Ralph VacchianoOct 12, 2026
Vacchiano argues the 49ers, not the Rams, are the NFL's complete team and that, assuming they stay healthy, the road to Super Bowl LXI will go through San Francisco. They also believe the Eagles are too depleted to contend and should pivot toward rebuilding.
Published in writing · Fox SportsRead the original
What Ralph Vacchiano said
If they finally have that, the path to Super Bowl LXI is indeed going to run through California.
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- NFL Fallout Week 5: The Eagles Aren't Contenders — And Should Start Rebuilding
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How the call scored
One checkable claim, graded on its own against what actually happened.
Nothing to score yet: this grades once the result is in.
The 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 call; the gap, weighted by how hard the call was, is the skill.
Seeding, Byes and Home FieldSan Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers to take the top seed
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
AJ Hawk · Game Outcome Picks · San Francisco 49ers · Hit 100
Hawk said the Chiefs would beat the Jets, the Seahawks would beat the Cardinals, and the 49ers would beat the Raiders, even while taking the points with the underdogs in each case.Connor Rogers · Game Outcome Picks · San Francisco 49ers · 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.Chris Simms · Score Predictions · San Francisco 49ers · Hit 93
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.Big Cat · Game Outcome Picks · San Francisco 49ers · Hit 100
Big Cat picked the Bengals to beat the Falcons in Madrid, the 49ers to handle the Raiders, the Seahawks to bounce back against the Cardinals, and the Bears to beat the Buccaneers by a projected 26-23.
More seeding, byes and home field
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Kevin Wildes · Seeding, Byes and Home Field · New England Patriots · Miss 0
Wildes' upset alert is the Chargers beating the Broncos straight up, which they say would hand the No. 1 seed to New England.Rich Eisen · Seeding, Byes and Home Field · Chicago Bears · Hit 100
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. They also tabbed Saints rookie Tyler Shough as a possible Offensive Rookie of the Year.JP Acosta · Seeding, Byes and Home Field · New England Patriots · Hit 100
JP picked Carolina, Seattle, Baltimore, Denver, Jacksonville, New England, Detroit, the Rams and Kansas City in Week 18, and said the Patriots will likely end up with the AFC's No. 2 seed.Nick Wright · Seeding, Byes and Home Field · Seattle Seahawks · Hit 100
Nick Wright made five Week 18 picks against the spread: Tampa Bay over Carolina, Seattle over San Francisco (and to take the No. 1 seed), Las Vegas to cover against Kansas City, Miami to cover 12 at New England, and Pittsburgh to cover at home against Baltimore. They also predicted Seattle wins the No. 1 seed and Mike Evans scores a touchdown.Rich Eisen · Seeding, Byes and Home Field · Los Angeles Chargers · Hit 100
Eisen called the 49ers-as-NFC-favorites take an overreaction, picked the Jaguars to beat the Titans and win their division, leaned Ravens over the Steelers in the Week 18 Sunday night game, expects the Bills to beat the Jets even without Josh Allen, sees the Chargers as the AFC's seventh seed, agreed Tyler Shough could win Offensive Rookie of the Year with a good Saints 2026, said Malik Willis will be a starter somewhere next season, and insisted Detroit goes into 2026 with Goff.Nick Wright · Seeding, Byes and Home Field · Philadelphia Eagles · Hit 100
On the Christmas-week gambling show, Nick Wright made five picks and, in doing so, predicted outright wins for Dallas (a blowout of Washington), Jacksonville over Indianapolis, Pittsburgh over Cleveland, Buffalo over Philadelphia and Chicago over San Francisco, plus a Rams win at Atlanta and a Tampa Bay win at Miami. They also said Philadelphia will end up as the No. 3 seed.