Matt Verderame#83 of 87 NFL pundits · Nov 13, 2026
Verderame ranked the 15 best remaining games of the NFL season and, in the process, projected San Francisco to take the NFC West and suggested Cincinnati is headed back to the postseason.
Published in writing · Sports IllustratedRead the original
What Matt Verderame said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromSan Francisco appears poised to win the NFC West
- Where it was published
- Sports Illustrated
- The piece
- The 15 Best Games of the Rest of the NFL Season Include an Epic Clash in Week 12
- The original
- Read the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- 1Cincinnati Bengals to make the playoffs“Since then, the Bengals haven’t made the postseason but look to be returning”
- 2San Francisco 49ers to win the division“With the 49ers at just one loss, they’ll likely have wrapped up the NFC West by this point. ... San Francisco appears poised to win the NFC West”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati Bengals to make the playoffs1 | Playoff Picks | — | — | — | — | |
| San Francisco 49ers to win the division2 | Division Winners | — | — | — | — | |
| 2 calls · 2 waiting | — | — | ||||
How each call scored
2 checkable claims — 1 division winner and 1 playoff 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.
None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in.
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.
Their call against the record
Their call against what actually happened last time. Not yet settled.
1Playoff PicksCincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals to make the playoffs
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
2Division WinnersSan Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers to win the division
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 division winners
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Daniel DiBerardinis · Division Winners · Atlanta Falcons · Miss 0
Danny D predicts Sonny Styles goes in the top ten (maybe top five), doesn't think Ty Simpson goes before late first round, says Kenyon Sadiq lands with the Rams at 13, and picks the Falcons to win the NFC South while naming the Bengals an AFC bounce-back team. They also give a Final Four of Michigan, Florida, Purdue and Arizona with Michigan winning.Colin Cowherd · Division Winners · New York Giants · Miss 0
Cowherd projects the NFC East with the Giants winning the division ahead of Philadelphia, Washington and Dallas, pegging the Cowboys as a six- or seven-win team. They also expect Malik Willis to land a big free-agent deal, Kayvon Thibodeaux to be moved, and Baltimore to lose Isaiah Likely, and they float the Rams reaching on Ty Simpson late in round one.Colin Cowherd · Division Winners · Los Angeles Chargers · Miss 0
Cowherd unveiled their top 10 NFL teams entering next season, with Seattle first, the Rams second and the Chiefs tenth, and separately picked the Chargers to win the AFC West.Colin Cowherd · Division Winners · Baltimore Ravens · Miss 0
Cowherd likes Jacksonville, Chicago and Pittsburgh (with DK Metcalf back) in the wild-card round, ranks the league's head coaches with McVay first and Ben Johnson seventh, and predicts Lamar Jackson has about two strong years left. They also name the Rams as a possible team to draft a receiver and floats next year's draft having seven first-round quarterbacks.Rich Eisen · Division Winners · Jacksonville Jaguars · 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.