# Rich Eisen: 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. **Claimed:** Jan 6, 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/WWO4503446015.mp3?updated=1736183572 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. > They have the smarts and they have the personnel somehow, some way to actually win this conference. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Detroit Lions to reach the Super Bowl** - Kind: Conference Champions · About: Detroit Lions - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess - **Josh Allen to win MVP** - Kind: Award Picks · About: Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess - **Saquon Barkley to win MVP voting top five** - Kind: Award Picks · About: Saquon Barkley, Philadelphia Eagles - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess - **Lamar Jackson to win MVP voting top five** - Kind: Award Picks · About: Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess - **Jared Goff to win third in MVP voting** - Kind: Award Picks · About: Jared Goff, Detroit Lions - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess - **Joe Burrow to win MVP voting top five** - Kind: Award Picks · About: Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess ## Who this take is about - Detroit Lions — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/lions - Josh Allen — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/josh-allen - Buffalo Bills — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bills - Saquon Barkley — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/saquon-barkley - Philadelphia Eagles — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/eagles - Lamar Jackson — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/lamar-jackson - Baltimore Ravens — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/ravens - Jared Goff — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/jared-goff - Joe Burrow — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/joe-burrow - Cincinnati Bengals — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bengals ## 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 Detroit Lions: 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) - 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 Detroit Lions: 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) - Matt Harmon on Cincinnati Bengals: Harmon 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/21a71025-ab65-4716-ac2c-e77ad5ce3348 (scored 100) ## More award picks The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Gregg Rosenthal on Tristan Wirfs: Rosenthal 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/88928365-78fb-4f7b-84a4-0dd7856ba9cc (scored 0) - Jourdan Rodrigue on Josh Simmons: Rodrigue 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/f3ba94ea-a935-4534-88e4-bb6027bf87ad (scored 0) - Brandon Sneide on Drake Maye: Snyder 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/1cf83e90-e59f-4c8f-941f-c732efcb4c03 (scored 0) - Nick Wright on Rashid Shaheed: Nick 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/1fe4abc6-28e3-412b-ab6e-d2f65f25682f (scored 0) - Chris Broussard on Cooper Kupp: Broussard picked New England to beat Seattle 24-21, with Drake May winning Super Bowl MVP, and named Cooper Kupp as his dark horse MVP. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/1247ee30-3338-4940-8fc9-977cc215ff59 (scored 0) - Eric Mangini on Drake Maye: Mangini picked the Patriots 23-20 with Drake May as Super Bowl MVP, and earlier named Kayshon Boutte ("Kaeshawn Booty") as his dark horse MVP. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/332dce8c-f71c-4f26-a976-8f4615a9f9bd (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