Jared Dubin#60 of 87 NFL pundits · Sep 21, 2026
Dubin picks the Rams to beat the Giants on Monday Night Football, sticking with preseason expectations over Week 1 overreaction. They give two conditional scores depending on whether Puka Nacua plays: a comfortable 27-17 win if Nacua suits up, and a narrow 17-16 win if they sit.
Published in writing · CBS SportsRead the original
What Jared Dubin said
our reading, beside the words we read it fromBut I'm going to lean on the preseason priors for a little while longer and take L.A. to win.
- Where it was published
- CBS Sports
- The piece
- Rams vs. Giants preview: Aaron Donald makes return for Los Angeles on 'MNF'
- The original
- Read the original
- Read it wrong?
- Tell us and we will look
- SaidSep 21
- PlayedSep 21
- GradedSep 22
- 1Los Angeles Rams 17 — Giants 16“Pick (if Nacua sits): Rams 17, Giants 16”
- 2Los Angeles Rams 27 — Giants 17“Pick (if Nacua plays): Rams 27, Giants 17.”
- 3Los Angeles Rams to beat Giants“But I'm going to lean on the preseason priors for a little while longer and take L.A. to win.”
Box score
HitCloseMissWaiting| Verdict | Call | Kind | What happened | Score | Naive | Skill |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Rams 17 — Giants 161 | Score Predictions | Rams 28–6 | 50 | 50 | 0 | |
| Los Angeles Rams 27 — Giants 172 | Score Predictions | Rams 28–6 | 71.43 | 50 | +41.57 | |
| Los Angeles Rams to beat Giants3 | Game Outcome Picks | Rams 28–6 | 100 | 100 | 0 | |
| 3 calls · 1 hit · 2 close calls · all settled | 73.8 | 66.7 | ||||
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.
How each call scored
a naive guessbetter than naive3 checkable claims — 2 score predictions and 1 game outcome pick — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call.
All 3 have settled, averaging 73.8 out of 100, against 66.7 for a naive guess at the same calls.
Each 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 calls; the gap, weighted by how hard the call was, is the skill.
1Score PredictionsLos Angeles Rams
Los Angeles Rams 17 — Giants 16
What happenedRams 28–6called Rams by 1 · won by 2250Close · naive 5050this call−50a naive guess=0better than naive×1.94difficulty=0skillClosing line (Sep 21): Rams by 6.5, total 47.5 · this 17–16 calls a closer game (Rams by 1) and fewer points (33).
Think this is wrong?How this was scored
- score:
- 6-28
- skill:
- 0
- they picked:
- LAR
- season:
- 2026
- accuracy:
- 50
- baseline:
- 50
- difficulty:
- 1.94
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- actual margin:
- 22
- weeks left when called:
- 17
- naive home margin:
- 0.19
- predicted margin:
- 1
2Score PredictionsLos Angeles Rams
Los Angeles Rams 27 — Giants 17
What happenedRams 28–6called Rams by 10 · won by 2271.43Close · naive 5071.43this call−50a naive guess=21.43better than naive×1.94difficulty=+41.57skillClosing line (Sep 21): Rams by 6.5, total 47.5 · this 27–17 calls a bigger Rams win (by 10) and fewer points (44).
Think this is wrong?How this was scored
- score:
- 6-28
- skill:
- 41.57
- they picked:
- LAR
- season:
- 2026
- accuracy:
- 71.43
- baseline:
- 50
- difficulty:
- 1.94
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- actual margin:
- 22
- weeks left when called:
- 17
- naive home margin:
- 0.19
- predicted margin:
- 10
3Game Outcome PicksLos Angeles Rams
Los Angeles Rams to beat Giants
What happenedRams 28–6Giants at Rams100Hit · naive 100100this call−100a naive guess=0better than naive×1.94difficulty=0skillClosing line (Sep 21): Rams by 6.5 · favorite pick, Rams 72%.
Think this is wrong?How this was scored
- won:
- LAR
- score:
- 6-28
- skill:
- 0
- they picked:
- LAR
- season:
- 2026
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 100
- the naive pick:
- LAR
- difficulty:
- 1.94
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 17
- All
The take as a whole
the average of 3 settled calls, each counted once
73.8naive 66.7
The game in this take
every pundit’s pick on eachWho this take is about
Others on the same people
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Rogers picked straight-up winners in every Week 9 game, agreeing with Simms on all of them, and gave a 24-20 Bills score over the Vikings on Monday night.
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.Pete Prisco · Score Predictions · New York Giants · Miss 36
Prisco picked the Giants to beat the Commanders at home in the Thursday night Week 10 game, 23-14, citing New York's dominant front seven containing Jayden Daniels.Jordan Dajani · Score Predictions · Washington Commanders · Hit 95
Dajani picked seven Week 10 games with final scores, including a Commanders upset of the Giants, Lions over the Patriots in Munich, Chiefs over the Falcons, Packers edging the Vikings, 49ers over the Cowboys, Bengals over the Steelers and Ravens over the Chargers. They also suggested Joe Burrow could win MVP this season.