# Chris Brockman: Brockman argued the road to the Super Bowl in the AFC goes through Foxborough, meaning the Patriots will finish as the No. 1 seed, and called his shot that the Chargers beat Denver in Week 18. He also declared the Bears a team of destiny who will win the NFC, said the Steelers will end their playoff win drought, and that Trevor Lawrence is playing like a top-five quarterback. **Claimed:** Dec 22, 2025 **Pundit:** Chris Brockman — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/pundits/chris-brockman **Outlet:** Overreaction Monday (podcast) — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/outlets/overreaction-monday-podcast **How it reached us:** said on air, transcribed by us **Original:** https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/traffic.megaphone.fm/ESP3816757074.mp3?updated=1766422223 5 checkable claims — 1 conference champion, 1 game outcome pick, 1 playoff pick, 1 positional finishe and 1 seeding, byes and home field — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet. It names 6 players and teams, each linked to their own record. 4 of 5 have settled so far, averaging 25 out of 100, against 50 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. > The bears, Rich, they're a team of destiny. They're gonna win the NFC. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **New England Patriots to take the top seed** - Kind: Seeding, Byes and Home Field · About: New England Patriots - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess - **Los Angeles Chargers to beat Denver** - Kind: Game Outcome Picks · About: Los Angeles Chargers - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess - **Chicago Bears to reach the Super Bowl** - Kind: Conference Champions · About: Chicago Bears - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess - **Pittsburgh Steelers to make the playoffs** - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Pittsburgh Steelers - Verdict: scored 100 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess - **Trevor Lawrence to finish top 5 at his position, by passing yards** - Kind: Positional Finishes · About: Trevor Lawrence, Jacksonville Jaguars - Verdict: too vague to check ## Who this take is about - New England Patriots — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/patriots - Los Angeles Chargers — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/chargers - Chicago Bears — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/bears - Pittsburgh Steelers — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/steelers - Trevor Lawrence — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/trevor-lawrence - Jacksonville Jaguars — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/jaguars ## What others said about the same people - Thomas Martinez on Patrick Herbert: Martinez projects the Chargers' starting lineups on offense and defense for their Week 3 game at Buffalo, with injuries forcing several changes — Oronde Gadsden II at tight end, Trevor Penning at left guard, Jamaree Caldwell at defensive tackle and RJ Mickens at safety — while expecting Ladd McConkey to play and Marquez Valdez-Scantling to debut. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/bcc0c9e2-6313-45af-bc99-f1cd46806da6 (scored 0) - Ethan Hurwitz on Jeremiah Pharms Jr.: Hurwitz writes that the elevations of Jeremiah Pharms Jr. and Mike Brown likely mean Leonard Taylor III stays a healthy scratch and Joshua Farmer could be one too for the Week 3 game at Jacksonville, and that both elevated players will revert to the practice squad after Sunday. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/fc98ac5c-1a8e-4462-94fa-993b02c52d00 (scored 0) - Nathan Jahnke on Ameer Abdullah: An unsigned PFF preseason recap makes numerous depth-chart, roster and usage projections across the league, based on Week 3 preseason playing time — including Roman Wilson winning Pittsburgh's third receiver job, Luke McCaffrey's roster spot being in danger, Charlie Kolar as the Chargers' top tight end, and Kendre Miller as the Saints' RB2. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/47566b48-8024-4960-b25c-11c03fe43543 (scored 100) - Bryan DeArdo on Drew Allar: A CBS Sports piece lays out Pittsburgh's quarterback pecking order: Aaron Rodgers starts, Mason Rudolph is the No. 2, rookie Drew Allar sits at No. 3 and Will Howard is fourth, with the Steelers expected to keep all four quarterbacks on the initial 53-man roster rather than trading Howard. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/4af69b53-867a-4e1f-8e7d-7f699e4ed649 (scored 100) - Mike Moraitis on Josh Blackwell: Moraitis names seven Bears as trade candidates before roster cuts, predicting Kiran Amegadjie and Jedrick Wills are on the roster bubble and likely to be traded, while Ozzy Trapilo avoids an injured list, and listing several players as locks for the 53-man roster. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/07eb40f6-9e40-4a79-b1d4-e2f7e73e104a (scored 100) - Jack Markowski on Will Howard: Markowski writes that Howard now appears locked into the 53-man roster, that Pittsburgh is unlikely to move Rudolph, and that Rudolph has the inside track to be the backup behind Aaron Rodgers. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/1085a04c-1453-40e5-ad1f-1d1573417b37 (scored 100) ## More conference champions The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Damonza Byrd on Seattle Seahawks: The co-host picks the Seahawks to beat the Rams in the NFC Championship game, and says he believes New England will win in Denver even though he is taking the Broncos with the points. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/c59694cc-b2ff-401f-ae64-3313b822cd5a (scored 100) - Nick Wright on Los Angeles Rams: The host picks the Rams to beat the Seahawks in the NFC Championship game and believes the winner of that game wins the Super Bowl, i.e. that this is the Rams' year; he also picks New England to win in Denver despite taking the Broncos with the points, and says Stafford is winning MVP. He calls Sean McVay the second-best coach in the NFL. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/5d16f975-ba4e-46f4-8717-8962b81c5bdf (scored 50) - Nick Wright on Denver Broncos: Wright picked the Broncos to beat the Patriots in a low-scoring AFC Championship game (17-16), said Sean Payton would coach Denver to the Super Bowl, picked the Rams to win outright in Seattle 31-20, believes the winner of the NFC game wins the Super Bowl with the Rams the better team, and expects Matt Stafford to be named league MVP. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/afd8c9a0-6068-4bfc-8dac-3bcc196f1231 (scored 50) - AJ Hawk on Los Angeles Rams: Hawk picked the Patriots to win in Denver despite liking Stidham and the Broncos defense, and in the NFC he stuck with the Rams, saying Stafford gets to the Super Bowl. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/70ca2972-53a1-4559-bd03-94c5fede2f4e (scored 50) - Derek Murphy on Seattle Seahawks: Bone said after watching film that Seattle will handle the Rams in the NFC Championship Game, and that the Seahawks are going to the Super Bowl. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/a5f623b2-e1e6-4687-b345-df2d9f35641f (scored 100) - Gregg Rosenthal on Seattle Seahawks: Rosenthal picks the Patriots to beat the Broncos in a close, low-scoring AFC Championship in Denver (while liking Denver to cover the 4.5 points), takes the Seahawks over the Rams in a defensive NFC Championship he pegs around 23-19, and forecasts a Patriots-Seahawks Super Bowl. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/830a8ed3-b98f-4161-a71c-4c7beb80f350 (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=chris-brockman