# Colin Cowherd: 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.

**Claimed:** Jan 23, 2026
**Pundit:** Colin Cowherd — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/pundits/colin-cowherd
**Outlet:** The Herd with Colin Cowherd (podcast) — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/outlets/the-herd-with-colin-cowherd-podcast
**How it reached us:** said on air or in an interview
**Original:** https://omny.fm/shows/the-herd-with-colin-cowherd/the-herd-hour-2-ranking-the-best-players-in-the-nfc-championship-game-tom-brady-stops-by-the-herd

3 checkable claims — 1 award pick, 1 coach award pick and 1 game outcome pick — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.

It names 2 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

All 3 have settled, averaging 66.7 out of 100, against 33.3 for a naive guess at the same calls.

> That's why I like the Rams win this game.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Los Angeles Rams to beat Seahawks**
  - Kind: Game Outcome Picks · About: Los Angeles Rams
  - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess
- **Matthew Stafford to win MVP**
  - Kind: Award Picks · About: Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess
- **Mike Vrabel to win NFL Coach of the Year**
  - Kind: Coach Award Picks
  - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess

## Who this take is about

- Los Angeles Rams — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/rams
- Matthew Stafford — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/matthew-stafford

## What others said about the same people

- Jared Dubin on Los Angeles Rams: Dubin picks the Rams to beat the Giants on Monday Night Football, sticking with preseason expectations over Week 1 overreaction. He gives two conditional scores depending on whether Puka Nacua plays: a comfortable 27-17 win if Nacua suits up, and a narrow 17-16 win if he sits. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/e613e391-ce67-4554-a115-59096e1fecfd (scored 50)
- Dan Orlovsky on Los Angeles Rams: Orlovsky said that even without Puka Nacua the Rams would find a way to beat the Giants on Monday night, though he thought the Giants would keep it within a touchdown. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/35fbf38d-85b0-4e52-b089-d8d9b6858e46 (scored 100)
- Jared Dubin on Los Angeles Rams: Dubin picked the Rams to beat the Giants 27-17 on Monday night. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/ddd6b22a-35e3-4d39-bbda-13fab6705e64 (scored 71.43)
- Pete Prisco on Los Angeles Rams: Prisco picked the Rams to beat the Giants 30-14. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/1c7b3a7f-651c-4ca3-987c-81b5499efbc7 (scored 85.71)
- Jordan Dajani on Los Angeles Rams: Dajani picked the Rams to beat the Giants 30-21. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/0ee2d609-d044-481e-a8a3-627c7fbc89e7 (scored 69.05)
- John Breech on Los Angeles Rams: Breech expects Caleb Williams to return quickly from his hamstring injury, at the latest by Week 4 against the Jets or Week 5 against the Packers, and he picked the Rams to beat the Giants on Monday night. He also floated the Saints as a potential surprise team this season. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/66fd2840-c785-4c7f-9284-eb570c4dd0c4 (scored 54.76)

## More coach award picks

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

- Matt Hasselbeck: Hasselbeck agreed on the Bills and Ravens as AFC division winners, picked the Colts (with Daniel Jones) to win the AFC South, the Broncos to win the AFC West, the Seahawks to win the NFC West, and tabbed Brian Flores for a Coach of the Year-type honor. He also said the Patriots would make a big jump and potentially reach the playoffs, and named Minnesota, Las Vegas, New England and Chicago as offseason winners. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/757877f8-ca0d-4888-b062-a4a6dd71d0e6 (scored 0)
- Richard Sherman: Sherman picked the Eagles, Vikings, Ravens and Bills in their wild-card games, named Lamar Jackson MVP, Patrick Surtain DPOY, Kevin O'Connell Coach of the Year, put Jared Verse in the top three of Defensive Rookie of the Year voting, and gave a Week 18 power ranking with Kansas City first. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/2d7cf80e-1b0e-4129-92f3-225d97061cbe (scored 100)
- Chris Brockman: Brockman argued that Kyle Shanahan deserves Coach of the Year after the 49ers' road win in Philadelphia, a take Rich Eisen partly called an overreaction since it's a regular-season award. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/4da2fac2-7a9e-4cf2-a606-9dc6c7fd548d (scored 0)
- Pat Gustavson: Gustafson picked the Bears, Eagles, Rams, Patriots, Jaguars and Texans in the wild card round, the Rams and Bears in the NFC, the Broncos and Patriots in the AFC, and the Patriots to beat the Bears in the Super Bowl. His awards slate included Stafford for MVP, Puka for OPOY and Liam Cohen for Coach of the Year. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/671b9c4f-1f25-4f11-ad26-16a1126ea3b8 (scored 0)
- Brandon Carney: Carney made a full playoff bracket, picking the Bears, Niners, Rams, Patriots, Jaguars and Texans in the wild card round, then Seahawks and Rams in the NFC divisional, Broncos and Patriots in the AFC, with the Rams beating the Patriots in the Super Bowl. He also gave award picks including Stafford for MVP and Vrabel for Coach of the Year. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/88101820-7344-4240-93f1-caa15fe95de9 (scored 100)
- Rich Eisen: Eisen gave his Week 13 power rankings, with the Rams first, Patriots second and the Cowboys entering at No. 10, and also named New England and Philadelphia as the first teams to clinch playoff spots, picked Seattle to beat Minnesota, and tabbed Drake Maye as an MVP finalist and Mike Vrabel as Coach of the Year. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/960141f1-11b7-4c57-9ef8-0f7b8b41bc99 (scored 100)

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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.

Full method: https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/methodology

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