# Rich Eisen: Eisen says Russell Wilson will lead the Steelers to the AFC North title and that Mike Tomlin deserves Coach of the Year if Pittsburgh keeps this up; they also argue Atlanta will stick with Kirk Cousins rather than turning to rookie Michael Penix, and agrees the Packers reaching the divisional round is no overreaction.

**Claimed:** Dec 2, 2024
**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/WWO3328365054.mp3?updated=1733163087

4 checkable claims — 1 coach award pick, 1 depth chart call, 1 division winner and 1 playoff pick — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.

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

All 4 have settled, averaging 50 out of 100, against 72.9 for a naive guess at the same calls.

> this is a guy who's gonna lead the Steelers to the AFC North title

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Pittsburgh Steelers to win the division**
  - Kind: Division Winners · About: Pittsburgh Steelers
  - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess
- **Tomlin to win Coach of the Year**
  - Kind: Coach Award Picks
  - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **Green Bay Packers to make the playoffs**
  - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Green Bay Packers
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess
- **Kirk Cousins to be 1st on the depth chart**
  - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Kirk Cousins, Atlanta Falcons
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 91.67 for a naive guess

## Who this take is about

- Pittsburgh Steelers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/steelers
- Green Bay Packers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/packers
- Kirk Cousins — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/kirk-cousins
- Atlanta Falcons — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/falcons

## What others said about the same people

- Logan Lazarczyk on Kirk Cousins: Ahead of the trade deadline, they float three Raiders moves: shipping Kirk Cousins to Minnesota if the Vikings offer a second-round pick, selling Maxx Crosby to Dallas for a first-rounder plus, and acquiring Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr. for a second- or third-round pick. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/d0fd408a-7dcd-4e50-ac62-6b4510a8a800 (scored 100)
- Logan Lazarczyk on Kirk Cousins: Lazarczyk expects the Raiders to be sellers before the trade deadline, suggesting Kirk Cousins could be dealt back to the Vikings and that benched interior lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson is a prime candidate to be traded somewhere. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/fda03952-2ea6-4919-8114-0ebb127478d1 (scored 100)
- Tom Pelissero on Kirk Cousins: Pelissero laid out the Giants' quarterback situation with Jameis Winston starting, said Jayden Daniels likely won't be back when Washington plays the Giants and that Caleb Williams is unlikely to play Monday night, and floated Joey Porter Jr. landing in Dallas and Kirk Cousins being traded in-season. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/f26c21be-0655-4d27-81b3-86e4c8db564f (scored 100)
- Tom Pelissero on Kirk Cousins: Pelissero expects the Raiders to draft Fernando Mendoza first overall, and says Kirk Cousins will be released March 11 while Tua Tagovailoa will be released before March 13 if Miami can't trade them. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/662ce1b7-daca-460b-a92d-ab72d022ebe0 (scored 100)
- Alex Curry on Kirk Cousins: Curry expects Fernando Mendoza to be taken No. 1 overall by the Raiders and to be thrown into the starting lineup immediately, and they say Kirk Cousins will be released by Atlanta within weeks. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2c6097f9-30ad-42dc-863f-e507225b7edc (scored 100)
- Alex Curry on Kirk Cousins: Curry expects Fernando Mendoza to be the No. 1 overall pick and land with the Raiders, and they say Kirk Cousins will be released by Atlanta. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/1c269ea1-7c35-4039-827d-ec1130aa0e04 (scored 100)

## More coach award picks

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

- Matt Hasselbeck: Hasselbeck agreed on the Bills and Ravens as AFC division winners, picked the Colts (with Daniel Jones) to win the AFC South, the Broncos to win the AFC West, the Seahawks to win the NFC West, and tabbed Brian Flores for a Coach of the Year-type honor. They also said the Patriots would make a big jump and potentially reach the playoffs, and named Minnesota, Las Vegas, New England and Chicago as offseason winners. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/757877f8-ca0d-4888-b062-a4a6dd71d0e6 (scored 0)
- Richard Sherman: Sherman picked the Eagles, Vikings, Ravens and Bills in their wild-card games, named Lamar Jackson MVP, Patrick Surtain DPOY, Kevin O'Connell Coach of the Year, put Jared Verse in the top three of Defensive Rookie of the Year voting, and gave a Week 18 power ranking with Kansas City first. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2d7cf80e-1b0e-4129-92f3-225d97061cbe (scored 100)
- Chris Brockman: Brockman argued that Kyle Shanahan deserves Coach of the Year after the 49ers' road win in Philadelphia, a take Rich Eisen partly called an overreaction since it's a regular-season award. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/4da2fac2-7a9e-4cf2-a606-9dc6c7fd548d (scored 0)
- Pat Gustavson: Gustafson picked the Bears, Eagles, Rams, Patriots, Jaguars and Texans in the wild card round, the Rams and Bears in the NFC, the Broncos and Patriots in the AFC, and the Patriots to beat the Bears in the Super Bowl. Their awards slate included Stafford for MVP, Puka for OPOY and Liam Cohen for Coach of the Year. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/671b9c4f-1f25-4f11-ad26-16a1126ea3b8 (scored 0)
- Brandon Carney: Carney made a full playoff bracket, picking the Bears, Niners, Rams, Patriots, Jaguars and Texans in the wild card round, then Seahawks and Rams in the NFC divisional, Broncos and Patriots in the AFC, with the Rams beating the Patriots in the Super Bowl. They also gave award picks including Stafford for MVP and Vrabel for Coach of the Year. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/88101820-7344-4240-93f1-caa15fe95de9 (scored 100)
- Chris Brockman: Chris Brockman said Baker Mayfield will finish no lower than third in MVP voting, named Kyle Shanahan the coach of the year front-runner, and predicted both the Giants and Jets will pick in the top five of next year's draft. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/cdde2d01-017b-4967-b1e9-ecfac647e306 (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
