# Mark Morales-Smith: In a Week 2 start/sit column, Morales-Smith names four benched players he expects to outperform expectations: Jordan Love, Kaelon Black, Jakobi Meyers and Dalton Schultz. He also predicts Green Bay beats the Jets, San Francisco blows out Miami, and that Nico Collins won't play against Cincinnati.

**Claimed:** Sep 17, 2026
**Pundit:** Mark Morales-Smith — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/mark-morales-smith
**Outlet:** Sports Illustrated — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/sports-illustrated
**How it reached us:** published in writing
**Original:** https://www.si.com/onsi/fantasy/nfl/fantasy-football-bench-players-to-start-in-week-2-get-dalton-schultz-in-your-lineup-with-nico-collins-injured

3 checkable claims — 2 game outcome picks and 1 availability call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.

It names 4 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

2 of 3 have settled so far, averaging 100 out of 100, against 50 for a naive guess at the same calls.

> The Packers are going to torch the Jets in Green Bay

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Green Bay Packers to beat Jets**
  - Kind: Game Outcome Picks · About: Green Bay Packers
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **San Francisco 49ers to beat Miami Dolphins**
  - Kind: Game Outcome Picks · About: San Francisco 49ers
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess
- **Nico Collins is dealing with an injured hamstring and is in danger of missing Week 2. We do not expect him to be out there against the Cincinnati Bengals.**
  - Kind: Availability Calls · About: Nico Collins, Houston Texans
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- Green Bay Packers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/packers
- San Francisco 49ers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/49ers
- Nico Collins — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/nico-collins
- Houston Texans — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/texans

## What others said about the same people

- Chris Simms on San Francisco 49ers: 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 88.1)
- 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)
- 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)
- Richie Bradshaw on San Francisco 49ers: Bradshaw picks the 49ers to beat the Cardinals in their Week 3 matchup, predicting a final score of 27-14 in San Francisco's favor. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/56e0c2a3-ddff-46f8-8359-2a546546a29c (scored 83.33)
- 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)

## More game outcome picks

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

- Connor Rogers on New York Giants: 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 100)
- Chris Long on Cincinnati Bengals: 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/3df9ea25-e57f-4fd7-b20c-c910a1c3633a (scored 0)
- Steven Ruiz on Las Vegas Raiders: 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 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)
- Sam Monson on Seattle Seahawks: Monson picked the Chargers to beat the Bills outright (jokingly crediting Buffalo's gray 'Nickel City' jerseys), took the Vikings to win outright in Tampa, and said Seattle would destroy Washington. He also reiterated his Super Bowl pick of Denver over the Rams, called the Dolphins destined for the No. 1 overall pick, and said the Saints are a worst-to-first candidate in the NFC South. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/0b810ffd-fd93-4ea2-a208-b1353dea5fb0 (scored 0)
- 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)

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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

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