Colin Cowherd · Jan 23, 2026
Cowherd ranked the top players in the NFC Championship Game between the Rams and Seahawks, with Puka Nacua first and Matt Stafford second, named Stafford his MVP, picked the Rams to win the game because they play cleaner football, and said Mike Vrabel should win Coach of the Year with Ben Johnson second.
“That's why I like the Rams win this game.”
said on air or in an interview · The Herd with Colin Cowherd (podcast) · read the original →
4 checkable claims from this
Each one is scored on its own against the published methodology. A pundit naming several outcomes is graded on each, not on all-or-nothing.
- Top Player ListsJan 23, 2026
“I rank the top ten players... Number ten, Pooni Ford Rams... number nine Kevin Dotson... Number eight Jared Verse... Number seven Kyen Williams... Number six Kenneth Walker... Number five Sam Donald... Number four Devin Witherspoon... Number three JSN... Number two Matt Stafford... number one Pooka... Number eleven I have Kobe Turner for the Rams... I think I had Leonard Williams number twelve”
Scored 69.44a naive guess scored 50+19.44 skillHow this was scored
- naive:
- a coin-flip ordering scores 50
- skill:
- 19.44
- placed:
- 9
- season:
- 2025
- players:
- 12
- accuracy:
- 69.44
- baseline:
- 50
- by position:
- WR 2: 100, QB 2: 100, RB 2: 0, DE 3: 75
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- could not place:
- 0
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- Award PicksMatthew StaffordLos Angeles RamsJan 23, 2026
“but he led the NFL in passing yards. He is my MVP.”
Scored 100a naive guess scored 0+100 skillHow this was scored
- award:
- mvp
- naive:
- the naive pick was Josh Allen, who won it the year before
- skill:
- 100
- player:
- Matthew Stafford
- season:
- 2025
- winner:
- Matthew Stafford
- correct:
- true
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 0
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- Coach Award PicksJan 23, 2026
“I would Ben Johnson would be my two. Vrabel one Ben two.”
Scored 100a naive guess scored 0+100 skillHow this was scored
- award:
- coach_of_the_year
- coach:
- Mike Vrabel
- naive:
- the naive pick was Kevin O'Connell, who won it the year before
- skill:
- 100
- season:
- 2025
- winner:
- Mike Vrabel
- correct:
- true
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 0
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- Game Outcome PicksLos Angeles RamsJan 23, 2026
“I think the cleanest team, and Rams play a cleaner version than Seattle... That's why I like the Rams win this game.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the season it describes has finished.