# Rich Eisen: Eisen picks the Bengals to win the AFC North, has the Browns finishing fourth, sees the Steelers as a 10-win playoff team, and expects the Patriots to win somewhere in the 11-13 range. **Claimed:** Sep 3, 2026 **Pundit:** Rich Eisen — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/rich-eisen **Outlet:** The Rich Eisen Show (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/the-rich-eisen-show-podcast **How it reached us:** said on air, transcribed by us **Original:** https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.megaphone.fm/ESP9878258172.mp3 5 checkable claims — 2 season win totals, 1 division winner, 1 playoff pick and 1 power ranking — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet. It names 3 players and teams, each linked to their own record. None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in. Of the 1 unsettled call enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands above the rest of the room. > So I'm going to Bengals to win the division. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **New England Patriots to finish with ? wins** - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: New England Patriots - Verdict: too vague to check - **Cincinnati Bengals to win the division** - Kind: Division Winners · About: Cincinnati Bengals - Verdict: not settled yet - **Pittsburgh Steelers to finish with 10 wins** - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: Pittsburgh Steelers - Verdict: not settled yet - **The Browns, as much as I'm, like, talking about them as a sleeper team, I just I just can't choose them anything but fourth... So I'm going to Bengals to win the division.** - Kind: Power Rankings - Verdict: not settled yet - **Pittsburgh Steelers to make the playoffs** - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Pittsburgh Steelers - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - New England Patriots — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/patriots - Cincinnati Bengals — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bengals - Pittsburgh Steelers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/steelers ## What others said about the same people - Chris Simms on Cincinnati Bengals: 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 40.48) - Chris Long on Cincinnati Bengals: Long liked the Rams over the Broncos on Sunday night even without Puka Nacua, and expected the Bills to beat the winless Chargers in Buffalo. He also backed the Bengals over the Steelers, expected an angry Detroit team to handle the Jets, and still thought both the Lions and Vikings could win the NFC North. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/3df9ea25-e57f-4fd7-b20c-c910a1c3633a (scored 0) - Nate Tice on New England Patriots: 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 100) - Matt Harmon on Cincinnati Bengals: 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 100) - John Middlekauff on Cincinnati Bengals: Middlekauff expects blowout wins for Seattle over Washington and Kansas City over Miami in Week 3, picks Cincinnati to beat Pittsburgh in the AFC North matchup, and takes Tennessee over the Giants if Jameis Winston is taking snaps. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/8115d255-82e3-442e-aeef-c3eaa3587603 (scored 0) - Bryan DeArdo on Cincinnati Bengals: He picks the Bengals to beat the Steelers in Pittsburgh in a low-scoring, defensive game, arguing Pittsburgh's struggling offense can't break through against Cincinnati's strong defense. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/105a1dc7-6107-450a-bc8d-a65798ee0257 (scored 50) ## More season win totals The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Colin Cowherd on Dallas Cowboys: Cowherd projects the NFC East with the Giants winning the division ahead of Philadelphia, Washington and Dallas, pegging the Cowboys as a six- or seven-win team. He also expects Malik Willis to land a big free-agent deal, Kayvon Thibodeaux to be moved, and Baltimore to lose Isaiah Likely, and he floats the Rams reaching on Ty Simpson late in round one. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/cd243624-9451-4824-a8a4-7b468d681c8f (scored 100) - Richard Sherman on Green Bay Packers: 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 40) - John Middlekauff on San Francisco 49ers: Middlekauff says Denver's floor is ten wins, predicts Miami implodes to four or five wins and a top-three-or-four draft slot with Tyreek Hill traded, thinks the 49ers beat expectations with nine or ten wins, sees the Patriots at eight or nine wins, calls the Chargers over 9.5 a lock, expects Jared Goff to make five or six Pro Bowls, and says the Packers are flying under the radar. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/af06c2e6-9beb-4a7e-b444-620680dbccd1 (scored 60) - 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. 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