Matty LaneSep 8, 2026
Lane picked Cowboys, Bears, Saints, Rams, Bills, Steelers, Texans and Broncos as division winners with the Rams as the NFL's No. 1 seed, had the Chiefs losing to Houston in the divisional round, and picked a Rams win over the Bills in the Super Bowl, plus Dak Prescott for MVP and Ben Johnson for Coach of the Year.
Said on air, transcribed by us · KC Sports Network (podcast)Hear the original
What Matty Lane said
We got Rams Bills in the Super Bowl, and it goes much like last year did.
- Where it was said
- KC Sports Network (podcast)
- The episode
- KC Laboratory 9/7: Predicting How the Chiefs Will Finish in 2026
- The original
- Hear the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
Box score, by kind
HitCloseMissWaiting| Group | Hits | Close | Misses | Waiting | Calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Win Totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Division Winners | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| Award Picks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | |
| Seeding, Byes and Home Field | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| Coach Award Picks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Playoff Picks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| Conference Champions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Game Outcome Picks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Super Bowl Picks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| All | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 |
How each call scored
32 checkable claims — 8 division winners, 7 seeding, byes and home field, 6 playoff picks, 5 award picks, 2 conference champions, 1 coach award pick, 1 game outcome pick, 1 season win total and 1 super bowl pick — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
It names 19 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in.
Of the 7 unsettled calls enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands above the room on 5 and below it on 2.
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.
Where this call stands in the room
Houston Texans · 2026 season · wins5 calls from 4 pundits between 4 wins and 13 wins. Matty Lane said 13 wins. the room's median is 10 wins. not settled yet
Every dot is a call somebody published on the same question. Where the dots land says where this take sits, not whether it is right — nothing here is settled yet. Hover a dot for the name and number; click it to read that take.
Their call against the room
winsTheir call against everyone else's, while this is still unsettled.
Season Win Totals1 waitingShow ▸Hide ▾
Houston Texans to finish with 13 wins
“that defense is gonna do more than enough for them to win 13 games”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Division Winners8 waitingShow ▸Hide ▾
- —Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
New Orleans Saints to win the division
“Saints, because it's more fun if Tyler Shuck and Kellen Moore can, like, I guess, upset the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Los Angeles Rams to win the division
“I feel very comfortable taking the Rams over the Seahawks to win the division.”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- —Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Pittsburgh Steelers to win the division
“Give me the Pittsburgh Steelers going back to back in the AFC North”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Chicago Bears to win the division
“so, yeah, I'm taking the bears as my two seed in winning the NFC”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- —Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Houston Texans to win the division
“Easily, my choice here, I have them as the two seed.”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Award Picks5 waitingShow ▸Hide ▾
Jahmyr Gibbs to win Offensive Player of the Year
“Jameer Gibbs... he's gonna get all those touchdowns... give me Drew or Gibbs.”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Will Anderson Jr. to win Defensive Player of the Year
“Will Anderson because Miles Garrett's gonna be playing next to Aaron Donald... Best defense, best player on the best defense.”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Cyrus Allen to win Offensive Rookie of the Year
“Okay. I mean, it's easy. The gold jacket himself. Cyrus Allen.”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
R Mason Thomas to win Defensive Rookie of the Year
“Oh, me? R Mason Thomas, stacking up stacks left and right.”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Dak Prescott to win MVP
“Give me Dak Prescott... I just think Dak's statistical year is gonna be one of those that you just can't really argue against”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Seeding, Byes and Home Field7 waitingShow ▸Hide ▾
- —Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
New England Patriots to take the top seed
“I have the New England Patriots as my sixth seed”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- —Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Los Angeles Rams to take the top seed
“That's the one seed in the NFC, the one seed in the entire NFL.”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Denver Broncos to take the top seed
“So they're my third seed... they are my big pretty comfortable third seed”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Houston Texans to take the top seed
“I have them as the two seed. I almost put them as the one seed.”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Kansas City Chiefs to take the top seed
“The five seed, they actually lose the AFC West on a tie breaker, to the Denver Broncos.”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Coach Award Picks1 waitingShow ▸Hide ▾
Ben Johnson to win Coach of the Year
“Ben Johnson. I said earlier. I I think he's kinda got the right stuff.”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Playoff Picks6 waitingShow ▸Hide ▾
New England Patriots to make the playoffs
“I have the New England Patriots as my sixth seed, the second wildcard spot”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- —Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Kansas City Chiefs to make the playoffs
“I have the Chiefs as my top wildcard spot. The five seed”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- —Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Detroit Lions to make the playoffs
“no, I'm going to short lines for my final wildcard spot”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Baltimore Ravens to make the playoffs
“I have the Baltimore Ravens coming in with the final wildcard spot, the seven spots”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Conference Champions2 waitingShow ▸Hide ▾
Buffalo Bills to reach the Super Bowl
“And then the Bills finally make their way to the Super Bowl.”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- —Waiting
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Game Outcome Picks1 waitingShow ▸Hide ▾
Houston Texans to beat Chiefs
“Then they go into the divisional round, and they just don't quite have the juice. They end up losing to the Texans.”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Super Bowl Picks1 waitingShow ▸Hide ▾
Los Angeles Rams to win the Super Bowl
“We got Rams Bills in the Super Bowl, and it goes much like last year did. Rams and the Super Bowl in an in embarrassing fashion.”
—WaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
Who this take is about
Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit Lions, Baltimore Ravens, New Orleans Saints, New England Patriots, Los Angeles Rams, Buffalo Bills, Will Anderson Jr., Green Bay Packers, Cyrus Allen, R Mason Thomas, Kansas City Chiefs, Chicago Bears, Seattle Seahawks, Denver Broncos, Pittsburgh Steelers, Dak Prescott
Others on the same people
Zack Kelberman · Roster Spot Calls · Sean Fresch Jr. · Miss 0
Kelberman expects Sean Fresch Jr. to clear waivers and return to the Broncos' practice squad, sees Riley Moss back from concussion for the Week 11 game at Las Vegas, and projects newly acquired Daiyan Henley to begin as the third inside linebacker behind Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad before likely moving into a starting role.Zack Kelberman · Roster Spot Calls · Sean Fresch Jr. · Miss 0
Kelberman writes that Riley Moss may sit out the preseason finale against Minnesota but should be available for the Week 1 opener at Kansas City; they also suggest undrafted corners Sean Fresch Jr. and Brent Austin are being evaluated for practice squad spots.Chris Clark · Trade and Signing Calls · Nikko Remigio · Miss 0
Clark expects the Chiefs to bring back exclusive-rights receiver Nico (Remigio) and long snapper James Winchester, to re-sign JuJu Smith-Schuster as a cheap veteran fifth receiver, and not to bring back Hollywood Brown, Josh Dobbs-type depth, Gardner Minshew, Janarius Robinson or Mike Caliendo; they also say the Chiefs will not use a franchise tag and believes Bryan Cook won't return.Chad Jensen · Roster Spot Calls · Jordan Turner · Miss 0
Jensen predicts Daiyan Henley's arrival will cut into Justin Strnad's snaps while Alex Singleton keeps playing virtually every down, and that Denver will return to a three-linebacker rotation after the Week 10 bye. They also expect one of Jordan Turner or Karene Reid — most likely Turner — to be waived to clear a roster spot.Gilberto Manzano · Trade and Signing Calls · Josh Downs · Hit 100
Previewing the trade deadline, he expects Justin Herbert to stay in Los Angeles despite the Chargers' 0–7 start, thinks the Jets will keep Garrett Wilson and pair him with their young weapons, expects a receiver-hungry Kansas City to be aggressive with Josh Downs the likeliest target, and suggests expiring Eagles contracts Moro Ojomo and Riq Woolen could be dealt for mid-round picks.Joshua Poniatowski · Trade and Signing Calls · Josh Downs · Hit 100
Poniatowski names several trade targets, predicting Malik Willis underperforms this week against New England, that Omarion Hampton could become a viable RB2 if Adam Gase takes over play-calling, that Josh Downs gets traded (ideally to Kansas City, where they'd be a top-24 WR), that Brian Thomas Jr. could be dealt to the Rams or 49ers, and that Travis Kelce remains a consistent weekly TE.
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.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.Rich Eisen · Division Winners · Jacksonville Jaguars · 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.Chris Brockman · Division Winners · Philadelphia Eagles · Hit 100
Brockman called the Broncos-Packers game the best of the day, said Denver looks poised to lock up the AFC's No. 1 seed and reach the AFC Championship Game, predicted the Bears win the NFC North and the Eagles win their division (though they think they lose to a five seed from the NFC West), and said Philip Rivers will be in the NFL in 2026.