Lance Zierlein· Sep 18, 2026
Zierlein expected Nico Collins to sit out with his injury, and said that despite the tough matchup he had already submitted the Texans as his pick over Cincinnati.
“Nico Collins, we'll find out if he's playing. The answer is probably gonna be a no.”
said on air, transcribed by us · John and Lance — ESPN Houston (podcast) · read the original →
2 checkable claims — 1 availability call and 1 game outcome pick — 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.
1 of 2 have settled so far, averaging 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess at the same calls.
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Who this take is about
The game in this take
- Bengals at Texans 23 calls
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.
- Game Outcome PicksHouston TexansSep 18, 2026
Houston Texans to beat Bengals
“I've just you know, I've already turned my picks in. I had Texans when I had to turn them into NFL.”
Miss · 0Scored 0a naive guess scored 0+0 skillHow this was scored
- won:
- CIN
- score:
- 20-6
- skill:
- 0
- they picked:
- HOU
- season:
- 2026
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 0
- the naive pick:
- HOU
- difficulty:
- 1.94
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 17
- Availability CallsNico CollinsHouston TexansSep 18, 2026
“Nico Collins, we'll find out if he's playing. The answer is probably gonna be a no. He didn't participate yesterday. Unlikely to participate.”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
What others said about the same people
- Colin CowherdGame Outcome Picks · Houston TexansMiss · 0Cowherd repeats his claim that Caleb Williams will be viewed as a top four or five quarterback by the end of the season, restates his preseason pick of the Ravens to win their division, and expects a angry Houston defense to beat Cincinnati on Sunday.
- Chris BroussardGame Outcome Picks · Houston TexansMiss · 0Brew 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.
- Greg JenningsGame Outcome Picks · Houston TexansMiss · 0Jennings 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.
- Nick WrightGame Outcome Picks · Houston TexansMiss · 0Wright stuck by his preseason call of a 12-5 Bills team that wins its division, picked the Jaguars to beat Denver outright, leaned Texans over Cincinnati, still has Atlanta as his deep sleeper, counts New England among his 14 playoff teams, and recalled pegging Washington for a 5-12 or 6-11 year with a bottom-six defense.
- John GranatoGame Outcome Picks · Houston TexansMiss · 0Despite the Texans' injuries at wide receiver, he picked Houston to beat Cincinnati in their upcoming game.
- John GranatoGame Outcome Picks · Houston TexansMiss · 0Granato stuck with Houston to beat Cincinnati, saying he stays with his team even at its darkest.
More game outcome picks
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
- Michael HanichGame Outcome Picks · Seattle SeahawksHit · 100Hanich argues the Week 2 road game at Arizona is not a true trap game, citing Seattle's long winning streak in the series, Mike Macdonald's preparation and injuries in the Cardinals' secondary, and rates his confidence in the Seahawks at 7. He also suggests safety Nick Emmanwori may miss a second straight game.
- Seth WalderGame Outcome Picks · Carolina PanthersHit · 100Picks the Panthers to beat the Falcons in Atlanta.
- Eric MoodyGame Outcome Picks · Carolina PanthersHit · 100Picks the Panthers to beat the Falcons in Atlanta.
- Pamela MaldonadoGame Outcome Picks · Carolina PanthersHit · 100Picks the Panthers to beat the Falcons in Atlanta.
- John MiddlekauffGame Outcome Picks · Philadelphia EaglesHit · 100In 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.
- Nick WrightGame Outcome Picks · Carolina PanthersHit · 100Amid a slate of against-the-spread picks, Wright makes a few outright calls: Jacksonville beats Denver straight up, Carolina wins at Atlanta, and he reiterates that he picked Denver to make the playoffs despite his concerns after their Week 1 loss. He also expects Ladd McConkie to sit out the Chargers' game.