Alain Poupart#33 of 87 NFL pundits · Sep 26, 2026
Previewing the Week 3 home opener, they predicted the Chiefs would comfortably beat the Dolphins, saying Miami's defense couldn't contain Kansas City and its offense wasn't ready for a shootout.
Published in writing · Sports IllustratedRead the original
What Alain Poupart said
Final Prediction: Chiefs 34, Dolphins 9
- Where it was published
- Sports Illustrated
- The piece
- Setting the Stage for the Dolphins-Chiefs Week 3 Matchup
- The original
- Read the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- SaidSep 26
- PlayedSep 27
- GradedSep 28
How the call scored
a naive guessbetter than naiveOne checkable claim, graded on its own against what actually happened.
The call scored 73.8 out of 100, against 17.8 for a naive guess at the same calls.
The call is scored 0 to 100 against what happened, on its own, by the published methodology. The naive guess is what knowing nothing would have scored on the same call; the gap, weighted by how hard the call was, is the skill.
Game calls show that game’s closing betting line under their grade: a dated fact from nflverse, for context and never part of a grade. MissedTakes takes no bets and earns nothing from any sportsbook.
Score PredictionsKansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs 34 — Dolphins 9
What happenedChiefs 24–10called Chiefs by 25 · won by 1473.81Close · naive 17.7873.81this call−17.78a naive guess=56.03better than naive×1.89difficulty=+105.89skillClosing line (Sep 27): Chiefs by 10, total 45.5 · this 34–9 calls a bigger Chiefs win (by 25) and fewer points (43).
Think this is wrong?How this was scored
- score:
- 24-10
- skill:
- 105.89
- they picked:
- KC
- season:
- 2026
- accuracy:
- 73.81
- baseline:
- 17.78
- difficulty:
- 1.89
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- actual margin:
- 14
- weeks left when called:
- 16
- naive home margin:
- 0.47
- predicted margin:
- 25
The game in this take
every pundit’s pick on eachWho this take is about
Others on the same people
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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.Gilberto Manzano · Trade and Signing Calls · Josh Downs · Hit 100
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.Joshua Poniatowski · Trade and Signing Calls · Josh Downs · Hit 100
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.Jordan Dajani · Trade and Signing Calls · Josh Downs · Hit 100
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.Mike Kadlick · Trade and Signing Calls · Josh Downs · Hit 100
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.
More score predictions
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
Jordan Dajani · Score Predictions · Washington Commanders · Hit 95
Dajani picks the Commanders to edge the Giants 21-20 on Thursday and the Chiefs to beat the Falcons 26-20 in Week 10.Tyler Sullivan · Score Predictions · Washington Commanders · Hit 100
Sullivan takes the Commanders 24-21 over the Giants on Thursday night and calls for a Steelers upset of the Bengals, 27-24, in Week 10.Pete Prisco · Score Predictions · New York Giants · Miss 36
Prisco picks the Giants to beat the Commanders 23-14 on Thursday night and the Lions to beat the Patriots 30-24 in Munich.John Breech · Score Predictions · Washington Commanders · Hit 90
Breech picks the Commanders to upset the Giants on Thursday night, 24-17, and takes the Texans to beat the Browns 24-16 in Week 10 behind a pass rush that should batter Deshaun Watson.Jared Dubin · Score Predictions · New York Giants · Close 43
Dubin picks the Giants to beat the Commanders 20-14 on Thursday night and takes the Packers over the Vikings 17-14 in a low-scoring Week 10 game.Jared Dubin · Score Predictions · New York Giants · Close 43
Dubin picks the Giants to beat the Commanders at home on Thursday night, projecting a 20-14 final score.