# Trevor Ripley: Ripley picks the Bears to beat the Vikings at Soldier Field in Week 2, 30-19, arguing Minnesota's offense is hobbled by injuries while Chicago's offense edges an aggressive but star-thin Vikings defense.

**Claimed:** Sep 20, 2026
**Pundit:** Trevor Ripley — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/pundits/trevor-ripley
**Outlet:** Sports Illustrated — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/outlets/sports-illustrated
**How it reached us:** published in writing
**Original:** https://www.si.com/nfl/vikings/onsi/vikings-bears-who-wins-why-week-2-01m2ts0f25tw

2 checkable claims — 1 depth chart call and 1 score prediction — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.

It names 3 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

1 of 2 have settled so far, averaging 38.1 out of 100, against 34.5 for a naive guess at the same calls.

Of the 1 unsettled call enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands below the rest of the room.

> Bears: 30 Vikings: 19

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Chicago Bears 30 — Vikings 19**
  - Kind: Score Predictions · About: Chicago Bears
  - Verdict: scored 38.1 out of 100, against 34.49 for a naive guess
- **Carson Wentz to be 1st on the depth chart**
  - Kind: Depth Chart Calls · About: Carson Wentz, Minnesota Vikings
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- Chicago Bears — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/bears
- Carson Wentz — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/carson-wentz
- Minnesota Vikings — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/vikings

## What others said about the same people

- Chris Broussard on Chicago Bears: Brew stood by the Lions as division winners and playoff team, picked the Texans over Cincinnati, the Bears over Minnesota, the Patriots to beat Pittsburgh with a solid Drake Maye game, flagged Jacksonville over Denver as his upset alert, and said he still feels good about the Ravens winning the AFC. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/a54915e0-49e6-427b-a7a5-4feb5d0f3cbb (scored 0)
- Greg Jennings on Chicago Bears: Jennings put the Cardinals up as his upset alert over Seattle, backed the Texans over Cincinnati and the Bears over Minnesota with chips, put two chips on Denver beating Jacksonville, and wrote a headline of the Packers beating the Jets; he also called the Bengals a playoff team and the Chiefs winners over Indianapolis. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/420d3e29-6224-43a2-8d68-b15c864838cd (scored 0)
- Danny Parkins on Chicago Bears: Parkins picked the Giants to beat the Rams outright, backed Jacksonville over Denver, Cincinnati over Houston and Chicago over Minnesota in the chips segment, endorsed Buffalo as the AFC's Super Bowl representative, and predicted Deshaun Watson has started his last NFL game. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/36d4ede8-3066-4102-abbc-cb08e4544c92 (scored 0)
- Pete Prisco on Chicago Bears: Prisco picks four road/home winners with exact scores: Falcons over Panthers, Bears over Vikings, Jaguars upsetting Broncos, Chargers over Raiders, and Cowboys over Commanders. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/49ffcfc9-5f68-4882-a86f-b835b925412d (scored 50)
- LaVar Arrington on Chicago Bears: Arrington picked the Bears over the Vikings and then went to money lines, taking the Steelers to win in New England, the Bengals to win in Houston, the Broncos over the Jaguars, and following Jonas onto the Rams over the Giants. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/e3de676f-cc70-4b5d-83ae-61333921c385 (scored 0)
- Jonas Knox on Chicago Bears: Knox took the Bears to cover against the Vikings, said New England would probably beat Pittsburgh even while taking the points, picked the Bengals to win outright in Houston, and took the Broncos over the Jaguars and the Rams over the Giants. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/56c27b64-468b-43b3-8ae8-39364973c7d6 (scored 0)

## More depth chart calls

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

- Matt Severance on Deshaun Watson: The CBS Sports preview backs Tampa Bay to beat Cleveland in the Bucs' Week 2 home opener, and states that Deshaun Watson — not Shedeur Sanders — will be Cleveland's starting quarterback in Week 2. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/944568ce-7205-409f-8354-a392016fd8bf (scored 100)
- Rafael Zamorano on Deshaun Watson: Zamorano reports Watson will start Week 2 at Tampa Bay and suggests there's little reason to expect improvement, raising the possibility Watson's five-year contract never yields more than single-digit wins. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/d7d7e0a2-61e0-4525-970b-b01a2356f11b (scored 100)
- Rich Hribar on Tua Tagovailoa: Hribar expects Tua Tagovailoa to be Atlanta's starting quarterback for Week 2 while Michael Penix stays out, with Penix's return closer to Week 4. He is unenthusiastic about the Falcons' offense either way and treats Bryce Young as a fringe fantasy starter. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/124ac755-a942-4382-8bad-177da7f8170d (scored 0)
- Tyler Sullivan on Michael Penix Jr.: In a Week 1 recap with no named byline, CBS Sports suggested Michael Penix Jr. would take over as Atlanta's Week 2 starter if healthy, called Ashton Jeanty's sophomore breakout imminent, and warned readers not to overlook San Francisco as NFC West winners. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/1000d8d0-5de1-405e-b8ce-255cde75a32d (scored 0)
- Pat Fitzmaurice on Rashod Bateman: In his Week 2 waiver wire column, Fitzmaurice recommends a slate of pickups he expects to outperform their current rostership (Kaelon Black, Deebo Samuel, Tyler Shough, Geno Smith and others), lays out several depth-chart expectations (Black as the 49ers' No. 2 back, Shedeur Sanders eventually taking over in Cleveland, Penix returning for Atlanta), and flags Fool's Gold/drop candidates such as Mike Gesicki, Kendrick Bourne and Rashid Shaheed. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/6218d3c2-61e7-4ace-9976-b51eeefdf22c (scored 0)
- Bill Huber on Chris McClellan: Huber's first Packers rookie progress report projects second-round cornerback Brandon Cisse to hold onto his spot with the No. 1 defense, third-round defensive tackle Chris McClellan to start in Week 1, and fifth-round lineman Jager Burton to be the team's top interior backup rather than a starter. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/dcf9daae-b511-490c-b438-173cf91e8597 (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.

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

We summarize what a pundit said and quote a short span for attribution; we never republish their article. If this is wrong, tell us:
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