# Simon Hunter: Simon Hunter breaks down the NFC East: he thinks Dallas is the value play to win the division and could reach a one seed, expects the Cowboys' floor is seven wins with ten or eleven possible, likes Caleb Downs as a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, ranks the Giants fourth in the division and Washington third, and thinks the Eagles' defense is the division's best unit. **Claimed:** Aug 20, 2026 **Pundit:** Simon Hunter — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/simon-hunter **Outlet:** The Herd with Colin Cowherd (podcast) — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/the-herd-with-colin-cowherd-podcast **How it reached us:** said on air or in an interview **Original:** https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/291fe8ed-f80d-4107-9ee1-b34c015266d0/39fdca75-b757-45d2-a02c-b4aa013f54dc/audio.mp3?in_playlist=bf391792-153e-41b3-9d3d-ae3300346ad8 8 checkable claims — 2 season win totals, 1 award pick, 1 depth chart call, 1 division winner, 1 position group ranking, 1 power ranking and 1 seeding, byes and home field — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet. It names 4 players and teams, each linked to their own record. None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in. Of the 3 unsettled calls enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands above the room on 1 and below it on 2. > I don't see the Cowboys floor being lower than seven wins. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Washington Commanders to finish with 9 wins** - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: Washington Commanders - Verdict: not settled yet - **Dallas Cowboys to finish with 10 wins** - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: Dallas Cowboys - Verdict: not settled yet - **Dallas Cowboys to win the division** - Kind: Division Winners · About: Dallas Cowboys - Verdict: not settled yet - **Dallas Cowboys to take the top seed** - Kind: Seeding, Byes and Home Field · About: Dallas Cowboys - Verdict: not settled yet - **Stefon Diggs to be 2nd on the depth chart** - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Stefon Diggs, Washington Commanders - Verdict: not settled yet - **So I actually have them still fourth in this division... they're fourth on the script here, but you think they're third in the division.** - Kind: Power Rankings - Verdict: not settled yet - **Caleb Downs to win Defensive Player of the Year** - Kind: Award Picks · About: Caleb Downs, Dallas Cowboys - Verdict: not settled yet - **the best unit in this entire division is the Eagles defense, and it's not close** - Kind: Position Group Rankings - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Washington Commanders — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/commanders - Dallas Cowboys — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/cowboys - Stefon Diggs — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/stefon-diggs - Caleb Downs — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/caleb-downs ## What others said about the same people - Nate Tice on Dallas Cowboys: Tice 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. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b6211c80-3d1c-46b8-8a0c-151fc0ba92de (scored 100) - Geoff Schwartz on Dallas Cowboys: Filling in on the chips segment, Schwartz took Jacksonville to beat New England, the Bengals to beat the Steelers, and the Cowboys to beat the Ravens on the Brazil field. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/16a6038d-e679-4e3f-98bf-f0371ec25a14 (scored 0) - Michael Irvin on Dallas Cowboys: Irvin went game-by-game through the Cowboys' 2026 schedule and predicted a 13-4 finish, with losses to Houston, Philadelphia (Week 7), Seattle and the Giants in Week 17, and a season sweep of Washington. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/321d5125-d077-43d6-b09a-5ea5886eec68 (scored 0) - Jeff Cavanaugh on Dallas Cowboys: Jeff went game-by-game through the Cowboys schedule, initially arriving at 13-4 before flipping a game to settle on a 12-5 final record prediction, with Dallas beating the Giants, Commanders, Ravens, Buccaneers, Packers, Cardinals, Colts, 49ers, Titans, Eagles (home), plus wins to close, and losing to the Texans, Eagles (road), Seahawks and Rams. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/d04cb132-e9f4-4e11-bb0b-cf0982762ad9 (scored 0) - Clarence Hill on Dallas Cowboys: Clarence predicted an 11-6 Cowboys season, picking wins over the Giants, Commanders, Ravens, Packers, Cardinals, Colts and Titans while giving losses to Houston, Tampa Bay, both Eagles games, the 49ers, Seahawks and Rams. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/012c1829-1611-4a5a-b27b-f592577a3e65 (scored 0) - Michael Irvin on Dallas Cowboys: Playing the game-by-game "win loss" exercise, Irvin picked the Cowboys to finish 13-4, with losses only at Houston, at Philadelphia, at Seattle and at home to the Giants in Week 17. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/8c7e90c6-e16b-4ee6-8da6-e4dd4b9adb5d (scored 0) ## More season win totals The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Richard Sherman on Green Bay Packers: Sherman previewed every division: he picked Seattle to win the NFC West on a tiebreaker over San Francisco (both 11-11 wins), the Lions over the Packers in the North, the Eagles to run away with the East, Tampa Bay in the South, and Kansas City, Buffalo and the Ravens' division rivals in the AFC. He picked an Eagles–Chiefs Super Bowl with Philadelphia repeating, Joe Burrow for MVP, and gave a top-five power ranking. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/ec43b02b-8e3a-4b2e-8c36-1839c9c52e3c (scored 40) - Nick Wright on New England Patriots: Nick Wright walked through the Browns' quarterback situation and then gave leans and bets on every AFC team's win total, offering concrete win-count expectations for several clubs plus a call on Brock Bowers. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/1e745abb-ae8f-4f8c-893e-bfb5d53589b1 (scored 20) - John Middlekauff on San Francisco 49ers: Middlekauff says Denver's floor is ten wins, predicts Miami implodes to four or five wins and a top-three-or-four draft slot with Tyreek Hill traded, thinks the 49ers beat expectations with nine or ten wins, sees the Patriots at eight or nine wins, calls the Chargers over 9.5 a lock, expects Jared Goff to make five or six Pro Bowls, and says the Packers are flying under the radar. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/af06c2e6-9beb-4a7e-b444-620680dbccd1 (scored 60) - Colin Cowherd on New England Patriots: Cowherd takes the Titans over their five-and-a-half win total on the strength of Cam Ward and Brian Callahan, calls New England an eight-to-nine win team, picks Green Bay to win the NFC North, expects the Giants to lose all four games to Washington and Philadelphia, and sketches a quarterback ranking with C.J. Stroud around 10th and Baker Mayfield 11th. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/e32a708a-5651-4292-b71b-672f2216a48e (scored 0) - Nick Wright on Denver Broncos: Nick Wright gave his early AFC win-total leans: overs on the Jets, Ravens, Jaguars, Chiefs and Raiders, plus projected win ranges for the Dolphins, Texans, Chargers and Broncos, and predicted the Raiders take Ashton Jeanty at No. 6. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/cc9d1905-c3e9-4d7f-8dbb-0f840dbb7535 (scored 20) - Richard Sherman on Detroit Lions: Sherman picks the Chiefs to beat the Bills in the AFC Championship Game despite Buffalo's turnover dominance, and picks the Commanders to upset the Eagles in Philadelphia in the NFC Championship Game. He also expects Saquon Barkley to win Offensive Player of the Year, though he hedges that voters may give it to Lamar or Josh Allen. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/fd0cf59d-3729-4865-8641-02792d0b6b24 (scored 100) --- Accuracy is 0-100 against what actually happened. 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