# John Middlekauff: Middlekauff says Denver's floor is ten wins, predicts Miami implodes to four or five wins and a top-three-or-four draft slot with Tyreek Hill traded, thinks the 49ers beat expectations with nine or ten wins, sees the Patriots at eight or nine wins, calls the Chargers over 9.5 a lock, expects Jared Goff to make five or six Pro Bowls, and says the Packers are flying under the radar. **Claimed:** Aug 25, 2025 **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/best-of-john-middlekauff-broncos-incredible-turnaround-packers-projections-top-10-qbs-nfl-win-totals 10 checkable claims — 5 season win totals, 2 surprise team calls, 1 pro bowl and all-pro call, 1 team draft slot call and 1 trade and signing call — 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. 4 of 10 have settled so far, averaging 20 out of 100, against 27.5 for a naive guess at the same calls. > I think they are a lock. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **San Francisco 49ers to finish with 9–10 wins** - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: San Francisco 49ers - Verdict: scored 60 out of 100, against 5 for a naive guess - **New England Patriots to finish with 8–9 wins** - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: New England Patriots - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 0 for a naive guess - **Denver Broncos to finish with 10 wins** - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: Denver Broncos - Verdict: scored 20 out of 100, against 5 for a naive guess - **Jared Goff to make Pro Bowl** - Kind: Pro Bowl and All-Pro Calls · About: Jared Goff, Detroit Lions - Verdict: scored 0 out of 100, against 100 for a naive guess - **Miami Dolphins to pick “drafting three or four”** - Kind: Team Draft Slot Calls · About: Miami Dolphins - Verdict: not settled yet - **Tetairoa McMillan to move** - Kind: Trade and Signing Calls · About: Tetairoa McMillan - Verdict: not settled yet - **Los Angeles Chargers to finish with ? wins** - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: Los Angeles Chargers - Verdict: too vague to check - **Green Bay Packers to beat expectations** - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: Green Bay Packers - Verdict: not settled yet - **Miami Dolphins to finish with ? wins** - Kind: Season Win Totals · About: Miami Dolphins - Verdict: too vague to check - **San Francisco 49ers to beat expectations** - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: San Francisco 49ers - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - San Francisco 49ers — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/49ers - New England Patriots — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/patriots - Denver Broncos — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/broncos - Jared Goff — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/jared-goff - Detroit Lions — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/lions - Miami Dolphins — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/dolphins - Tetairoa McMillan — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/players/tetairoa-mcmillan - Los Angeles Chargers — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/chargers - Green Bay Packers — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/nfl/teams/packers ## What others said about the same people - Alain Poupart on San Francisco 49ers: Poupart predicts the 49ers beat the Dolphins 27-17 at Levi's Stadium in Week 2, though he expects the game to be closer than the spread suggests. He also anticipates a larger role for De'Von Achane and a big passing day from Brock Purdy. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/70e53b3b-fd72-43e7-a99b-655f41a11160 (scored 71.43) - Derek Brown on San Francisco 49ers: In a Week 2 start/sit column, Derek Brown gave lineup advice on running backs, including a prediction that the 49ers would blow out the Dolphins. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/2ce05a0a-dccb-4701-80fa-9809feec8175 (scored 100) - Greg Jennings on Denver Broncos: Jennings 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. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/420d3e29-6224-43a2-8d68-b15c864838cd (scored 100) - Chris Broussard on New England Patriots: Brew 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. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/a54915e0-49e6-427b-a7a5-4feb5d0f3cbb (scored 100) - Alain Poupart on San Francisco 49ers: Answering a mailbag ahead of the Dolphins-49ers game, Poupart says logic points to Miami losing because San Francisco is the far better team, while allowing that upsets happen. He also lays out what would have to happen for a Dolphins win (Achane running wild or the defense intercepting Brock Purdy). — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/99ecba7f-1162-43c1-9990-e5868a5b4c85 (scored 100) - Rich Eisen on Los Angeles Chargers: Eisen 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. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/76dcca59-cf3e-4bfd-a7c6-66574a348a51 (scored 0) ## More season win totals The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Colin Cowherd on Dallas Cowboys: Cowherd projects the NFC East with the Giants winning the division ahead of Philadelphia, Washington and Dallas, pegging the Cowboys as a six- or seven-win team. He also expects Malik Willis to land a big free-agent deal, Kayvon Thibodeaux to be moved, and Baltimore to lose Isaiah Likely, and he floats the Rams reaching on Ty Simpson late in round one. — https://missedtakes.thegoodapps.co/opinions/cd243624-9451-4824-a8a4-7b468d681c8f (scored 100) - 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 Houston Texans: 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 60) - 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) - 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) --- 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