John Middlekauff· Sep 26, 2026
Middlekauff expects blowout wins for Seattle over Washington and Kansas City over Miami in Week 3, picks Cincinnati to beat Pittsburgh in the AFC North matchup, and takes Tennessee over the Giants if Jameis Winston is taking snaps.
“So Pittsburgh loses this thing.”
said on air or in an interview · The Herd with Colin Cowherd (podcast) · read the original →
4 checkable claims — 4 game outcome picks — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.
It names 4 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
All 4 have settled, averaging 25 out of 100, against 75 for a naive guess at the same calls.
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Who this take is about
The games in this take
- Seahawks at Commanders 48 calls
- Bengals at Steelers 15 calls
- Titans at Giants 10 calls
- Chiefs at Dolphins 17 calls
4 checkable claims in this take
Each one is scored on its own against the published methodology. A pundit naming several outcomes is graded on each, not on all-or-nothing.
- Game Outcome PicksKansas City ChiefsSep 26, 2026
Kansas City Chiefs to beat Miami
“the Chiefs now, Monday night football, Sunday night football, getting up for road game against, I'm pretty sure, the least talented team in the league. If they try, that's a massacre.”
Hit · 100Scored 100a naive guess scored 0+189 skillHow this was scored
- won:
- KC
- score:
- 24-10
- skill:
- 189
- they picked:
- KC
- season:
- 2026
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 0
- the naive pick:
- MIA
- difficulty:
- 1.89
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 16
- Game Outcome PicksTennessee TitansSep 26, 2026
Tennessee Titans to beat New York Giants
“If Jameis is taking snaps, I gotta take the Titans... I like the Titans.”
Miss · 0Scored 0a naive guess scored 100-189 skillHow this was scored
- won:
- NYG
- score:
- 7-12
- skill:
- -189
- they picked:
- TEN
- season:
- 2026
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 100
- the naive pick:
- NYG
- difficulty:
- 1.89
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 16
- Game Outcome PicksSeattle SeahawksSep 26, 2026
Seattle Seahawks to beat Washington
“Seattle, Washington, Chiefs, Miami... if Seattle maintains the same edge that they had on defense against the Patriots... Mariota doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell... those got blowout written all over them”
Miss · 0Scored 0a naive guess scored 100-189 skillHow this was scored
- won:
- WAS
- score:
- 31-33
- skill:
- -189
- they picked:
- SEA
- season:
- 2026
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 100
- the naive pick:
- WAS
- difficulty:
- 1.89
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 16
- Game Outcome PicksCincinnati BengalsSep 26, 2026
Cincinnati Bengals to beat Pittsburgh
“So Pittsburgh loses this thing... to me, the only way I see Cincinnati not winning this game is like it's going to have to be one of those banana Steelers defense do crazy shit.”
Miss · 0Scored 0a naive guess scored 100-189 skillHow this was scored
- won:
- PIT
- score:
- 27-30
- skill:
- -189
- they picked:
- CIN
- season:
- 2026
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 100
- the naive pick:
- PIT
- difficulty:
- 1.89
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 16
What others said about the same people
- Chris SimmsScore Predictions · Kansas City ChiefsHit · 100Simms 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.
- Connor RogersGame Outcome Picks · Seattle SeahawksMiss · 0Rogers 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.
- Chris LongGame Outcome Picks · Cincinnati BengalsMiss · 0Long 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.
- Sam MonsonGame Outcome Picks · Seattle SeahawksMiss · 0Monson picked the Chargers to beat the Bills outright (jokingly crediting Buffalo's gray 'Nickel City' jerseys), took the Vikings to win outright in Tampa, and said Seattle would destroy Washington. He also reiterated his Super Bowl pick of Denver over the Rams, called the Dolphins destined for the No. 1 overall pick, and said the Saints are a worst-to-first candidate in the NFC South.
- Jake ArthurScore Predictions · Kansas City ChiefsHit · 98Arthur expects a close Chiefs win on Sunday Night Football at Arrowhead, predicting a final score of 27-23 for Kansas City.
- Zach HicksScore Predictions · Kansas City ChiefsHit · 98Hicks 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.
More game outcome picks
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
- Connor RogersGame Outcome Picks · New York GiantsHit · 100Rogers 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.
- Chris LongGame Outcome Picks · Los Angeles RamsMiss · 0Long 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.
- Steven RuizGame Outcome Picks · Las Vegas RaidersHit · 100Previewing Week 3, Ruiz picked the Ravens to beat the Cowboys in Brazil, Jacksonville over New England in a low-scoring game, an upset by the Broncos over the Rams, the Raiders over the Saints, the Eagles over the Bears, the Lions over the Jets, and his Hail Mary that Houston beats Indianapolis by two touchdowns.
- Nate TiceGame Outcome Picks · Baltimore RavensHit · 100Tice matched his guest on every Week 3 game, picking the Ravens over the Cowboys, the Jaguars over the Patriots in a close game, the Broncos to upset the Rams, the Raiders over the Saints, the Eagles over the Bears and the Lions over the Jets.
- Sam MonsonGame Outcome Picks · Minnesota VikingsHit · 100Monson picked the Chargers to beat the Bills outright (jokingly crediting Buffalo's gray 'Nickel City' jerseys), took the Vikings to win outright in Tampa, and said Seattle would destroy Washington. He also reiterated his Super Bowl pick of Denver over the Rams, called the Dolphins destined for the No. 1 overall pick, and said the Saints are a worst-to-first candidate in the NFC South.
- Nate TiceGame Outcome Picks · New England PatriotsHit · 100Tice picked the Bengals over the Texans in a low-scoring game, the Jaguars at Denver, the Bears over the Vikings, the Patriots over the Steelers and the Rams to edge the Giants, and his Hail Mary was the Cowboys scoring 40 on Washington. He also floated Abdul Carter as a possible All-Pro.