# John Middlekauff: In a Week 2 preview, Middlekauff argued Matt LaFleur is under enormous pressure in Green Bay, predicted blowout wins for the 49ers over Miami and the Eagles over Tennessee, and offered season win-total views on the Saints, Buccaneers, Texans and Jaguars while backing Dallas to win the NFC East.

**Claimed:** Sep 20, 2026
**Pundit:** John Middlekauff — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/pundits/john-middlekauff
**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-ae210140c5b1/44c6e42b-f663-4492-888d-ae330034680f/e4330e6a-ccf6-4bed-a307-b4c9014577e2/audio.mp3?in_playlist=bf391792-153e-41b3-9d3d-ae3300346ad8

8 checkable claims — 4 season win totals, 2 game outcome picks, 1 availability call and 1 division winner — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.

It names 9 players and teams, each linked to their own record.

None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in.

Of the 3 unsettled calls enough other pundits have weighed in on, this one lands above the room on 1 and below it on 2.

> This is a game where the Eagles should win by like 20 points and just smother them.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **San Francisco 49ers to beat Dolphins**
  - Kind: Game Outcome Picks · About: San Francisco 49ers
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Philadelphia Eagles to beat Tennessee**
  - Kind: Game Outcome Picks · About: Philadelphia Eagles
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **New Orleans Saints to finish with 9 wins**
  - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: New Orleans Saints
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Tampa Bay Buccaneers to finish with 8–9 wins**
  - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Houston Texans to finish with 10 wins**
  - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: Houston Texans
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Jacksonville Jaguars to finish with 13 wins**
  - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: Jacksonville Jaguars
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Dallas Cowboys to win the division**
  - Kind: Division Winners · About: Dallas Cowboys
  - Verdict: not settled yet
- **Mike is not coming back. Mike is not returning this week. He's not returning the following week, and he's not returning the following week after that.**
  - Kind: Availability Calls · About: Micah Parsons, Green Bay Packers
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- San Francisco 49ers — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/49ers
- Philadelphia Eagles — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/eagles
- New Orleans Saints — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/saints
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/buccaneers
- Houston Texans — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/texans
- Jacksonville Jaguars — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/jaguars
- Dallas Cowboys — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/cowboys
- Micah Parsons — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/micah-parsons
- Green Bay Packers — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/packers

## What others said about the same people

- Randy Gurzi on Justin Barron: Gurzi predicts the Cowboys' 17-man practice squad, naming each player he expects Dallas to sign, including a surprise addition of released Giants tackle Evan Neal. He also predicts Jaydon Blue will be claimed off waivers by another team and that Sam Williams will land elsewhere. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/a37588ef-f76e-4f06-a951-a85a563271d5 (scored 0)
- John Shipley on Jalen McLeod: Shipley projects a full 16-player (plus one international/exemption spot) Jaguars practice squad for 2026, naming specific players at each position he expects to land there. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/c0a52b7c-63b2-4e18-b7da-9342dbbc111f (scored 0)
- Jeff Kerr on Maximus Pulley: Kerr ranks the Eagles' eight undrafted free agents by their chances of making the initial 53-man roster, with Kapena Gushiken the most likely and predicts at least one UDFA makes the 53. He also forecasts practice squad spots for Zion Wilson, Deontae Lawson and Maximus Pulley, and a release for long snapper Rocco Underwood. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/6ec1d507-c7b6-4873-a0a2-76817706e297 (scored 0)
- Jared Koch on Lewis Bond: Koch argues Kayshon Boutte is a winner in the trade to Houston, likely to see many more snaps and potentially post a career season, while Xavier Hutchinson's path to a breakout gets harder. He also sees Kamari Ramsey stepping up as the primary backup safety behind a top three of Bullock, Pitre and Blankenship, and views Jared Wayne as a fringe roster player squeezed by receivers he calls virtual locks. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/14048ef2-7210-46fd-825a-b9849c144a9f (scored 100)
- Lance Zierlein on Lewis Bond: Zierlein expects Texans QB C.J. Stroud to play roughly 10-12 plays in Thursday's preseason game, with Davis Mills going to halftime and newly signed Brett Rypien playing the entire second half. He also said if Tank Dell isn't ready, Lewis Bond and Jaden Hall would both likely make the roster, and predicted Keelan Rutledge will be the starting center with Wyatt Teller and Braden Smith starting. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/20e6ff7b-1de6-4de6-9567-3997edaea6b8 (scored 100)
- Lance Zierlein on Lewis Bond: Zierlein expects Trevor Goosby, Texas' starting left tackle, to be a first-round NFL draft pick, and thinks Quinn Ewers may struggle to stay on the Dolphins' roster beyond this year. He also predicts the Texans' preseason quarterback usage: C.J. Stroud around 10-12 plays, Davis Mills through the first half, and Brett Rypien for the second half. If Tank Dell isn't ready, he thinks Lewis Bond and Jaden Hall could both make the roster. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/684f97b2-1578-404d-9e71-4026eea8db4d (scored 100)

## More season win totals

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

- Richard Sherman on Washington Commanders: Sherman previewed every division: he picked Seattle to win the NFC West on a tiebreaker over San Francisco (both 11-11 wins), the Lions over the Packers in the North, the Eagles to run away with the East, Tampa Bay in the South, and Kansas City, Buffalo and the Ravens' division rivals in the AFC. He picked an Eagles–Chiefs Super Bowl with Philadelphia repeating, Joe Burrow for MVP, and gave a top-five power ranking. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/ec43b02b-8e3a-4b2e-8c36-1839c9c52e3c (scored 20)
- Nick Wright on New England Patriots: Nick Wright walked through the Browns' quarterback situation and then gave leans and bets on every AFC team's win total, offering concrete win-count expectations for several clubs plus a call on Brock Bowers. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/1e745abb-ae8f-4f8c-893e-bfb5d53589b1 (scored 20)
- Colin Cowherd on New England Patriots: Cowherd takes the Titans over their five-and-a-half win total on the strength of Cam Ward and Brian Callahan, calls New England an eight-to-nine win team, picks Green Bay to win the NFC North, expects the Giants to lose all four games to Washington and Philadelphia, and sketches a quarterback ranking with C.J. Stroud around 10th and Baker Mayfield 11th. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/e32a708a-5651-4292-b71b-672f2216a48e (scored 0)
- Nick Wright on Denver Broncos: Nick Wright gave his early AFC win-total leans: overs on the Jets, Ravens, Jaguars, Chiefs and Raiders, plus projected win ranges for the Dolphins, Texans, Chargers and Broncos, and predicted the Raiders take Ashton Jeanty at No. 6. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/cc9d1905-c3e9-4d7f-8dbb-0f840dbb7535 (scored 20)
- Richard Sherman on Detroit Lions: Sherman picks the Chiefs to beat the Bills in the AFC Championship Game despite Buffalo's turnover dominance, and picks the Commanders to upset the Eagles in Philadelphia in the NFC Championship Game. He also expects Saquon Barkley to win Offensive Player of the Year, though he hedges that voters may give it to Lamar or Josh Allen. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/fd0cf59d-3729-4865-8641-02792d0b6b24 (scored 100)
- Chris Brockman on Carolina Panthers: Brockman pitched that the Eagles are the NFL's best team and that Saquon Barkley will win MVP as the first non-quarterback since 2011. He also declared the AFC playoff field already set with six weeks to go, said the Cowboys will make the playoffs, predicted Buffalo would blast the 49ers, and reiterated his earlier call that Carolina would win five or six games. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/bf1a843e-6b29-497e-b58c-b8394d790374 (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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