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James YarchoOct 7, 2026

Yarko previewed the Thursday night game in Dallas and picked the Cowboys to beat the Buccaneers, predicting a final score of 30-17, while arguing Tampa Bay's offense under Zach Robinson can't keep pace.

Said on air, transcribed by us · Locked On Bucs (podcast)Hear the original

38Miss · out of 100

Buccaneers 24–16What happenedcalled Cowboys by 13 · lost by 8

32.2A naive guessthe same call, no knowledge

38.1This callout of 100

+10.5Skillafter difficulty

What James Yarcho said

I am gonna take the Cowboys in this one thirty to 17.

Our reading: Dallas Cowboys 30 — Bucks 17

Where it was said: Locked On Bucs (podcast)
The episode: Bucs Are WITHOUT WINFIELD, Get Bain Back | Is ROBINSON Who Needs To Go? | Bucs, Cowboys Predictions
The original: Hear the original
Read it wrong?: Tell us and we will look

SaidOct 7
PlayedOct 8
GradedOct 9

How the call scored

a naive guessbetter than naive

One checkable claim, graded on its own against what actually happened.

The call scored 38.1 out of 100, against 32.2 for a naive guess at the same calls.

The 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 call; the gap, weighted by how hard the call was, is the skill.

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.

Score Predictions Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys 30 — Bucks 17
What happenedBuccaneers 24–16called Cowboys by 13 · lost by 8
38.1Miss · naive 32.2
38.1this call32.2a naive guess5.9better than naive1.78difficulty+10.5skill
Closing line (Oct 8): Cowboys by 9.5, total 49.5 · this 30–17 calls a bigger Cowboys win (by 13) and fewer points (47).
How this was scored
score:
24-16
skill:
10.5
they picked:
DAL
season:
2026
accuracy:
38.1
baseline:
32.2
difficulty:
1.78
weeks in the season:
18
actual margin:
8
weeks left when called:
14
naive home margin:
0.52
predicted margin:
13
Think this is wrong?

The game in this take

every pundit’s pick on each

Buccaneers at CowboysBuccaneers 24Cowboys 1628 calls →

Who this take is about

Dallas Cowboys

Make your own calls.Pick every open claim on Picks →

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Jared Dubin · Score Predictions · New York Giants · Close 43
Dubin picks the Giants to beat the Commanders at home on Thursday night, projecting a 20-14 final score.

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