Lance Zierlein· Sep 18, 2026
He backed off picking Houston, saying that without Nico Collins too much pressure falls on C.J. Stroud and he is worried about the secondary — effectively taking Cincinnati in the game.
“I'd like to say I do, and I did earlier in the week. But without Nico Collins, I just think there's a tremendous amount of pressure on the on on CJ, frankly, to be perfect.”
said on air, transcribed by us · John and Lance — ESPN Houston (podcast) · read the original →
One checkable claim, graded on its own against what actually happened.
The call scored 100 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
1 checkable claim 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 PicksCincinnati BengalsSep 18, 2026
Cincinnati Bengals to beat Texans
“I still got the Texans winning this one. You got the Texans? / No. I don't. ... But without Nico Collins, I just think there's a tremendous amount of pressure on CJ, frankly, to be perfect.”
Hit · 100Scored 100a naive guess scored 0+194 skillHow this was scored
- won:
- CIN
- score:
- 20-6
- skill:
- 194
- they picked:
- CIN
- season:
- 2026
- accuracy:
- 100
- baseline:
- 0
- the naive pick:
- HOU
- difficulty:
- 1.94
- weeks in the season:
- 18
- weeks left when called:
- 17
What others said about the same people
- Danny ParkinsGame Outcome Picks · Cincinnati BengalsHit · 100Parkins 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.
- Jonas KnoxGame Outcome Picks · Cincinnati BengalsHit · 100Knox took the Bears to cover against the Vikings, said New England would probably beat Pittsburgh even while taking the points, picked the Bengals to win outright in Houston, and took the Broncos over the Jaguars and the Rams over the Giants.
- Tyler SullivanGame Outcome Picks · Cincinnati BengalsHit · 100A CBS Sports column flags five Week 2 favorites on upset alert, effectively backing the underdogs — Lions at Bills, Bengals at Texans, Jets over Packers, Jaguars at Broncos and Saints at Ravens — to pull off wins.
- Colin CowherdScore Predictions · Cincinnati BengalsClose · 76The co-host (identified only as "Mitchell") gave his own Week 2 picks: Seattle, the Niners in dominant fashion, his Lions over Buffalo, Cincinnati 31-27 at Houston, Chicago, Pittsburgh 24-21 as a road upset, Jacksonville by at least a touchdown, Dallas 26-22, and Kansas City handily.
- John BreechScore Predictions · Cincinnati BengalsClose · 74Breech 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.
- Bucky BrooksRoster Spot Calls · Josh JohnsonMiss · 0Brooks predicted J.J. McCarthy won't be on the Vikings' roster (traded or released), said Kyler Murray wins the Vikings' QB competition, made a series of 2025 award picks, made 2026 Heisman/draft projections including Arch Manning as the front-runner for the No. 1 overall pick, and said none of Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen or Joe Burrow win a championship this season.
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.