Tyler Sullivan#27 of 87 NFL pundits · Sep 28, 2026
Sullivan argues the 0-3 Chargers are more likely to fall to 0-9 than recover playoff relevance, and they doubt the 0-3 Texans will make the postseason. They also float a possible franchise reset including firing the offensive coordinator and even trading Justin Herbert, and they tout Jets rookie TE Kenyon Sadiq and Colts WR Josh Downs as players to buy stock in.
Published in writing · CBS SportsRead the original
What Tyler Sullivan said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromLooking at the upcoming schedule, a 0-9 record feels more plausible than them clawing back to playoff relevance.
- Where it was published
- CBS Sports
- The piece
- Cover 32: Chargers 0-3 start inches toward full reset, plus game balls, biggest gaffes from Week 3
- The original
- Read the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- SaidSep 28
- PlayedOct 4–Nov 8
- GradedOct 5–Nov 9
- 1Houston Texans to beat Los Angeles Chargers“a 0-9 record feels more plausible ... Week 9 vs. Houston Texans”
- 2Los Angeles Rams to beat Los Angeles Chargers“a 0-9 record feels more plausible ... Week 8 at Los Angeles Rams”
- 3Kansas City Chiefs to beat Los Angeles Chargers“a 0-9 record feels more plausible ... Week 6 at Kansas City Chiefs”
- 4Denver Broncos to beat Los Angeles Chargers“a 0-9 record feels more plausible ... Week 5 vs. Denver Broncos”
- 5Seattle Seahawks to beat Los Angeles Chargers“a 0-9 record feels more plausible than them clawing back to playoff relevance ... Week 4 at Seattle Seahawks”
- 6Baltimore Ravens to beat Los Angeles Chargers“Week 10 | at Baltimore Ravens”
- 7Justin Herbert to move — “could be traded if the season keeps collapsing, with a no-trade clause letting him hand-pick a destination”“it's worth wondering whether a divorce would be welcomed by all parties involved ... Herbert would, in theory, be able to hand-pick his next destination”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston Texans to beat Los Angeles Chargers1 | Game Outcome Picks | Texans 44–22 | 100 | 0 | +189 | |
| Los Angeles Rams to beat Los Angeles Chargers2 | Game Outcome Picks | Rams 24–9 | 100 | 100 | 0 | |
| Kansas City Chiefs to beat Los Angeles Chargers3 | Game Outcome Picks | Chiefs 22–6 | 100 | 100 | 0 | |
| Denver Broncos to beat Los Angeles Chargers4 | Game Outcome Picks | Broncos 23–17 | 100 | 0 | +189 | |
| Seattle Seahawks to beat Los Angeles Chargers5 | Game Outcome Picks | Seahawks 30–23 | 100 | 100 | 0 | |
| Baltimore Ravens to beat Los Angeles Chargers6 | Game Outcome Picks | — | — | — | — | |
| Justin Herbert to move — “could be traded if the season keeps collapsing, with a no-trade clause letting him hand-pick a destination”7 | Trade and Signing Calls | — | — | — | — | |
| 7 calls · 5 hits · 2 waiting | 100 | 60 | ||||
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 naive7 checkable claims — 6 game outcome picks and 1 trade and signing call — 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.
5 of 7 have settled so far, averaging 100 out of 100, against 60 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 PicksHouston Texans
Houston Texans to beat Los Angeles Chargers
What happenedTexans 44–22Texans at Chargers100Hit · naive 0100this call−0a naive guess=100better than naive×1.89difficulty=+189skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- won:
- HOU
- score:
- 44-22
- skill:
- 189
- they picked:
- HOU
- season:
- 2026
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 0
- the naive pick:
- LAC
- difficulty:
- 1.89
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 16
2Game Outcome PicksLos Angeles Rams
Los Angeles Rams to beat Los Angeles Chargers
What happenedRams 24–9Chargers at Rams100Hit · naive 100100this call−100a naive guess=0better than naive×1.89difficulty=0skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- won:
- LAR
- score:
- 9-24
- skill:
- 0
- they picked:
- LAR
- season:
- 2026
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 100
- the naive pick:
- LAR
- difficulty:
- 1.89
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 16
3Game Outcome PicksKansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs to beat Los Angeles Chargers
What happenedChiefs 22–6Chargers at Chiefs100Hit · naive 100100this call−100a naive guess=0better than naive×1.89difficulty=0skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- won:
- KC
- score:
- 6-22
- skill:
- 0
- they picked:
- KC
- season:
- 2026
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 100
- the naive pick:
- KC
- difficulty:
- 1.89
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 16
4Game Outcome PicksDenver Broncos
Denver Broncos to beat Los Angeles Chargers
What happenedBroncos 23–17Broncos at Chargers100Hit · naive 0100this call−0a naive guess=100better than naive×1.89difficulty=+189skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- won:
- DEN
- score:
- 23-17
- skill:
- 189
- they picked:
- DEN
- season:
- 2026
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 0
- the naive pick:
- LAC
- difficulty:
- 1.89
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 16
5Game Outcome PicksSeattle Seahawks
Seattle Seahawks to beat Los Angeles Chargers
What happenedSeahawks 30–23Chargers at Seahawks100Hit · naive 100100this call−100a naive guess=0better than naive×1.89difficulty=0skillClosing line (Oct 4): Seahawks by 7 · favorite pick, Seahawks about 3 in 4 (74%).
Think this is wrong?How this was scored
- won:
- SEA
- score:
- 23-30
- skill:
- 0
- they picked:
- SEA
- season:
- 2026
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 100
- the naive pick:
- SEA
- difficulty:
- 1.89
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 16
6Game Outcome PicksBaltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens to beat Los Angeles Chargers
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
7Trade and Signing CallsJustin Herbert
Justin Herbert to move — “could be traded if the season keeps collapsing, with a no-trade clause letting him hand-pick a destination”
VerdictWaitingNot settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
- All
The take as a whole
the average of 5 settled calls, each counted once
100naive 60
The games in this take
every pundit’s pick on eachWho this take is about
Others on the same people
Zack Kelberman · Roster Spot Calls · Sean Fresch Jr. · Miss 0
Kelberman expects Sean Fresch Jr. to clear waivers and return to the Broncos' practice squad, sees Riley Moss back from concussion for the Week 11 game at Las Vegas, and projects newly acquired Daiyan Henley to begin as the third inside linebacker behind Alex Singleton and Justin Strnad before likely moving into a starting role.Zack Kelberman · Roster Spot Calls · Sean Fresch Jr. · Miss 0
Kelberman writes that Riley Moss may sit out the preseason finale against Minnesota but should be available for the Week 1 opener at Kansas City; they also suggest undrafted corners Sean Fresch Jr. and Brent Austin are being evaluated for practice squad spots.Chris Clark · Trade and Signing Calls · Nikko Remigio · Miss 0
Clark expects the Chiefs to bring back exclusive-rights receiver Nico (Remigio) and long snapper James Winchester, to re-sign JuJu Smith-Schuster as a cheap veteran fifth receiver, and not to bring back Hollywood Brown, Josh Dobbs-type depth, Gardner Minshew, Janarius Robinson or Mike Caliendo; they also say the Chiefs will not use a franchise tag and believes Bryan Cook won't return.Chad Jensen · Roster Spot Calls · Jordan Turner · Miss 0
Jensen predicts Daiyan Henley's arrival will cut into Justin Strnad's snaps while Alex Singleton keeps playing virtually every down, and that Denver will return to a three-linebacker rotation after the Week 10 bye. They also expect one of Jordan Turner or Karene Reid — most likely Turner — to be waived to clear a roster spot.Gilberto Manzano · Trade and Signing Calls · Josh Downs · Hit 100
Previewing the trade deadline, he expects Justin Herbert to stay in Los Angeles despite the Chargers' 0–7 start, thinks the Jets will keep Garrett Wilson and pair him with their young weapons, expects a receiver-hungry Kansas City to be aggressive with Josh Downs the likeliest target, and suggests expiring Eagles contracts Moro Ojomo and Riq Woolen could be dealt for mid-round picks.Joshua Poniatowski · Trade and Signing Calls · Josh Downs · Hit 100
Poniatowski names several trade targets, predicting Malik Willis underperforms this week against New England, that Omarion Hampton could become a viable RB2 if Adam Gase takes over play-calling, that Josh Downs gets traded (ideally to Kansas City, where they'd be a top-24 WR), that Brian Thomas Jr. could be dealt to the Rams or 49ers, and that Travis Kelce remains a consistent weekly TE.
More game outcome picks
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Sam Monson · Game Outcome Picks · New York Giants · Miss 0
Monson picked every Week 10 game, taking the Giants, Lions, Packers, Panthers, Colts, Texans, Bills, Chiefs, Jaguars, Seahawks, Rams, Cowboys, Bengals and Ravens, and also suggested the Chargers' only likely wins the rest of the way come against the Jets and Dolphins.Eva Geitheim · Game Outcome Picks · Washington Commanders · Hit 100
Geitheim picked the Commanders, Lions, Chiefs, Texans, Vikings, Jaguars, Colts, Panthers, Bills, Seahawks, Rams, 49ers, Bengals and Ravens in Week 10.Conor Orr · Game Outcome Picks · New York Giants · Miss 0
Orr picked the Giants, Lions, Chiefs, Texans, Packers, Jaguars, Dolphins, Panthers, Bills, Seahawks, Rams, 49ers, Bengals and Chargers in Week 10.Albert Breer · Game Outcome Picks · New York Giants · Miss 0
Breer picked all 14 Week 10 games straight up, favoring the Giants, Lions, Chiefs, Texans, Packers, Jaguars, Dolphins, Panthers, Bills, Seahawks, Rams, 49ers, Bengals and Ravens.Mitch Goldich · Game Outcome Picks · New York Giants · Miss 0
Goldich picked the Giants, Lions, Chiefs, Texans, Packers, Jaguars, Dolphins, Panthers, Bills, Seahawks, Rams, 49ers, Bengals and Ravens in Week 10.Matt Verderame · Game Outcome Picks · New York Giants · Miss 0
Verderame picked the Giants, Lions, Chiefs, Texans, Packers, Jaguars, Dolphins, Saints, Bills, Seahawks, Rams, 49ers, Bengals and Ravens in Week 10.