Colin Cowherd#54 of 87 NFL pundits · Nov 7, 2025

In his weekly 'Blazing Five,' Cowherd picked five games with exact final scores: Colts over Falcons, Ravens over Vikings, Buccaneers over Patriots, Lions over Commanders, and an upset by the Steelers over the Chargers.

Said on air or in an interview · The Herd with Colin Cowherd (podcast)Hear the original

2 of 5calls landed2 hits · 2 close calls · 1 miss · all settled

65.7Average accuracyout of 100, across 5 calls

48.2A naive guessthe same calls, no knowledge

5 of 5Settlednone still waiting

#54Colin Cowherd’s rankof 87 ranked NFL pundits

What Colin Cowherd said

our reading, beside the words we read it from

I got an upset twenty four, twenty three Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers walk out with a narrow win.

Colin Cowherd, the lead quote · each call’s own words are below

Where it was said: The Herd with Colin Cowherd (podcast)
The episode: THE HERD - Hour 2 - Colin's Blazing 5 NFL picks, the best QBs from the 2024 draft, Mike Sando
The original: Hear the original
Read it wrong?: Tell us and we will look

The page this came from has changed since we captured it on Aug 5, 2026. The quote and evidence here are from our capture, not from what the page says today.

SaidNov 7, 2025
GradedAug 7, 2026

1Indianapolis Colts 33 — Falcons 24“I like the Colts in Berlin minus five and a half... Indy to win and cover thirty three twenty four”
2Baltimore Ravens 30 — Vikings 20“Ravens win and the Ravens cover. It's an urgent week for Baltimore and next week in the week after thirty to twenty.”
3Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27 — Patriots 23“I like the Bucks at home to win and cover twenty seven to twenty three”
4Detroit Lions 33 — Commanders 21“I like the Lions to win. I like another favorite here thirty three twenty one.”
5Pittsburgh Steelers 24 — Chargers 23“I'm gonna take the underdog Steelers plus three... I got an upset twenty four, twenty three”

Box score

HitCloseMissWaiting

Call	Kind	What happened	Score	Naive	Skill
Indianapolis Colts 33 — Falcons 24¹	Score Predictions	—	92.86	90.54	+3.47
Baltimore Ravens 30 — Vikings 20²	Score Predictions	—	95.24	35.78	+89.19
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27 — Patriots 23³	Score Predictions	—	47.62	42.92	+7.04
Detroit Lions 33 — Commanders 21⁴	Score Predictions	—	76.19	2.45	+110.61
Pittsburgh Steelers 24 — Chargers 23⁵	Score Predictions	—	16.67	69.11	−78.67
5 calls · 2 hits · 2 close calls · 1 miss · all settled			65.7	48.2

Game calls show that game’s closing betting line under their grade: a dated fact from nflverse, for context and never part of a grade. MissedTakes takes no bets and earns nothing from any sportsbook.

How each call scored

a naive guessbetter than naiveworse than naive

5 checkable claims — 5 score predictions — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.

It names 5 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

All 5 have settled, averaging 65.7 out of 100, against 48.2 for a naive guess at the same calls.

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.

1Score Predictions Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts 33 — Falcons 24
VerdictHit
92.86Hit · naive 90.54
92.86this call90.54a naive guess2.32better than naive1.5difficulty+3.47skill
Closing line (Nov 9): Colts by 6.5, total 48.5 · this 33–24 calls a bigger Colts win (by 9) and more points (57). Graded on the margin called, not on the spread.
How this was scored
score:
25-31
skill:
3.47
they picked:
IND
season:
2025
accuracy:
92.86
baseline:
90.54
difficulty:
1.5
weeks in the season:
18
actual margin:
6
weeks left when called:
9
naive home margin:
2.03
predicted margin:
9
Think this is wrong?
2Score Predictions Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens 30 — Vikings 20
VerdictHit
95.24Hit · naive 35.78
95.24this call35.78a naive guess59.46better than naive1.5difficulty+89.19skill
Closing line (Nov 9): Ravens by 4.5, total 48.5 · this 30–20 calls a bigger Ravens win (by 10) and more points (50). Graded on the margin called, not on the spread.
How this was scored
score:
27-19
skill:
89.19
they picked:
BAL
season:
2025
accuracy:
95.24
baseline:
35.78
difficulty:
1.5
weeks in the season:
18
actual margin:
8
weeks left when called:
9
naive home margin:
2.03
predicted margin:
10
Think this is wrong?
3Score Predictions Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 27 — Patriots 23
VerdictClose
47.62Close · naive 42.92
47.62this call42.92a naive guess4.7better than naive1.5difficulty+7.04skill
Closing line (Nov 9): Buccaneers by 2.5, total 48.5 · this 27–23 calls a bigger Buccaneers win (by 4) and more points (50). Graded on the margin called, not on the spread.
How this was scored
score:
28-23
skill:
7.04
they picked:
TB
season:
2025
accuracy:
47.62
baseline:
42.92
difficulty:
1.5
weeks in the season:
18
actual margin:
5
weeks left when called:
9
naive home margin:
2.03
predicted margin:
4
Think this is wrong?
4Score Predictions Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions 33 — Commanders 21
VerdictClose
76.19Close · naive 2.45
76.19this call2.45a naive guess73.74better than naive1.5difficulty+110.61skill
Closing line (Nov 9): Lions by 8.5, total 49.5 · this 33–21 calls a bigger Lions win (by 12) and more points (54).
How this was scored
score:
44-22
skill:
110.61
they picked:
DET
season:
2025
accuracy:
76.19
baseline:
2.45
difficulty:
1.5
weeks in the season:
18
actual margin:
22
weeks left when called:
9
naive home margin:
2.03
predicted margin:
12
Think this is wrong?
5Score Predictions Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers 24 — Chargers 23
VerdictMiss
16.67Miss · naive 69.11
16.67this call69.11a naive guess−52.44worse than naive1.5difficulty−78.67skill
Closing line (Nov 9): Chargers by 3, total 45.5 · this 24–23 calls a Steelers win (by 1; the line gave the Steelers 41%) and more points (47). Graded on the margin called, not on the spread.
How this was scored
score:
10-25
skill:
−78.67
they picked:
PIT
season:
2025
accuracy:
16.67
baseline:
69.11
difficulty:
1.5
weeks in the season:
18
actual margin:
15
weeks left when called:
9
naive home margin:
2.03
predicted margin:
1
Think this is wrong?
All
The take as a whole
the average of 5 settled calls, each counted once
65.7naive 48.2