# John Middlekauff: Middlekauff lays out his full season picks: Bills, Bengals, Texans and Broncos winning the AFC divisions with the Chargers, Chiefs and Steelers as wild cards; Cowboys, Lions, Saints and Seahawks in the NFC with the Rams, Bears and 49ers as wild cards; Detroit as the NFC's top seed; Jared Goff MVP, Brian Schottenheimer Coach of the Year, Will Anderson DPOY, Caleb Downs and Jadarian Price the rookies of the year. He also predicts a double-digit Eagles home-opener win and calls Jeremiah Smith a top-five pick. **Claimed:** Sep 12, 2026 **Pundit:** John Middlekauff — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/john-middlekauff **Outlet:** 3 and Out with John Middlekauff (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/3-and-out-with-john-middlekauff-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/447f4ff9-9fc2-4aae-8193-b4c2016420cd/audio.mp3?in_playlist=bf391792-153e-41b3-9d3d-ae3300346ad8 5 checkable claims — 1 depth chart call, 1 division winner, 1 mock draft pick, 1 playoff pick and 1 season win total — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call. It names 5 players and teams, each linked to their own record. None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in. Of the 2 unsettled calls enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands below the rest of the room on every one. > I'm going Jared Goff, MVP. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Chicago Bears to make the playoffs** - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Chicago Bears - Verdict: not settled yet - **Baltimore Ravens to finish with 10 wins** - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: Baltimore Ravens - Verdict: not settled yet - **Jeremiah Smith to be picked “top five pick” (picks 1–5)** - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Jeremiah Smith - Verdict: not settled yet - **Cincinnati Bengals to win the division** - Kind: Division Winners · About: Cincinnati Bengals - Verdict: not settled yet - **Tee Higgins to be 2nd on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Tee Higgins, Cincinnati Bengals - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Chicago Bears — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bears - Baltimore Ravens — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/ravens - Jeremiah Smith — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/jeremiah-smith - Cincinnati Bengals — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bengals - Tee Higgins — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/tee-higgins ## What others said about the same people - Pete Prisco on Chicago Bears: Prisco gives score predictions for every Week 9 NFL game, picking the Bengals to rout the Falcons in Madrid, the Cowboys to rebound at Indianapolis, and the Jaguars to win in Baltimore without Lamar Jackson. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/dc43909b-bc7f-47aa-b208-5cf7c95844bc (scored 100) - Bryan DeArdo on Chicago Bears: DeArdo picks the Bears to beat the Buccaneers on Sunday night in a defensive game, predicting a 20-16 final score. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/7b882443-b481-48fb-b19b-e7f989d85e46 (scored 97.62) - Danny Parkins on Chicago Bears: Parkins named the seven AFC teams they believe are already set as the playoff field, expects Chicago, Buffalo and Kansas City to win this week, took Green Bay over New England and Atlanta over Cincinnati outright, and kept Bills–Bears as their Super Bowl matchup with the Giants still winning the NFC East. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/272d1f8a-06f7-4b8b-8480-94d370ae5e6f (scored 100) - “Stanford Steve” Coughlin on Chicago Bears: Stanford Steve said the Bears would beat the Buccaneers on Sunday night, and called a player they referred to as "Yakis" their Rookie of the Year. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/eb50c9d5-281b-4810-b41b-a5d6da11c438 (scored 100) - Chris Simms on Chicago Bears: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/17eb747a-90b1-472f-bb6d-e71c0c69133a (scored 97.62) - Connor Rogers on Chicago Bears: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/11646f69-18dd-4831-a7de-e4115ded875c (scored 100) ## More depth chart calls The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Jeremy Brener on Drew Lock: Brener picked the Seahawks to beat the Cardinals in Week 9 by a multi-score margin, giving a final score of 27-13, and expressed confidence Seattle would be fine with Drew Lock starting at quarterback. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/7eb2d245-63d0-4be0-80ba-3f60197e2b16 (scored 100) - Jeremy Brener on Jalen Milroe: Brener suggests Seattle may turn to rookie-contract quarterback Jalen Milroe for their first career start in Week 9 against the Cardinals, with Sam Darnold ruled out and Drew Lock dealing with an elbow injury. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/42d1bd81-5e19-456e-9f68-b3b135170ec0 (scored 0) - Michael Moore on Shedeur Sanders: In a Week 9 injury roundup, Moore forecast which banged-up fantasy contributors would play or sit: Deshaun Watson, Garrett Wilson, David Montgomery, Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel, TreVeyon Henderson and Terrance Ferguson are expected out, while Travis Kelce, Saquon Barkley, Michael Wilson, Christian Watson and Emeka Egbuka should play. They also expect Shedeur Sanders and Drew Lock to start at quarterback. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/e26319a3-10aa-49a6-a24d-a257521363f0 (scored 100) - Zachary Pereles on Shedeur Sanders: Pereles writes that if Deshaun Watson can't clear concussion protocol in time, the Browns would likely turn to second-year quarterback Shedeur Sanders to start Week 9 against the Saints. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/6dad75dd-1818-4a6a-91ea-832f491c2530 (scored 100) - Garrett Podell on Carson Beck: Podell argues the Cardinals have maxed out with Jacoby Brissett and that rookie Carson Beck should be ramped up to replace them as starter, targeting Week 8 at Dallas for Beck's regular-season debut. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2f499498-ebbe-41f8-8ea3-41fe96f79432 (scored 0) - Jacob Herlin on J.J. McCarthy: Herlin published Week 7 fantasy D/ST rankings with projections for 28 team defenses, led by Houston, Minnesota and Cleveland. They also expect Cleveland to post a fourth straight top-10 fantasy defense result, and predicts Jalon Daniels starts another week for Tampa Bay while J.J. McCarthy takes over as the Giants' starter. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/cf4a2992-3760-464e-b540-6182ebc4457f (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