# Rich Eisen: Eisen says he'll again pick both the Bears and the Jaguars to win their divisions, and lays out a top-five sleeper-team list (teams that missed the playoffs but will make them): 5) Browns, 4) Saints, 3) Titans, 2) Giants, 1) Bengals, with Cincinnati winning the AFC North and potentially the AFC and Super Bowl. He also adds the Vikings with JJ McCarthy as a sleeper that reaches the playoffs. **Claimed:** Jul 31, 2026 **Pundit:** Rich Eisen — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/rich-eisen **Outlet:** The Rich Eisen Show (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/the-rich-eisen-show-podcast **How it reached us:** said on air, transcribed by us **Original:** https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.megaphone.fm/ESP1113531882.mp3 16 checkable claims — 6 surprise team calls, 5 playoff picks, 3 division winners, 1 conference champion and 1 super bowl pick — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet. It names 8 players and teams, each linked to their own record. None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in. > By the way, I'm gonna pick both those teams to win their divisions again. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **New York Giants to beat expectations** - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: New York Giants - Verdict: not settled yet - **Tennessee Titans to beat expectations** - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: Tennessee Titans - Verdict: not settled yet - **Cincinnati Bengals to beat expectations** - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: Cincinnati Bengals - Verdict: not settled yet - **Minnesota Vikings to beat expectations** - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: Minnesota Vikings - Verdict: not settled yet - **Chicago Bears to win the division** - Kind: Division Winners · About: Chicago Bears - Verdict: not settled yet - **Cincinnati Bengals to reach the Super Bowl** - Kind: Conference Champions · About: Cincinnati Bengals - Verdict: not settled yet - **Jacksonville Jaguars to win the division** - Kind: Division Winners · About: Jacksonville Jaguars - Verdict: not settled yet - **New York Giants to make the playoffs** - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: New York Giants - Verdict: not settled yet - **New Orleans Saints to make the playoffs** - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: New Orleans Saints - Verdict: not settled yet - **Minnesota Vikings to make the playoffs** - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Minnesota Vikings - Verdict: not settled yet - **Cincinnati Bengals to win the Super Bowl** - Kind: Super Bowl Picks · About: Cincinnati Bengals - Verdict: not settled yet - **Cincinnati Bengals to win the division** - Kind: Division Winners · About: Cincinnati Bengals - Verdict: not settled yet - **Cleveland Browns to beat expectations** - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: Cleveland Browns - Verdict: not settled yet - **New Orleans Saints to beat expectations** - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: New Orleans Saints - Verdict: not settled yet - **Tennessee Titans to make the playoffs** - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Tennessee Titans - Verdict: not settled yet - **Cleveland Browns to make the playoffs** - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Cleveland Browns - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - New York Giants — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/giants - Tennessee Titans — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/titans - Cincinnati Bengals — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bengals - Minnesota Vikings — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/vikings - Chicago Bears — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/bears - Jacksonville Jaguars — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/jaguars - New Orleans Saints — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/saints - Cleveland Browns — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/browns ## What others said about the same people - Chris Simms on New Orleans Saints: 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 47.62) - Connor Rogers on New York Giants: 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 Cincinnati Bengals: 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) - Nate Tice on Jacksonville Jaguars: 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) - Steven Ruiz on Jacksonville Jaguars: 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 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 surprise team calls The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Steven Ruiz on Houston Texans: Ruiz 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/84c05549-aa98-4b8f-bd94-27488a1c96c5 (not settled) - Ben Arthur on Houston Texans: Arthur 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/8131936c-517d-4816-b2be-3e5d5963c6e5 (not settled) - Eric Williams on Los Angeles Chargers: Williams 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/57fe59dc-bfbb-44cb-8e4c-191db478fce2 (not settled) - Greg Auman on Houston Texans: Auman 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2750172c-b4c1-453e-be5a-b9fae156aa5b (not settled) - Henry McKenna on Houston Texans: McKenna 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/7c64a8d3-6136-424d-96b2-bab3dc7d0345 (not settled) - Ralph Vacchiano on Indianapolis Colts: Vacchiano 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b89c2f84-25e6-4916-b297-fcb0e14c9ba7 (not settled) --- 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: https://missedtakes.co/corrections?pundit=rich-eisen