# Manti Te'o: Manti picked his 14 playoff teams: AFC division winners Bills, Ravens, Texans and Broncos with wild cards Chiefs, Chargers and Steelers (seventh seed); NFC division winners Eagles, Buccaneers, Rams and Vikings with wild cards Commanders, Lions and 49ers (seventh seed).

**Claimed:** Sep 2, 2025
**Pundit:** Manti Te'o — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/manti-te-o
**Outlet:** Move the Sticks (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/move-the-sticks-podcast
**How it reached us:** said on air or in an interview
**Original:** https://omny.fm/shows/nfl-good-morning-football/gmfb-tuesday-hour-1-afc-quarterbacks-playoff-predictions

14 checkable claims — 8 division winners and 6 playoff picks — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.

It names 14 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

All 14 have settled, averaging 35.7 out of 100, against 21.4 for a naive guess at the same calls.

> Bo Nix will lead the Denver Broncos and that nasty defense to the AFC West Championship the first time in ten years.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Philadelphia Eagles to win the division**
  - Kind: Division Winners · About: Philadelphia Eagles
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess
- **Minnesota Vikings to win the division**
  - Kind: Division Winners · About: Minnesota Vikings
  - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **Buffalo Bills to win the division**
  - Kind: Division Winners · About: Buffalo Bills
  - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **Houston Texans to win the division**
  - Kind: Division Winners · About: Houston Texans
  - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **Baltimore Ravens to win the division**
  - Kind: Division Winners · About: Baltimore Ravens
  - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **Denver Broncos to win the division**
  - Kind: Division Winners · About: Denver Broncos
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **Los Angeles Rams to win the division**
  - Kind: Division Winners · About: Los Angeles Rams
  - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **Tampa Bay Buccaneers to win the division**
  - Kind: Division Winners · About: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **Los Angeles Chargers to make the playoffs**
  - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Los Angeles Chargers
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess
- **Washington Commanders to make the playoffs**
  - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Washington Commanders
  - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **Detroit Lions to make the playoffs**
  - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Detroit Lions
  - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **San Francisco 49ers to make the playoffs**
  - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: San Francisco 49ers
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **Pittsburgh Steelers to make the playoffs**
  - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Pittsburgh Steelers
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess
- **Kansas City Chiefs to make the playoffs**
  - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Kansas City Chiefs
  - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess

## Who this take is about

- Philadelphia Eagles — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/eagles
- Minnesota Vikings — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/vikings
- Buffalo Bills — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bills
- Houston Texans — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/texans
- Baltimore Ravens — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/ravens
- Denver Broncos — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/broncos
- Los Angeles Rams — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/rams
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/buccaneers
- Los Angeles Chargers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/chargers
- Washington Commanders — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/commanders
- Detroit Lions — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/lions
- San Francisco 49ers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/49ers
- Pittsburgh Steelers — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/steelers
- Kansas City Chiefs — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/chiefs

## What others said about the same people

- Chris Simms on Kansas City Chiefs: Simms went through the entire Week 3 slate with straight-up winners and predicted final scores, taking Jacksonville, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Detroit, Houston, Carolina, Kansas City, Seattle, the Giants, Baltimore, New Orleans, Minnesota, San Francisco, Denver and Philadelphia. He also expected Zay Flowers and Puka Nacua to sit, Kyler Murray to play, and said Marvin Harrison Jr. projects as no better than a good No. 2 or high-end No. 3 receiver. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/662b7ba3-1bf6-4ad0-9f93-9f2ab83143fd (scored 100)
- Connor Rogers on Detroit Lions: Rogers picked Detroit, Houston, Carolina, Kansas City, Seattle and the Giants to win their Week 3 games, saying the Chiefs win by two touchdowns and the Giants by a field goal. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/83d1e88b-95a0-45ba-83d3-f86297170c6c (scored 100)
- Chris Long on Los Angeles Rams: Long liked the Rams over the Broncos on Sunday night even without Puka Nacua, and expected the Bills to beat the winless Chargers in Buffalo. He also backed the Bengals over the Steelers, expected an angry Detroit team to handle the Jets, and still thought both the Lions and Vikings could win the NFC North. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/3df9ea25-e57f-4fd7-b20c-c910a1c3633a (scored 0)
- Steven Ruiz on Houston Texans: Previewing Week 3, Ruiz picked the Ravens to beat the Cowboys in Brazil, Jacksonville over New England in a low-scoring game, an upset by the Broncos over the Rams, the Raiders over the Saints, the Eagles over the Bears, the Lions over the Jets, and his Hail Mary that Houston beats Indianapolis by two touchdowns. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/a30ff469-4972-4c48-855b-ba984e4de9d0 (scored 0)
- Nate Tice on Baltimore Ravens: Tice matched his guest on every Week 3 game, picking the Ravens over the Cowboys, the Jaguars over the Patriots in a close game, the Broncos to upset the Rams, the Raiders over the Saints, the Eagles over the Bears and the Lions over the Jets. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b8378e16-ea5c-4107-a883-28aaf0e71134 (scored 100)
- Sam Monson on Minnesota Vikings: Monson picked the Chargers to beat the Bills outright (jokingly crediting Buffalo's gray 'Nickel City' jerseys), took the Vikings to win outright in Tampa, and said Seattle would destroy Washington. He also reiterated his Super Bowl pick of Denver over the Rams, called the Dolphins destined for the No. 1 overall pick, and said the Saints are a worst-to-first candidate in the NFC South. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/0b810ffd-fd93-4ea2-a208-b1353dea5fb0 (scored 100)

## More division winners

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

- Daniel DiBerardinis on Atlanta Falcons: Danny D predicts Sonny Styles goes in the top ten (maybe top five), doesn't think Ty Simpson goes before late first round, says Kenyon Sadiq lands with the Rams at 13, and picks the Falcons to win the NFC South while naming the Bengals an AFC bounce-back team. He also gives a Final Four of Michigan, Florida, Purdue and Arizona with Michigan winning. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/8a8e0b7c-9f1c-4c13-8138-1332d73b9b02 (scored 0)
- Colin Cowherd on New York Giants: Cowherd projects the NFC East with the Giants winning the division ahead of Philadelphia, Washington and Dallas, pegging the Cowboys as a six- or seven-win team. He also expects Malik Willis to land a big free-agent deal, Kayvon Thibodeaux to be moved, and Baltimore to lose Isaiah Likely, and he floats the Rams reaching on Ty Simpson late in round one. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/cd243624-9451-4824-a8a4-7b468d681c8f (scored 0)
- Rich Eisen on Jacksonville Jaguars: Eisen forecast the Week 18 results and the entire wild-card field: Buccaneers over Panthers but Carolina still gets in as the 5 seed when Atlanta beats New Orleans, 49ers over Seahawks, Ravens over Steelers, Jaguars beating Tennessee to win the AFC South, and six wild-card matchups (Seahawks-Panthers, Bills-Jaguars, Texans-Ravens, Packers-Bears, Chargers-Patriots, Rams-Eagles), with Houston upsetting Baltimore. He also tabbed Saints rookie Tyler Shough as a possible Offensive Rookie of the Year. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/34345186-876a-4c4b-9567-9c289a6cbace (scored 100)
- Rich Eisen on Jacksonville Jaguars: Eisen called the 49ers-as-NFC-favorites take an overreaction, picked the Jaguars to beat the Titans and win their division, leaned Ravens over the Steelers in the Week 18 Sunday night game, expects the Bills to beat the Jets even without Josh Allen, sees the Chargers as the AFC's seventh seed, agreed Tyler Shough could win Offensive Rookie of the Year with a good Saints 2026, said Malik Willis will be a starter somewhere next season, and insisted Detroit goes into 2026 with Goff. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/15192136-24b9-4127-ac9d-69dc69aab3d5 (scored 100)
- Chris Brockman on Chicago Bears: Brockman called the Broncos-Packers game the best of the day, said Denver looks poised to lock up the AFC's No. 1 seed and reach the AFC Championship Game, predicted the Bears win the NFC North and the Eagles win their division (though he thinks they lose to a five seed from the NFC West), and said Philip Rivers will be in the NFL in 2026. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/e86c9e4d-7802-432a-a26c-4edefb3b6aee (scored 100)
- Rich Eisen on New England Patriots: Eisen said the Patriots are still likely to win the AFC East and won't be one-and-done, that the Chargers will end Dallas' season next week, that TreVeyon Henderson should out-snap Rhamondre Stevenson, that the NFC East race is over in Philadelphia's favor, and that the winner of the NFC West will be the NFC's No. 1 seed. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/ae722f6b-44e2-42bb-a847-4435f539db5b (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

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