John Middlekauff· Aug 25, 2025
Middlekauff says Denver's floor is ten wins, predicts Miami implodes to four or five wins and a top-three-or-four draft slot with Tyreek Hill traded, thinks the 49ers beat expectations with nine or ten wins, sees the Patriots at eight or nine wins, calls the Chargers over 9.5 a lock, expects Jared Goff to make five or six Pro Bowls, and says the Packers are flying under the radar.
“I think they are a lock.”
said on air or in an interview · The Colin Cowherd Podcast (podcast) · read the original →
The page this came from has changed since we captured it on Aug 5, 2026. The quote and evidence above are from our capture, not from what the page says today.
10 checkable claims — 5 season win totals, 2 surprise team calls, 1 pro bowl and all-pro call, 1 team draft slot call and 1 trade and signing call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.
It names 9 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
4 of 10 have settled so far, averaging 20 out of 100, against 27.5 for a naive guess at the same calls.
Their call against what happened
winsTheir call against what actually happened.
Where do you stand? Pick this and every open claim on Picks →
Who this take is about
10 checkable claims in this take
Each one is scored on its own against the published methodology. A pundit naming several outcomes is graded on each, not on all-or-nothing.
- Season Win TotalsSan Francisco 49ersAug 25, 2025
San Francisco 49ers to finish with 9–10 wins
“so I think the Niners probably more likely to win nine or ten games”
Close · 60Scored 60a naive guess scored 5+110 skillHow this was scored
- team:
- SF
- naive:
- 7.25
- skill:
- 110
- what happened:
- 12
- season:
- 2025
- zero at:
- 5
- accuracy:
- 60
- baseline:
- 5
- predicted:
- 9–10 wins (9–10 wins)
- difficulty:
- 2
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 18
- Season Win TotalsNew England PatriotsAug 25, 2025
New England Patriots to finish with 8–9 wins
“Why couldn't they go nine to eight this year?... I could see the Patriots winning eight or nine games.”
Miss · 0Scored 0a naive guess scored 0+0 skillHow this was scored
- team:
- NE
- naive:
- 6.25
- skill:
- 0
- what happened:
- 14
- season:
- 2025
- zero at:
- 5
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- predicted:
- 8–9 wins (8–9 wins)
- difficulty:
- 2
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 18
- Season Win TotalsDenver BroncosAug 25, 2025
Denver Broncos to finish with 10 wins
“if you have a dominant defense with an offensive coach who's proven, like, how are your floor is so high? I mean your floor is immediately like ten wins.”
Miss · 20Scored 20a naive guess scored 5+30 skillHow this was scored
- team:
- DEN
- naive:
- 9.25
- skill:
- 30
- what happened:
- 14
- season:
- 2025
- zero at:
- 5
- accuracy:
- 20
- baseline:
- 5
- predicted:
- 10
- difficulty:
- 2
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 18
Jared Goff to make Pro Bowl
“I would say he's going to make five or six Pro Bowls in his time in the NFC”
Miss · 0Scored 0a naive guess scored 100-200 skillHow this was scored
- made:
- no
- naive:
- he did not make it the year before, so the naive pick said no
- skill:
- -200
- player:
- Jared Goff
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 100
- selection:
- pro_bowl
- difficulty:
- 2
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 18
- Team Draft Slot CallsMiami DolphinsAug 25, 2025
Miami Dolphins to pick “drafting three or four”
“Maybe they don't have the number one overall pick, but I could see him being like the giants of the Patriots, drafting three or four.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- Trade and Signing CallsTetairoa McMillanAug 25, 2025
Tetairoa McMillan to move
“It would not surprise me at all if this Tyreek situation doesn't go away and he ends up playing for another team this year.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- Season Win TotalsLos Angeles ChargersAug 25, 2025
Los Angeles Chargers to finish with ? wins
“I mean, they're over under right now is nine and a half. I think they are a lock.”
Too vague to check — we could not tell what would count as right.
- Surprise Team CallsGreen Bay PackersAug 25, 2025
Green Bay Packers to beat expectations
“I just think they're flying under the radar.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- Season Win TotalsMiami DolphinsAug 25, 2025
Miami Dolphins to finish with ? wins
“It would not shock me to see them struggle to win four or five games. I think they're going to be terrible.”
Too vague to check — we could not tell what would count as right.
- Surprise Team CallsSan Francisco 49ersAug 25, 2025
San Francisco 49ers to beat expectations
“I think a lot of people are gonna think they're gonna win like six or seven games. I think they're gonna be better than people think.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
What others said about the same people
- Chris SimmsScore Predictions · San Francisco 49ersHit · 88Simms went through the entire Week 3 slate with straight-up winners and predicted final scores, taking Jacksonville, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Detroit, Houston, Carolina, Kansas City, Seattle, the Giants, Baltimore, New Orleans, Minnesota, San Francisco, Denver and Philadelphia. He also expected Zay Flowers and Puka Nacua to sit, Kyler Murray to play, and said Marvin Harrison Jr. projects as no better than a good No. 2 or high-end No. 3 receiver.
- Connor RogersGame Outcome Picks · Detroit LionsHit · 100Rogers picked Detroit, Houston, Carolina, Kansas City, Seattle and the Giants to win their Week 3 games, saying the Chiefs win by two touchdowns and the Giants by a field goal.
- Chris LongGame Outcome Picks · Detroit LionsHit · 100Long liked the Rams over the Broncos on Sunday night even without Puka Nacua, and expected the Bills to beat the winless Chargers in Buffalo. He also backed the Bengals over the Steelers, expected an angry Detroit team to handle the Jets, and still thought both the Lions and Vikings could win the NFC North.
- Steven RuizGame Outcome Picks · Denver BroncosHit · 100Previewing Week 3, Ruiz picked the Ravens to beat the Cowboys in Brazil, Jacksonville over New England in a low-scoring game, an upset by the Broncos over the Rams, the Raiders over the Saints, the Eagles over the Bears, the Lions over the Jets, and his Hail Mary that Houston beats Indianapolis by two touchdowns.
- Nate TiceGame Outcome Picks · Detroit LionsHit · 100Tice matched his guest on every Week 3 game, picking the Ravens over the Cowboys, the Jaguars over the Patriots in a close game, the Broncos to upset the Rams, the Raiders over the Saints, the Eagles over the Bears and the Lions over the Jets.
- Chris SimmsScore Predictions · Green Bay PackersMiss · 10Simms picked the Packers to beat the Falcons in the Thursday night game by a low score, expecting a defensive struggle.
More season win totals
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
- Colin CowherdSeason Win Totals · Dallas CowboysHit · 100Cowherd 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. He also expects Malik Willis to land a big free-agent deal, Kayvon Thibodeaux to be moved, and Baltimore to lose Isaiah Likely, and he floats the Rams reaching on Ty Simpson late in round one.
- Richard ShermanSeason Win Totals · Washington CommandersMiss · 20Sherman previewed every division: he picked Seattle to win the NFC West on a tiebreaker over San Francisco (both 11-11 wins), the Lions over the Packers in the North, the Eagles to run away with the East, Tampa Bay in the South, and Kansas City, Buffalo and the Ravens' division rivals in the AFC. He picked an Eagles–Chiefs Super Bowl with Philadelphia repeating, Joe Burrow for MVP, and gave a top-five power ranking.
- Nick WrightSeason Win Totals · Houston TexansClose · 60Nick Wright gave his early AFC win-total leans: overs on the Jets, Ravens, Jaguars, Chiefs and Raiders, plus projected win ranges for the Dolphins, Texans, Chargers and Broncos, and predicted the Raiders take Ashton Jeanty at No. 6.
- Chris BrockmanSeason Win Totals · Carolina PanthersHit · 100Brockman pitched that the Eagles are the NFL's best team and that Saquon Barkley will win MVP as the first non-quarterback since 2011. He also declared the AFC playoff field already set with six weeks to go, said the Cowboys will make the playoffs, predicted Buffalo would blast the 49ers, and reiterated his earlier call that Carolina would win five or six games.
- JP AcostaSeason Win Totals · New York GiantsClose · 40Acosta expects John Harbaugh's Giants to jump to roughly seven wins in year one, and forecast several offseason moves: Aaron Rodgers returning to Pittsburgh, Daniel Jones returning to the Colts, Kirk Cousins being released by Atlanta, and Brandon Aiyuk leaving San Francisco.
- Rich EisenSeason Win Totals · New Orleans SaintsClose · 40Eisen 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.