe Burrow for MVP, and gave a top-five power ranking.
- Nick WrightSeason Win Totals · New England PatriotsMiss · 20Nick Wright walked through the Browns' quarterback situation and then gave leans and bets on every AFC team's win total, offering concrete win-count expectations for several clubs plus a call on Brock Bowers.
- Colin CowherdSeason Win Totals · New England PatriotsMiss · 0Cowherd takes the Titans over their five-and-a-half win total on the strength of Cam Ward and Brian Callahan, calls New England an eight-to-nine win team, picks Green Bay to win the NFC North, expects the Giants to lose all four games to Washington and Philadelphia, and sketches a quarterback ranking with C.J. Stroud around 10th and Baker Mayfield 11th.
- Nick WrightSeason Win Totals · Denver BroncosMiss · 20Nick Wright gave his early AFC win-total leans: overs on the Jets, Ravens, Jaguars, Chiefs and Raiders, plus projected win ranges for the Dolphins, Texans, Chargers and Broncos, and predicted the Raiders take Ashton Jeanty at No. 6.
- Richard ShermanSeason Win Totals · Detroit LionsHit · 100Sherman picks the Chiefs to beat the Bills in the AFC Championship Game despite Buffalo's turnover dominance, and picks the Commanders to upset the Eagles in Philadelphia in the NFC Championship Game. He also expects Saquon Barkley to win Offensive Player of the Year, though he hedges that voters may give it to Lamar or Josh Allen.
- Chris BrockmanSeason Win Totals · Carolina PanthersHit · 100Brockman pitched that the Eagles are the NFL's best team and that Saquon Barkley will win MVP as the first non-quarterback since 2011. He also declared the AFC playoff field already set with six weeks to go, said the Cowboys will make the playoffs, predicted Buffalo would blast the 49ers, and reiterated his earlier call that Carolina would win five or six games.