Rich Eisen#38 of 87 NFL pundits · Oct 29, 2025
Eisen delivered their weekly top-10 NFL power rankings entering Week 9, with the Lions first, and separately said the Rams would beat the Patriots on a neutral basis and that the Lions will win the NFC.
Said on air, transcribed by us · The Rich Eisen Show (podcast)Hear the original
What Rich Eisen said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromThe Lions lead my power rankings entering week number nine.
- Where it was said
- The Rich Eisen Show (podcast)
- The episode
- Hour 2: NFL Power Rankings, plus ESPN Boog Sciambi Talks World Series
- The original
- Hear the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- SaidOct 29, 2025
- GradedAug 13–17, 2026
- 1Los Angeles Rams to beat Patriots“Because I think if the Patriots played the Rams, I think the Rams win the game.”
- 2Detroit Lions to reach the Super Bowl“I still still think they are going to win the NFC.”
- 3Power Rankings“Number 10 on the list are the Bucks down one spot... the Bills... they're now at nine... I'm keeping the patriots at eight... number seven is? The Rams... Eagles... Down to six... cracking my top five... are the Denver Broncos... I kept the Chiefs right where they are at four. I kept the Packers right where they are at three. I kept the Colts right where they are at two... The Lions lead my power rankings entering week number nine.”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Rams to beat Patriots1 | Game Outcome Picks | — | 66.67 | 22.92 | +68.25 | |
| Detroit Lions to reach the Super Bowl2 | Conference Champions | NE and SEA won | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| “Number 10 on the list are the Bucks down one spot... the…”3 | Power Rankings | — | 33.94 | 25.45 | +13.24 | |
| 3 calls · 1 close call · 2 misses · all settled | 33.5 | 16.1 | ||||
How each call scored
a naive guessbetter than naive3 checkable claims — 1 conference champion, 1 game outcome pick and 1 power ranking — 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.
All 3 have settled, averaging 33.5 out of 100, against 16.1 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.
1Game Outcome PicksLos Angeles Rams
Los Angeles Rams to beat Patriots
VerdictClose66.67Close · naive 22.9266.67this call−22.92a naive guess=43.75better than naive×1.56difficulty=+68.25skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- note:
- these two never played, so the pick is graded on the parts of it that happened
- skill:
- 68.25
- they picked:
- LAR
- season:
- 2025
- ceiling:
- 66.67
- accuracy:
- 66.67
- baseline:
- 22.92
- opponent:
- NE
- difficulty:
- 1.56
- the naive guess:
- 14 of 32 clubs reached the postseason, 8 won a game there
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- right opponent:
- no
- weeks left when called:
- 10
- picked won aplayoff game:
- yes
- picked reached the playoffs:
- yes
- opponent reached the playoffs:
- yes
2Conference ChampionsDetroit Lions
Detroit Lions to reach the Super Bowl
What happenedNE and SEA wonpicked DET0Miss · naive 00this call−0a naive guess=0better than naive×1.56difficulty=0skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- skill:
- 0
- they picked:
- DET
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- champions:
- NE, SEA
- difficulty:
- 1.56
- the naive guess:
- last season's conference champions
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 10
- reached the Super Bowl:
- no
- lost the conference final:
- no
“Number 10 on the list are the Bucks down one spot... the Bills... they're now at nine... I'm keeping the patriots at eight... number seven is? The Rams... Eagles... Down to six... cracking my top five... are the Denver Broncos... I kept the Chiefs right where they are at four. I kept the Packers right where they are at three. I kept the Colts right where they are at two... The Lions lead my power rankings entering week number nine.”
VerdictMiss33.94Miss · naive 25.4533.94this call−25.45a naive guess=8.49better than naive×1.56difficulty=+13.24skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- skill:
- 13.24
- method:
- spearman
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 33.94
- baseline:
- 25.45
- difficulty:
- 1.56
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- teams ranked:
- 10
- weeks left when called:
- 10
- All
The take as a whole
the average of 3 settled calls, each counted once
33.5naive 16.1
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
Colin Cowherd · Trade and Signing Calls · Matthew Stafford · Hit 100
Cowherd predicts Matt Stafford stays with the Rams rather than moving on, and says Travis Hunter may underachieve because they're being asked to play both ways — Cowherd doubts they're a No. 1 receiver and would slot them as a No. 2 receiver while being a No. 1 corner.Colin Cowherd · Trade and Signing Calls · Matthew Stafford · Hit 100
Cowherd believes Matt Stafford's public negotiation posturing means he ultimately stays in Los Angeles, and he flags Travis Hunter as a high draft pick who could underachieve because trying to play both cornerback and receiver full-time will hurt him.Christian Booher · Roster Spot Calls · Anthony Lucas · Miss 0
Booher previews the Lions' Week 9 trip to Miami, predicting Derrick Barnes takes over as the green-dot linebacker in Jack Campbell's absence, Juice Scruggs starts at center, and boldly forecasting Detroit's first defensive touchdown of the season on an Aidan Hutchinson strip-sack recovered and returned by Barnes.Evan “Foxy” Fox · Score Predictions · Detroit Lions · Close 67
Foxy predicted a blowout Lions win over the Dolphins by a score of 45-21.Chris Simms · Score Predictions · Los Angeles Rams · 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.
More conference champions
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Damonza Byrd · Conference Champions · Seattle Seahawks · Hit 100
The co-host picks the Seahawks to beat the Rams in the NFC Championship game, and says they believe New England will win in Denver even though they are taking the Broncos with the points.Nick Wright · Conference Champions · New England Patriots · Hit 100
The host picks the Rams to beat the Seahawks in the NFC Championship game and believes the winner of that game wins the Super Bowl, i.e. that this is the Rams' year; they also pick New England to win in Denver despite taking the Broncos with the points, and says Stafford is winning MVP. They call Sean McVay the second-best coach in the NFL.Nick Wright · Conference Champions · Denver Broncos · Close 50
Wright picked the Broncos to beat the Patriots in a low-scoring AFC Championship game (17-16), said Sean Payton would coach Denver to the Super Bowl, picked the Rams to win outright in Seattle 31-20, believes the winner of the NFC game wins the Super Bowl with the Rams the better team, and expects Matt Stafford to be named league MVP.Derek Murphy · Conference Champions · Seattle Seahawks · Hit 100
Bone said after watching film that Seattle will handle the Rams in the NFC Championship Game, and that the Seahawks are going to the Super Bowl.Connor "Boston Connor" Campbell · Conference Champions · New England Patriots · Hit 100
Connor expects a tight first half in Denver before New England pulls away in the second half and advances to the Super Bowl.