# Marcus Mosher: Mosher's Week 18 power rankings for the 2024 season, ordering all 32 NFL teams with Kansas City first and the Giants last. Along the way he predicts Washington beats Dallas in Week 18, expects Atlanta to miss the playoffs and Indianapolis to miss as well, says Houston will host a playoff game as a likely heavy underdog, expects the Rams to host a home playoff game, and thinks Jerod Mayo could be a one-and-done coach.

**Claimed:** Dec 31, 2024
**Pundit:** Marcus Mosher — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/marcus-mosher
**Outlet:** The 33rd Team — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/the-33rd-team
**How it reached us:** published in writing
**Original:** https://www.the33rdteam.com/2024-nfl-week-18-power-rankings-lions-vs-vikings-set-for-top-5-matchup/

5 checkable claims — 2 playoff picks, 1 game outcome pick, 1 power ranking and 1 surprise team call — 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.

4 of 5 have settled so far, averaging 99.7 out of 100, against 66.8 for a naive guess at the same calls.

> It's hard to imagine anyone going into Kansas City and beating them in the playoffs at this point.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Washington Commanders to beat Dallas Cowboys**
  - Kind: Game Outcome Picks · About: Washington Commanders
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **Here are our updated power rankings going into the final week of the 2024 season: NFL Week 17 Power Rankings 1. Kansas City Chiefs (15-1) ... 32. New York Giants (3-13)**
  - Kind: Power Rankings
  - Verdict: scored 98.81 out of 100, against 67.38 for a naive guess
- **Houston Texans to make the playoffs**
  - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Houston Texans
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess
- **Los Angeles Rams to make the playoffs**
  - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Los Angeles Rams
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess
- **Atlanta Falcons to beat expectations**
  - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: Atlanta Falcons
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- Washington Commanders — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/commanders
- Houston Texans — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/texans
- Los Angeles Rams — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/rams
- Atlanta Falcons — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/falcons

## What others said about the same people

- Chris Simms on Houston Texans: 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 47.62)
- Chris Long on Los Angeles Rams: 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)
- Steven Ruiz on Houston Texans: Previewing 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a30ff469-4972-4c48-855b-ba984e4de9d0 (scored 0)
- Matt Harmon on Los Angeles Rams: 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)
- Nate Tice on Los Angeles Rams: Tice 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b6211c80-3d1c-46b8-8a0c-151fc0ba92de (scored 100)
- Gregg Rosenthal on Houston Texans: Outside of his spread picks, Rosenthal referenced his season-long pick of the Texans to win the Super Bowl and said he expects Houston to beat the Colts on Sunday. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2fb84ac9-889f-4649-8c4d-f170f7b65f66 (scored 0)

## More playoff picks

The same kind of call, about other players and teams.

- Dan "Buzz" Wilson on Philadelphia Eagles: Wilson argued the Eagles' offseason approach of prioritizing 2026 and beyond doesn't mean a bad 2025 — he expects them to remain among the NFC's best teams and to make a deep playoff run rather than fall off to eight or nine wins. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/afce079c-b986-476b-a872-09905017fc6f (scored 100)
- Craig Stout on Kansas City Chiefs: Craig believes better execution from a Patrick Mahomes-led Chiefs team will be enough to return them to the playoffs in the coming season, and he expects Tyler Algeier to land with Denver as a complement to RJ Harvey. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/4ad5b565-6220-4c30-9371-e55be75a35f0 (scored 0)
- Ross Jackson on New Orleans Saints: Jackson projects a big sophomore jump for Saints QB Tyler Shuck, laying out a Drake May-style stat line (17 starts, 72% completions, ~4,601 passing yards, 24 TDs, 9 INTs) or a Bo Nix-style consistency line (over 4,000 yards, over 20 TDs, ~10 INTs), and says either path means a playoff season for New Orleans in 2026. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/4dc05898-73fd-4fcb-92c4-a940d7e395ba (scored 0)
- Rich Eisen on Minnesota Vikings: Eisen argues Ohio State will produce multiple top-10 picks — Sonny Styles, Arvell Reese and Caleb Downs — becoming the first school with three defensive players in the top 10, and that Styles will not be available at No. 12 to the Cowboys. He also thinks Fernando Mendoza is worthy of the No. 1 overall pick and expects the Raiders to draft him, and picks Trey Lance over Anthony Richardson to start a game first, Micah Parsons to fetch a bigger trade return than Maxx Crosby, Kirk Cousins as the released QB most likely to reach the playoffs, and J.J. McCarthy as the Vikings' Week 1 starter. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/29ea2738-79a2-4be9-aa45-e794cd3848fb (scored 0)
- Dwaine Board on San Francisco 49ers: Board argues the 49ers can still make the playoffs even if Trent Williams leaves, expects Williams to be brought back, and favors drafting a wide receiver at No. 27 over an offensive tackle. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/07beb6d4-aadc-4b2d-b131-b889c85204a3 (scored 100)
- Rich Eisen on Carolina Panthers: Eisen forecast the Week 18 results and the entire wild-card field: Buccaneers over Panthers but Carolina still gets in as the 5 seed when Atlanta beats New Orleans, 49ers over Seahawks, Ravens over Steelers, Jaguars beating Tennessee to win the AFC South, and six wild-card matchups (Seahawks-Panthers, Bills-Jaguars, Texans-Ravens, Packers-Bears, Chargers-Patriots, Rams-Eagles), with Houston upsetting Baltimore. He also tabbed Saints rookie Tyler Shough as a possible Offensive Rookie of the Year. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/34345186-876a-4c4b-9567-9c289a6cbace (scored 100)

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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=marcus-mosher
