Lance Zierlein· Jul 7, 2026
Zierlein calls the Bears a surprise team for the coming NFL season, arguing ESPN's list underrates them, and predicts Spain will beat Belgium 1-0 in their World Cup quarterfinal.
“I think the Bears are gonna be a surprise team.”
said on air, transcribed by us · John and Lance — ESPN Houston (podcast) · read the original →
One checkable claim, graded on its own against what actually happened.
Nothing to score yet: this grades once the result is in.
Where do you stand? Pick this and every open claim on Picks →
Who this take is about
1 checkable claim 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.
- Surprise Team CallsChicago BearsJul 7, 2026
Chicago Bears to beat expectations
“I actually think the I think the Bears are gonna be a surprise team.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
What others said about the same people
- Nate TiceGame Outcome Picks · Chicago BearsMiss · 0Tice picked the Bengals over the Texans in a low-scoring game, the Jaguars at Denver, the Bears over the Vikings, the Patriots over the Steelers and the Rams to edge the Giants, and his Hail Mary was the Cowboys scoring 40 on Washington. He also floated Abdul Carter as a possible All-Pro.
- Matt HarmonGame Outcome Picks · Chicago BearsMiss · 0Harmon 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.
- Tracy SandlerGame Outcome Picks · Chicago BearsHit · 100Sandler predicted Caleb Williams would miss two to three weeks with his hamstring injury, and in the picks segment took the Broncos, Ravens, Vikings, Bills and Bears (switching off an earlier Tampa pick).
- Adam ChudwinGame Outcome Picks · Chicago BearsHit · 100In his annual game-by-game Bears prediction, Chudwin went through all 17 games and landed on a 12-5 season for Chicago.
- John BreechGame Outcome Picks · Chicago BearsHit · 100A CBS Sports piece predicts the week each NFL team will suffer its first loss, effectively picking winners in each of those games, and names the Ravens as the league's final undefeated team after a 7-0 start.
- Mike MoraitisRoster Spot Calls · Josh BlackwellHit · 100Moraitis names seven Bears as trade candidates before roster cuts, predicting Kiran Amegadjie and Jedrick Wills are on the roster bubble and likely to be traded, while Ozzy Trapilo avoids an injured list, and listing several players as locks for the 53-man roster.
More surprise team calls
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
- Steven RuizSurprise Team Calls · Houston TexansPendingRuiz expects the Texans to repeat last year's turnaround, saying their defense and schedule will let them pile up wins and stay in the playoff race all season.
- Henry McKennaSurprise Team Calls · Houston TexansPendingMcKenna picks the Texans as the 0-2 team most likely to recover, favoring them over the Buccaneers because he believes the AFC South is weaker than the NFC South.
- Greg AumanSurprise Team Calls · Houston TexansPendingAuman names the Texans as the 0-2 team best positioned to turn their season around and get back into the playoff race, citing their history of slow starts and an elite defense. He also references his preseason pick of the Chargers to win the Super Bowl.
- Ben ArthurSurprise Team Calls · Houston TexansPendingArthur also lands on the Texans, arguing their defense will return to elite form and a soft upcoming stretch will get Houston's season back on track.
- Eric WilliamsSurprise Team Calls · Los Angeles ChargersPendingWilliams picks the Chargers as the 0-2 team to rebound, comparing it to the 2017 team that started 0-4 and finished 9-7, and suggests they will rise up on the road against Buffalo rather than collapse.
- Ralph VacchianoSurprise Team Calls · Indianapolis ColtsPendingVacchiano picks the Colts over the Texans as the 0-2 team most likely to rebound, trusting their offense with Daniel Jones and Jonathan Taylor to keep them in the playoff race.