Bobby BonesAug 27, 2026
Guest host Bobby Bones lists their top five NFL villains, suggests this could finally be the Cowboys' year, and says nine wins is a realistic floor for the Patriots while ten wins should satisfy fans.
Said on air, transcribed by us · The Rich Eisen Show (podcast)Hear the original
What Bobby Bones said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromI'm not a Cowboys fan, but I think this could be the year.
- Where it was said
- The Rich Eisen Show (podcast)
- The episode
- Hour 2: Guest Host Bobby Bones’ Top 5 NFL Villains, plus The Athletic’s CFB Insider Stewart Mandel
- The original
- Hear the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- 1New England Patriots to finish with 9 wins“not eight and nine, but I could see nine and eight as a as a floor”
- 2New Orleans Saints to beat expectations“And I said that I believe too... So I I agreed with you. I don't know if you heard me say that earlier. That was my big change.”
- 3Dallas Cowboys to win the Super Bowl“Although, I think this year, I'm not a Cowboys fan, but I think this could be the year.”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New England Patriots to finish with 9 wins1 | Season Win Totals | — | — | — | — | |
| New Orleans Saints to beat expectations2 | Surprise Team Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| Dallas Cowboys to win the Super Bowl3 | Super Bowl Picks | — | — | — | — | |
| 3 calls · 3 waiting | — | — | ||||
How each call scored
3 checkable claims — 1 season win total, 1 super bowl pick and 1 surprise team call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
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 below the rest of the room.
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
New England Patriots · 2026 season · wins20 calls from 11 pundits between 9 wins and 14 wins. Bobby Bones said 9 wins. the room's median is 10 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.
Their call against the room
winsTheir call against everyone else's, while this is still unsettled.
1Season Win TotalsNew England Patriots
New England Patriots to finish with 9 wins
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
2Surprise Team CallsNew Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints to beat expectations
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
3Super Bowl PicksDallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys to win the Super Bowl
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
Rich Eisen · Trade and Signing Calls · Micah Parsons · Miss 0
Eisen expects Myles Garrett to be traded before the draft and says the Browns will then take Abdul Carter with their early first-round pick; they also predict Buffalo will end up paying James Cook and that Micah Parsons will remain a Cowboy and get their money from Dallas, likely late in the process.Pat Fitzmaurice · Score Predictions · New England Patriots · Miss 14
Fitzmaurice predicted a 24-21 Patriots win over the Packers, said they would not be surprised if Jonathan Taylor were inactive amid trade talk, pegged Jonah Coleman as an RB22 rest-of-season value, expected Evan Hull to be Arizona's backup back, and saw Kerby Joseph returning in Week 10 or 11.Kevin Wildes · Game Outcome Picks · New England Patriots · Miss 0
Wildes took Minnesota over Buffalo, predicted a comfortable roughly 10-point New England win over Green Bay, and switched their Super Bowl matchup to Jaguars–Bears.Nick Wright · Game Outcome Picks · New England Patriots · Miss 0
Wright argued the Jaguars are the AFC's most complete team, calling them the considerable favorite for the No. 1 seed and the only club essentially locked into the playoffs. They also picked Tampa Bay to upset Chicago, had Kansas City sweeping its next three games, liked New England over Green Bay by about a field goal, and updated their Super Bowl matchup to Chiefs–49ers.Eric Mangini · Game Outcome Picks · New England Patriots · Miss 0
Mangini picked New England to beat Green Bay by more than a field goal, flagged Tampa Bay as their upset alert over Chicago, expects Kansas City to handle the Jets, took Buffalo over Minnesota, backed Cincinnati over Atlanta in Madrid, and updated their Super Bowl to Rams–Bengals.Connor Rogers · Game Outcome Picks · New England Patriots · Miss 0
Rogers picked straight-up winners in every Week 9 game, agreeing with Simms on all of them, and gave a 24-20 Bills score over the Vikings on Monday night.
More season win totals
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Nick Wright · Season Win Totals · Chicago Bears · Hit 100
Nick Wright lays out their season win-total picks (overs on Jaguars, Bears, Chiefs, Buccaneers, Raiders, Falcons; unders on Bengals, Colts, Broncos, Cowboys, Vikings, 49ers), playoff berth and miss calls, three division winners, a Chiefs-over-Buccaneers Super Bowl exacta, and five Week 1 picks.Damonza Byrd · Season Win Totals · Jacksonville Jaguars · Hit 100
Nick Wright's co-host picks the Jaguars over as their favorite of the six over bets and calls the Baltimore/Buffalo division-winner parlay a safe one.Gregg Rosenthal · Season Win Totals · Jacksonville Jaguars · Hit 100
Rosenthal's Week 1 picks: the Giants win at Washington, the Lions beat the Packers, and the Jaguars beat the Panthers; they also like the Jets over the Steelers and the Dolphins over the Colts, and expects Jacksonville to clear 7.5 wins.Nick Wright · Season Win Totals · Baltimore Ravens · Miss 0
Nick Wright predicts Shedeur Sanders stays behind Dylan Gabriel on the Browns depth chart, forecasts a season where Flacco is benched a third of the way in, Gabriel then fails, Shedeur then fails, and Cleveland drafts a quarterback next year. They also make a long list of win-total, playoff and division calls across the AFC North and beyond.Nick Wright · Season Win Totals · Jacksonville Jaguars · Hit 100
In part two of their gambling show, Nick Wright ran through NFC (and recapped AFC) win-total picks, division winners and make/miss-the-playoffs bets, backing the Chiefs, Jaguars, Raiders, Bears, Buccaneers and Falcons to clear their totals while predicting Commanders, Bucs and Rams division titles.Nick Wright · Season Win Totals · San Francisco 49ers · Miss 0
Wright's under picks: Broncos under 9.5, 49ers under 10.5, Cowboys under 8, Bengals under 9.5 with Cincinnati missing the playoffs and Zac Taylor fired.