The NFL’s regular season ended but checking on Colin Cowherd‘s choices has not.
Each week, PAOC posts Cowherd’s Blazin’ 5 picks and analysis then reviews them on Monday (or Tuesday). The host of “The Herd” and one of the personalities used to promote the Fox Bet sportsbook app posted a 40-41-2 record for the 2020 NFL season.
Before the NFL kicked off, Cowherd made a number of predictions.
How did they turn out? We kept the receipts (the Tweets) and compared what he said to what actually happened.
Cowherd’s preseason predictions
- The Raiders went 8-8, a one-game improvement from 7-9 in 2019.
- With Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski in Tampa Bay, the Patriots finished 7-9, their worst record since 2000.
- Before he went down with a season-ending knee injury in Week 11, Joe Burrow threw for 2,688 yards, 13 TDs and 5 INTs. He was on pace to break Andrew Luck’s rookie record (4,374) for most passing yards.
- They did not but the Ravens (11-5) are on a five-game winning streak heading into the playoffs.
- Dak Prescott suffered a gruesome leg injury in Week 5 and the Cowboys finished a below-average 6-10.
Colin Cowherd’s 2020 NFL Playoff Predictions
Cowherd went with the chalk for his NFL playoff predictions.
Cowherd’s preseason picks and Fox Bet odds
AFC Playoff predictions:
AFC East: Buffalo Bills (+115) favorite
AFC North: Baltimore Ravens (-188) favorite
AFC South: Indianapolis Colts (+110) favorite
AFC West: Kansas City Chiefs
To make playoffs:
Denver Broncos: No (-200), Yes (+162)
Cleveland Browns: No (-154), Yes (+130)
Los Angeles Chargers: No (-188), Yes (+150)
AFC playoffs:
AFC East winner: Buffalo Bills
AFC North winner: Pittsburgh Steelers
AFC South winner: Tennessee Titans
AFC West winner: Kansas City Chiefs
Wild Card teams:
- Indianapolis Colts
- Cleveland Browns
- Baltimore Ravens
Cowherd correctly picked two of four AFC Division champs. He picked one of three Wild Card teams.
NFC playoff predictions:
NFC East: Philadelphia Eagles (+150)
NFC North: Minnesota Vikings (+160) favorite
NFC South: New Orleans Saints (-111) favorite
NFC West: San Francisco 49ers (+110) favorite
To make playoffs:
Green Bay Packers: Yes (-138), No (+115)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Yes (-225), No (+180)
Seattle Seahawks: Yes (-143), No (+115)
NFC East Winner: Washington
NFC North: Green Bay Packers
NFC South: New Orleans Saints
NFC West: Seattle Seahawks
NFC Wild Card:
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Los Angeles Rams
- Chicago Bears
Cowherd correctly picked one of four NFC Division champs. He picked one of three Wild Card teams.
Cowherd’s other NFL predictions
Ravens will go undefeated
DraftKings offered the market for six teams. The Ravens’ odds to go 16-0 were +2500; only the Kansas City Chiefs (+2200) had better odds.
According to Cowherd, there are three “great rosters” in the NFL this year: San Francisco, Kansas City and Baltimore.
“I’ve never said this in my life, [but] Baltimore is the two scariest things in football: stacked and pissed,” he said. “Lamar Jackson is the only MVP in my lifetime where people have said the following year they think he will regress. Half the league doesn’t buy into Lamar Jackson.”
The Ravens finished 11-5, and the Chiefs 14-2.
Eagles are the class of the NFC East
LOL. The Eagles finished last in a historically awful NFC East.
Patriots will struggle
Cowherd said the Patriots were going to be a “really bad football team” and win 5 or 6 games. The Patriots exceeded Cowherd’s prognostication (7-9).
Trubisky trouble
Cowherd said it was time for the Bears to admit they whiffed on quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and move on.
This looked like an early, easy layup for Cowherd when Trubisky was benched during Week 3 in favor of Nick Foles. But Trubisky got the job back when Foles was injured at the end of November. The 8-8 Bears visit New Orleans during Wild Card weekend as 10-point underdogs.
Wrong on the Steelers
Cowherd forecasted a 7-9 record for the Steelers.
He continued disrespecting the Steelers calling them the “worst 11-0 team ever” back when they were still undefeated. Pittsburgh won the AFC North and will host the Browns in the Wild Card round as 6-point favorites Sunday night.
Lead image via The Herd YouTube channel.