# Rich Eisen: Eisen pushed back on the Bengals missing the playoffs again, insisted the Chiefs still win the AFC West over Denver, predicted Daniel Jones beats out Anthony Richardson to start Week 1 in Indianapolis, and expected Kirk Cousins to stay in Atlanta as the veteran backup to Michael Penix Jr. **Claimed:** Mar 17, 2025 **Pundit:** Rich Eisen — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/rich-eisen **Outlet:** Overreaction Monday (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/overreaction-monday-podcast **How it reached us:** said on air, transcribed by us **Original:** https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.megaphone.fm/WWO6681006320.mp3?updated=1742228875 6 checkable claims — 3 depth chart calls, 1 division winner, 1 playoff pick and 1 roster spot call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet. It names 7 players and teams, each linked to their own record. 5 of 6 have settled so far, averaging 56.7 out of 100, against 73.3 for a naive guess at the same calls. > I think he's gonna win the job. And I think he's gonna be the first week starter. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Kansas City Chiefs to win the division** - Kind: Division Winners · About: Kansas City Chiefs - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess - **Anthony Richardson to be 2nd on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Anthony Richardson, Indianapolis Colts - Verdict: scored 83.33 out of 100, against 75 for a naive guess - **Kirk Cousins to be 2nd on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 91.67 for a naive guess - **Daniel Jones to be 1st on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess - **Cincinnati Bengals to make the playoffs** - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Cincinnati Bengals - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess - **Kirk Cousins to make the roster** - Kind: Roster Spot Calls · About: Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Kansas City Chiefs — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/chiefs - Anthony Richardson — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/anthony-richardson - Indianapolis Colts — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/colts - Kirk Cousins — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/kirk-cousins - Atlanta Falcons — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/falcons - Daniel Jones — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/daniel-jones - Cincinnati Bengals — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bengals ## What others said about the same people - Chris Simms on Kansas City Chiefs: Simms went through the entire Week 3 slate with straight-up winners and predicted final scores, taking Jacksonville, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Detroit, Houston, Carolina, Kansas City, Seattle, the Giants, Baltimore, New Orleans, Minnesota, San Francisco, Denver and Philadelphia. He also expected Zay Flowers and Puka Nacua to sit, Kyler Murray to play, and said Marvin Harrison Jr. projects as no better than a good No. 2 or high-end No. 3 receiver. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/662b7ba3-1bf6-4ad0-9f93-9f2ab83143fd (scored 100) - Connor Rogers on Kansas City Chiefs: Rogers picked Detroit, Houston, Carolina, Kansas City, Seattle and the Giants to win their Week 3 games, saying the Chiefs win by two touchdowns and the Giants by a field goal. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/83d1e88b-95a0-45ba-83d3-f86297170c6c (scored 100) - Chris Long on Cincinnati Bengals: Long liked the Rams over the Broncos on Sunday night even without Puka Nacua, and expected the Bills to beat the winless Chargers in Buffalo. He also backed the Bengals over the Steelers, expected an angry Detroit team to handle the Jets, and still thought both the Lions and Vikings could win the NFC North. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/3df9ea25-e57f-4fd7-b20c-c910a1c3633a (scored 0) - Jake Arthur on Kansas City Chiefs: Arthur expects a close Chiefs win on Sunday Night Football at Arrowhead, predicting a final score of 27-23 for Kansas City. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/ca7ab74e-ab34-4ed6-a77f-2c7e9f8c8c4d (scored 97.62) - Zach Hicks on Kansas City Chiefs: Hicks predicts a lower-scoring, field-goal-heavy game with the Chiefs beating the Colts 23-19, citing Indianapolis' red-zone success against Kansas City historically. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/ddbaddad-c15e-4e6f-a6ac-f066de6cdc2a (scored 97.62) - Matt Harmon on Cincinnati Bengals: Harmon picked the Bengals to beat the Texans in Week 2, expecting Nico Collins to miss the game with a hamstring injury, and also predicted the Titans would be shut out by the Eagles. He took the Rams over the Giants, the Bears over the Vikings, and the Jaguars at Denver. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/21a71025-ab65-4716-ac2c-e77ad5ce3348 (scored 100) ## More depth chart calls The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Pat Fitzmaurice on Jonah Coleman: In his Week 3 waiver column, Fitzmaurice makes several depth-chart calls around injuries: Jonah Coleman leading Denver's backfield, Marcus Mariota taking over in Washington, Michael Penix Jr. starting once healthy, and Malik Washington serving as Miami's top receiver, plus availability expectations for Detroit's injured safeties. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2cbd48f6-15ea-4aa5-84bc-bcc50d94d09a (scored 0) - Pat Fitzmaurice on Aaron Jones: In previewing the 10 most intriguing fantasy performers of Week 2, Fitzmaurice expects Atlanta's quarterback problems to persist with Tua Tagovailoa unlikely to play and Michael Penix Jr. not ready to return, flags Falcons slot corner Billy Bowman Jr. as a possible Week 2 returnee, and describes Aaron Jones as Minnesota's lead back and Kaelon Black as the clear backup to Christian McCaffrey in San Francisco. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/31adc8bb-8f15-453f-bbcf-cab44e29b8b3 (scored 100) - Matt Severance on Deshaun Watson: The CBS Sports preview backs Tampa Bay to beat Cleveland in the Bucs' Week 2 home opener, and states that Deshaun Watson — not Shedeur Sanders — will be Cleveland's starting quarterback in Week 2. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/944568ce-7205-409f-8354-a392016fd8bf (scored 100) - Rafael Zamorano on Deshaun Watson: Zamorano reports Watson will start Week 2 at Tampa Bay and suggests there's little reason to expect improvement, raising the possibility Watson's five-year contract never yields more than single-digit wins. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/d7d7e0a2-61e0-4525-970b-b01a2356f11b (scored 100) - Bradley Locker on Carson Wentz: PFF's unsigned adjusted power rankings after Week 1 of the 2026 season place the Bills first, the Rams second and the Dolphins last, with notes on quarterback situations in Seattle, Minnesota and Cleveland. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a3716f21-0488-4fc8-a414-c25c2d781a6e (scored 100) - Pat Fitzmaurice on Rashod Bateman: In his Week 2 waiver wire column, Fitzmaurice recommends a slate of pickups he expects to outperform their current rostership (Kaelon Black, Deebo Samuel, Tyler Shough, Geno Smith and others), lays out several depth-chart expectations (Black as the 49ers' No. 2 back, Shedeur Sanders eventually taking over in Cleveland, Penix returning for Atlanta), and flags Fool's Gold/drop candidates such as Mike Gesicki, Kendrick Bourne and Rashid Shaheed. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/6218d3c2-61e7-4ace-9976-b51eeefdf22c (scored 0) --- 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=rich-eisen