Lance Zierlein#11 of 87 NFL pundits · Sep 18, 2026
Zierlein expected Nico Collins to sit out with their injury, and said that despite the tough matchup they had already submitted the Texans as their pick over Cincinnati.
Said on air, transcribed by us · John and Lance — ESPN Houston (podcast)Hear the original
What Lance Zierlein said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromNico Collins, we'll find out if he's playing. The answer is probably gonna be a no.
- Where it was said
- John and Lance — ESPN Houston (podcast)
- The episode
- 9.18 Hour 3: NFL picks with the Warehouse Live guy + Five Star in Vegas
- The original
- Hear the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- SaidSep 18
- PlayedSep 20
- GradedSep 21
- 1Houston Texans to beat Bengals“I've just you know, I've already turned my picks in. I had Texans when I had to turn them into NFL.”
- 2Availability Calls“Nico Collins, we'll find out if he's playing. The answer is probably gonna be a no. He didn't participate yesterday. Unlikely to participate.”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston Texans to beat Bengals1 | Game Outcome Picks | Bengals 20–6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| “Nico Collins, we'll find out if he's playing. The answer is…”2 | Availability Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| 2 calls · 1 miss · 1 waiting | 0 | 0 | ||||
Game calls show that game’s closing betting line under their grade: a dated fact from nflverse, for context and never part of a grade. MissedTakes takes no bets and earns nothing from any sportsbook.
How each call scored
a naive guessbetter than naive2 checkable claims — 1 availability call and 1 game outcome pick — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
It names 2 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
1 of 2 have settled so far, averaging 0 out of 100, against 0 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.
1Game Outcome PicksHouston Texans
Houston Texans to beat Bengals
What happenedBengals 20–6Bengals at Texans0Miss · naive 00this call−0a naive guess=0better than naive×1.94difficulty=0skillClosing line (Sep 20): Texans by 3 · favorite pick, Texans 57%.
Think this is wrong?How this was scored
- won:
- CIN
- score:
- 20-6
- skill:
- 0
- they picked:
- HOU
- season:
- 2026
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- the naive pick:
- HOU
- difficulty:
- 1.94
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 17
2Availability CallsNico CollinsHouston Texans
“Nico Collins, we'll find out if he's playing. The answer is probably gonna be a no. He didn't participate yesterday. Unlikely to participate.”
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
The game in this take
every pundit’s pick on eachWho this take is about
Others on the same people
Bobby Skinner · Trade and Signing Calls · Stefon Diggs · Miss 0
Skinner predicted Daniel Jones signs with and wins the starting job in Indianapolis, Milton Williams to New England, Lavonte David back to Tampa, Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams to the Giants, DJ Reid to Arizona, Hassan Reddick to Washington and Justin Fields staying in Pittsburgh, plus alternates they had listed.Chris Simms · Score Predictions · Houston Texans · Hit 81
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.Connor Rogers · Game Outcome Picks · Houston Texans · 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.Nick Wright · Score Predictions · Houston Texans · Hit 83
Wright made several outright game calls for Week 9 alongside their spread picks: Kansas City beating the Jets 31-20, Detroit winning at Miami, New England edging Green Bay by a field goal or so, Carolina winning outright over Denver, and Houston blowing out the Chargers 27-12.
More game outcome picks
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Sam Monson · Game Outcome Picks · New York Giants · Miss 0
Monson picked every Week 10 game, taking the Giants, Lions, Packers, Panthers, Colts, Texans, Bills, Chiefs, Jaguars, Seahawks, Rams, Cowboys, Bengals and Ravens, and also suggested the Chargers' only likely wins the rest of the way come against the Jets and Dolphins.Eva Geitheim · Game Outcome Picks · Washington Commanders · Hit 100
Geitheim picked the Commanders, Lions, Chiefs, Texans, Vikings, Jaguars, Colts, Panthers, Bills, Seahawks, Rams, 49ers, Bengals and Ravens in Week 10.Conor Orr · Game Outcome Picks · New York Giants · Miss 0
Orr picked the Giants, Lions, Chiefs, Texans, Packers, Jaguars, Dolphins, Panthers, Bills, Seahawks, Rams, 49ers, Bengals and Chargers in Week 10.Albert Breer · Game Outcome Picks · New York Giants · Miss 0
Breer picked all 14 Week 10 games straight up, favoring the Giants, Lions, Chiefs, Texans, Packers, Jaguars, Dolphins, Panthers, Bills, Seahawks, Rams, 49ers, Bengals and Ravens.Mitch Goldich · Game Outcome Picks · New York Giants · Miss 0
Goldich picked the Giants, Lions, Chiefs, Texans, Packers, Jaguars, Dolphins, Panthers, Bills, Seahawks, Rams, 49ers, Bengals and Ravens in Week 10.Matt Verderame · Game Outcome Picks · New York Giants · Miss 0
Verderame picked the Giants, Lions, Chiefs, Texans, Packers, Jaguars, Dolphins, Saints, Bills, Seahawks, Rams, 49ers, Bengals and Ravens in Week 10.