# John Middlekauff: Middlekauff praised Brandon Beane's Bills and said he will probably pick Buffalo to win the Super Bowl. He also gave season win-total takes on the Patriots, 49ers and Vikings, ordered the NFC North with the Bears first and Vikings last, called the Lions a playoff team again, and picked the Bengals to win the AFC North. **Claimed:** May 12, 2026 **Pundit:** John Middlekauff — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/pundits/john-middlekauff **Outlet:** The Colin Cowherd Podcast (podcast) — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/outlets/the-colin-cowherd-podcast-podcast **How it reached us:** said on air or in an interview **Original:** https://omny.fm/shows/the-colin-cowherd-podcast/nfl-win-totals-usc-vs-notre-dame-revival-steelers-headed-for-disaster 8 checkable claims — 4 season win totals, 1 division winner, 1 playoff pick, 1 power ranking and 1 super bowl pick — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing bet. It names 7 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. > I'm gonna pick him probably win the Super Bowl. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **So to me, Bears Lions, then I have the Green Bay, then I have Minnesota.** - Kind: Power Rankings - Verdict: not settled yet - **San Francisco 49ers to finish with 10 wins** - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: San Francisco 49ers - Verdict: not settled yet - **Minnesota Vikings to finish with ? wins** - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: Minnesota Vikings - Verdict: not settled yet - **Chicago Bears to finish with 11 wins** - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: Chicago Bears - Verdict: not settled yet - **Buffalo Bills to win the Super Bowl** - Kind: Super Bowl Picks · About: Buffalo Bills - Verdict: not settled yet - **Cincinnati Bengals to win the division** - Kind: Division Winners · About: Cincinnati Bengals - Verdict: not settled yet - **Detroit Lions to make the playoffs** - Kind: Playoff Picks · About: Detroit Lions - Verdict: not settled yet - **New England Patriots to finish with 9 wins** - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: New England Patriots - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - San Francisco 49ers — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/49ers - Minnesota Vikings — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/vikings - Chicago Bears — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/bears - Buffalo Bills — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/bills - Cincinnati Bengals — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/bengals - Detroit Lions — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/lions - New England Patriots — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/patriots ## What others said about the same people - Pat Fitzmaurice on Kyler Murray: Fitzmaurice touts Kyler Murray as a value QB who will start Week 1 for Minnesota, Tyler Shough as the Saints' undisputed starter, and Juwan Johnson and Terrance Ferguson as late-round tight end targets. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/70a7844a-2fb6-44d7-814f-30ec9fbcc26d (scored 100) - Pat Fitzmaurice on Kyler Murray: Fitzmaurice expects Kyler Murray to be Minnesota's Week 1 starter and calls him one of the better quarterback values in 2026 drafts; he also views Jordan Love as a top-10 real-life quarterback but only a QB2 in fantasy. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/0653fc24-437c-4aba-89ee-f1f417e1983d (scored 100) - Emmett Matasovsky on Christian Izien: Matasovsky says Dobbs is currently leading the backup quarterback race and suggests Christian Izien may be pressed into a starting safety role in Week 1 while Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph rehab. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/9715ee92-1646-4ee4-8911-e3e4cbae9027 (scored 0) - Pat Fitzmaurice on Kyler Murray: Fitzmaurice expects Kyler Murray to open the season as Minnesota's starting quarterback and to be one of the better quarterback values in 2026 fantasy drafts, and he likewise likes Tyler Shough as New Orleans' entrenched starter with an easy schedule. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/18bf77c0-c921-4593-997e-8405355274e9 (scored 100) - Mike Moraitis on Ozzy Trapilo: Moraitis writes that although Braxton Jones has looked like the favorite, Ozzy Trapilo is likely to take over as the Bears' starting left tackle once he's healthy enough to play. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/cdfe5f0f-6783-4730-b9bb-d942e28b037a (scored 0) - Pete Martuneac on Ozzy Trapilo: After Trapilo's activation from the PUP list roughly seven months after rupturing his patellar tendon, Martuneac says the Bears' left tackle competition is over and Trapilo will be starting at left tackle early in the 2026 season, even if not by Week 1. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/d42f10ad-a71c-4ea9-95e8-2b53fde77971 (scored 0) ## More season win totals The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - JP Acosta on New York Giants: Acosta expects John Harbaugh's Giants to jump to roughly seven wins in year one, and forecast several offseason moves: Aaron Rodgers returning to Pittsburgh, Daniel Jones returning to the Colts, Kirk Cousins being released by Atlanta, and Brandon Aiyuk leaving San Francisco. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/17ab1ec5-a2f1-41c6-a6df-a0e6d949351b (scored 40) - Rich Eisen on New Orleans Saints: 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 40) - Chris Brockman on New Orleans Saints: Brockman floated the 49ers as the team to beat in the NFC after their Sunday night win, predicted James Cook would lead the league in rushing, and said Tyler Shough will win Rookie of the Year with the Saints finishing above .500 next season. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/e393bfed-202c-4c67-9054-793f6bdad096 (scored 40) - Rich Eisen on Jacksonville Jaguars: Rich Eisen gave his Week 15 top-10 power rankings, installing the Rams at No. 1 as the best team in football, adding the Jaguars and keeping the Bears despite their loss, while dropping the Cowboys and Eagles off the list. He also projected 10-win seasons for both Chicago and Jacksonville and said the Jaguars would handle the Jets at home. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/a3c3755f-fe00-4096-a948-18cb17e42e14 (scored 40) - Rich Eisen on Kansas City Chiefs: Eisen endorsed the Eagles' defense carrying them to the NFC championship and the Rams being the NFL's best team, but predicted the NFC North sends only Green Bay and Detroit to the playoffs, that Kansas City wins five of its last seven, that the 49ers make the playoffs, that Baltimore wins the AFC North, and that Tampa Bay wins the NFC South with both the Bucs and Panthers losing their upcoming NFC West road games. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/f7e77ff9-c596-4b8e-a10d-989cd6fa12a9 (scored 20) - Chris Brockman on Jacksonville Jaguars: Brockman argued the Seahawks are the NFC's best team and will land the No. 1 seed, that Jacksonville will reach 11 wins and steal the AFC South from Indianapolis, that JJ McCarthy will lead the Vikings to the playoffs, and that Matthew Stafford will be an MVP finalist. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/c16dfbcb-8010-440d-9408-61df080434c8 (scored 60) --- 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=john-middlekauff