# Jared Koch: ESPN's polled writers place the Texans 17th, a five-spot climb from 22nd.

**Claimed:** Nov 12, 2026
**Pundit:** Jared Koch — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/jared-koch
**Outlet:** Sports Illustrated — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/sports-illustrated
**How it reached us:** published in writing
**Original:** https://www.si.com/nfl/texans/onsi/texans-week-10-consensus-power-rankings-optimism-starting-to-build

One checkable claim, graded on its own against what actually happened.

Nothing to score yet: this grades once the result is in.

## The claims

- “ESPN: 17th / Last Week's Ranking: 22nd — ESPN's writers were polled on their power rankings this week, where the Texans climbed an impressive five spots.”
  - Kind: Power Rankings
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## More power rankings

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

- Chris Brockman: Brockman argued the Broncos are headed to the AFC Championship Game, that the Cowboys will win the NFC East, that Green Bay is the NFC's best team, and that the Bears will finish no worse than the No. 2 seed in the NFC. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/285842c7-abd9-43fa-a0c0-e8138a392658 (scored 0)
- Rich Eisen: Eisen said the Texans can win the AFC South and make the playoffs, called the Rams the best team in football, predicted Aaron Rodgers will start against the Bears, and said they believe Joe Burrow returns for the Patriots-Bengals game. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/d7b170ab-fe27-4fe3-8c47-116548754dd1 (scored 50)
- Rich Eisen: Eisen endorsed the Eagles' defense carrying them to the NFC championship and the Rams being the NFL's best team, but predicted the NFC North sends only Green Bay and Detroit to the playoffs, that Kansas City wins five of its last seven, that the 49ers make the playoffs, that Baltimore wins the AFC North, and that Tampa Bay wins the NFC South with both the Bucs and Panthers losing their upcoming NFC West road games. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/f7e77ff9-c596-4b8e-a10d-989cd6fa12a9 (scored 50)
- Chris Brockman: Brockman argued the Eagles' defense is the NFL's best and will drag a mediocre offense to the NFC championship, that the NFC North sends only two teams to the playoffs with the Bears among them, that the Rams are the league's best team, that a healthy Brock Purdy makes the 49ers an NFC threat who will beat the Saints and Falcons, and that the Panthers win the NFC South. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/58252eec-2c8f-4cfe-b95e-247dd9ce8f0e (scored 50)
- Rich Eisen: Eisen ranked their top five matchups of Week 11, and along the way said the Rams sit atop their power rankings as the best team on both sides of the ball, and praised RJ Harvey as Denver's path forward. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/50af1258-bdeb-4451-b159-5d48efa94795 (scored 50)
- Nick Wright: The host's five Week 9 NFL picks: Detroit over Minnesota, Pittsburgh +3 vs. Indianapolis, San Francisco over the Giants, Kansas City over Buffalo at Buffalo, and Seattle over Washington. They also call the Chiefs the best team in the league and Jonathan Taylor the NFL's best running back this year. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2fd2d221-42c7-422d-bd99-8a7e8e6dd1df (scored 0)

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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.

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