# Lance Zierlein: Lance picked the Texans to beat the Bills in the season opener, settling on a final score of 23-17 after initially saying 23-16. **Claimed:** Sep 11, 2026 **Pundit:** Lance Zierlein — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/lance-zierlein **Outlet:** John and Lance — ESPN Houston (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/john-and-lance-espn-houston-podcast **How it reached us:** said on air, transcribed by us **Original:** https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/audioboom.com/posts/8951855.mp3?modified=1789142677&sid=4936948&source=rss One checkable claim, graded on its own against what actually happened. The call scored 47.6 out of 100, against 36.8 for a naive guess at the same calls. > Texans beat him, 23 to 16. Okay. 23. No. That's four scores. I'm gonna go I'll go twenty three seventeen. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Houston Texans 23 — Bills 17** - Kind: Score Predictions · About: Houston Texans - Verdict: scored 47.62 out of 100, against 36.83 for a naive guess ## Who this take is about - Houston Texans — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/texans ## What others said about the same people - Chris Simms on Houston Texans: Simms went through every Week 2 game with predicted final scores, picking the Texans, Bears, Steelers (as an upset), Packers, Ravens, Eagles, Buccaneers, Panthers, Jaguars, Seahawks, Cowboys, 49ers, Chargers, Chiefs and Rams to win. He also reiterated that Denver was his preseason Super Bowl pick while predicting the Broncos would fall to 0-2. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/32db5f5e-13da-47e3-b280-2aa9a80d172b (scored 23.81) - Chris Simms on Houston Texans: 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 47.62) - Steven Ruiz on Houston Texans: 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 0) - Gregg Rosenthal on Houston Texans: Outside of his spread picks, Rosenthal referenced his season-long pick of the Texans to win the Super Bowl and said he expects Houston to beat the Colts on Sunday. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2fb84ac9-889f-4649-8c4d-f170f7b65f66 (scored 0) - Jordan Dajani on Houston Texans: Dajani gave final-score predictions for eight Week 3 games, picking the Packers, Bengals, Jaguars, Texans, Buccaneers (upset), Ravens, Broncos (upset) and Eagles to win. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c96aaa6d-2d0c-41cc-a9f7-c21ac21886ac (scored 40.48) - Jared Dubin on Houston Texans: Dubin gave final-score predictions for the same eight Week 3 games, picking the Packers, Bengals, Jaguars, Texans, Vikings, Ravens, Rams and Eagles. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/fe04828a-d532-414c-a58a-54f6505f2263 (scored 45.24) ## More score predictions The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Ross Jackson on New Orleans Saints: Ross Jackson picked the Saints to beat the Raiders at home, projecting a 27-24 final score with the Raiders scoring 24 points. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/434df603-78e1-41ae-a04c-8ef859abd50e (scored 38.1) - Chris Simms on Carolina Panthers: Simms went through every Week 2 game with predicted final scores, picking the Texans, Bears, Steelers (as an upset), Packers, Ravens, Eagles, Buccaneers, Panthers, Jaguars, Seahawks, Cowboys, 49ers, Chargers, Chiefs and Rams to win. He also reiterated that Denver was his preseason Super Bowl pick while predicting the Broncos would fall to 0-2. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/32db5f5e-13da-47e3-b280-2aa9a80d172b (scored 50) - Chris Long on New England Patriots: Previewing Week 2, Long called New England a spot to bounce back against Pittsburgh, projected a 27-14 Patriots win, saw Eagles-Titans as a 23-10 grinder, liked the Rams' spot Monday night against the Giants, and wrote down a Bills 31, Lions 23 final for the Thursday nighter. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/ab903e00-9f1b-4862-91a6-96343679649c (scored 90.48) - Chris Simms on Kansas City Chiefs: 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 100) - Chris Simms on Green Bay Packers: Simms picked the Packers to beat the Falcons in the Thursday night game by a low score, expecting a defensive struggle. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b12420c5-837c-4a24-8a8e-c74b10cc697c (scored 9.52) - Jake Arthur on Kansas City Chiefs: Arthur expects a close Chiefs win on Sunday Night Football at Arrowhead, predicting a final score of 27-23 for Kansas City. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/ca7ab74e-ab34-4ed6-a77f-2c7e9f8c8c4d (scored 97.62) --- 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=lance-zierlein