Jason McIntyre· Jan 15, 2026
McIntyre gave his divisional-round picks: Buffalo over Denver in a low-scoring 17-16 game, Seattle over San Francisco in a close one, Houston to beat New England outright, and the Rams to win in Chicago behind Matthew Stafford. He also picked Indiana to win the national title over Miami, said Matthew Stafford will win MVP, and joked that Fernando Mendoza will end up with the Raiders.
“I'll go low seventeen sixteen Buffalo or thereabouts.”
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.
5 checkable claims — 2 game outcome picks, 1 award pick, 1 score prediction and 1 trade and signing call — 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 61.3 out of 100, against 49.4 for a naive guess at the same calls.
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Who this take is about
5 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.
- Award PicksMatthew StaffordLos Angeles RamsJan 15, 2026
Matthew Stafford to win MVP
“They're going up against an MVP candidate. I don't think Mayo win it. I think Stafford will.”
Hit · 100Scored 100a naive guess scored 0+100 skillHow this was scored
- award:
- mvp
- naive:
- the naive pick was Josh Allen, who won it the year before
- skill:
- 100
- player:
- Matthew Stafford
- season:
- 2025
- winner:
- Matthew Stafford
- correct:
- yes
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 0
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- Game Outcome PicksHouston TexansJan 15, 2026
Houston Texans to beat Patriots
“I like the Texas to win this out right.”
Miss · 0Scored 0a naive guess scored 100-100 skillHow this was scored
- won:
- NE
- score:
- 16-28
- skill:
- -100
- they picked:
- HOU
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 0
- baseline:
- 100
- the naive pick:
- NE
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- Score PredictionsBuffalo BillsJan 15, 2026
Buffalo Bills 17 — Denver 16
“I don't think they can stop him. I'll go low seventeen sixteen Buffalo or thereabouts.”
Close · 45Scored 45.24a naive guess scored 97.69-52.45 skillHow this was scored
- score:
- 30-33
- skill:
- -52.45
- they picked:
- BUF
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 45.24
- baseline:
- 97.69
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- actual margin:
- 3
- weeks left when called:
- 0
- naive home margin:
- 2.03
- predicted margin:
- 1
- Game Outcome PicksLos Angeles RamsJan 15, 2026
Los Angeles Rams to beat Bears
“old man Matthew Stafford delivers... I don't see the Rams blowing this.”
Hit · 100Scored 100a naive guess scored 0+100 skillHow this was scored
- won:
- LAR
- score:
- 20-17
- skill:
- 100
- they picked:
- LAR
- season:
- 2025
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 0
- the naive pick:
- CHI
- difficulty:
- 1
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 0
Fernando Mendoza to move to Las Vegas Raiders
“congrats to Mendoza, who goes to the Raiders then where he's not winning anything for a decade”
Not settled yet. This is graded once the result is in.
What others said about the same people
- Jared DubinScore Predictions · Los Angeles RamsClose · 50Dubin picks the Rams to beat the Giants on Monday Night Football, sticking with preseason expectations over Week 1 overreaction. He gives two conditional scores depending on whether Puka Nacua plays: a comfortable 27-17 win if Nacua suits up, and a narrow 17-16 win if he sits.
- Dan OrlovskyGame Outcome Picks · Los Angeles RamsHit · 100Orlovsky said that even without Puka Nacua the Rams would find a way to beat the Giants on Monday night, though he thought the Giants would keep it within a touchdown.
- Jared DubinScore Predictions · Los Angeles RamsClose · 71Dubin picked the Rams to beat the Giants 27-17 on Monday night.
- Pete PriscoScore Predictions · Los Angeles RamsHit · 86Prisco picked the Rams to beat the Giants 30-14.
- Jordan DajaniScore Predictions · Los Angeles RamsClose · 69Dajani picked the Rams to beat the Giants 30-21.
- John BreechScore Predictions · Los Angeles RamsClose · 55Breech expects Caleb Williams to return quickly from his hamstring injury, at the latest by Week 4 against the Jets or Week 5 against the Packers, and he picked the Rams to beat the Giants on Monday night. He also floated the Saints as a potential surprise team this season.
More game outcome picks
The same kind of call, about other players and teams.
- Patricia TrainaGame Outcome Picks · New York GiantsMiss · 0In her weekly Giants mailbag, Traina said the Giants would beat the Rams if Los Angeles didn't play its best, predicted Aaron Donald wouldn't play a full game Monday night, and said she doesn't expect Paulson Adebo to still be with the Giants in 2027.
- Danny ParkinsGame Outcome Picks · New York GiantsMiss · 0Parkins picked the Giants to beat the Rams outright, backed Jacksonville over Denver, Cincinnati over Houston and Chicago over Minnesota in the chips segment, endorsed Buffalo as the AFC's Super Bowl representative, and predicted Deshaun Watson has started his last NFL game.
- Garrett PodellGame Outcome Picks · New York GiantsMiss · 0In a Week 2 bold-predictions piece, CBS Sports predicts the Giants will upset the Rams on Monday Night Football at SoFi Stadium, dropping Los Angeles to 0-2, and that Colts quarterback Daniel Jones will throw multiple touchdowns on Sunday Night Football at Kansas City.
- 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.