# John Middlekauff: Middlekauff previews the NFL opener, picking Seattle to beat New England at home while expecting the Patriots to land in the 9-10 win range and miss the playoffs, taking Pittsburgh as their third AFC playoff team over Baltimore and New England, standing by Seattle as a Super Bowl participant, ranking the three head coaches involved, and describing Pittsburgh's receivers as a collection of No. 2s. **Claimed:** Sep 9, 2026 **Pundit:** John Middlekauff — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/john-middlekauff **Outlet:** 3 and Out with John Middlekauff (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/3-and-out-with-john-middlekauff-podcast **How it reached us:** said on air or in an interview **Original:** https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/44c6e42b-f663-4492-888d-ae330034680f/f7389291-fcbf-4926-8f79-b4c0009e0c24/audio.mp3?in_playlist=bf391792-153e-41b3-9d3d-ae3300346ad8 7 claims — 2 depth chart calls, 1 conference champion, 1 game outcome pick, 1 head coach ranking, 1 playoff pick and 1 season win total — the 6 we can check each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call. It names 5 players and teams, each linked to their own record. 1 of the 6 calls we can check have settled so far, averaging 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess at the same calls. The other one was too vague to check, so it is not graded. Of the 2 unsettled calls enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands above the room on 1 and below it on 1. > I expect Seattle to win *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Seattle Seahawks to beat New England** - Kind: Game Outcome Picks · About: Seattle Seahawks - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess - Line: Closing line (Sep 9, 2026): Seahawks by 3 · favorite pick, Seahawks 60%. Source: nflverse; context only, never part of the grade. - **Pittsburgh Steelers to make the playoffs** - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Pittsburgh Steelers - Verdict: not settled yet - “I'm not picking them to make the playoffs, not because I don't think they're going to be a good team. I expect them to be in that 9-10 win range with a bunch of other teams.” - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: New England Patriots - Verdict: too vague to check - “So I would rank those McCarthy, Vrabel, and then Minter's just an unknown with a major unknown at play caller.” - Kind: Head Coach Rankings - Verdict: not settled yet - **Seattle Seahawks to reach the Super Bowl** - Kind: Conference Champions · About: Seattle Seahawks - Verdict: not settled yet - **DK Metcalf to be 2nd on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: DK Metcalf, Pittsburgh Steelers - Verdict: not settled yet - **Michael Pittman to be 2nd on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Michael Pittman, Pittsburgh Steelers - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Seattle Seahawks — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/seahawks - Pittsburgh Steelers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/steelers - New England Patriots — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/patriots - DK Metcalf — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/dk-metcalf - Michael Pittman — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/michael-pittman ## What others said about the same people - Jeremy Brener on Drew Lock: Brener picked the Seahawks to beat the Cardinals in Week 9 by a multi-score margin, giving a final score of 27-13, and expressed confidence Seattle would be fine with Drew Lock starting at quarterback. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/7eb2d245-63d0-4be0-80ba-3f60197e2b16 (scored 100) - Bryan DeArdo on Joey Porter Jr.: The piece predicts Joey Porter Jr. most likely stays with the Steelers through 2026, while listing possible trade destinations if they were moved. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a6edcb85-bcff-47cb-ba7d-e09dc7549fe1 (scored 0) - Albert Breer on Seattle Seahawks: Breer picks the Seahawks to beat the Cardinals in their Week 9 NFC West matchup. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/4d67a8a5-0c05-4abe-b2ca-f0cef8390b1d (scored 100) - Tyler Sullivan on Seattle Seahawks: Sullivan picks the Seahawks to win in Week 9. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/dfca04b3-5c80-4a2e-b0de-8ac3a25f225b (scored 100) - Dave Richard on Seattle Seahawks: Richard picks the Seahawks over the Cardinals. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/d3db433e-52c6-42d1-a3b0-6b342aac8a9e (scored 100) - John Pluym on Seattle Seahawks: Pluym picks the Seahawks over the Cardinals. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/e3897747-c55f-4340-9e82-03f9730f87ba (scored 100) ## More depth chart calls The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Michael Moore on Shedeur Sanders: In a Week 9 injury roundup, Moore forecast which banged-up fantasy contributors would play or sit: Deshaun Watson, Garrett Wilson, David Montgomery, Mike Evans, Deebo Samuel, TreVeyon Henderson and Terrance Ferguson are expected out, while Travis Kelce, Saquon Barkley, Michael Wilson, Christian Watson and Emeka Egbuka should play. They also expect Shedeur Sanders and Drew Lock to start at quarterback. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/e26319a3-10aa-49a6-a24d-a257521363f0 (scored 100) - Zachary Pereles on Shedeur Sanders: Pereles writes that if Deshaun Watson can't clear concussion protocol in time, the Browns would likely turn to second-year quarterback Shedeur Sanders to start Week 9 against the Saints. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/6dad75dd-1818-4a6a-91ea-832f491c2530 (scored 100) - Nic Bodiford on Joe Fagnano: Previewing Week 9 running game matchups, Bodiford expects Jacksonville to win lopsidedly over a depleted Baltimore team, with Bhayshul Tuten sitting out and Chris Rodriguez taking over as lead back, while Joe Fagnano starts at quarterback for the Ravens. They also view Broncos rookie Jonah Coleman as an RB2 going forward. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a13b9f29-bb76-4c56-b226-aca74b21f5b7 (scored 100) - Garrett Podell on Carson Beck: Podell argues the Cardinals have maxed out with Jacoby Brissett and that rookie Carson Beck should be ramped up to replace them as starter, targeting Week 8 at Dallas for Beck's regular-season debut. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2f499498-ebbe-41f8-8ea3-41fe96f79432 (scored 0) - Jacob Herlin on J.J. McCarthy: Herlin published Week 7 fantasy D/ST rankings with projections for 28 team defenses, led by Houston, Minnesota and Cleveland. They also expect Cleveland to post a fourth straight top-10 fantasy defense result, and predicts Jalon Daniels starts another week for Tampa Bay while J.J. McCarthy takes over as the Giants' starter. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/cf4a2992-3760-464e-b540-6182ebc4457f (scored 100) - Donnie Druin on Jacoby Brissett: Following the Cardinals' decision not to make staff or lineup changes, Druin states that Jacoby Brissett will remain Arizona's starting quarterback for another week, with rookie Carson Beck staying behind them. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/cb29b9b6-2fbf-4df8-8438-ac3f0b9b9566 (scored 100) --- 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=john-middlekauff