Colin Cowherd· Feb 11, 2026
Cowherd unveiled his top 10 NFL teams entering next season, with Seattle first, the Rams second and the Chiefs tenth, and separately picked the Chargers to win the AFC West.
“Number One Seattle, between Mike McDonald, John Snyder, his drafting record, Sam Donold... they're already really really good.”
said on air or in an interview · The Herd with Colin Cowherd (podcast) · read the original →
The page this came from has changed since we captured it on Aug 5, 2026. The quote and evidence above are from our capture, not from what the page says today.
2 checkable claims — 1 division winner and 1 power ranking — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet.
All 2 have settled, averaging 37.6 out of 100, against 9.4 for a naive guess at the same calls.
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Who this take is about
2 checkable claims in this take
Each one is scored on its own against the published methodology. A pundit naming several outcomes is graded on each, not on all-or-nothing.
- Division WinnersLos Angeles ChargersFeb 11, 2026
Los Angeles Chargers to win the division
“I have the Chargers winning the division next year. Denver second Kansas City third today”
Miss · 0Scored 0a naive guess scored 0+0 skillHow this was scored
- skill:
- 0
- method:
- division winners read off the bracket: the bye teams and the wild-card hosts
- they picked:
- LAC
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- the naive pick:
- KC
- difficulty:
- 1
- the naive guess:
- last season's winner of the same division
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- won the division:
- no
- Power RankingsFeb 11, 2026
“I'm gonna do a top ten after the coaching hires, after free agency, and after the draft... here we go number ten. I think the Chiefs... Number nine would be Buffalo... number eight the Patriots... Number seven I would say the Detroit Lions... Number six... the Jaguars... I think the Chargers are going to feel like a Super Bowl team in September... I'd put the Bears at four... Number three the Denver Broncos... Number two... the Rams... Number One Seattle”
Close · 75Scored 75.15a naive guess scored 18.79+56.36 skillHow this was scored
- skill:
- 56.36
- method:
- spearman
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 75.15
- baseline:
- 18.79
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- teams ranked:
- 10
- weeks left when called:
- 0
What others said about the same people
- Rich EisenGame Outcome Picks · Los Angeles ChargersMiss · 0Eisen picked Josh Allen to lead the NFL in total touchdowns over any QB-WR or QB-RB combo, flipped from the Lions to the Bears as NFC North winner, and made several Week 2 game calls, including the Patriots at home, the Jets over Green Bay, and both LA teams winning. He also picked a Jaguars-Broncos AFC title game.
- Nick ShookGame Outcome Picks · Los Angeles ChargersMiss · 0Shook said he would take the Steelers and Jaguars to win outright on the road, still expects the Chargers to beat the Raiders, and thinks Baltimore's run game will turn the Saints game into a double-digit Ravens win.
- Pete PriscoScore Predictions · Los Angeles ChargersClose · 40Prisco picks four road/home winners with exact scores: Falcons over Panthers, Bears over Vikings, Jaguars upsetting Broncos, Chargers over Raiders, and Cowboys over Commanders.
- Pete PriscoScore Predictions · Los Angeles ChargersClose · 40Prisco picks final scores for every Week 2 NFL game, with several teams that lost in Week 1 — the Chargers, Patriots, Cowboys, Packers and Rams — bouncing back, and the Bills outlasting the Lions in a shootout.
- Dan BeyerGame Outcome Picks · Los Angeles ChargersMiss · 0Beyer picked the Chargers as his Week 2 survivor pick, saying they won't start 0-2 at home against the Raiders, and said the 49ers over the Dolphins and the Eagles over the Titans look like easy picks. He also predicted Marvin Harrison Jr. could be traded.
- John BreechScore Predictions · Los Angeles ChargersClose · 40Breech picks every Week 2 game with scores, takes the Cardinals to upset the Seahawks, sees a Bills-Lions shootout, predicts Baker Mayfield's revenge win over Cleveland, and says the Browns will miss the playoffs while the Dolphins go winless.
More division winners
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
- Daniel DiBerardinisDivision Winners · Atlanta FalconsMiss · 0Danny 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.
- Danny ParkinsDivision Winners · Baltimore RavensMiss · 0Parkins 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.
- Rich EisenDivision Winners · Jacksonville JaguarsHit · 100Eisen 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.
- Rich EisenDivision Winners · Jacksonville JaguarsHit · 100Eisen 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.
- Cynthia FrelundDivision Winners · Houston TexansMiss · 0Freeland's model has the Chargers winning straight up in Dallas, the Texans winning big over the Raiders and going on to win the AFC South, the Lions beating the Steelers by six, the Saints beating the Jets, and the Packers beating the Bears; she also sees the AFC's Super Bowl representative being either Denver or Houston.
- Chris BrockmanDivision Winners · Chicago BearsHit · 100Brockman 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.