# Cynthia Frelund: They picked Tampa Bay to beat Washington by at least three, Houston to upset the Chargers at home, and Philadelphia to beat Green Bay, while reaffirming their preseason Chiefs-Eagles Super Bowl matchup.

**Claimed:** Jan 10, 2025
**Pundit:** Cynthia Frelund — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/cynthia-frelund
**Outlet:** Around the NFL (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/around-the-nfl-podcast
**How it reached us:** said on air or in an interview
**Original:** https://omny.fm/shows/nfl-daily/nfl-wild-card-picks-with-cynthia-frelund

4 checkable claims — 2 conference champions and 2 game outcome picks — 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 75 out of 100, against 75 for a naive guess at the same calls.

> I think that one Tampa by at least three points.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Tampa Bay Buccaneers to beat Commander's**
  - Kind: Game Outcome Picks · About: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
  - Line: Closing line (Jan 12, 2025): Buccaneers by 3 · favorite pick, Buccaneers 59%. Graded on who won, not on the spread. Source: nflverse; context only, never part of the grade.
- **Kansas City Chiefs to reach the Super Bowl**
  - Kind: Conference Champions · About: Kansas City Chiefs
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess
- **Philadelphia Eagles to reach the Super Bowl**
  - Kind: Conference Champions · About: Philadelphia Eagles
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess
- **Houston Texans to beat Chargers**
  - Kind: Game Outcome Picks · About: Houston Texans
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess
  - Line: Closing line (Jan 11, 2025): Chargers by 3 · underdog pick, Texans 41%. Source: nflverse; context only, never part of the grade.

## Who this take is about

- Tampa Bay Buccaneers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/buccaneers
- Kansas City Chiefs — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/chiefs
- Philadelphia Eagles — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/eagles
- Houston Texans — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/texans

## What others said about the same people

- Chris Clark on Nikko Remigio: Clark expects the Chiefs to bring back exclusive-rights receiver Nico (Remigio) and long snapper James Winchester, to re-sign JuJu Smith-Schuster as a cheap veteran fifth receiver, and not to bring back Hollywood Brown, Josh Dobbs-type depth, Gardner Minshew, Janarius Robinson or Mike Caliendo; they also say the Chiefs will not use a franchise tag and believes Bryan Cook won't return. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/99521265-d5c0-4db1-b2a0-fe77908ea0b3 (scored 0)
- Gilberto Manzano on Josh Downs: Previewing the trade deadline, he expects Justin Herbert to stay in Los Angeles despite the Chargers' 0–7 start, thinks the Jets will keep Garrett Wilson and pair him with their young weapons, expects a receiver-hungry Kansas City to be aggressive with Josh Downs the likeliest target, and suggests expiring Eagles contracts Moro Ojomo and Riq Woolen could be dealt for mid-round picks. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/67d5af78-94ea-4ee2-a277-5e68347022de (scored 100)
- Joshua Poniatowski on Josh Downs: Poniatowski names several trade targets, predicting Malik Willis underperforms this week against New England, that Omarion Hampton could become a viable RB2 if Adam Gase takes over play-calling, that Josh Downs gets traded (ideally to Kansas City, where they'd be a top-24 WR), that Brian Thomas Jr. could be dealt to the Rams or 49ers, and that Travis Kelce remains a consistent weekly TE. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/d1752582-a799-48b9-984b-39bf7cb8b709 (scored 100)
- Andrew Erickson on Josh Downs: Erickson floated Kansas City as the landing spot for Josh Downs and said a trade there would make them at least a WR3 rest of season; they also expect Rashee Rice to leave the Chiefs after this season as a free agent. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/e97e28f2-31fc-4702-915c-63c38477e97d (scored 100)
- Jordan Dajani on Josh Downs: After reporting that Colts receiver Josh Downs requested a trade, they identify five clubs as plausible landing spots for them: the Rams, Patriots, Falcons, Chiefs and Raiders, and suggests Las Vegas could also give them a long-term extension. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/f5af1657-8608-4071-a63e-0e7d6124e627 (scored 100)
- Mike Kadlick on Josh Downs: Kadlick names the Chiefs, Patriots and 49ers as the three best trade landing spots for Colts wide receiver Josh Downs ahead of the Nov. 10 deadline. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/45c94482-ef71-413f-834b-2a246271691d (scored 100)

## More conference champions

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

- Chris Brockman on Seattle Seahawks: Brockman argues the Seahawks are at the start of a dynasty, predicting they will win multiple Super Bowls over the next five years, and that they are set up to return to the Super Bowl the following season in Los Angeles. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/7755a3be-efa7-417e-aefe-47d37d5fb067 (scored 100)
- Damonza Byrd on Seattle Seahawks: The co-host picks the Seahawks to beat the Rams in the NFC Championship game, and says they believe New England will win in Denver even though they are taking the Broncos with the points. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c59694cc-b2ff-401f-ae64-3313b822cd5a (scored 100)
- Nick Wright on New England Patriots: The host picks the Rams to beat the Seahawks in the NFC Championship game and believes the winner of that game wins the Super Bowl, i.e. that this is the Rams' year; they also pick New England to win in Denver despite taking the Broncos with the points, and says Stafford is winning MVP. They call Sean McVay the second-best coach in the NFL. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/5d16f975-ba4e-46f4-8717-8962b81c5bdf (scored 100)
- Nick Wright on Denver Broncos: Wright picked the Broncos to beat the Patriots in a low-scoring AFC Championship game (17-16), said Sean Payton would coach Denver to the Super Bowl, picked the Rams to win outright in Seattle 31-20, believes the winner of the NFC game wins the Super Bowl with the Rams the better team, and expects Matt Stafford to be named league MVP. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/afd8c9a0-6068-4bfc-8dac-3bcc196f1231 (scored 50)
- AJ Hawk on Los Angeles Rams: Hawk picked the Patriots to win in Denver despite liking Stidham and the Broncos defense, and in the NFC they stuck with the Rams, saying Stafford gets to the Super Bowl. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/70ca2972-53a1-4559-bd03-94c5fede2f4e (scored 50)
- Derek Murphy on Seattle Seahawks: Bone said after watching film that Seattle will handle the Rams in the NFC Championship Game, and that the Seahawks are going to the Super Bowl. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a5f623b2-e1e6-4687-b345-df2d9f35641f (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

We summarize what a pundit said and quote a short span for attribution; we never republish their article. If this is wrong, tell us:
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