Rich Eisen#38 of 87 NFL pundits · Sep 17, 2025
Eisen delivered their week 3 power rankings top 10, with the Eagles first, Packers second, Bills third, Chargers fourth, Ravens fifth, Buccaneers sixth, Rams seventh, Lions eighth, Colts ninth and Falcons tenth. They also said the Bengals could still make the playoffs with Jake Browning as a .500 quarterback, and expects Kansas City to bounce back.
Said on air, transcribed by us · The Rich Eisen Show (podcast)Hear the original
What Rich Eisen said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromthe rent still is being paid to the Philadelphia Eagles... Who are still number one on my power rankings list.
- Where it was said
- The Rich Eisen Show (podcast)
- The episode
- Hour 2: NFL Week 3 Power Rankings, Colts RB Jonathan Taylor, plus Awesome Ohtani
- The original
- Hear the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- SaidSep 17, 2025
- GradedAug 13, 2026
- 1Cincinnati Bengals to make the playoffs“if if their backup quarterback is a 500 quarterback, they they could make the playoffs one game above.”
- 2Power Rankings“I'm putting the Atlanta Falcons tenth on this list... Number nine, new to the list. Your two and o Indianapolis Colts... eight is back on the list. The Detroit Lions... Number seven, up one spot are the Los Angeles Rams... Number six, at one spot are the Buccaneers... Number five... Ravens... The chargers are... a top four team in the NFL... Number three... The Buffalo Bills at three, And then the Green Bay Packers are two... the Philadelphia Eagles... still number one on my power rankings list.”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Bengals to make the playoffs1 | Playoff Picks | Missed the playoffs | 0 | 100 | −189 | |
| “I'm putting the Atlanta Falcons tenth on this list... Number…”2 | Power Rankings | — | 76.97 | 66.67 | +19.47 | |
| 2 calls · 1 close call · 1 miss · all settled | 38.5 | 83.3 | ||||
How each call scored
a naive guessbetter than naiveworse than naive2 checkable claims — 1 playoff pick and 1 power ranking — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
All 2 have settled, averaging 38.5 out of 100, against 83.3 for a naive guess at the same calls.
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.
1Playoff PicksCincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals to make the playoffs
What happenedMissed the playoffs0Miss · naive 1000this call−100a naive guess=−100worse than naive×1.89difficulty=−189skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- team:
- CIN
- skill:
- −189
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 100
- the naive guess said:
- no
- difficulty:
- 1.89
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- made the playoffs:
- no
- weeks left when called:
- 16
“I'm putting the Atlanta Falcons tenth on this list... Number nine, new to the list. Your two and o Indianapolis Colts... eight is back on the list. The Detroit Lions... Number seven, up one spot are the Los Angeles Rams... Number six, at one spot are the Buccaneers... Number five... Ravens... The chargers are... a top four team in the NFL... Number three... The Buffalo Bills at three, And then the Green Bay Packers are two... the Philadelphia Eagles... still number one on my power rankings list.”
VerdictClose76.97Close · naive 66.6776.97this call−66.67a naive guess=10.3better than naive×1.89difficulty=+19.47skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- skill:
- 19.47
- method:
- spearman
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 76.97
- baseline:
- 66.67
- difficulty:
- 1.89
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- teams ranked:
- 10
- weeks left when called:
- 16
- All
The take as a whole
the average of 2 settled calls, each counted once
38.5naive 83.3
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
Derek Brown · Game Outcome Picks · Cincinnati Bengals · Hit 100
Brown picked the Bengals to beat the Falcons in Madrid, the Packers to win outright in New England and the Bills to beat the Vikings on Monday night. They were bullish on Jonah Coleman's rest-of-season value, expected Jonathan Taylor to play for the Colts, floated a Breece Hall trade, and did not expect DJ Reed to play in Week 9.Eric Mangini · Game Outcome Picks · Cincinnati Bengals · Hit 100
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 · Cincinnati Bengals · Hit 100
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.Chris Simms · Score Predictions · Cincinnati Bengals · Close 64
Simms gave a predicted final score for every Week 9 game, picking the Bengals, Chiefs, Broncos, Lions, Giants, Rams, Cowboys, Saints, 49ers, Patriots, Seahawks, Texans, Bears and Bills, and also said they wouldn't be shocked to see Jacksonville reach the AFC Championship Game.Big Cat · Game Outcome Picks · Cincinnati Bengals · Hit 100
Big Cat picked the Bengals to beat the Falcons in Madrid, the 49ers to handle the Raiders, the Seahawks to bounce back against the Cardinals, and the Bears to beat the Buccaneers by a projected 26-23.
More playoff picks
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Ross Jackson · Playoff Picks · New Orleans Saints · Miss 0
Jackson projects a big sophomore jump for Saints QB Tyler Shuck, laying out a Drake May-style stat line (17 starts, 72% completions, ~4,601 passing yards, 24 TDs, 9 INTs) or a Bo Nix-style consistency line (over 4,000 yards, over 20 TDs, ~10 INTs), and says either path means a playoff season for New Orleans in 2026.Chris Brockman · Playoff Picks · Pittsburgh Steelers · Hit 100
Brockman argued the road to the Super Bowl in the AFC goes through Foxborough, meaning the Patriots will finish as the No. 1 seed, and called their shot that the Chargers beat Denver in Week 18. They also declared the Bears a team of destiny who will win the NFC, said the Steelers will end their playoff win drought, and that Trevor Lawrence is playing like a top-five quarterback.Chris Brockman · Playoff Picks · Buffalo Bills · Hit 100
Brockman argued the Texans will reach the AFC Championship Game, declared the Chiefs dynasty over, said the road to the Super Bowl in the NFC goes through Lambeau Field, that Josh Allen is still the most dangerous QB and the Bills will win a playoff game (with the AFC East runner-up as the 5 seed winning in Pittsburgh or Baltimore), that Carolina will win the NFC South, that Baltimore finishes under .500 with Lamar no longer a top-five QB, that the Colts should trade for Mac Jones, and that Marcus Freeman will be in the NFL next year.