Rich Eisen#38 of 87 NFL pundits · Dec 8, 2025
Eisen pushed back on several takes: they doubt the Chiefs make the playoffs this year, agrees the Bills as a 5 seed can win a road playoff game, thinks New England wins the AFC East, expects Carolina to sweep Tampa Bay and win the NFC South, says Lamar Jackson is not a top-10 quarterback this year, sees the Ravens still able to win the AFC North at 8-9, and names Christian McCaffrey the Offensive Player of the Year front-runner.
Said on air, transcribed by us · Overreaction Monday (podcast)Hear the original
What Rich Eisen said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromI wouldn't be shocked if they swept Tampa to to bring this home.
- Where it was said
- Overreaction Monday (podcast)
- The episode
- NFL Week 14: Chiefs & Ravens are Cooked, Colts' QB Plan, are Packers Class of NFC?
- The original
- Hear the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- SaidDec 8, 2025
- GradedAug 13–17, 2026
- 1Baltimore Ravens to win the division“So the Ravens still have a shot at the division, a shot at the playoffs”
- 2Carolina Panthers to beat Tampa“I wouldn't be shocked if they swept Tampa to to bring this home.”
- 3New England Patriots to win the division“I think you're winning the AFC East. It would be a massive collapse that I don't think New England has has in front of them”
- 4Lamar Jackson to finish top 10 at his position, by passing yards“Even I don't even think you could sit here and say he's a top 10 quarterback this year.”
- 5Christian McCaffrey to win Offensive Player of the Year“And might be your front runner for offensive player of the year”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Ravens to win the division1 | Division Winners | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Carolina Panthers to beat Tampa2 | Game Outcome Picks | — | 100 | 100 | 0 | |
| New England Patriots to win the division3 | Division Winners | — | 100 | 0 | +128 | |
| Lamar Jackson to finish top 10 at his position, by passing yards4 | Positional Finishes | Finished #23 | 100 | 0 | +128 | |
| Christian McCaffrey to win Offensive Player of the Year5 | Award Picks | Jaxon Smith-Njigba won | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 calls · 3 hits · 2 misses · all settled | 60 | 20 | ||||
How each call scored
a naive guessbetter than naive5 checkable claims — 2 division winners, 1 award pick, 1 game outcome pick and 1 positional finish — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
It names 5 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
All 5 have settled, averaging 60 out of 100, against 20 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.
1Division WinnersBaltimore Ravens
Baltimore Ravens to win the division
VerdictMiss0Miss · naive 00this call−0a naive guess=0better than naive×1.28difficulty=0skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- skill:
- 0
- method:
- division winners read off the bracket: the bye teams and the wild-card hosts
- they picked:
- BAL
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- the naive pick:
- BAL
- difficulty:
- 1.28
- the naive guess:
- last season's winner of the same division
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 5
- won the division:
- no
2Game Outcome PicksCarolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers to beat Tampa
VerdictHit100Hit · naive 100100this call−100a naive guess=0better than naive×1.28difficulty=0skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- won:
- CAR
- score:
- 20-23
- skill:
- 0
- they picked:
- CAR
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 100
- the naive pick:
- CAR
- difficulty:
- 1.28
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 5
3Division WinnersNew England Patriots
New England Patriots to win the division
VerdictHit100Hit · naive 0100this call−0a naive guess=100better than naive×1.28difficulty=+128skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- skill:
- 128
- method:
- division winners read off the bracket: the bye teams and the wild-card hosts
- they picked:
- NE
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 0
- the naive pick:
- BUF
- difficulty:
- 1.28
- the naive guess:
- last season's winner of the same division
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 5
- won the division:
- yes
4Positional FinishesLamar JacksonBaltimore Ravens
Lamar Jackson to finish top 10 at his position, by passing yards
What happenedFinished #23by passing yards100Hit · naive 0100this call−0a naive guess=100better than naive×1.28difficulty=+128skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- skill:
- 128
- player:
- Lamar Jackson
- season:
- 2025
- zero credit this far off:
- 12
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 0
- position:
- QB
- ranked by:
- passing yards
- difficulty:
- 1.28
- the naive guess:
- where he finished last season
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- naive finish:
- 6
- actual finish:
- 23
- weeks left when called:
- 5
- predicted finish:
- not a top 10 quarterback this year (NOT ranks 1–10)
5Award PicksChristian McCaffrey
Christian McCaffrey to win Offensive Player of the Year
What happenedJaxon Smith-Njigba woncalled Christian McCaffrey0Miss · naive 00this call−0a naive guess=0better than naive×1.28difficulty=0skillThink this is wrong?How this was scored
- award:
- offensive_player_of_the_year
- naive:
- the naive pick was Saquon Barkley, who won it the year before
- skill:
- 0
- player:
- Christian McCaffrey
- season:
- 2025
- who won:
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba
- correct:
- no
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- difficulty:
- 1.28
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 5
- All
The take as a whole
the average of 5 settled calls, each counted once
60naive 20
Who this take is about
Others on the same people
Pat Fitzmaurice · Score Predictions · New England Patriots · Miss 14
Fitzmaurice predicted a 24-21 Patriots win over the Packers, said they would not be surprised if Jonathan Taylor were inactive amid trade talk, pegged Jonah Coleman as an RB22 rest-of-season value, expected Evan Hull to be Arizona's backup back, and saw Kerby Joseph returning in Week 10 or 11.Kevin Wildes · Game Outcome Picks · New England Patriots · Miss 0
Wildes took Minnesota over Buffalo, predicted a comfortable roughly 10-point New England win over Green Bay, and switched their Super Bowl matchup to Jaguars–Bears.Nick Wright · Game Outcome Picks · New England Patriots · Miss 0
Wright argued the Jaguars are the AFC's most complete team, calling them the considerable favorite for the No. 1 seed and the only club essentially locked into the playoffs. They also picked Tampa Bay to upset Chicago, had Kansas City sweeping its next three games, liked New England over Green Bay by about a field goal, and updated their Super Bowl matchup to Chiefs–49ers.Eric Mangini · Game Outcome Picks · New England Patriots · Miss 0
Mangini picked New England to beat Green Bay by more than a field goal, flagged Tampa Bay as their upset alert over Chicago, expects Kansas City to handle the Jets, took Buffalo over Minnesota, backed Cincinnati over Atlanta in Madrid, and updated their Super Bowl to Rams–Bengals.Connor Rogers · Game Outcome Picks · New England Patriots · Miss 0
Rogers picked straight-up winners in every Week 9 game, agreeing with Simms on all of them, and gave a 24-20 Bills score over the Vikings on Monday night.Chris Simms · Score Predictions · New England Patriots · Miss 31
Simms gave a predicted final score for every Week 9 game, picking the Bengals, Chiefs, Broncos, Lions, Giants, Rams, Cowboys, Saints, 49ers, Patriots, Seahawks, Texans, Bears and Bills, and also said they wouldn't be shocked to see Jacksonville reach the AFC Championship Game.
More division winners
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Daniel DiBerardinis · Division Winners · Atlanta Falcons · Miss 0
Danny D predicts Sonny Styles goes in the top ten (maybe top five), doesn't think Ty Simpson goes before late first round, says Kenyon Sadiq lands with the Rams at 13, and picks the Falcons to win the NFC South while naming the Bengals an AFC bounce-back team. They also give a Final Four of Michigan, Florida, Purdue and Arizona with Michigan winning.Colin Cowherd · Division Winners · New York Giants · Miss 0
Cowherd 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. They also expect Malik Willis to land a big free-agent deal, Kayvon Thibodeaux to be moved, and Baltimore to lose Isaiah Likely, and they float the Rams reaching on Ty Simpson late in round one.Colin Cowherd · Division Winners · Los Angeles Chargers · Miss 0
Cowherd unveiled their top 10 NFL teams entering next season, with Seattle first, the Rams second and the Chiefs tenth, and separately picked the Chargers to win the AFC West.Cynthia Frelund · Division Winners · Houston Texans · Miss 0
Freeland's model has the Chargers winning straight up in Dallas, the Texans winning big over the Raiders and going on to win the AFC South, the Lions beating the Steelers by six, the Saints beating the Jets, and the Packers beating the Bears; they also see the AFC's Super Bowl representative being either Denver or Houston.Chris Brockman · Division Winners · Chicago Bears · Hit 100
Brockman called the Broncos-Packers game the best of the day, said Denver looks poised to lock up the AFC's No. 1 seed and reach the AFC Championship Game, predicted the Bears win the NFC North and the Eagles win their division (though they think they lose to a five seed from the NFC West), and said Philip Rivers will be in the NFL in 2026.