# Colin Cowherd: Cowherd ranked his top ten quarterback/head coach combinations, calling Mike Macdonald arguably the league's second-best coach behind Sean McVay, picked Houston to win its division, and predicted Isaiah Likely would catch about 70 passes in his new offense. **Claimed:** Aug 18, 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://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/1508ddb2-0c9a-42f6-aafe-ae3300346aa9/69677fa3-a239-44ff-b621-b4aa0146b687/audio.mp3?in_playlist=bf391792-153e-41b3-9d3d-ae3300346ad8 3 checkable claims — 1 division winner, 1 head coach ranking and 1 player season number — 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. None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in. > I like Houston to win the division because that's what they do and their defense is like a notch above even Seattle's. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **Isaiah Likely to record 70 receptions** - Kind: Player Season Numbers · About: Isaiah Likely - Verdict: not settled yet - **Houston Texans to win the division** - Kind: Division Winners · About: Houston Texans - Verdict: not settled yet - **McDonald to me is arguably the second best coach in the league after McVeigh. He's outstanding.** - Kind: Head Coach Rankings - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - Isaiah Likely — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/isaiah-likely - Houston Texans — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/texans ## What others said about the same people - John Breech on Houston Texans: Breech picks the Texans to upset the Bills in Houston, trusting Houston's defense to smother Josh Allen, and takes the Raiders to beat the Dolphins by at least a touchdown. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/9da8cc61-bdc3-40fd-bd7f-c02c99fe7b00 (scored 0) - Judah Fortgang on Houston Texans: PFF's divisional-round same-game parlay picks: Tampa Bay beats Cincinnati with Cade Otton exploiting the Bengals' linebackers, Las Vegas beats Miami behind Kirk Cousins attacking a depleted Dolphins secondary, and Houston beats Buffalo with C.J. Stroud throwing effectively and Jaylin Noel benefiting from the slot matchup. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/3c975cce-7d78-48c7-95ad-f5d06adbf4a8 (scored 0) - Judah Fortgang on Houston Texans: An unsigned PFF betting piece argues Cooper Rush will struggle against Pittsburgh's disruption pressure in Week 1, and that Buffalo's rebuilt secondary without Sean McDermott will be exploitable by C.J. Stroud, leading them to back Houston winning through the air. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/1c4105a4-26a0-4592-b314-eacdc44833e9 (scored 0) - Simon Hunter on Houston Texans: Hunter picked Houston and the Giants as underdog money line plays, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Detroit as favorites, and used Pittsburgh plus the Chargers as his survivor picks for week one. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/5ac46502-b65b-469b-befc-16fbc672b011 (scored 0) - Chad Millman on Houston Texans: Millman backed several week one sides outright: Miami to beat the Raiders straight up, the Jets over the Titans, an underdog money line parlay of Houston and the Giants, and a favorites money line parlay of Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and Detroit. He also stands by his preseason take that Drake Maye is a top-five NFL quarterback. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/de991e27-ec15-4c6e-ad88-b55bdaea8665 (scored 0) - Kevin Wildes on Houston Texans: Wildes parlayed two upsets: Houston beating Buffalo and Indianapolis beating Baltimore, and had picked Dak Prescott as league MVP. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/f28f3fe2-4d14-4184-9168-052e865ecb0b (scored 0) ## More division winners The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Daniel DiBerardinis on Atlanta Falcons: Danny D predicts Sonny Styles goes in the top ten (maybe top five), doesn't think Ty Simpson goes before late first round, says Kenyon Sadiq lands with the Rams at 13, and picks the Falcons to win the NFC South while naming the Bengals an AFC bounce-back team. He also gives a Final Four of Michigan, Florida, Purdue and Arizona with Michigan winning. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/8a8e0b7c-9f1c-4c13-8138-1332d73b9b02 (scored 0) - Danny Parkins on Baltimore Ravens: Parkins lays the points with the Eagles and Cowboys, takes Baltimore to beat Pittsburgh and win the AFC North, picks Carolina over Tampa Bay and Seattle over San Francisco, and says he'd probably pick the Rams to come out of the NFC. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/23bf1e09-f607-4b9a-bdb4-888da7992c89 (scored 0) - Rich Eisen on Jacksonville Jaguars: Eisen forecast the Week 18 results and the entire wild-card field: Buccaneers over Panthers but Carolina still gets in as the 5 seed when Atlanta beats New Orleans, 49ers over Seahawks, Ravens over Steelers, Jaguars beating Tennessee to win the AFC South, and six wild-card matchups (Seahawks-Panthers, Bills-Jaguars, Texans-Ravens, Packers-Bears, Chargers-Patriots, Rams-Eagles), with Houston upsetting Baltimore. He also tabbed Saints rookie Tyler Shough as a possible Offensive Rookie of the Year. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/34345186-876a-4c4b-9567-9c289a6cbace (scored 100) - Rich Eisen on Jacksonville Jaguars: Eisen called the 49ers-as-NFC-favorites take an overreaction, picked the Jaguars to beat the Titans and win their division, leaned Ravens over the Steelers in the Week 18 Sunday night game, expects the Bills to beat the Jets even without Josh Allen, sees the Chargers as the AFC's seventh seed, agreed Tyler Shough could win Offensive Rookie of the Year with a good Saints 2026, said Malik Willis will be a starter somewhere next season, and insisted Detroit goes into 2026 with Goff. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/15192136-24b9-4127-ac9d-69dc69aab3d5 (scored 100) - Chris Brockman on Chicago Bears: Brockman called the Broncos-Packers game the best of the day, said Denver looks poised to lock up the AFC's No. 1 seed and reach the AFC Championship Game, predicted the Bears win the NFC North and the Eagles win their division (though he thinks they lose to a five seed from the NFC West), and said Philip Rivers will be in the NFL in 2026. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/e86c9e4d-7802-432a-a26c-4edefb3b6aee (scored 100) - Rich Eisen on New England Patriots: Eisen said the Patriots are still likely to win the AFC East and won't be one-and-done, that the Chargers will end Dallas' season next week, that TreVeyon Henderson should out-snap Rhamondre Stevenson, that the NFC East race is over in Philadelphia's favor, and that the winner of the NFC West will be the NFC's No. 1 seed. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/ae722f6b-44e2-42bb-a847-4435f539db5b (scored 100) --- 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: https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/corrections?pundit=colin-cowherd