Rich Eisen#38 of 87 NFL pundits · Sep 22, 2025
Eisen pushed back on the narrow Super Bowl field, naming many teams as contenders, argued the Colts are in pole position to win their division, said the Bengals will finish 9-8 or thereabouts rather than land a top-10 pick, called Seattle a playoff team, and agreed Herbert is an MVP-caliber choice while noting the Rams are the best but not only NFC threat.
Said on air, transcribed by us · Overreaction Monday (podcast)Hear the original
What Rich Eisen said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromThe Colts can potentially win the Super Bowl.
- Where it was said
- Overreaction Monday (podcast)
- The episode
- NFL Week 3: Herbert is MVP, Packers Fall, Bears Rise, Bengals Cooked & More
- The original
- Hear the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- SaidSep 22, 2025
- GradedAug 13–17, 2026
- 1Indianapolis Colts to win the division“and then continues on and wins this division, which it sure looks like they are in a pole position to do”
- 2Cincinnati Bengals to finish with 9 wins“He goes even one game under 500, they're gonna be nine and eight at the end of the season.”
- 3Seattle Seahawks to make the playoffs“They look like a playoff team, Seattle.”
- 4Player Season Numbers“what we're looking at with Jake Browning is potentially, and this is why he might be a backup, is a 500 quarterback”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indianapolis Colts to win the division1 | Division Winners | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Cincinnati Bengals to finish with 9 wins2 | Season Win Totals | 6 | 40 | 45 | −9.45 | |
| Seattle Seahawks to make the playoffs3 | Playoff Picks | Made the playoffs | 100 | 0 | +189 | |
| “what we're looking at with Jake Browning is potentially, and…”4 | Player Season Numbers | — | — | — | — | |
| 4 calls · 1 hit · 1 close call · 1 miss · 1 too vague to check | 46.7 | 15 | ||||
How each call scored
a naive guessbetter than naiveworse than naive4 claims — 1 division winner, 1 player season number, 1 playoff pick and 1 season win total — the 3 we can check each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
It names 4 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
All 3 calls we can check have settled, averaging 46.7 out of 100, against 15 for a naive guess at the same calls.
The other one was too vague to check, so it is not graded.
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.
1Division WinnersIndianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts to win the division
VerdictMiss0Miss · naive 00this call−0a naive guess=0better than naive×1.89difficulty=0skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- skill:
- 0
- method:
- division winners read off the bracket: the bye teams and the wild-card hosts
- they picked:
- IND
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- the naive pick:
- HOU
- difficulty:
- 1.89
- the naive guess:
- last season's winner of the same division
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 16
- won the division:
- no
2Season Win TotalsCincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals to finish with 9 wins
What happened6called 940Close · naive 4540this call−45a naive guess=−5worse than naive×1.89difficulty=−9.45skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- team:
- CIN
- naive:
- 8.75
- skill:
- −9.45
- what happened:
- 6
- season:
- 2025
- zero credit this far off:
- 5
- accuracy:
- 40
- baseline:
- 45
- they said:
- 9
- difficulty:
- 1.89
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 16
3Playoff PicksSeattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks to make the playoffs
What happenedMade the playoffs100Hit · naive 0100this call−0a naive guess=100better than naive×1.89difficulty=+189skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- team:
- SEA
- skill:
- 189
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 0
- the naive guess said:
- no
- difficulty:
- 1.89
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- made the playoffs:
- yes
- weeks left when called:
- 16
4Player Season NumbersJake BrowningCincinnati Bengals
“what we're looking at with Jake Browning is potentially, and this is why he might be a backup, is a 500 quarterback”
VerdictToo vague to checkToo vague to check: we could not tell what would count as right, so it stays on the record without a score.
- All
The take as a whole
the average of 3 settled calls, each counted once
46.7naive 15
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
Albert Breer · Game Outcome Picks · Seattle Seahawks · Hit 100
Breer picks the Seahawks to beat the Cardinals in their Week 9 NFC West matchup.Tyler Sullivan · Game Outcome Picks · Seattle Seahawks · Hit 100
Sullivan picks the Seahawks to win in Week 9.Dave Richard · Game Outcome Picks · Seattle Seahawks · Hit 100
Richard picks the Seahawks over the Cardinals.John Pluym · Game Outcome Picks · Seattle Seahawks · Hit 100
Pluym picks the Seahawks over the Cardinals.
More division winners
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Daniel DiBerardinis · Division Winners · Atlanta Falcons · Miss 0
Danny D predicts Sonny Styles goes in the top ten (maybe top five), doesn't think Ty Simpson goes before late first round, says Kenyon Sadiq lands with the Rams at 13, and picks the Falcons to win the NFC South while naming the Bengals an AFC bounce-back team. They also give a Final Four of Michigan, Florida, Purdue and Arizona with Michigan winning.Colin Cowherd · Division Winners · New York Giants · Miss 0
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. They also expect Malik Willis to land a big free-agent deal, Kayvon Thibodeaux to be moved, and Baltimore to lose Isaiah Likely, and they float the Rams reaching on Ty Simpson late in round one.Colin Cowherd · Division Winners · Los Angeles Chargers · Miss 0
Cowherd unveiled their top 10 NFL teams entering next season, with Seattle first, the Rams second and the Chiefs tenth, and separately picked the Chargers to win the AFC West.Colin Cowherd · Division Winners · Baltimore Ravens · Miss 0
Cowherd likes Jacksonville, Chicago and Pittsburgh (with DK Metcalf back) in the wild-card round, ranks the league's head coaches with McVay first and Ben Johnson seventh, and predicts Lamar Jackson has about two strong years left. They also name the Rams as a possible team to draft a receiver and floats next year's draft having seven first-round quarterbacks.Cynthia Frelund · Division Winners · Houston Texans · Miss 0
Freeland's model has the Chargers winning straight up in Dallas, the Texans winning big over the Raiders and going on to win the AFC South, the Lions beating the Steelers by six, the Saints beating the Jets, and the Packers beating the Bears; they also see the AFC's Super Bowl representative being either Denver or Houston.