Rich Eisen· Jan 6, 2025
Eisen argued the Lions have the grit, smarts and personnel to win the NFC and reach the Super Bowl, predicted Josh Allen wins MVP, and laid out his projected MVP top five with Jared Goff finishing third and Joe Burrow sneaking into the group alongside Saquon Barkley and Lamar Jackson.
“They have the smarts and they have the personnel somehow, some way to actually win this conference.”
said on air, transcribed by us · Overreaction Monday (podcast) · read the original →
6 checkable claims — 5 award picks and 1 conference champion — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.
It names 10 players and teams, each linked to their own record.
All 6 have settled, averaging 16.7 out of 100, against 16.7 for a naive guess at the same calls.
Where do you stand? Pick this and every open claim on Picks →
Who this take is about
6 checkable claims in this take
Each one is scored on its own against the published methodology. A pundit naming several outcomes is graded on each, not on all-or-nothing.
- Conference ChampionsDetroit LionsJan 6, 2025
Detroit Lions to reach the Super Bowl
“I think what I saw out of the Lions is the grit that would require them to actually, go to the Super Bowl... they have the smarts and they have the personnel somehow, some way to actually win this conference.”
Miss · 0Scored 0a naive guess scored 100-100 skillHow this was scored
- skill:
- -100
- they picked:
- DET
- season:
- 2024
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 100
- champions:
- PHI,KC
- difficulty:
- 1
- the naive guess:
- last season's conference champions
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- reached the Super Bowl:
- no
- lost the conference final:
- no
- Award PicksJosh AllenBuffalo BillsJan 6, 2025
Josh Allen to win MVP
“rookie quarterback against MVP quarterback, which is what I believe Josh Allen's gonna wind up being with all due respect to everybody else”
Hit · 100Scored 100a naive guess scored 0+100 skillHow this was scored
- award:
- mvp
- naive:
- the naive pick was Lamar Jackson, who won it the year before
- skill:
- 100
- player:
- Josh Allen
- season:
- 2024
- winner:
- Josh Allen
- correct:
- yes
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 0
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- Award PicksSaquon BarkleyPhiladelphia EaglesJan 6, 2025
Saquon Barkley to win MVP voting top five
“He'll be he'll be in the top five.”
Miss · 0Scored 0a naive guess scored 0+0 skillHow this was scored
- award:
- mvp
- naive:
- the naive pick was Lamar Jackson, who won it the year before
- skill:
- 0
- player:
- Saquon Barkley
- season:
- 2024
- winner:
- Josh Allen
- correct:
- no
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- Award PicksLamar JacksonBaltimore RavensJan 6, 2025
Lamar Jackson to win MVP voting top five
“let's let's just quickly here guess who the five final five are. Okay. Saquon? Should be. And Goff and Allen and Lamar.”
Miss · 0Scored 0a naive guess scored 0+0 skillHow this was scored
- award:
- mvp
- naive:
- the naive pick was Lamar Jackson, who won it the year before
- skill:
- 0
- player:
- Lamar Jackson
- season:
- 2024
- winner:
- Josh Allen
- correct:
- no
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- Award PicksJared GoffDetroit LionsJan 6, 2025
Jared Goff to win third in MVP voting
“Goff Goff's gonna be third. I I I'm with you. I'll just push back and say this is an overreaction and say it's gonna be Goff.”
Miss · 0Scored 0a naive guess scored 0+0 skillHow this was scored
- award:
- mvp
- naive:
- the naive pick was Lamar Jackson, who won it the year before
- skill:
- 0
- player:
- Jared Goff
- season:
- 2024
- winner:
- Josh Allen
- correct:
- no
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- Award PicksJoe BurrowCincinnati BengalsJan 6, 2025
Joe Burrow to win MVP voting top five
“I think Burrow's gonna sneak in there.”
Miss · 0Scored 0a naive guess scored 0+0 skillHow this was scored
- award:
- mvp
- naive:
- the naive pick was Lamar Jackson, who won it the year before
- skill:
- 0
- player:
- Joe Burrow
- season:
- 2024
- winner:
- Josh Allen
- correct:
- no
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 0
What others said about the same people
- Chris SimmsScore Predictions · Baltimore RavensHit · 98Simms 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.
- Connor RogersGame Outcome Picks · Detroit LionsHit · 100Rogers 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.
- Chris LongGame Outcome Picks · Cincinnati BengalsMiss · 0Long 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.
- Nate TiceGame Outcome Picks · Baltimore RavensHit · 100Tice 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.
- Steven RuizGame Outcome Picks · Detroit LionsHit · 100Previewing 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.
- Matt HarmonGame Outcome Picks · Cincinnati BengalsHit · 100Harmon picked the Bengals to beat the Texans in Week 2, expecting Nico Collins to miss the game with a hamstring injury, and also predicted the Titans would be shut out by the Eagles. He took the Rams over the Giants, the Bears over the Vikings, and the Jaguars at Denver.
More award picks
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
- Gregg RosenthalAward Picks · Tristan WirfsMiss · 0Rosenthal picked Patrick Mahomes for MVP, Micah Parsons for Defensive Player of the Year, Jahmyr Gibbs for Offensive Player of the Year, Aaron Glenn for Coach of the Year, Travis Hunter for both Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year, Bill Callahan for Assistant Coach of the Year and Tristan Wirfs for Protector of the Year. He also made depth-chart calls on Adam Thielen and Jalen Coker.
- Jourdan RodrigueAward Picks · Josh SimmonsMiss · 0Rodrigue picked Patrick Mahomes for MVP, Jared Verse for Defensive Player of the Year, Ja'Marr Chase for Offensive Player of the Year, Mike Vrabel for Coach of the Year, TreVeyon Henderson for Offensive Rookie of the Year and Abdul Carter for Defensive Rookie of the Year, with Jesse Minter for Assistant Coach of the Year and Penei Sewell for Protector of the Year.
- Brandon SneideAward Picks · Drake MayeMiss · 0Snyder picks the Seahawks to beat the Patriots 31-23 in Super Bowl 60, believing Seattle pulls away late, and says Drake Maye will finish second in MVP voting behind Matthew Stafford.
- Nick WrightAward Picks · Rashid ShaheedMiss · 0Nick picked Seattle to win the Super Bowl 27-17, citing Seattle's defense, coaching against young quarterbacks and schedule strength, and named Rasheed Shaheed as his dark horse Super Bowl MVP.
- Chris BroussardAward Picks · Cooper KuppMiss · 0Broussard picked New England to beat Seattle 24-21, with Drake May winning Super Bowl MVP, and named Cooper Kupp as his dark horse MVP.
- Eric ManginiAward Picks · Drake MayeMiss · 0Mangini picked the Patriots 23-20 with Drake May as Super Bowl MVP, and earlier named Kayshon Boutte ("Kaeshawn Booty") as his dark horse MVP.