# John Middlekauff: 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.

**Claimed:** Sep 20, 2026
**Pundit:** John Middlekauff — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/john-middlekauff
**Outlet:** The Herd with Colin Cowherd (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/the-herd-with-colin-cowherd-podcast
**How it reached us:** said on air or in an interview
**Original:** https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/44c6e42b-f663-4492-888d-ae330034680f/e4330e6a-ccf6-4bed-a307-b4c9014577e2/audio.mp3?in_playlist=bf391792-153e-41b3-9d3d-ae3300346ad8

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.

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

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Philadelphia Eagles to beat Tennessee**
  - Kind: Game Outcome Picks · About: Philadelphia Eagles
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **San Francisco 49ers to beat Dolphins**
  - Kind: Game Outcome Picks · About: San Francisco 49ers
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess
- **Houston Texans to finish with 10 wins**
  - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: Houston Texans
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **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.**
  - Kind: Availability Calls · About: Micah Parsons, Green Bay Packers
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Tampa Bay Buccaneers to finish with 8–9 wins**
  - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Jacksonville Jaguars to finish with 13 wins**
  - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: Jacksonville Jaguars
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **New Orleans Saints to finish with 9 wins**
  - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: New Orleans Saints
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Dallas Cowboys to win the division**
  - Kind: Division Winners · About: Dallas Cowboys
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- Philadelphia Eagles — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/eagles
- San Francisco 49ers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/49ers
- Houston Texans — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/texans
- Micah Parsons — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/micah-parsons
- Green Bay Packers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/packers
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/buccaneers
- Jacksonville Jaguars — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/jaguars
- New Orleans Saints — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/saints
- Dallas Cowboys — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/cowboys

## What others said about the same people

- Chris Simms on New Orleans Saints: Simms 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/662b7ba3-1bf6-4ad0-9f93-9f2ab83143fd (scored 47.62)
- Steven Ruiz on Houston Texans: Previewing 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a30ff469-4972-4c48-855b-ba984e4de9d0 (scored 0)
- Nate Tice on Philadelphia Eagles: Tice 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b8378e16-ea5c-4107-a883-28aaf0e71134 (scored 0)
- Chris Simms on Green Bay Packers: Simms picked the Packers to beat the Falcons in the Thursday night game by a low score, expecting a defensive struggle. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b12420c5-837c-4a24-8a8e-c74b10cc697c (scored 9.52)
- Matt Harmon on Jacksonville Jaguars: Harmon 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/21a71025-ab65-4716-ac2c-e77ad5ce3348 (scored 0)
- Nate Tice on Jacksonville Jaguars: Tice 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b6211c80-3d1c-46b8-8a0c-151fc0ba92de (scored 0)

## More season win totals

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

- Richard Sherman on Washington Commanders: Sherman 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/ec43b02b-8e3a-4b2e-8c36-1839c9c52e3c (scored 20)
- Nick Wright on New England Patriots: Nick 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/1e745abb-ae8f-4f8c-893e-bfb5d53589b1 (scored 20)
- Colin Cowherd on New England Patriots: Cowherd 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/e32a708a-5651-4292-b71b-672f2216a48e (scored 0)
- Nick Wright on Denver Broncos: Nick 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/cc9d1905-c3e9-4d7f-8dbb-0f840dbb7535 (scored 20)
- Richard Sherman on Detroit Lions: Sherman 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/fd0cf59d-3729-4865-8641-02792d0b6b24 (scored 100)
- Chris Brockman on Carolina Panthers: Brockman 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/bf1a843e-6b29-497e-b58c-b8394d790374 (scored 100)

---

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

We summarize what a pundit said and quote a short span for attribution; we never republish their article. If this is wrong, tell us:
https://missedtakes.co/corrections?pundit=john-middlekauff