Colin Cowherd#54 of 87 NFL pundits · Jan 9, 2026

Cowherd's postseason 'Blazing 5' picks: Rams over Panthers 33-20, Bears over Packers 27-24, Jaguars over Bills 27-13, Eagles over 49ers 28-20, and Indiana over Oregon 33-28. He also predicts the Rams win the wild card game again, says Detroit would return to 13 wins with Mike McDaniel as OC, and that Mendoza and Dante Moore would be the top two QBs in the draft.

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

2 of 7calls landed2 hits · 2 close calls · 3 misses · all settled

51.2Average accuracyout of 100, across 7 calls

52A naive guessthe same calls, no knowledge

7 of 7Settlednone still waiting

#54Colin Cowherd’s rankof 87 ranked NFL pundits

What Colin Cowherd said

our reading, beside the words we read it from

Rams win it, Rams cover final score thirty three to twenty.

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 - New Blazing 5 picks, Urban Meyer joins The Herd
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.

SaidJan 9
GradedAug 7–18

1Trinidad Chambliss to be picked “fifth round” (picks 141–181)“I would draft him in the fifth round if he was available”
2Los Angeles Rams 33 — Panthers 20“Rams win it, Rams cover final score thirty three to twenty.”
3Chicago Bears 27 — Packers 24“I like the Bears take the points to win. Twenty seven twenty. Four”
4Detroit Lions to finish with 13 wins“McDaniel goes to the Lions. That's back to that thirteen five, thirteen four.”
5Philadelphia Eagles 28 — 49ers 20“I'm gonna take the Eagles to win and the Eagles to cover twenty eight to twenty.”
6Jacksonville Jaguars 27 — Bills 13“I like the Jags to win. Superman or not at quarterback for Buffalo thirteen to twenty seven”
7Fernando Mendoza to be 1st quarterback off the board“you're going to see the two best college quarterbacks that both would be if they came out, it'd be one and two in the draft... I like Mendos a little bit more”

Box score

HitCloseMissWaiting

Call	Kind	What happened	Score	Naive	Skill
Trinidad Chambliss to be picked “fifth round” (picks 141–181)¹	Mock Draft Picks	Went undrafted	0	50	—
Los Angeles Rams 33 — Panthers 20²	Score Predictions	—	76.19	47.69	+28.5
Chicago Bears 27 — Packers 24³	Score Predictions	—	97.62	95.3	+2.31
Detroit Lions to finish with 13 wins⁴	Season Win Totals	9	20	45	−25
Philadelphia Eagles 28 — 49ers 20⁵	Score Predictions	—	40.48	45.3	−4.83
Jacksonville Jaguars 27 — Bills 13⁶	Score Predictions	—	23.81	47.69	−23.88
Fernando Mendoza to be 1st quarterback off the board⁷	Position Order Calls	—	100	33.08	+66.92
7 calls · 2 hits · 2 close calls · 3 misses · all settled			51.2	52

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

7 checkable claims — 4 score predictions, 1 mock draft pick, 1 position order call and 1 season win total — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.

It names 7 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

All 7 have settled, averaging 51.2 out of 100, against 52 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.

Their call against what happened

overall pick

fifth round (picks 141–181)They said

undraftedWhat happened

Their call against what actually happened.

1Mock Draft Picks Trinidad Chambliss
Trinidad Chambliss to be picked “fifth round” (picks 141–181)
What happenedWent undrafted
0Miss · naive 50
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
a shuffled mock scores 50
player:
Trinidad Chambliss
season:
2025
zero credit this far off:
undrafted
outcome:
went undrafted in 2026; has not appeared on an NFL roster
accuracy:
0
baseline:
50
actual pick:
undrafted
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
pick accuracy:
0
predicted pick:
fifth round (picks 141–181)
weeks left when called:
0
mock ordering score:
only one pick — no order to score
Think this is wrong?
2Score Predictions Los Angeles Rams
Los Angeles Rams 33 — Panthers 20
VerdictClose
76.19Close · naive 47.69
76.19this call47.69a naive guess28.5better than naive1difficulty+28.5skill
Closing line (Jan 10): Rams by 10, total 44.5 · this 33–20 calls a bigger Rams win (by 13) and more points (53). Graded on the margin called, not on the spread.
How this was scored
score:
34-31
skill:
28.5
they picked:
LAR
season:
2025
accuracy:
76.19
baseline:
47.69
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
actual margin:
3
weeks left when called:
0
naive home margin:
2.03
predicted margin:
13
Think this is wrong?
3Score Predictions Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears 27 — Packers 24
VerdictHit
97.62Hit · naive 95.3
97.62this call95.3a naive guess2.32better than naive1difficulty+2.31skill
Closing line (Jan 10): Packers by 2.5, total 45.5 · this 27–24 calls a Bears win (by 3; the line gave the Bears 45%) and more points (51). Graded on the margin called, not on the spread.
How this was scored
score:
27-31
skill:
2.31
they picked:
CHI
season:
2025
accuracy:
97.62
baseline:
95.3
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
actual margin:
4
weeks left when called:
0
naive home margin:
2.03
predicted margin:
3
Think this is wrong?
4Season Win Totals Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions to finish with 13 wins
What happened9called 13
20Miss · naive 45
20this call45a naive guess−25worse than naive1difficulty−25skill
How this was scored
team:
DET
naive:
11.75
skill:
−25
what happened:
9
season:
2025
zero credit this far off:
5
accuracy:
20
baseline:
45
they said:
13
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
weeks left when called:
0
Think this is wrong?
5Score Predictions Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles 28 — 49ers 20
VerdictClose
40.48Close · naive 45.3
40.48this call45.3a naive guess−4.82worse than naive1difficulty−4.83skill
Closing line (Jan 11): Eagles by 6, total 44.5 · this 28–20 calls a bigger Eagles win (by 8) and more points (48). Graded on the margin called, not on the spread.
How this was scored
score:
23-19
skill:
−4.83
they picked:
PHI
season:
2025
accuracy:
40.48
baseline:
45.3
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
actual margin:
4
weeks left when called:
0
naive home margin:
2.03
predicted margin:
8
Think this is wrong?
6Score Predictions Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars 27 — Bills 13
VerdictMiss
23.81Miss · naive 47.69
23.81this call47.69a naive guess−23.88worse than naive1difficulty−23.88skill
Closing line (Jan 11): Jaguars by 1.5, total 51.5 · this 27–13 calls a bigger Jaguars win (by 14) and fewer points (40).
How this was scored
score:
27-24
skill:
−23.88
they picked:
JAX
season:
2025
accuracy:
23.81
baseline:
47.69
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
actual margin:
3
weeks left when called:
0
naive home margin:
2.03
predicted margin:
14
Think this is wrong?
7Position Order Calls Fernando Mendoza
Fernando Mendoza to be 1st quarterback off the board
VerdictHit
100Hit · naive 33.08
100this call33.08a naive guess66.92better than naive1difficulty+66.92skill
How this was scored
draft:
2026
naive:
naming one of the 10 at random averages 33.08
skill:
66.92
player:
Fernando Mendoza
season:
2025
zero credit this far off:
credit halves every two places
accuracy:
100
baseline:
33.08
position:
quarterback
class size:
10
difficulty:
1
weeks in the season:
18
actual order:
1
predicted order:
1
weeks left when called:
0
Think this is wrong?
All
The take as a whole
the average of 7 settled calls, each counted once
51.2naive 52