Seahawks: Pundits Picked Seattle 48-to-17 Over the Bears, Then Watched a 17-Point Loss | MissedTakes Daily

Pundits picked the Seattle Seahawks to beat the Chicago Bears in Week 8, 48 calls to 17, and the nine pundits who gave a score predicted Seattle to win by a median of four points. The Bears won 34-17 on the road in Seattle. The 102 graded calls on that game averaged an accuracy of 26 out of 100, and it is the clearest test yet of what Seahawks punditry is worth this season.

How did pundits grade on Seattle's Week 8 loss to the Bears?

Every pundit who gave a final score had Seattle winning, and every one of those calls graded low once Chicago won by 17. Randy Gurzi picked Seahawks 24-13 and missed the final margin by 28 points. Richard Sherman picked Seahawks 27-17 and missed by 27. Nick Wright and Pete Prisco both called Seahawks 24-17 and missed by 24. The closest score call, Jordan Dajani's Seahawks 24-23, still missed the margin by 18 points.

The lopsided side count shows how one-sided the pregame view was: 48 pundits picked Seattle, 17 picked Chicago, before the Seahawks lost by 17 at home.

How has Seahawks coverage graded this season?

Game-outcome picks on the Seahawks have graded to an average accuracy of 31.1 across 238 graded calls this season, with an average MissedTakes Score of -41.42, worse than always picking the home team would have scored. Score Predictions on Seattle have fared better but still sit below zero on average, at a -4.56 MissedTakes Score across 111 graded calls. By position, quarterback calls on Seattle have been the weakest of any position group covered for this club: 46 accuracy and a -30.79 score across 15 graded calls, compared with 69.1 accuracy for wide receiver calls (31 graded) and 69.2 for running back calls (26 graded).

Among pundits with at least five graded Seahawks calls, the gap between best and worst is wide.

Who's right about Seattle heading into Week 9?

Pundits disagree on who starts at quarterback for Seattle against Arizona with Sam Darnold ruled out. Jeremy Brener wrote on November 5 that rookie Jalen Milroe "could be in line to make his first career start," while a November 6 injury roundup from Michael Moore instead expected backup Drew Lock to start. On the game itself, pundits again lean toward Seattle: AJ Hawk, Connor Rogers, Big Cat and Chris Simms (Seahawks 24-13) have all picked the Seahawks over the Cardinals this week.

Colin Cowherd said on November 3, after the Bears loss, that Seattle "is going to be a playoff team, a wildcard team perhaps." Cowherd's playoff-berth calls have graded to 33.7 accuracy across 68 graded calls this season, well below his 67.33 accuracy on straight game-outcome picks, a gap worth weighing against his confidence here.

Were any roster projections right this week?

No. All five Roster Spot Calls graded over the past week scored zero accuracy, including one about Seattle. Brendon Nelson argued after a poor Seahawks preseason outing that linemen Bobby Hart and Logan Brown and cornerback Shemar Jean-Charles would not make the final roster and that Seattle lacked a viable fifth edge rusher; that call scored zero accuracy. The same week produced zero-accuracy roster calls from John Shipley on the Jaguars' practice squad, David Harrison on the Commanders' 53-man roster, and both Randy Gurzi and Joe Marino on the Bills' 53-man roster. Marino's miss sits oddly next to his overall record: he ranks ninth on the pundit leaderboard this season with a 43.67 MissedTakes Score across 179 graded calls.