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.

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 bet.

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.

Who this take is about

• Trinidad Chambliss
• Los Angeles Rams
• Chicago Bears
• Detroit Lions
• Philadelphia Eagles
• Jacksonville Jaguars
• Fernando Mendoza

7 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.

• Mock Draft PicksTrinidad ChamblissJan 9, 2026

  Trinidad Chambliss to be picked “fifth round” (picks 141–181)

  “I would draft him in the fifth round if he was available”

  Miss · 0Scored 0a naive guess scored 50
  How this was scored

  draft:

  2026

  naive:

  a shuffled mock scores 50

  player:

  Trinidad Chambliss

  season:

  2025

  zero at:

  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?

• Score PredictionsLos Angeles RamsJan 9, 2026

  Los Angeles Rams 33 — Panthers 20

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

  Close · 76Scored 76.19a naive guess scored 47.69+28.5 skill
  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?

• Score PredictionsChicago BearsJan 9, 2026

  Chicago Bears 27 — Packers 24

  “I like the Bears take the points to win. Twenty seven twenty. Four”

  Hit · 98Scored 97.62a naive guess scored 95.3+2.31 skill
  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?

• Season Win TotalsDetroit LionsJan 9, 2026

  Detroit Lions to finish with 13 wins

  “McDaniel goes to the Lions. That's back to that thirteen five, thirteen four.”

  Miss · 20Scored 20a naive guess scored 45-25 skill
  How this was scored

  team:

  DET

  naive:

  11.75

  skill:

  -25

  what happened:

  9

  season:

  2025

  zero at:

  5

  accuracy:

  20

  baseline:

  45

  predicted:

  13

  difficulty:

  1

  weeks in the season:

  18

  weeks left when called:

  0

  Think this is wrong?

• Score PredictionsPhiladelphia EaglesJan 9, 2026

  Philadelphia Eagles 28 — 49ers 20

  “I'm gonna take the Eagles to win and the Eagles to cover twenty eight to twenty.”

  Close · 40Scored 40.48a naive guess scored 45.3-4.83 skill
  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?

• Score PredictionsJacksonville JaguarsJan 9, 2026

  Jacksonville Jaguars 27 — Bills 13

  “I like the Jags to win. Superman or not at quarterback for Buffalo thirteen to twenty seven”

  Miss · 24Scored 23.81a naive guess scored 47.69-23.88 skill
  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?

• Position Order CallsFernando MendozaJan 9, 2026

  Fernando 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”

  Hit · 100Scored 100a naive guess scored 33.08+66.92 skill
  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 at:

  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?

What others said about the same people

• Chris SimmsScore Predictions · Jacksonville JaguarsClose · 50
  Simms 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 · 100
  Rogers 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 · Los Angeles RamsMiss · 0
  Long 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.
• Nate TiceGame Outcome Picks · Detroit LionsHit · 100
  Tice 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.
• Steven RuizGame Outcome Picks · Detroit LionsHit · 100
  Previewing 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.
• Matt HarmonGame Outcome Picks · Los Angeles RamsHit · 100
  Harmon picked the Bengals to beat the Texans in Week 2, expecting Nico Collins to miss the game with a hamstring injury, and also predicted the Titans would be shut out by the Eagles. He took the Rams over the Giants, the Bears over the Vikings, and the Jaguars at Denver.

More score predictions

The same kind of call, about other players and teams.

• Chris SimmsScore Predictions · Kansas City ChiefsHit · 100
  Simms 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.
• Chris SimmsScore Predictions · Green Bay PackersMiss · 10
  Simms picked the Packers to beat the Falcons in the Thursday night game by a low score, expecting a defensive struggle.
• Jake ArthurScore Predictions · Kansas City ChiefsHit · 98
  Arthur expects a close Chiefs win on Sunday Night Football at Arrowhead, predicting a final score of 27-23 for Kansas City.
• Zach HicksScore Predictions · Kansas City ChiefsHit · 98
  Hicks predicts a lower-scoring, field-goal-heavy game with the Chiefs beating the Colts 23-19, citing Indianapolis' red-zone success against Kansas City historically.
• Nate TiceScore Predictions · Cincinnati BengalsClose · 74
  Tice picked the Bengals over the Texans in a low-scoring game, the Jaguars at Denver, the Bears over the Vikings, the Patriots over the Steelers and the Rams to edge the Giants, and his Hail Mary was the Cowboys scoring 40 on Washington. He also floated Abdul Carter as a possible All-Pro.
• Marcus RayScore Predictions · Tampa Bay BuccaneersMiss · 19
  Marcus predicted a 30-13 Buccaneers win over Cleveland with three touchdowns and three field goals, and picked the Raiders to beat a Jim Harbaugh team to start 2-0.

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