# Rich Eisen: Eisen pushed back on several takes: he doubts 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. **Claimed:** Dec 8, 2025 **Pundit:** Rich Eisen — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/rich-eisen **Outlet:** Overreaction Monday (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/overreaction-monday-podcast **How it reached us:** said on air, transcribed by us **Original:** https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.megaphone.fm/ESP3871394277.mp3?updated=1765214048 5 checkable claims — 2 division winners, 1 award pick, 1 game outcome pick and 1 positional finishe — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet. 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. > I wouldn't be shocked if they swept Tampa to to bring this home. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Baltimore Ravens to win the division** - Kind: Division Winners · About: Baltimore Ravens - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess - **Carolina Panthers to beat Tampa** - Kind: Game Outcome Picks · About: Carolina Panthers - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess - **New England Patriots to win the division** - Kind: Division Winners · About: New England Patriots - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess - **Lamar Jackson to finish top 10 at his position, by passing yards** - Kind: Positional Finishes · About: Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess - **Christian McCaffrey to win Offensive Player of the Year** - Kind: Award Picks · About: Christian McCaffrey - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess ## Who this take is about - Baltimore Ravens — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/ravens - Carolina Panthers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/panthers - New England Patriots — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/patriots - Lamar Jackson — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/lamar-jackson - Christian McCaffrey — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/christian-mccaffrey ## What others said about the same people - Chris Simms on Baltimore Ravens: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/662b7ba3-1bf6-4ad0-9f93-9f2ab83143fd (scored 97.62) - Connor Rogers on Carolina Panthers: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/83d1e88b-95a0-45ba-83d3-f86297170c6c (scored 0) - Nate Tice on Baltimore Ravens: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b8378e16-ea5c-4107-a883-28aaf0e71134 (scored 100) - Steven Ruiz on Baltimore Ravens: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a30ff469-4972-4c48-855b-ba984e4de9d0 (scored 100) - Nate Tice on New England Patriots: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b6211c80-3d1c-46b8-8a0c-151fc0ba92de (scored 100) - Tracy Sandler on Baltimore Ravens: Sandler predicted Caleb Williams would miss two to three weeks with his hamstring injury, and in the picks segment took the Broncos, Ravens, Vikings, Bills and Bears (switching off an earlier Tampa pick). — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/74f12600-9587-488a-af00-2e8c11643531 (scored 100) ## More division winners The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Daniel DiBerardinis on Atlanta Falcons: 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. He also gives a Final Four of Michigan, Florida, Purdue and Arizona with Michigan winning. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/8a8e0b7c-9f1c-4c13-8138-1332d73b9b02 (scored 0) - Colin Cowherd on New York Giants: 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. He also expects Malik Willis to land a big free-agent deal, Kayvon Thibodeaux to be moved, and Baltimore to lose Isaiah Likely, and he floats the Rams reaching on Ty Simpson late in round one. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/cd243624-9451-4824-a8a4-7b468d681c8f (scored 0) - Colin Cowherd on Los Angeles Chargers: Cowherd unveiled his 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/78de302a-c2f9-41b4-8897-87943ca44caa (scored 0) - Cynthia Frelund on Houston Texans: 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; she also sees the AFC's Super Bowl representative being either Denver or Houston. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/adb6791d-7a19-4d22-b3da-f9d30b419aa2 (scored 0) - Chris Brockman on Chicago Bears: 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 he thinks they lose to a five seed from the NFC West), and said Philip Rivers will be in the NFL in 2026. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/e86c9e4d-7802-432a-a26c-4edefb3b6aee (scored 100) - Nick Shook on Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Shook picks the Rams to win the Super Bowl and to beat the Lions, agrees the Buccaneers still hold the edge in the NFC South, and drops Patrick Mahomes to 12th in his QB Index behind Brock Purdy. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/cd498dba-6f44-461d-9beb-f748424098a3 (scored 0) --- Accuracy is 0-100 against what actually happened. The naive guess is what a strategy requiring no knowledge would have scored on the same call — the difference is the skill, and it is what the MissedTakes Score averages. Full method: https://missedtakes.co/methodology We summarize what a pundit said and quote a short span for attribution; we never republish their article. If this is wrong, tell us: https://missedtakes.co/corrections?pundit=rich-eisen