Chris Brockman#36 of 87 NFL pundits · Dec 22, 2025
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.
Said on air, transcribed by us · Overreaction Monday (podcast)Hear the original
What Chris Brockman said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromThe bears, Rich, they're a team of destiny. They're gonna win the NFC.
- Where it was said
- Overreaction Monday (podcast)
- The episode
- NFL Week 16: Bears = Team of Destiny, Jags Prove It, Burrow's Future & More
- The original
- Hear the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- SaidDec 22, 2025
- GradedAug 13–17, 2026
- 1New England Patriots to take the top seed“The road to the Super Bowl and the AFC goes through Foxborough... I'm saying they're gonna be the one seed.”
- 2Los Angeles Chargers to beat Denver“So you would need Denver to lose to the chargers Right. In week 18. Yeah. I'm calling my shot on that one.”
- 3Chicago Bears to reach the Super Bowl“The bears, Rich, they're a team of destiny. They're gonna win the NFC.”
- 4Pittsburgh Steelers to make the playoffs“The Steelers and Mike Tomlin are gonna end their playoff win drought.”
- 5Trevor Lawrence to finish top 5 at his position, by passing yards“Trevor Lawrence is playing like a top five quarterback. Jags are legit Super Bowl contenders.”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New England Patriots to take the top seed1 | Seeding, Byes and Home Field | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Los Angeles Chargers to beat Denver2 | Game Outcome Picks | — | 0 | 100 | −117 | |
| Chicago Bears to reach the Super Bowl3 | Conference Champions | NE and SEA won | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Pittsburgh Steelers to make the playoffs4 | Playoff Picks | Made the playoffs | 100 | 100 | 0 | |
| Trevor Lawrence to finish top 5 at his position, by passing yards5 | Positional Finishes | — | — | — | — | |
| 5 calls · 1 hit · 3 misses · 1 too vague to check | 25 | 50 | ||||
How each call scored
a naive guessbetter than naiveworse than naive5 claims — 1 conference champion, 1 game outcome pick, 1 playoff pick, 1 positional finish and 1 seeding, byes and home field — the 4 we can check each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
It names 6 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
All 4 calls we can check have settled, averaging 25 out of 100, against 50 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.
1Seeding, Byes and Home FieldNew England Patriots
New England Patriots to take the top seed
VerdictMiss0Miss · naive 00this call−0a naive guess=0better than naive×1.17difficulty=0skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- skill:
- 0
- they picked:
- NE
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- checked as:
- the number one seed is the bye, which the bracket names exactly
- actual tier:
- host
- difficulty:
- 1.17
- the naive guess:
- where they finished last season (missed the playoffs)
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- claimed seed:
- 1
- claimed tier:
- bye
- weeks left when called:
- 3
2Game Outcome PicksLos Angeles Chargers
Los Angeles Chargers to beat Denver
VerdictMiss0Miss · naive 1000this call−100a naive guess=−100worse than naive×1.17difficulty=−117skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- won:
- DEN
- score:
- 3-19
- skill:
- −117
- they picked:
- LAC
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 100
- the naive pick:
- DEN
- difficulty:
- 1.17
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 3
3Conference ChampionsChicago Bears
Chicago Bears to reach the Super Bowl
What happenedNE and SEA wonpicked CHI0Miss · naive 00this call−0a naive guess=0better than naive×1.17difficulty=0skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- skill:
- 0
- they picked:
- CHI
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- champions:
- NE, SEA
- difficulty:
- 1.17
- the naive guess:
- last season's conference champions
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 3
- reached the Super Bowl:
- no
- lost the conference final:
- no
4Playoff PicksPittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers to make the playoffs
What happenedMade the playoffs100Hit · naive 100100this call−100a naive guess=0better than naive×1.17difficulty=0skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- team:
- PIT
- skill:
- 0
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 100
- the naive guess said:
- yes
- difficulty:
- 1.17
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- made the playoffs:
- yes
- weeks left when called:
- 3
5Positional FinishesTrevor LawrenceJacksonville Jaguars
Trevor Lawrence to finish top 5 at his position, by passing yards
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 4 settled calls, each counted once
25naive 50
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
Nate Gosney · Trade and Signing Calls · Daiyan Henley · Miss 0
After the Broncos rescinded the trade, Gosney expects Daiyan Henley to remain with the Chargers for the rest of the 2026 season, but believes the awkward fallout has effectively killed any chance of them signing a new contract with Los Angeles after the season.John Middlekauff · Draft Bust Calls · Caleb Williams · Miss 0
Middlekauff expects either Josh Allen or Lamar Jackson to win this year's MVP, calling them the two best players in the league. They are pessimistic on the Bears, forecasting six or seven wins and saying they'd bet Caleb Williams doesn't work out as a franchise quarterback. They also see Oklahoma's John Mattier as a first-round pick who'll be in the Heisman mix.Bryan DeArdo · Trade and Signing Calls · Joey Porter Jr. · Miss 0
The piece predicts Joey Porter Jr. most likely stays with the Steelers through 2026, while listing possible trade destinations if they were moved.Bryan DeArdo · Score Predictions · Chicago Bears · Hit 98
DeArdo picks the Bears to beat the Buccaneers on Sunday night in a defensive game, predicting a 20-16 final score.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.
More conference champions
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Damonza Byrd · Conference Champions · Seattle Seahawks · Hit 100
The co-host picks the Seahawks to beat the Rams in the NFC Championship game, and says they believe New England will win in Denver even though they are taking the Broncos with the points.Nick Wright · Conference Champions · Los Angeles Rams · Close 50
The host picks the Rams to beat the Seahawks in the NFC Championship game and believes the winner of that game wins the Super Bowl, i.e. that this is the Rams' year; they also pick New England to win in Denver despite taking the Broncos with the points, and says Stafford is winning MVP. They call Sean McVay the second-best coach in the NFL.Nick Wright · Conference Champions · Denver Broncos · Close 50
Wright picked the Broncos to beat the Patriots in a low-scoring AFC Championship game (17-16), said Sean Payton would coach Denver to the Super Bowl, picked the Rams to win outright in Seattle 31-20, believes the winner of the NFC game wins the Super Bowl with the Rams the better team, and expects Matt Stafford to be named league MVP.AJ Hawk · Conference Champions · Los Angeles Rams · Close 50
Hawk picked the Patriots to win in Denver despite liking Stidham and the Broncos defense, and in the NFC they stuck with the Rams, saying Stafford gets to the Super Bowl.Derek Murphy · Conference Champions · Seattle Seahawks · Hit 100
Bone said after watching film that Seattle will handle the Rams in the NFC Championship Game, and that the Seahawks are going to the Super Bowl.Gregg Rosenthal · Conference Champions · Seattle Seahawks · Hit 100
Rosenthal picks the Patriots to beat the Broncos in a close, low-scoring AFC Championship in Denver (while liking Denver to cover the 4.5 points), takes the Seahawks over the Rams in a defensive NFC Championship they peg around 23-19, and forecasts a Patriots-Seahawks Super Bowl.